I agree with Flexx91 this topic comes up on every board at least once a year. I know and hang out with folks from both camps and I can honestly say I have had equally nice and equally crappy treatment from both regardless of what I am in at the time.
The wife and I were out at a local Sunday morning car show here in ATL called Caffeine and Octane. It has been some time since I was patched into the car scene and so we decided to check out what the monthly show had to offer. What to my wondering eyes did appear but a 1996 B/W that looked like it was someones daily driver...a driver's car. This might not excite most folks but when I see a car that someone loves so much that they will drive it every day or at least enough to get it dirty, I take interest. So the wife, with another couple who met us up there, walked the show and then returned back to the Viper to see if the owner was about as is typical. I was in the market at the time and was actively looking to talk to someone about finding a B/W of my own so we camped out and talked with the neighboring Supra crowd for a spell in hopes that the owner would happen by so we could strike up a conversation.
Some time passed and we were still hanging out near the Viper talking with the Supra folks and taking the occasional picture of cars as they passed by when all of the sudden the Viper's horn began to honk in panic mode. Thinking the owner had accidentally bumped the panic button in his pocket we continued talking with the now dwindling group of Supra and LS-1 RX-7's that had made there way over to us. After 2 minutes of the car horn going off we moved away from where we had been standing (approximately 10 feet away from the Viper) for the past 1/2 hour and continued talking. We moved two-three parking spaces over and the horn stopped. The conversation turned to a new car that had pulled up, an LS1 powered RX-7, which was now parked next to the Viper. We wandered over to talk to the owner and began looking over his little FD. Within seconds of our small group moving over to the RX-7 the horn started up again on the Viper. Thinking we were setting off some proximity alarm we moved to the other side of the RX-7 but the horn persisted. Most of the group was now getting really annoyed that the owner had not yet stifled his alarm at a car show so we again moved down the line of cars away from the Viper and the RX-7 at about 3 cars away, the horn stopped immediately.
Ok so it was a proximity thing right? Wrong, another group of show goers congregated next to the Viper snapping pictures, posing in front of the car and subsequently decided to camp out and begin some conversation however strangely enough the car horn had not started to honk. Thinking surely this group must have contained the owner I walked over alone and proceeded to ask who out of the group owned the Viper only to discover that none of them did nor did they know who the owner was.
The group of folks we were with knew a few of the members of the second group and made their way over to talk about the track event they had all just been at together. Within seconds of our group moving back in front of the Viper the Horn began going off again. The entire group moved away thinking that it was a proximity alarm however the horn kept going off. After approximately 10 minutes of the horn going off we all decided to walk back to the Supras (about 3 spaces down now) and say our goodbys all the while the horn continued its incessant honk..honk...honk.
We all walked back to our vehicles and began to leave when we noticed a few folks walking in the direction of the Viper and then the horn silenced, finally. I slowed up to the group as the 96 pulled away quickly and apologized for setting off his alarm only to get a snide comment from the Viper owner's "buddy" who in colorful language for all to hear exclaimed "the owner didn't like talking to people about his car unless they actually owned a Viper." I should mention that out of this group none of them owned one either.....We saw all of them get into either LT1 Camaro's or Fox Body Mustangs. Understanding that it was better to just shake our heads and move on rather than get into useless argument I just said have a nice day and pulled away only to get middle fingers from two folks in his group. Please realize how much restraint it took for me to not stop and get out, I do not tollerate people acting like this when I am by myself let alone when my wife, my friend's wife and my friends are in the car.
My wife looked at me and asked why the hell someone would come to a car show and then get ********** when people wanted to look at your car and ask questions. To be honest I had no answer to that question because I was truly baffled at the very uncharacteristic and cowardly behavior of the owner. I still see him and his car from time to time and I do exactly what I was told to do...I don't talk to him. The funny thing is that he doesn't even talk to other Viper owners as best I can tell and none of the other VCA members I chat with from time to time know him.
If more people would do this, maybe they would be a lil' nicer!
