Built not Bought

Abstract

This article explores the connections between amateur enthusiasm and performative display within the modified Volkswagen community in the UK. Enthusiast labour is key to performance within this community and through discussion of the built not bought debate, this article shows that participants distinguish between amateur and professional labour; illustrating the relative prestige placed on the former. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork conducted within the modified VW community in the English Midlands and Mid Wales, throughout 2014 and 2015, this article argues that modified VW cars perform in three key ways: through static displays at car shows; mobile displays on public roads; and sonic performances that echo beyond the car itself. Each of these performances serves to highlight the connections between the amateur labour put into cars and their performed display within particular spaces. The article concludes by showing that modified car enthusiasts are often motivated to perform by a desire to be seen, both by the public in public motorscapes but also by audiences of their peers at car shows, who can appreciate the car as the fruit of their enthusiast labour. Conceptually, this article contributes to the intersection of enthusiasm research, understandings of amateur labour and the geographies of the car.