Researching the Topic
Learn the basic terminology as a starting point. This will get you kicked off in the right direction so you can begin to learn more about cars. Use any resources you have available to you such as the Internet, the library, YouTube, or your friends. Learning the basics of cars means that when you come across more technical terms in magazines and on shows, you'll have a better understanding of what they mean. A few terms to learn might be "torque" (force that causes an object to rotate or twist), "camber" (the side-to-side tilt of the wheels), and "horsepower" (1 unit of horsepower is equal to 550 foot-pounds per second).
Search online for articles and information about cars. There are a plethora of resources at your disposal on the web that enable you to read up on almost any make or model of car you can imagine. Make sure to look for videos as well as articles on forums. Youtube is a great resource for finding videos and reviews of a huge range of cars. Look for videos that focus on cars but are also designed for entertainment and also have professional looking production quality. Watching these videos is a great way to learn about cars without feeling too overwhelmed by the technical language as the narrator will often explain esoteric terms. Most car-makers have very technical information about their cars online that you can access through a simple Google search. This information might be more technical but if you can navigate your way through it, it can be really useful.
Go to a car dealership to ask some questions about their cars. The people here are employed to know the ins and outs of the cars they are selling or working with. Having a chat with your local car dealer or mechanic allows you to have an in-person conversation which means you can ask questions about things you don’t understand. Make sure you ask the person if it’s OK that you ask them a few questions about the cars and that you let them know you aren’t looking to buy a car. These people are at work so it’s important you respect their time. Try and go prepared with a few basic questions such as: “Do you prefer hybrid or regular vehicles and why?” Or perhaps, “What is your preferred make and model of car and why?”
Read car magazines to learn about the latest trends. Car magazines are really popular amongst the car enthusiast community. Try and find one that is more general rather than one that focuses on a specific part of motoring (unless that’s what you want). Car magazines are great because they often cover a huge variety of topics such as new technology, popular cars at the current time, profiles on important individuals in the community, and a whole bunch of other stuff. Look around at your local bookstore for magazines or if you can’t find any there, often convenience stores or pharmacies stock them. A few examples of car magazines are Motor Trend, Hot Rod Network, and Autocar.
Watch some car TV shows to increase your knowledge. This is a really informative and fun way to learn about cars and kickstart your inner motor enthusiast. Make sure to try out a few different shows as there are a huge variety that cover many different topics such as remodeling cars, comparing racing cars, reviewing new cars, and many other types. Most of these shows air on TV but if you can’t get access to any of them for some reason, try looking on YouTube as many shows put full episodes up online for free. Watching shows is really convenient because it allows you to multitask while watching the show. A couple of examples of car shows are Top Gear and MotorWeek.
Listen to podcasts on cars to get up to date with discussions. Look for these podcasts online through a Google search. There’s a huge range of topics that you can listen to through podcasts and there are more being added and created every day! You can find podcasts through a simple Google search on your smartphone or computer. These podcasts often feature automotive experts who have plenty of first-hand experience in the industry so you can be certain you’re listening to reputable sources. A few podcasts to try listening to might be Everyday Driver or Smoking Tire.
Locating People to Talk about Cars With
Go to a car show to chat with people. The experts at car shows are there to talk about cars, not earn a commission by trying to sell them to you. This makes it a perfect place to go and learn, ask questions, and just generally be around a whole bunch of cars. At these shows, you will also be surrounded by other people who are interested in cars and are eager to have conversations about them. Car shows are often held at events centres so look online at the calendar of your local events centre and see if there are any car shows coming up.
Join your local car club to connect with fellow motor enthusiasts. This is a really easy way to ensure that you’ll get regularly scheduled time to talk about cars with other people. Look around at community notice boards or information centres for information on your local car club. Car clubs are generally fairly cheap ($5 USD - $50 USD sort of range) but there are also much higher end ones that deal with classic and luxury cars. The commitment level of these car clubs tends to vary so make sure to check what sort of expectations there are on you as a member before you join. Some clubs require you to have a certain type of car or to meet up a certain number of times per month/week but this varies from club to club so it's best to check that out.
Search online for a web-based forum to contribute to. These forums are fantastic as they are usually free and are very convenient. Start with a basic Google search and browse around for a forum that looks like it suits your interests. They will often vary in terms of the types of cars they focus on (classic, electric, luxury, etc). One of the advantages of these forums is that you may be discussing cars with people from all over the world and, as such, you get to hear a variety of different opinions and cultural nuances.
Chatting about Cars
Pick a few favorite makes and models of cars that you can talk about. This is really the first step to having a conversation about cars with someone. Take a bit of a look through the different makes and models and pick a couple that you really like. Try and pinpoint exactly what you like about them so you can chat about it with people. It doesn’t really matter which cars these are as long as you know enough about them to have a conversation. Be explorative with the cars that you pick. Look at cars on the Internet from past generations and various classic cars!
Ask lots of questions to the person/people you are talking to. This doesn’t need to be a constant stream of you only asking questions and never having any input yourself. But when you are chatting with people, asking questions is polite and also shows that you are interested in hearing what they have to say. Try and focus on getting some detail out of the people you talk to. For example, you might say “What’s your favorite version of the Ford Fiesta? I loved the 2013 edition.” Asking questions is one of the most effective ways of not only learning about foreign topics, but of having a productive and enjoyable conversation.
Try and find other people who enjoy talking about cars. If you try and talk about cars with people who have absolutely no interest in the subject, it won’t go very well. Try and get to a motor show or into other situations where you know the people around you will have interest in cars. This is when the Internet can come in handy; there are lots of forums online where motorists can chat and talk about their favorite cars, developments in the industry, and new technology. Look around on Google to try and find these forums or to try and find groups of people who meet up to talk to about cars. Sometimes there may be motor enthusiast groups near you.
Bring cars into conversation politely rather than forcefully. If the conversation is going in a different direction other than cars, don’t try and forcefully bring cars into it. Instead, let it naturally flow in and if the conversation drifts away from cars, don’t worry about it. This is more basic conversational etiquette, but it’s certainly important to note. For example, if the conversation has moved to talking about the weather, instead of cars, simply go along with it. If you get a chance to bring cars back into the discussion, feel free. But if not, don’t worry about it.
Support discussion of opinions that differ from your own. Never simply tell someone they are wrong. When it comes to something like cars, there is no such thing as a wrong opinion. Make sure you are polite with your disagreement and then proceed to talk about the reasons you disagree. It’s very possible that someone has a different opinion than you on something. This is a good thing!. For example, you might say “I personally don’t like the new Prius model because it isn’t fast enough. Tell me why you do like it.”
Observe and listen a lot when you’re chatting with people. Try to make sure that you give everyone else a fair chance to talk and voice their opinions. If you've just finished speaking for a while, let other people talk for a bit. It’s OK to talk a lot when you’re in a group with lots of people but try to make sure that you aren’t the only one having their voice heard. Talking about cars is lots of fun, but building friendships and relationships with the people you talk to is also really important.
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