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Cars won't make you happy (cool video)

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Awesome video. I had a span of time in which I quite literally lost myself in my car. Solid 2 years or so in which every second of my off time I was in the engine bay, sanding for paint, combing junkyards for parts, and spending every last penny I could scrap up for my car. And the moment I finally turned the key, it didn't start. And I was crushed. Literally tears. At that moment I realized that I had lost myself in this dream of what could be and of what I wanted to be and realized that for 2 years I didnt turn a bolt once for me. But for strangers I had learned weren't my friends at all.
Eye opening experiance that this video hits home. I really had to sit down for a while and realize rhat I had taking it to an obsession in which I couldn't name one trate about myself that wasn't car related. Needless to say, I took a break for a long while.
 
Every once in awhile put a smile on your face is my reason for sure. Plus this forum where i can share the ups and downs of my particular journey. This video has a very powerful message i appreciate you sharing.
 
"Once you get it, is it even turbo?"
It will be soon!

My first takeaway was that I can't really relate since cars have always been a ME thing and I've never really had a greater community to try to impress, but then I remember that there was a time when I lost the plot. I lusted after the next big thing and thought that driving around in my brand new Focus RS would make me happy because it made me better than all of the plebeians still riding around in their old Subarus or Evos, but even though it did impress a lot of other people, it didn't impress ME and I was really unhappy with it. I had gone from a car that I loved to drive that people made fun of me for, to a car that made others jealous that I never wanted to drive. Fortunately I had other things to fall back on, but this video made me think about the communal influence on individual vs. car relationship that I had never considered before.

It also highlights that the only car group that I'm an active member in is a Toyota Celica owner's club, which is weird.
 
That video has been in my feed since they posted and I haven’t watch it until now. Can’t agree more with points they make. Narrated very well too
He's right - so many people out there do build their cars with recognition in mind these days, as he talks about. The mods chosen, the power levels, etc, it's usually all for recognition on social media, PR, marketing, etc. Even if it's not being done consciously, it usually still guides the build. Shops do it for promotional reasons, and I get that. Others do it to get free parts. And I think he's right, it probably results in more people not being happy with their builds when they're done.

I guess I'm a little old school - I've always modded my cars the way I wanted to, not to get recognition for them, not to use them as promotional tools. Don't get me wrong, I have done a lot of bartering over the years but I always did it the way I wanted, for the way I wanted to use the car, not for what would make the car more popular. Certainly not for social media likes. Hell, it took me years to even put a DSMtuners decal on my 1g, because I've never liked decals on my cars. LOL Hell, I'd probably be the example of how NOT to do it if you're trying to get recognition.

I hope this video gest the attention of more people out there.
 
Interesting video. All I thought about the whole time watching it was "wow I really can't relate to this at all". Never been to a car meet or done anything to any of my cars because I thought other people would think it was cool. I always fall behind updating my build thread here because time seems better spent working on it or doing research on parts than to post pictures of my own. I don't spend too much money on mods for cars that arn't worth it to show off I do it because it makes me feel acomplished and happy when I'm looking at them or driving them. And I think there are many people in this hobby just like me.

But there are also people like he was talking about, the social media generation where everyone is worried about what everyone else is doing and how they stack up. I actually laughed at his comparison of instagram car pages to body dysmorphia. If your feeling sad because your car isn't as cool as show cars that's your fault. It should be a source of motivation to do better. That turbo Lamborghini is attainable if you really want it that bad. If not then be happy for the people out there that do have one and that you get to see it.

The youtube world is a whole separate thing. If your building a car for a youtube channel then that is a product. It will be defined by what people would like. But they are the ones paying for it with their views so that seems only fair. And that's the last part where this guys video didn't make sense. He is a youtuber and he seemed to be coming from this place "wow a job competing with other people for views building cars has ruined just having fun with cars for me". Well ya I'd say most mechanic's don't go home and build cars for a hobby its the same thing. The most ironic thing was "let me make a video about how youtubing can be terrible for the car hobby so I can get views and make money off this video" haha
 
I dunno, man... I feel like this should have been titled “cars won’t make people like you”. Or “being an influencer is hollow and pathetic”, it really seems like this dude thinks his car is goi g to make the other parts of his life better somehow, and yeah, if that’s what’s up you’re gonna be let down. Cars won’t make people think you’re cool, having a cool car won’t get you the sweet job or a supermodel... but I just want mine to get around the cones fast. It does exactly that, and when I am in it I am very happy. I love my car. I love driving. Shit, genuinely love driving my shitbox DD. I don’t measure my self worth in likes, shares and retweets though. This video struck me as a pseudo intellectual struggling to admit to himself that he isn’t a car guy. Social media won’t make you happy, folks.
 
