Do you wave?

Not just at friends or family. Fellow drivers of the marque you drive, but strangers.  
  I wave at walkers/ runners. Because that big 40' bus is plenty intimidating and I want them to understand I see them. That applies to bicycle too.  
 I also wave at those who stop when I put out the stop arm when I release them. 
 The habit carries over to the pickup I drive. It's especially important on the roads around here that must have been drawn by a drunken snake. Even driving below the speed limit startled most pedestrians and bicyclists. So a friendly wave seems reasonable. 

Out West, all the time. On the bike, all the time. Around Chicago,  never. Everyone is up their own ass to notice. 

When I lived someplace where I knew almost everyone, yes. Here, no not when I'm driving. 

In town, about the only waving is at or from other people driving vintage BMWs (well, that doesn't count the one finger waves at idiot drivers...  )

Out in rural areas on country roads it's a lot more common.

I get waves and thumbs up and will return them when I'm driving my Miata. They're not always from Miata or Mazda drivers, can be someone in another sports car or anything else.
 

I followed a Ferrari for a few miles on the highway, and when I passed him he was acting really excited, waving and pointing, which just felt weird. He was in the exotic sports car, and I'm just in a Miata. 
 

Looks like this, minus the numbers and class letters. 
 

My daily is so rare that hardly anyone knows what it is, even when I drive it at autocross events. I might as well be driving a beige Toyota Camry, which works to my advantage as the cops don't pay any attention to it either. Again, I remove the numbers and class letters on the street. 
 

Just like you, I also try hard to acknowledge walkers or people on bikes. Eye contact isn't enough, as I know from personal experience that some drivers will make eye contact without their brains registering that you're there.
 

They're only looking for other cars, you are not a car, so they don't even realize that they need to avoid running you over. The fact that they made eye contact with you is no guarantee that they are aware of you.

As a driver, I want to have some actual interaction with the other person, so they know that I'm truly aware of them and am prepared to yield. 

I tell lots of people their #1....

I wave at most people I can catch eye contact with.  Kids in the neighborhood.  Parents watching their kids on the sidewalk or street.  Other drivers when one of us pulls over to get down the street with cars passed on each side.  Anyone who actually stops and let's me go with out rushing, etc. 

Funny story.  I visited my sister in Alpine, Texas while she was going to college.  Very small Texas town.  When passing by other drivers, like they're coming one way and I'm going the other, they would raise a couple of fingers in a gesture of recognition.  Basically, their hand on the top of the wheel and raising a couple of fingers.  It was funny, she'd get 4 fingers raised for many of them, 3 for a few she kinda knew, etc.  Anytime I would drive, I'd just get one finger (no, not that one).  We laughed about it because the longer I was in town, I graduated to 2 fingers.

I joked there should be a country song titled, "I'm a one finger man in a four finger town"

-Rob

rob_lewis said:

Funny story.  I visited my sister in Alpine, Texas while she was going to college.  Very small Texas town.  When passing by other drivers, like they're coming one way and I'm going the other, they would raise a couple of fingers in a gesture of recognition.  Basically, their hand on the top of the wheel and raising a couple of fingers.  It was funny, she'd get 4 fingers raised for many of them, 3 for a few she kinda knew, etc.  Anytime I would drive, I'd just get one finger (no, not that one).  We laughed about it because the longer I was in town, I graduated to 2 fingers.

I joked there should be a country song titled, "I'm a one finger man in a four finger town"

-Rob

That is funny.  In rural areas here in Minnesota one finger lifted off the steering wheel is most common, I haven't noticed the multi-finger versions.

I wave at MINIs and Miatas, but occasionally wave at a driver of one marque when I'm driving the other, which confuses them.

Always at Miatas, sometimes at other makes if they are convertibles.  I don't even bother if they are driving around with the top up in "convertible weather", because 99% of the time it doesn't get returned.  I also wave at vintage Japanese cars if they aren't totally hooptiefied.  Vintage American muscle cars generally get a thumbs up.  I used to give them an "OK", but Reddit pretty much ruined that. 

