I made him late for court (long)

[DistantStar]

My '97 Saturn has one key. My SO's '95 Taurus has two, I think. One is a lot easier.

I hope this guy got yelled at good by the judge. Rule #1 of being in court, ever: Do not piss off the judge! Being late is a good way to break Rule #1.

[Argabarga]

Argabarga, is your sig from Seanbaby.com?

Might be, I got it from a comment someone else left on another message board, who knows where he got it from.....

[XCashier]

Turns out when SC came in to tell me he was going into the store, before he bitched about his LED hole, he'd tossed the rest of his keys on the floor of his car. I didn't notice. The ignition key and the door key are separate on this vehicle.... Tow truck arrives, SC gets to stand out in the lot and tell the tow truck driver what an idiot I am while his car's getting unlocked.

He locked his keys in his car, and you're the idiot?!

Someone Salmonize this self-centered entitlement whore!

[Crazyredhead]

He'll probably get in trouble for it. He thinks that giving your name will work, I have been in court enough times to know that he should have called them to let them know that he is going to be late.

I have been on a jury and been there for myself and other people to know that the judge doen't like late people. He's going to be really happy to know that he was made to wait because of a stereo installation that could have been scheduled another day.

Because he missed his court date means that a bench warranty will be issued and then he will have to go another day for the missed appointment and then he will be fined. You may want to be prepared for him coming back presenting you with the fine that he has to pay, and that he wants you to pay it.

[gundam40]

*Great explanation of why they need two keys*

Thank god all the cars the family has had always uses one key. Twice the # of keys, twice the chance of losing them! Oh FUN!

[Sunsetsky]

Wow...what an asshole. I hope he was late for his court.

[MystyGlyttyr]

I had a car with two keys...the ignition key was a socket wrench and the trunk key was a screwdriver. I couldn't lock the doors or else I'd have to break the window to get in.

Do I need to mention it was a $200 car? LOL

[repsac]

You'd have to ask General Motors. Not all of their vehicles are like this, but I think the majority are. The ignition key has a square head, the door key is generally oval.

It might be related to the anti-theft systems they build into some of the ignition keys. If you've got a GM key and there's a little black pellet built into the shaft, that's a resistor that tells your vehicle to disengage the anti-theft lockout. But I believe the 2-key system was in place before they started building in the anti-theft resistors.

Older Ford vehicles also had separate keys, but I think they're all built for a single key now.

Edit: to be honest, it may have been a Cutlass Supreme. It's been a while, and they're very similar cars in that year. I just remember it was big, red, and in no way different from any other car of its type, other than being owned by an idiot.

I currently own a few cars (two) but one of them has the neatest little safety measure. It's physically impossible to lock the keys in the car.

The system is set up to where if you lock the car door, and then close it, the door automatically unlocks preventing you from locking the door that way. Sad they don't make these any more. GM drove them into the ground. Yeah, it's a Daewoo.

[ArenaBoy]

I currently own a few cars (two) but one of them has the neatest little safety measure. It's physically impossible to lock the keys in the car.

The system is set up to where if you lock the car door, and then close it, the door automatically unlocks preventing you from locking the door that way. Sad they don't make these any more. GM drove them into the ground. Yeah, it's a Daewoo.

My dad is a parts supplier for GM, they gave up on them recently and started working with Opal (sp) a European car company. He says he doesn't know who he should be angry at just because he deals with them; GM for not getting the hint on gas prices and driving down ideas like that. Or the European company that's been losing money for 5 years straight.

[Jester]

Every GM I have seen until the last decade has had two keys, one for ignition, one for the doors/trunk. According to many people more knowledgable than me when I asked, that was just the way GM did things. I say "did" because my new 2000 Blazer has just one key, as opposed to the two I had for my old 1989 Blazer. (Yes, I traded in my old truck and got the same model, only newer. Sue me. I like 'em.) Until my mom got hooked on Toyotas, every GM she owned was the same way.

As for the non-lockout feature, it works to a point. If your keys are in the ignition, the driver's side door Will Not Lock. However, if you are an Absent Minded Scientist (as my mother is fond of describing me) it is entirely possible to park the car, pull the keys out of the ignition, gather your stuff up, get out, lock the door, close the door, and....realize your keys are on the seat/console. This has not happened to me yet, but as the other poster said, it is probably just a matter of time. (I have been close a few times.)

[JustaCashier]

Another relevant point is that the SC was 5 minutes late to his appointment at KaeZoo's shop.

Slightly back when I worked at my first parking garage over 20 years ago, (not a full valet, but the attendants parked the cars) I had a customer lock their key inside their Honda. At the time, don't know if it's still the case, on the driver's side door, you could not slide the inside lock to the locked position when the door was open. Pretty much impossible to lock the single key in the car.

I probably got into the car with the burglar tool, but for the life of me, could not figure out how the customer had locked it. If I recall, the passenger door could be locked while the door was open, so I figured she must have gone around to the passenger side, gotten something out, reached across and locked the driver's door, slid the inside lock on the passenger door, then shut it. At some point, I the mystery was solved. I can't remember if it was by experimenting, or by being told by another Honda owner. If you hold the inside door handle out, while the door is open, you can slide the lock to the locked postion and shut the door.

[ladodger34]

My old Buick Century (it was a '90) had the two key system. My sister's Grand Am (I think it is a '99, it was a handmedown after our grandma passed) only has one key. I think they got rid of the two key system in the later 90s.

As for the asshole, I'm sure the judge let him know that making an appointment an hour before his scheduled time to appear was stupid. Heck, it would probably be wise to start making your way towards the court an hour before.

[Jester]

As far as I am concerned, if I have a court date, there are exactly three rules:

1. Be early, no matter who I have to run over, kill, or piss off to do it.

2. Dress for success. No matter what you actually do for a living, try to look like a bank or corporate executive. In other words, well-groomed, neat, clean, dressy, tie. A jacket is only optional if you live in a tropical zone where such things are not common. If you haven't trimmed your goatee all month cause you want to look cool...this ain't the day to be cool. Trim the damn thing.

3. Two phrase vocabulary: "Yes, Your Honor. No, Your Honor."

And #1 and #3 will take you pretty far even if you ignore #2.

[jb17kx]

My dad is a parts supplier for GM, they gave up on them recently and started working with Opal (sp) a European car company. He says he doesn't know who he should be angry at just because he deals with them; GM for not getting the hint on gas prices and driving down ideas like that. Or the European company that's been losing money for 5 years straight.

I don't see what you mean there. Opel would probalby be the company you refer to there, better known as General Motors Opel. How could GM give up on a parts supplier and work with themselves?

EDIT: I suppose that is possible, Opel are quite self-sufficient in that regard.
A simialr situation arose when GM Holden (or "Theaustraliancompanythatmakesthedesignarchitectur eandenginethatgoesinthenewchevycamaro") cut their contrract with Ajax Fittings. God, there was an unholy fuss.

I also think that the above rules should be held very closely, albiet altered to "My Lord" to account for regional variations.

[ladodger34]

As far as I am concerned, if I have a court date, there are exactly three rules:

1. Be early, no matter who I have to run over, kill, or piss off to do it.

Really, if I was the judge and I wanted to be a real ass about it, I would have told the dude that his butt should have been in my court an hour before rather than taking care of trivial matters.

He can't enforce that sort of thing, but he sure as hell can make the guys life miserable for being late.