Following on from and expanding upon my assertion in another forum that the Fabia VRS is a more classy automobile than the Seat Ibiza FR, I would like to take this opportunity to present my guide to driving with due decorum and elegance.

Please feel free to read this in a squeaky voice, or to take with appropriate pinches of salt if that assists with minimising any ill-feeling.

1) No-one else should hear your vehicle if at all possible. Certainly they have no interest in your taste in music, nor in the sounds that the engine and associated paraphenalia make.

2) A car that draws attention is like an extravagant hat. It may be suitable at the race-track, but is wholly inappropriate for use on the public highway.

3) One's road manners should give an impression of control and thoughtfullness, not of being repeatedly stung by hornets and of wrestling with an angry bear whilst driving.

4) A lady or gentleman thanks a considerate gesture by another driver with a simple wave of the hand, fingers together. Attempting to emulate a nautical strobe with one's headlights gives the impression that one is in fact piloting a barge or ocean-going tugboat. Similarly, pseudo-random illumination of the vehicle's indicators serves only to suggest that the driver intends to drive in a spasmodic fashion.

I thank you for your attention and invite others to submit their suggestions in a similar style.

If done very loudly with a proper engine/exhaust note,it is very much appropriate to draw attention to oneself.

(I wish my car sounded like a TVR:D )

That, of course, depends on the sort of attention one wishes to draw (that of small boys, in general) and kind of impression one wishes to give! I know no people of Quality who are impressed by a loud car.

I disagree Sporky, My Aston Martin V8 Vantage is rather loud and I must say rather spiffing too, not only for small boys, as in my public school but also some of the young fillies

I have to concede that a jolly good exhaust note is for my own pleasuring and not for the pleasureableness of others:) In fact,I can't even understand my own English just thinking about it:D

As for Elegant motoring,I think only the Bristol offers that .Rolls Royce is now crass and brash and the Range Rover sport is clearly just 42 saxo's welded together and sprayed black.Disgusting I say

I disagree Sporky, My Aston Martin V8 Vantage is rather loud and I must say rather spiffing too, not only for small boys, as in my public school but also some of the young fillies

It is possible that you have a point here; an Aston Martin is a relatively refined automobile, and is loud, I would think, simply because it is loud, and not because the owner has drilled holes in the exhaust pipe.

Thus I may amend slightly; some loudness is acceptable provided that it is the genuine emergent consequence of a powerful engine. Loudness is not acceptable when contrived.

3000 watts of Alpine, and Mozarts Symphony No35 I think, that is elegant enough for me.

Is one permitted to own a loud German automobile?

If one has to explain anything other than the make, for example elaborating on the model, trim level, power outputs or any other technical details of ones motor vehicle, it is neither elegant or stylish.

For example, " I drive a Porsche", "I drive an Aston Martin" and " I drive a TVR" need no further explaination, as opposed to " I drive a Skoda Fabia...........The vRS..........Thats a 130bhp diesel............with big brakes...............and a Milltek Exahust..............and a remap......"

Mmmm, Bristol :drool:

Even better, two of em ....

Whoops, wrong thread

If one has to explain anything other than the make' date=' for example elaborating on the model, trim level, power outputs or any other technical details of ones motor vehicle, it is neither elegant or stylish.

For example, " I drive a Porsche", "I drive an Aston Martin" and " I drive a TVR" need no further explaination, as opposed to " I drive a Skoda Fabia...........The vRS..........Thats a 130bhp diesel............with big brakes...............and a Milltek Exahust..............and a remap......"[/quote']

An excellent point!

I shall endeavor hereforth to keep to a mysterious yet classy "Yes. I drive a Skoda."

Speak on about aforementioned fillies

This guide to driving etiquette is a most cultured and enlightening article. Would you say a Lady or Gentleman should wear a hat whilst out jollying themselves on a Sunday afternoon drive.

Do you yourself Mr McGuffin, wear string back driving gloves? These burning questions need an answer.

I would say that it was permissible for the lady to wear a hat. A gentleman may wear a flat cap, but that is, in my opinion, optional.

Driving gloves, of the Paddy Hopkirk stringback variety, should only be worn when the car has a wooden steering wheel to prevent the ingress of splinters.

More important sartorial questions relate to driving shoes and the wearing of cravats.

I always find this get up is irresistable to the fairer sex

Chris

Is that Goochie in the Z?

Although one does indeed possess a vehicle with a wood-rimmed steering wheel, one does not personally own any string-backed driving gloves. One finds that on hot summer afternoons, the main issue with the aforementioned control is not so much splinters as the painful burns the metallic substructure inflicts on the hands after a period away from the vehicle. One will reflect on this, and some gloving of the string-backed nature may well be on one's future tailoring requirements.

This guide to driving etiquette is a most cultured and enlightening article. Would you say a Lady or Gentleman should wear a hat whilst out jollying themselves on a Sunday afternoon drive.

Do you yourself Mr McGuffin' date=' wear string back driving gloves? These burning questions need an answer.[/font']

Thank you for your kind words, Lady Elanore.

I would personally say that a lady could most certainly wear a hat whilst being driven - or, in these modern times, even whilst driving herself! A gentleman, however, does not wear a hat indoors. Therefore if the gentleman is in an open-topped car he may well avail himself of the opportunity to indulge in millinery. In any case it behooves the lady or gentleman to ensure that their headgear is appropriately secured in order to prevent its becoming a hazard to other road users.

I myself do not wear driving gloves, string backed or otherwise. I would agree with Mr TaviaRS that they are an item related to practicality rather than style, and that unless one has a wooden steering wheel they are an affectation at best, and a contrivance at worst!

As for shoes, a gentleman would ensure his footwear is suited to his status and the occasion, with due attention to the practicalities of pedal-operation.

Hmmmm a gentleman wearing a hat whilst driving an open top car. I’m thinking of Steed driving an open-top Bentley whilst looking most dapper in his Bowler. And surely he was a gentleman of the first order and always so impeccably turned out.

I'm looking forward to your next guide Mr McGuffin, perhaps one on dining etiquette?

I thank you again for your kind words, Lady Elanore.

I shall engage my mental prowess and consider the subject of my next "Guide to Elegant..." thread.