In Which I'm a Douche

[protege]

I think the one that got the biggest laugh out of me was when I was driving up to Raleigh-Durham to pay for a speeding ticket I'd gotten on an earlier NC trip, and some douchebag in a 1st gen Miata comes up beside my car at the time, a 95 Eagle Talon TSi (FWD, turbo), and revved his engine at me like he wanted a race. The car had a handful of "cool" car part brand stickers on it, but as far as I could tell from the sound it was totally stock.

Reminds me of the Mustang driver I encountered with the Tercel... He thought his 6 cylinders could intimidate me. Little did he know... Anyway, I dropped it into 3rd and stood on it. When I pulled away from him in the twisty part, and threw it into 4th, the look on his face was great. His jaw actually dropped, and hit the steering wheel

Apparently, that car had not only been comparing notes with my MG, but also the previous owner had done some work to it. IIRC, it was fitted with bigger valves, different brakes (from a Corolla), and someone had lowered it. Other than that, it was completely stock.

Then there's my now-gone Mazda Protege ES. That thing...literally had "BMW verve for half the price." Great driver's car, but a bitch to work on. Anyway, during the last year I had it, the exhaust fell off. As I'm driving home from work, *every* idiot in a riced-out POS wanted to race me

[Nohbody]

And yes, I do make fun of cars like that. There's a huge difference in fixing your car up, and making it look like shit. Sorry, but if your car looks like a rejected "walk-on car" from those Fast & Furious movies, it *deserves* to be made fun of.

More than a few of those turkeys around here, in the NW corner of South Carolina, though they're in close competition with the Mexicans around here who take a different route to "ugly".

I think the one that got the biggest laugh out of me was when I was driving up to Raleigh-Durham to pay for a speeding ticket I'd gotten on an earlier NC trip, and some douchebag in a 1st gen Miata comes up beside my car at the time, a 95 Eagle Talon TSi (FWD, turbo), and revved his engine at me like he wanted a race. The car had a handful of "cool" car part brand stickers on it, but as far as I could tell from the sound it was totally stock.

Obviously the guy was an idiot (cop-heavy and busy stretch of interstate, trying to take a car for which "straight-line speed" is not an attribute against one that's more suited to that task), but he really should've felt embarrassed trying to rev that rubber band at me menacingly...

(That said, I was awfully tempted to step on it and blow him away, but like I said, I was on the road to pay a speeding ticket. I wasn't going to get another one just to tell some sad-sack ricetard STFU in an unmistakable manner.)

[protege]

I make fun of the cars all the time (please - a 1995 cirrus with a hood scoop bought at Crappy Tire and a "wing" bought at Home Depot??)

Hehe there are several similar-looking vehicles where I work. One is a beat-up Neon that's been spray-painted some sort of peach color. Not only that, but it does have a wing (why?), fake hood scoop, cheap-looking rims, massive fart can, and those stupid clear taillights. It's not fast at all, and is usually seen attempting burn-outs in various parking lots.

Not far from the Neon, is a beat-up Mercury Villager van. This thing is literally held together with duct tape, has the entire passenger side bashed on, and usually requires a jump-start about once a week. At least it doesn't have any mods, but is usually stationary for some reason. Oh, and it has a Club on the steering wheel. Again, why?

And yes, I do make fun of cars like that. There's a huge difference in fixing your car up, and making it look like shit. Sorry, but if your car looks like a rejected "walk-on car" from those Fast & Furious movies, it *deserves* to be made fun of.

[I don't work here]

I drive a PT Cruiser....laugh all you want. I love my car and I made the payments. I like it because its unique out of the factory.... I once had a "lady" (I was mid twenties and she was late 40's) comment about how ugly the PT is. I came around the corner at the precise moment she made the comment and said "That's thegreat thing about our country- -we get to choose. I chose to buy this car and I love it." I smiled at her, got in my car and drove away. And because its black it does tend to look like a hearse...I told one dude that I keep a shovel and a pine box in the back for "special emergencies"
So to the OP you weren't a douche - you expressed your opinion.... too bad the driver happened to turn at the wrong time. I make fun of the cars all the time (please - a 1995 cirrus with a hood scoop bought at Crappy Tire and a "wing" bought at Home Depot??)

[EricKei]

I drive a big tank of a car, but that's more because of my size than anything else (6 foot four and built like a computer geek....and I'm single, ladieeeezzz ^_^ lol).

I have found that the smallest car I can fit into without having to tear out the front seat is a Taurus. I used to have one of those. It was a POS, but it ran. Now I have an old grand marquis. Surprised the hell outta me when I calculated my mileage on a long trip and found that this behemoth gets around 26-27mpg highway. That's more than I could have hoped for. One nice thing about it, tho -- if anything short of a semi hits me, this thing will more than likely have little more than a scuffed up outer frame afterwards.

