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The community of car spotting

Back when trains were the way that most of us got around, people called trainspotters spent their idle hours trying to see every single piece of gear that a railway used. It was a hobby, back in the days before TV and social media soaked up our spare (and not so spare) time. Today, the hobby has moved on with technology. Car spotting is the new thing, with fans of cool, obscure, or interesting vehicles sharing the fascinating thing they saw on the way to work. We spoke with the creator of one regional car spotting group to find out more about the hobby and the do’s and don’ts.

Daniel Sparrow started the Facebook page, Nova Scotia Vehicle Spotters, a little more than a year ago. Sparrow’s work takes him around much of the province, and that means more opportunities to see more interesting vehicles.

Yes, that’s vehicles, not just cars. As with anything on the internet, big groups usually become hyper-focused. Look closely enough and you’ll find a group not just for your suburb, but even for one specific model, brand, or style of car. It’s also lead to groups with rules like “no posting your own vehicle,” and, in typical social media style, infighting about what is and what isn’t interesting, because there are thousands of automotive niches. It’s one of the best parts about cars.

“I’m into everything. That’s why I said vehicles,” said Sparrow. “If you see a cool plane… Just trying to pique everybody’s interest is basically what I was going for.”

Sparrow took inspiration from a Chicago-based car spotting group that was “mostly just for cars.” The big city means plenty of exotics showing off and loads of photos of them.

“I wanted to be a little bit different and try this here in Nova Scotia,” Sparrow said, adding that Nova Scotia is a province where traditionally finding interesting cars (and trucks) was a challenge.

Every page has its own set of rules, but there are a few that are largely universal. Don’t post your own ride often. You love it, that’s OK, but these pages need some variety. Other spotters stick with cars only, exotics only, muscle cars only, imports only. You get the idea. Some are city or town-specific, while others are fine with what you saw on vacation. How about that photo you saw on another social media site of a viral clip that’s been circulating for weeks already? That will likely be a no and get you some angry-face emojis in reply.

Not every page subscribes to gatekeeping the hobby, though. They’re all good cars, after all, and if they’re on the road then someone liked that vehicle the day they first drove it home. A once unloved family sedan, 30 years later, wears a coat of nostalgia with more shine than any sports car can offer.

“If you wanted to post a basic Honda Civic and you thought that that was cool because it had a spoiler, by all means! I’ll probably like it,” said Sparrow. “That’s really my view on why I made the page. I really wanted to get more like-minded people together.” Then what?

“It’d be cool to get some of the members together some time, just to see who is out there,” he said, turning online into in-person meetings and events where everyone can show off their ride or enjoy the vehicles of others.

When you’re out looking for interesting vehicles to spot? There are some rules there, too. Of course there are actual laws you need to follow; don’t use your phone while you’re driving, don’t chase someone down hoping they’ll stop for you and let you take a better snap, no fence-hopping to get access to a closed garage. There is also less obvious etiquette to follow.

“If I see a car parked on the side [of the road], I’m going to take a picture,” said Sparrow. “Be polite. Just be respectful. Maybe somebody doesn’t want their picture put up on Facebook.” In that case?

“You have to respect people’s boundaries.”

If someone is sitting in their car in a parking lot, going about their day, think about asking permission before putting their car and face in a post. You’re (usually) not obligated to do so in public, but some courtesy can go a long way and can lead to friendship-creating meetings and finding even more interesting vehicles.

Sparrow’s closing thoughts summed up the car spotting hobby well and the motivations behind it. “I just enjoy what I do. I enjoy posting for people. I started because I just have a lot of pictures. I’ve got [to get] a place to post these. See who else wants to see them?”

So get out there, find the cool cars, trucks, and even heavy equipment. Then share it.

The post The community of car spotting appeared first on WHEELS.ca.

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I have my critics but Page, McReynolds top the list

In all my years of writing about motorsport, I’ve only been taken to the cleaners twice. That doesn’t mean I haven’t been criticized – boy, you should see what’s in my inbox every Tuesday after people read my Racing Roundup on Mondays. But I’m talking about when my peers haul off and let me have it.

One time, Larry McReynolds, who knows a thing or two about stock car racing, said something about IndyCar racing that I profoundly disagreed with – and said so. A day or two later, the phone in my office rang and a voice said, “Norris McDonald? Larry McReynolds would like a word. Please hold.”

Mr. McReynolds let me know he was disappointed with me for not checking with him before sounding off.

“I don’t know a lot of about that type of racing,” he said, “but I checked with some people and that‘s what they told me. If I was wrong. I apologize but that’s what I was told.”

I felt badly because he was right. I should have called him and asked him why he’d said what he did because it wasn’t right. And I was surprised by the source of his information, because the person he’d checked with should have known better.

The other time was just funny.

There are two voices associated with big-league auto racing. If a Formula One race comes on TV, you expect to hear the voice of Murray Walker. I know he’s dead, and other announcers have done the job since, but nobody else could do it like Murray.

The other voice associated with a particular race was Paul Page and the Indianapolis 500. Why that iconic race is still not being called by Page, who’s been off TV for years, is beyond me (as Murray would say). But one time he said something that was hilarious. I pointed it out and he called me on it.

For years, Florence Henderson, who was the star of “The Brady Bunch,” would sing “America the Beautiful” just before the big race. In the years before her death, her voice started to fail. The last time she sang the song in 2015, she massacred it; Paul said the 300,000 (or so) loved it. In fact, his exact words were, “Florence Henderson and ‘America the Beautiful’. . . didn’t they just love it.”

Florence Henderson

I wrote, “Florence Henderson’s voice sounded like fingernails on a chalkboard and Paul Page must have a tin ear to think she did a good job.” The next day I got an email:

“WHAT DID YOU EXPECT ME TO SAY??? THAT SHE STUNK???”

Page has released a book chronicling his life and adventures. The Indianapolis 500 was his calling card, for sure, but he had many more. And without doubt, he is one of the most stubborn individuals you would ever want to know about. He is a man who rarely said no and was one of great accomplishment.

But the book is about Indianapolis and the drivers he’s known and the races he’s covered. Called “Hello, I’m Paul Page. It’s Race Day in Indianapolis,” it’s co-written with Indianapolis writer J.R. Elrod. It chronicles his first race as a spectator in 1960, through to his coverage of the 100^th running in 2016. Told as a series of vignettes, it fills in the blanks between those bookends, as well as his life before and after.

My favourite parts: his love for his Uncle Harry (Geisel), a Major League baseball umpire; driver Eddie Sachs describing driving into a turn at Indy (“Three, two one . . . Conkle,”) which was a local funeral home where you didn’t want to go; landing a job with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network and working on it with his hero, Sid Collins; and becoming the “voice” of Indy car racing on TV.

I suggested earlier this year that all fans of the IndyCar sport read “Indy Split,” by John Oreovicz, a blow-by-blow account of the civil war that decimated IndyCar racing. For another view, from the inside, read Paul Page’s book, which you can order online.

You’re going to love it.

Norris McDonald, a past Wheels editor in chief, covers the Canadian automotive and global racing scene for the Star. He is a member of the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame.  nmcdonald@thestar.ca or follow him on Twitter @NorrisMcDonald2.

The post I have my critics but Page, McReynolds top the list appeared first on WHEELS.ca.

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Published on YouTube: Ferrari 246 Roma

Ferrari 246 Roma

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