I'd say it was entirely down to attitude. I have never known a proper enthusiast to to tear around at warp 9 just for the sake of it, wheel spinning (or to be more precise giving a little chirp as their 1.0 nova cant do any better) at every available opportunity and bouncing thier car off curbs, speed bumps and pot holes in the process.
An enthusiast while usually not a slow driver, doesnt try to kill their car by holding it in 2nd gear so it screams all the way up the high street. An enthsiast treats their car with respect as they are enthusiastic about it and usually have piled loads of hard earnt cash ito it to make it what it is, thus not wanting to destroy it.
I know its a bit of a generalisation but thats waht I think so there. :P
Oh, and I think I am a bit of both. In true "Dukes" style my car is always off the road because I have cooked something.
But always gets back to the road very quickly in better shape than it ever was since I've had it.