BOYS and their toys. While little girls love nothing more than dressing up their Sindy dolls and hosting make-believe tea parties, boys are already falling in love with their cars . . . albeit toy ones.
They race them round the sofa, hurtle them across living room floors and store them in toy garages after a hard day on the carpet. And if they are really lucky, they might even have a Shake 'N' Go rally car, a remote controlled racing car or even a S
calextric complete with intricate track layout.
It's an affair of the heart between man and machine which never ends. In their teens the relationship deepens, thanks to car racing games on PlayStation and Xbox. Then the countdown to 17 begins and by the time the provisional licence comes through, his dreams are of alloys, lowered suspension and big, fat exhausts for his very first car.
And it seems Scots blokes fall harder than most for their cars. According to new research from the Yellow Pages, which is launching a new insurance guide, Scotland has the highest number of "boy racers" in the UK, with more Scots loving to race, drive fast and accessorise their cars to the limits.
The survey reveals that Scotland is home to more alloy wheels and satellite navigation systems than any other region in Britain; that twice as many Scots have blue "under lights" beneath their cars' chassis compared with the national average; and a quarter of Scots have a high-end sound system to blast out "tunes" and annoy other drivers and pedestrians alike.
But just what is this love affair with cars all about? Why do so many men want to spend a fortune adding extras and gadgetry to a vehicle which does its job well in getting them from A to B? We asked three Edinburgh boy racers - not that they like to be called that - just what it is about boys and their mechanical toys.
GRAEME HOGGE, 26
Studio manager from Leith With his metallic blue Astra GSi, 2-litre, 16V Turbo, which has a top speed of 150mph, you would assume Graeme was a typical boy racer. But - despite the fact that his £15,000 pride and joy has 17- inch alloys, lowered and uprated suspension, a German Irmscher grille, K&N air filter for better performance and a big exhaust, not to mention a laser speed trap detector and a big beat box - he claims otherwise.
"I prefer to describe myself as a modified car enthusiast," he laughs. "That boy racer term isn't popular. You think of wee 17-year-olds running around far too fast in Ford Escorts with a pokey wee engine. But it's really someone who doesn't like the average car. Why have a boring, everyday car? It doesn't appeal to me at all."
Graeme's love of cars began when he was a little boy, thanks to his dad, who works in the motor industry. "Since I was a wee boy I was always fascinated with cars - I always used to draw them and from about the age of ten I could easily tell the difference between one car and the next," he says. "My first ever car was a Nova, which I got when I was 19 and yes, I did do it up. I was on a limited budget but I did the whole alloy wheel thing. I've had quite a few Novas actually.
"With a Nova it's a case of do what you can to them within a limited budget to make it nicer. Now I can afford the insurance I can afford a bigger engine."
He continues: "I look back on what I used to drive and I wouldn't be seen dead in one now. I remember the first Nova I had, I ran around with a nice new bumper on it, but I couldn't afford to paint the bumper. So I had a grey bumper on a red car, some big alloy wheels and I didn't have the suspension lowered, so it looked like I was driving some four-wheel drive."
Since Graeme passed his driving test at 19, he's had six cars and spent around £30,0000. And as far as he's concerned, it's money well spent.
"It's about having something that's slightly different," he says. "It's about the look and the performance. Some people have nice houses and are into their interior design. I have my car."
But does Graeme drive far too fast? "I admit to driving like an idiot when I was younger," he laughs. "Everyone when they're younger drives fast, but you quickly grow out of it. You soon learn that it should be kept on the track, not down the high street."
So after a few bumps and minor crashes, this is exactly what Graeme is doing. "I go to Knockhill for the track days and I'll watch or be a passenger. My game plan now is to buy a Nova, build it up and race it too."
CHRIS DAVIDSON, 34
Web
design company owner from Drumbrae
Thankfully it seems that by the time they hit their 30s even the most avid boy racer feels it's time to calm down a bit. So these days Chris, the co-founder of web and graphic design company First Son, says his days of speeding down the high street in souped-up motors are long gone.
Instead, he limits his love for speed to the racing tracks - and he's even toned down his former penchant for body kits.