[PepperElf]

i use to laugh at one friend's beat up surf-van

called it an appliance cos he had to plug it in overnight to get the battery charged back up - and he couldn't drive it at night cos the lights would drain the battery too much too.. and it was rust colored... because it really was rusting. the only reason it passed inspection was cos he slipped the guy a $20.

but... even as i laughed i'd point out that (at the time) i didn't even have an appliance of my own

and he got it at a good price. "Want a free van?"
Yeah. the owner was leaving hawaii in a matter of days and couldn't sell it & had the title handy to just give the rustbucket away

[Pagan]

They're safer because they're all single-direction, and have controlled access.

Except for our aforementioned drunk wrong-way drivers....which does happen more often than it should.

[wolfie]

My own experience with one of those Daimler Urban Mobile Box "Fortwo" cars was when I had just left the company yard and was waiting to turn right onto the major street (hint - it takes a big gap for there to be room for me to pull into, especially with 20 tons of paper in the trailer). One of those street-legal toys came up on my left (minor street that the company yard opens into has 3 lanes - left, straight, and right - at the intersection with the major street), and proceeded to turn right from the "straight" lane.

Combine the events (micro car, turning right from a lane where he shouldn't, same colour as my truck so a quick glimpse could easily be mistaken for my hood), and he's lucky a gap big enough for me didn't open up while he was pulling that manouver - he could easily have scratched the chrome on my bumper.

[Andara Bledin]

Fore freeway travel, I wouldn't go in anything less than a compact. Even a sub-compact is smaller than I feel comfortable in. For tirps to the store or to work and back, however, I think I'd be ok with a smart car.

^-.-^

[Primer]

Still, I have a feeling that if you get rear-ended...you're going to get fucked up. There's simply not much in the way of metal back there. Oh, and then there's this little tidbit. During a crash test...the fortwo actually got tossed

Having survived being rear-ended by an 18-wheeler, there is no way I will ever own anything smaller than full-sized again. The Dodge Durango SUV I was in, and the Ford F-150 pick-up in front of me were both totaled. I survived by the grace of the deities, and Dodge engineering. Thanks, but I'll let other folks buy/drive the small (fuel-efficient) vehicles.

[Bandit]

The first Smart Car I saw was on the Trans-Canada highway running in the middle of some trucks.

If there had been a problem, that car would have looked like >.<

Gawd help them if they ever hit a moose or a deer. Even buses don't survive a moose.

B

[Andara Bledin]

I've been noticing rather a few smart cars around here. I honestly wouldn't be too terribly worried about the safety, except for the notable lightness of the thing. It gets tossed around a lot, and there's not much there to absorb the shock of impact.

Plus, around here, there aren't a whole lot of 70mph head-on crashes....unless you happen to run into one of our famous drunks, driving the wrong way on the interstate.
Actually, come to think of it, the interstates are safer than our surface streets.

They're safer because they're all single-direction, and have controlled access.

^-.-^

[Pagan]

But, I do know people who drive minivans or trucks, simply because they're easier to get into. One of my neighbors doesn't walk very well. His minivan seat is at the right height--he just sits down, swings his legs around, and closes the door. Not like a sports car, or even a sedan--with those, he has to prop himself up against the door to get out.

Yeah, but this guy literally uses a step ladder. Hold on, let me go look at it....

Ok, it's some Ford model. I can't see the model, but it does have "Fx4 Off Road" on the side. The seats look like the would hit me about the bottom of my ribcage, which is about 41". This guy's about the same height as me. I watched him take about 5 minutes to get out of it yesterday.

I just don't get why he has it. It's days between when he goes anywhere, so it's not like he needs it for work....

Heh, I'd go with the Cooper, myself. Nekojin's been drooling after one for a while, now. And they look surprisingly roomy inside.

^-.-^

I'd love one, but I don't want to get into a new car right now. I'm planning on moving overseas in a couple of years and don't plan to have a car.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ju6t-yyoU8s

You know, those look smaller than the ones I've seen here. Plus, around here, there aren't a whole lot of 70mph head-on crashes....unless you happen to run into one of our famous drunks, driving the wrong way on the interstate.
Actually, come to think of it, the interstates are safer than our surface streets.

[protege]

They're not too shabby, its Euro NCAP score is four stars (out of five), which isn't too bad at all.

Still, I have a feeling that if you get rear-ended...you're going to get fucked up. There's simply not much in the way of metal back there. Oh, and then there's this little tidbit. During a crash test...the fortwo actually got tossed

[edible_hat]

They're not too shabby, its Euro NCAP score is four stars (out of five), which isn't too bad at all.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ju6t-yyoU8s