Car Meet Etiquette

DISCLAIMER:

The author is a grumpy 44 year-old man child.

 

Photo Credit: Mike Garrett

 

Car meet season is in full swing now that we are inches away from summer. This is a time when many of us are super excited to show off what we’ve done to our cars during winter, and the warm weather allows us to properly clean up our cars and maintain them without freezing our cherries off.

Now car meets are the most sustainable automotive event in car communities across the entire scale. We all want to be race car drivers, mod our cars to make a million horsepower, and bathe in our very own swimming pool in Monaco. However, whether it be racing, or modding cars in general, being a car enthusiast is one of the most expensive vices one can have. So going to an organized car meet is generally free to meet other people, talk to them about their mods, while showing your car off as well.

What many people fail to realize is that hosting a car meet, or having a large gathering in a parking lot by getting permission by the property owner is not an easy task at all because not only are they liable for any stupidity that others may have done, but many careless attendees can also damage the property by doing burnouts. Burnouts dig into the asphalt and shoot rocks onto other nearby cars. If you’re new to going to car meets, here are some tips on what not to do, or what to do at your next local event:

 

IF THEY DON’T WANT YOU TO REV, THEN DON’T REV YOUR DAMNED CAR OR BIKE

City sound ordinances are why. Neighboring businesses, night schools, apartments, homes, baby Jesus trying to sleep, you get it. The moment some idiot in a clapped out G35 or 350Z with missing bumpers needs extra attention is where the police get called. All the responsibility falls on either the organizer or the property owner. Once person can literally ruin it for everybody.

 

 

ALSO, NO ONE CARES ABOUT YOUR POPPY TUNE

We know, it was mildly amusing when manufacturers started implementing the popping noises on the Focus RS, and then the aftermarket got on board with tunes for the Volkswagen platform, and there are tunes for the A90 Supra and all of the other B58 variants. But now, we’re used to it. When entering a crowded car meet where there is a narrow divide between people and you need to drive slowly to your designated parking spot, you don’t need to rev your engine to make popcorn noises to establish the fact that you have 200ish horsepower. There is a time and place. But in a crowded parking lot where people are trying to converse, it’s giving Southpark Harley episode vibes.

 

 

BE VERY MINDFUL OF OTHER’S VEHICLES

So, when walking between cars, make sure that your jeans aren’t touching other vehicles, because you might have exposed buttons especially if you wear cargo pants. Many cars there will be ceramic coated so make sure that you don’t touch anyone’s vehicles and leave greasy fingerprints. And if you have children or pets, make sure that they are not climbing on other vehicles. Most importantly lol, if someone’s vehicle is the subject of your conversation and the owner is near, make sure you are not saying anything disparaging. We are all trying to do the best we can, so remember to be respectful.

 

 

MAKE SURE YOUR CAR ISN’T LEAKING AN ABNORMAL AMOUNT OF FLUID

For a few main reasons. You don’t want to roll into a meet smoking everyone out because oil is leaking on your exhaust manifold, and you want to respect the venue. Coolant will eventually evaporate but oil, power steering fluid, or trans fluid will stain the parking lot. And yes, we are aware that every parking spot at a grocery store will have oil stains on them, but to be respectful of the venue or park on the side of the road if you know your car is pissing fluids on the ground.

 

 

PEOPLE WHO LITTER ARE THE WORST

People who have interiors that are trashed with empty soda cans, half-eaten chip bags that are tuned upside down, that are rolling fart clouds have more respect for the earth than people who are so lazy that they cannot find a trashcan. Please do not litter at car meets. It is one thing if something accidentally flies out of your window while driving like a piece of paper or a flyer, but don’t throw an empty water bottle out of your car or any other forms of trash just because you are too lazy to wait until you get home. The world is already a tough place that we all have to share, and those who organize car meets at venues should not have to be responsible for cleaning up after you.

 

 

TAKEOVERS ARE NOT CAR MEETS AND YOU GET WHAT YOU DESERVE

Takeovers almost have ruined the car scene, but luckily most of the law enforcement know how to separate enthusiasts from proverbial ‘pick me’ boys with absolutely nothing to lose. To the driver’s credits, some of them are decent drifters and can maintain a tight drifting radius within the intersection. However, at all takeovers, they start with someone doing donuts while their $500 marketplace LS500. Someone will be hanging out of the window doing peace signs. Another car will jump in and crash into the other car. All of the high school kids will have their phones out and shove it right in the action where then a handful of people will get hit by another car. Shots will ring out, cops will come. Everyone runs while crashing into each other on the way out. There are injured people on the ground. Cops are mad and won’t help the people on the ground. Everyone communicates in only two acronyms which is yo, and bro. Wholesome fun for everyone while cops take out their anger on enthusiasts’ cars to see if they were at the takeover.

 

 

LASTLY, GO HAVE FUN

Because that’s what you’re supposed to do is go and have fun. Meet new people, work on your social skills. Dust off those foldable lawn chairs in the garage and pack a few sodas in a cooler and mingle. Take some car detailer spray and wipe down your car, pop your hood and talk about your latest upgrades with other minds that think alike. Join others the next time for cruises, and have fun this summer but most importantly, do it responsibly so that your local venue can continue to rehost events for the remainder of the season. And if you see someone else proactively trying to ruin meets for everyone else by doing burnouts, 2-stepping, or speeding, then it’s okay to be a snitch because these are the people who can quickly ruin it for everyone else.

Go make someone’s day and tell them what your favorite aspect about their car is, and spread the positivity.

 

Need ideas on how to make your car flashier for the next car meet?

READ HERE