Isn't automobilist, at the heart of it, a person who sets too much value on social standing? (4)
I believe the answer is:
snob
'isn't automobilist at the heart of it a person who sets too much' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.
'value on social standing?' is the wordplay.
'value' becomes 'nob' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'on' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'standing?' indicates taking the first letters.
The initial letter of 'social' is 's'.
'nob' after 's' is 'SNOB'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for snob that I've seen before include "Looker-down on others" , "Person who considers himself socially superior" , "Prig" , "blackleg" , "One has pretensions" .)