Back when I rode motorcycles, I always used to do the "bike wave".  The return rate depended on what the other bike was: Non-crotch rocket Japanese bikes, got at least a 90% return wave, crotch rockets were about 50/50, Harleys, probably 20%.  (I rode a 1974 CB550 Four)  I always used to wave at mopeds and usually got an enthusiastic return wave.  Around here, they don't usually get noticed by people on "real" bikes.  

There is a sort of basic snobbery to all of it.  

Street rods and muscle cars?  Yes.  Interesting old Euro or Japanese cars? Yes.  

I give a thumbs up to nice cars going the other way.

I wave at motorcycles, even Harleys.  They don't wave but being air cooled I may get a nod.

I try to make eye contact or a wave at pedestrians & peddlers.

So yeah, I wave or make at least eye contact.  Someone pops out of a side street looking to bolt, can't make eye contact watch his front wheel; you'll see movement there first.

Other corvette guys wave at me. I hit'em with the pop up headlights and they have no idea what to do. 

When I drive the MINI, I try to wave to other MINIs.  It's definitely not as common as it was a decade or so ago.

When I'm cycling I acknowledge other riders.  

To everyone on the street/yard/driving in my neighborhood. I thumbs up some cool stuff on the road and wave to all police officers who are doing something that involves them looking my way.  Crossing guards make the list as well, an especially big and happy wave with an exaggerated smile if its 45 min before a single kid shows up, the roads are empty, and they are giving me the double handed slow down motion because I'm daring to go 20 in the 20 zone. 

In the South we do a one finger wave. 
 

When a pedestrian crosses, or a car looks at you hesitantly in an intersection, if your hand is on the top of the wheel, you raise your index finger. It just sort of lets people know you see them, and OKs that they should proceed. 

It's the friendly Southern version of the middle finger salute.

I also wave at or thumbs up vintage cars, muscle cars, or anything cool. 

Here in Ontario, it's easy to get a Miata wave. Jeep Wranglers wave to eachother. When I got my Challenger, I was surprised to see that Challenger guys wave to eachother. Lots of old muscle car guys give me a wave too.

I wave to most old muscle cars, hot rods...basically anything old and rare still being driven. 
Cops get a wave from me, as they are one of my big customers.

I try to respond to waves, but I realize so late that most folks think I'm ignoring them.

We live just far enough outside of Toronto that if you don't wave it's considered rude.  I've had friends comment that they were a bit surprised that everyone lifted a finger off the wheel as they crossed paths. We've graduated to a four finger lift. I love the fact that this is a universal law from Texas to rural southern Ontario.

In reply to Bibs :

I have a 1948 Willys CJ2A. I only wave a modern Jeeps if they wave first. There has to be an order to things.

I wave at other Miatae if I'm in the MM. In any car I wave at really cool stuff.

In the V70 I used to wave at any Volvo wagon but they either ignored me or looked at me like I had two heads, so I gave it up unless someone waves first.

Rural Maryland...I get the most two finger wave driving my old f350 crew cab dually. 
Stretching the legs on the old Rolls gets a lot of thumbs up and waves. 
Outside my immediate area, I don't notice any waves except in the bus, especially when pulling a race car. 

I have a Miata. I wave at other Miate. 

When I had the 1990 Infiniti Q45, I waved at other Infiniti. They had no idea why.  The modern (current model) Infiniti owner has no understanding of the lineage and certainly doesn't recognize the flagship model from the inaugural year of the brand. 

The Gov't Mule is nearly non-stop waving.  I receive acknowledging waves from every local and state municipal vehicle as well as everyone associated with anything municipal. 

I wave... back.  

Depends on the neighborhood. When I rode motorcycles I waved in the beginning then stopped over time. Not sure why. 
A few weeks ago at work we were talking about motorcycle waves, jeep waves, and corvette waves. The algorithm must have been listening in because the next day I saw this meme: