Realized something pretty interesting recently. The reason things like cycling, general aviation, and railfanning are at least IMO much better hobbies to have than cars is that we've always been incredibly heavy on gatekeeping, while at one point or another the automotive went in the exact opposite direction - proselytizing much of the world by force more or less.

It ensured that the average "car enthusiast" is a commoner who doesn't actually know much about cars, unlike most other vehicular hobbies that know everything by the book.

This also explains why the car hobbyist seen is actually better in countries that are less car-dependent, I mean the dominant form of auto racing in America is just driving in a circle in a highly modified sedan. Meanwhile places like Europe and Asia have advanced rallying and F1 scenes.

Would you agree with this sentiment? Pic kinda unrelated it's of a train I chased a few weeks ago.