I liked his video. I must be really dated. I'm still trying to understand why so many feel the need to give their cars' names.:ohdamn:
 
Agree that he was putting a lot of emphasis on social media competition, but he did talk about feeling discouraged about his own build when looking at others’ builds. And that can happen whether you’re on social media, in a car club, or belong to a forum.

The success of the DSM community here on ‘Tuners is that we all struggle to keep our cars running reliably, but just enough of us are purveyors of beautiful builds, or innovative fabricators to give us all hope that, if we wanted to, there’s at least one more level for our car. We may get frustrated sometimes, but we’re usually never bored with our cars.

Personally, our builds are focused around performance and reliability, so very often a person can’t even see our mods. And that’s okay, because we build them to drive them, and that always makes us smile.
 
I personally avoid social media, to this day i have never had a Facebook account, or Twitter none of it. But i have a DSMtuners account! If your not having fun with your car then this hobby isn't for you. For me i have a natural passion for cars, i set my own personal achievable goals. I can't imagine basing my vehicle build on what other people think it should be. It takes all the fun out of the whole experience. I walk into my garage even when my car is on jack stands and waiting on part(s) and get excited just thinking about driving on the back roads again or just going for a cruise by myself. Make it fun for you, and no one else. Unfortunately a lot of people I have known over the years fell into the category discussed in the video.
 
I think he's making the point that people tend to look at cars the way they do their own identity, and he makes the connection with the way humans look for acceptance in social circles and in communities. It's the age old story of 'keeping up with the Joneses'. You think that if you can keep up with what your friends are doing, what other people in the car community are doing, if you can somehow recreate the car builds that you are drawn to, that you'll feel fulfilled. And so you start out on that journey, shaping your goals around what you think will bring you that fulfillment (and subconsciously, the subsequent acknowledgement from the community for what you've built). That it will tell your story and express who you are. But in doing this, a lot of people get too caught up in the social affirmation aspect of it and lose sight of the real benefit - the therapy of the journey itself and all the things you learn from it along the way.

Part of the problem is the hyper-consumerism nature of our society, but it's also the perverse effects of social media on human psychology. Social media has obviously exacerbated this massively, but this has taken place on forums too, and in other ways before forums were around. Still, social media isn't the root of the problem, it's just the newest artificial accelerant to be thrown on a fire that's always been burning. The flames are just bigger than we've ever seen before because the social media networks have used psychology to profit from addictive behaviors and have been ridiculously successful - so much so that it's been a detriment to society in many ways. It's the new heroin, and people don't even realized they're hooked, nor do they see the dangers or destruction that it's causing. Watch the Social Dilemma on Netflix when you get a chance.

Some of us won't be able to relate with what he says because we don't post what we're doing with our cars on social media for affirmation, or for acknowledgement. I rarely talk about myself online or what I'm doing with my car, and that has probably worked against me professionally but I've never cared much for talking about myself. I'll never be a social media or Youtube star. I don't crave that attention, I'm probably humble to a fault, and let's be honest, I'm far too boring for people to follow. The only time I find myself posting anything on social media is to try and help someone in need, but even then I find doing that only feeds the social media problem. The only reason I find myself using social media these days (or thinking about using it) is for professional networking and to try to lead people away from social media. You can find me in FB groups linking people to forums. I'm essentially trying to get heroin users to put down the syringe and go smoke a joint :)

Enjoy your car journey. Share that journey with others. Find joy and fulfillment in the journey itself and not so much in how others respond/react to your journey. Try not to get sucked into keeping up with the Joneses. That's my fortune cookie wisdom for the day. Carry on.
 
I agree with all these points. I think we on these forums are already unique in the car scene. Noone in their right mind builds a DSM for clout. I saw the same thing for the brief time I was a part of the volvo forums.

The only person I can think of with alot of followers in the DSM social circle is Miguel. And he has an evo9 engine swapped into a 420a gs model from what I understand (I don't particularly follow him).

To me this was the perfect scene for me to chase my goals in because I have always told my friends that I only pick up middle aged men who remember driving this car in the 90's. It will never be a "clout magnet" like an FC Rx7 or a stacked Trueno. And I'm okay with that. I don't like vapid conversations about why the LS is better than a Coyote engine. All I want is to blast through some sweet turns and FEEL like I'm connected with my car. I smile when I look around driving my car with the radio turned off and visually seeing all the work I put into it over the last few years culminating in the sound the smell and feeling I get knowing that this is my creation and noone elses
 
I use my car project to keep me sane during the pandemic. Somebody should make a video about that!! You can't be stuck at home with your family for over a year without something to distract you and call your own. Sometimes it's just about having a looooong term goal and making little, inch by inch progress to feel some level of control. I just made a video about vacuuming carpet- WTF!
 
Sharing with friends is different than sharing with the world of strangers. DSMTuners is a community of friends although we do have a few strange friends around.
 
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