"I've been into cars since I was at school really," recalls Chris, who currently owns a BMW 318, a 1978 Triumph Spitfire and a 1985 Chevrolet Camaro. "I left school at 16 and became a time-served mechanic - my dad had a garage back then so it was with him that I got into cars.
"My first car was a 1971 Hillman Avenger which I got before I could even drive - I was just 16. A pensioner didn't want to drive it any more, so I bought it and did it up. Back then as a teenager I did do the whole horrible thing of putting the body kit on it (spoiler, side skirts, rear skirt and air dam) and the alloy wheels.
"I don't think I was a boy racer, but I admit I did do my cars up and drive a lot faster than I should have done. But I never spent thousands of pounds on a car. Everything I did was on a budget."
In his 20s, Chris got into classic cars, buying and doing up dozens, including a Triumph Stag and five Lotuses - even a Lotus Esprit. "I just liked the fact you could get an old racing car, do it up and get it to run better than any new car," he explains.
"I've had about 30 cars, and at one point I had seven cars. It was a bit like one for every day of the week. I do buy them for me as well, not just to do up and sell on. I drive them until I get bored with them," he says.
However, despite proclaiming his boy racer days are over, Chris does admit to burning rubber. On the race track, that is. "I have been known for that [driving fast] still," he laughs. "I don't know why I - or any men - like it so much. It's a risk, I suppose, like an adrenaline sport. It's a thrill - you don't know exactly what's going to happen. Hopefully everything turns out well and you don't have an accident."
Or points on your licence? "Well, yes. I do have nine of those," he admits. "My girlfriend thinks it's six, but it's actually up to nine now. It's all from speeding and being silly." But despite his frank admission to speeding on public roads, Chris stresses he's a changed man. "I'm not a boy racer any more as I've been behaving myself," he says.
"Any more points and I will lose my licence, and I don't want to be doing that. Me not driving would be too strange. So speeding is now just for the track."
And as a result, Chris is planning to race his Spitfire at Knockhill and compete in hill climbs. "Come this winter the engine of the Spitfire is coming out and there's a huge 3.9 litre Rover engine going into it," he explains. "It's already a nippy little car but I'm making it into a proper classic racing car, and then I'm going to race it."
So what is it with boys and their toys? "It's a way of showing off. Your car is your toy. People look at you and your car, definitely.
"I think men just want something that looks good and something different from anyone else. It is a bit of showing off to be honest, and if your car is different, goes good, then that's what you want."
Will he ever settle down with a nice Ford Mondeo or Rover? "No, not at all. I couldn't do it. I drive my BMW a couple of times a week. It's not even six months old and I don't like it at all. It's too boring. You know it's not going to break down. You don't have to drive basic modern-day cars, they drive themselves."
DANNY McFADDEN, 17
Trai
nee mechanic from South Gyle
"It's just a way of showing off," sums up Danny. "Most guys my age don't have much else to spend their money on, so they do up their cars and make them look different. Nobody wants a standard car."
And Danny never has had a "standard" car. His love of cars started when he was only nine and even back then he was a fan of fast sports cars - especially the Porsche 911. While at Craigmount High he took a mechanic's course and worked in his dad's company, Willowbrae Coachworks.
So it comes as no surprise that for Danny's 17th birthday in May, his dad bought him a car - a blue Peugeot 106. And a matter of weeks later Danny was cruising the streets in his first motor.
Now, two months down the line, the car fanatic has made his own modifications to his vehicle - like the £600 16-inch alloys, the £20 chrome wiper blades, the £15 chrome aerial, £100 sports exhaust, £80 sub-woofers (speakers) and £150 CD player.
Other extras he's already included since he got the car include colour-coded bumpers and wing mirrors. "I've done nothing to the engine but I will be soon," he adds.
"I'm hoping to sell this car after Christmas and in the next few years I'll hopefully have an Audi A3 Turbo - and eventually get that Porsche." For now though, Danny is happy with his souped-up Peugeot. "I would say I'm a boy racer, breaking the speed limit and driving a wee bit against the law," he admits, candidly. "I've not got a terribly fast car, but I can make it go fast."
