Student+-+Barton,+S

Social Identity Task

Ford Vs Holden and V8 Super Cars

Ford and Holden fans choose to belong to what they love in this case. They love the sound of large, loud engines roaring around the track at incredible speeds, while the smell of burnt rubber hangs in the air biting at the senses. This is just the mere general description of why these fans love their racing, there is much more that goes into making this sport what it is including the precision engineering within the numerous different body and engine designs. Ford and Holden in this case are the two major dominant brands who compete against each other with various teams of racers driving their cars around the track. The two use cars with similar engine designs differing mostly on the outside, with different aesthetics i.e. body kits and sponsor vinyls. This kind of identity is not just formed by the race cars, but the cars offered to consumers for use on Australia's public roads. There is a unique sensation felt when one is driving one of these complex machines, when pushing them to their limits from the go there is an adrenalin pumping excitement created from the thrill of the sheer velocity that drowns a certain type of person in it's seductive aurora. Ford and Holden the two brands in this case are means of competition and rivalry between people. The two major general designs that these brands sport are the Ford Falcon range and the Holden Commodore range.

__**Ford FPV Falcon XR6 Turbo:**__



__**Holden HSV Commodore R8**__



People may choose not to belong to this "Social Identity" because of the ugly reputation that can be seen to come with this kind of belonging. People who belong in this field are often referred to in slightly derogatory terms such as "Petrol Heads" or "Grease Monkey's" These names or "labels" For example: The Bathurst 1000 is the most popular V8 Super Car race that is held each year at Mount Panorama. The event takes place over a few days and nights and it attracts many fans who often camp out around the track to get up close and personal with the race. These happy campers however often stir up a lot of trouble once the night hits and the drinks come out, violent fights between fans are an almost assured occurrence at the event, in an effort to combat this the NSW police force has issued a what some would refer to as a limit on the amount of alcohol that can be brought into the event. Each fan is limited to "one slab or 24 cans of full strength beer or any other premixed drinks per day" The ordinary person would probably consider drinking one case of beer every day for five days some kind of medical feat let alone a limit. Click here for a related story. Some people would just prefer not to be associated with this kind of label. Also there are quite obviously some who just don't find the sport to their liking because it just doesn't interest them.