Most cars you see on Instagram and across the internet can be categorized as very generic, played out, or un-original. Cars like a RocketBunny BRZ, Impreza WRX covered in STI parts, or a super-car with a wild wrap on it. It's these kinds of cars that get an extreme amount of flack from regular enthusiasts for being boring or "something they've seen already" and are then disregarded instead of talking to the owner about it without trying to understand why they built it or enjoy it. Sadly in some cases, the car truly is built just for Instagram likes or to pander to fanboys but for many of the owners of these "played out" builds they love driving/showing them off.
No matter what build you've seen a hundred times before, it is still something that the owner takes pride in and should be appreciated all the same. They might not have the same awe factor as a car that breaks the mold with different mods or a different style but the amount of passion that surrounds any car is truly what makes that car all that it is. For many of the owners that drive cars customize them in a way that expresses who they are. This expression of their feelings being dismissed by someone who cannot appreciate it more than face value are part of the reason why the newer generation of car owners get discouraged or mislead when trying to establish themselves in the scene.
With the negative mantra around dismissing something that's already been seen throughout the automotive world it in hand creates a negative attitude for those enthusiasts. They should be welcoming any new people into the community instead of judging so harshly on someone doing the same mods or build that's been done countless times. Everyone needs to go through a phase of figuring out their own style whilst learning about quality work/modifications instead of being laughed at for making an effort to enjoy the same hobby as you. Most importantly at your local car meets, the ones that occur weekly or at events, it will make the biggest impact to talk to the shy kid in his basic lowered civic about his car and if there's any plans for it instead of brushing it off as "just another civic".
It makes an impact no matter who you talk to but these kinds of small conversations with newer enthusiasts especially make them more excited for the next meet to show off their progress while including more and more friends into their experience. This in turn will help grow the community whilst establishing amazing friendships with people who you'd never think twice to speak to if they weren't at a car meet. Many people in the car community can attest to the fact that most of their best friendships were sprung from cars. Whether you are at a meet, or meeting people through other car friends, these simple interactions without premeditated judgement will greatly improve the connection between everyone in the scene.
Thanks for reading! Josh Brown @luckyclub.us