Ridiculous cars.

I like cars

 

Cars are necessary for modern life and prosperity, and I like station wagons (low center of gravity and more efficient), SUVs, and vans, as the most practical and versatile of vehicles. They carry all your people and stuff. Even big stuff.

But what really urks me about cars, are the idiot show-offs. When most everybody and their brother has the stupid wing that doesn't fly "spoiler," what do I then see? The "my spoiler is bigger than your spoiler." I kind of wish somebody would give their big lever spoiler a yank, and bend up their trunk, but of course, I wouldn't do it, because it's probably not the most moral way, to tell those morons what morons they are, to drive around in flashy ugly cars.

Similarly, I don't like those stupid cars with no back seat. Where do you put your children? In the trunk? Oh yeah, the "trunk" is nothing but a tiny stupid briefcase cubbyhole, so at least I have the comfort of knowing that they haven't put their children in the trunk. And what's up with cars with stupid tents on top, or worse, no roof at all? (convertibles) Pay more for less? How illogical is that?

And then getting back to more "normal" cars, what's up with this stupid, latest fad brand (tiny little tin can Euro-import MiniCoopers), or the latest fad ugly curves? That's supposed to make me want to pay more? I should get paid, just to drive such an ugly, new trendy piece-of-junk.

When I drive a car, I don't want to be noticed. I want to blend in. I want lots of cool features, hidden within the car, for my enjoyment. I don't want to know hardly anybody, who would be so superficial as to judge me by my car.

And what's up with these crazy morons, who have maybe a small Honda Civic, and then they waste countless $1000s to trick it out with frivilous decorations? Yuck! Whoever saw anything so hideous? Why put TVs and Playstations into a tiny little tin car car? Put that stuff, into something practical, say like a huge RV motorcoach, that can space-justify all those nifty toys. That's like putting a dressy suit-coat, onto a pig. If one wants to drive a small cheap car, then be proud to drive a cheap car. Don't try to make a cheap car, look like a $million, because it just looks incredibly stupid.

And I wonder how many of these car overpowered-subwoofer stores, sell the hearing aids to go along with them?

 

totaly correct..

the motor industry has been the victim of some completely unjustified slander, and this problem has been attacked form totaly the wrong angle..

i agree cars could have a smaller environmetal impact (despite the fact the impact they have is tiny against indusrty, or the biggest polluter - nature) but the biggest criminality on motoring is the 'disposability' of cars, caused by falsley devaluing them, and peoples refusal to maintain them correctly.

i believe a normal car should last for 25 years, cars always used to, the baulk of a cars pollution is from production, rather than running, its also quite possible to retrofit older cars with equipment to make them run every bit as cleanly as newer cars, but without the associated production pollution of a new car.

perfect example.

i drive a 1996 ford mustang, its a V6 (3.8) so its not a gas guzzler ( i regularly get well over 30mpg on average, and have had 36 best) the car was actualy bought new in japan, and has been meticulously maintained and looked after. because its been used purely for pleasure, its current milage is just over 44,000 miles.

this car is in absolutely as new condition, and flies through the sniffer test passing clean enough figures to pass as a new euro 3 car. there is no valid environmental reason to falsley scrap or devalue this car, to replace it with a newer smaller one, the pollution of making the new car would outweigh the slight benefit in tail pipe emissions.

my old chevy astro (yes, i actualy DID need an 8 seater)was comfortably over 200,000 miles, and was mechanicly perfect, also flying through the sniffer test. as cars are devalued, people are less inclined to maintain them, they wear at an accellerated rate, and thus pollute more than they would if maintained correctly

a freind of mine runs a buissiness importing US domestic vehicles from japan, the reason he imports them from japan is that the japanese maintain their vehicles far better, look after them better ( a new mustang is VERY expensive in japan) and use other forms of transport in cities (why have moped and motorcycles not been promoted for personal urban transport?) the result? the cars he brings over are like new, even after 10 or 11 years. the cars imported from the US of the same age are scraped, worn and neglected, the difference on the sniffer, and out on the road is incredible - because the cars are more disposable in the US, they are neglected, and die before their time.

building a car has an environemental cost, there is no doubt about that, so surely the best thing to do is to kep the existing cars as clean and maintained as possible, to prevent that new car pollution from being once ever 5 years, to once every 25 years?

i am a stong believer that the answer to the problem isn't smaller newer cars, but to buy a vehicle combination that suits our needs, and looking after them.

My father has a chevy tahoe, with a vortec 350 engine. this is used to pull a camper trailer, and for commuting in poor weather. its environmental damage is minimal because.....

A) it only does about 7000 miles a year - he commutes to work on a motorcycle @ 65 mpg

B) it has been converted to run off LPG (propaine) gas, so its emissions are only comparable to a very small car.

by keeping a car that has already been built (and thus polluted) he didn't need to introduce another new car, and the pollution it brings, by converting the existing car to use newer technology, it has tail pipe emissions comparable to a new small car.

the problem isn't the car itself, its peoples flippant attitude towards them. when you see someone moaning about their POS 10 year old beater thats done 100,000 miles, its not the cars fault, maintained and looked after properly, it should have still been in as new condition.

 

I hate these dumb SUVs and massive trucks that people so love to drive. Here in South Africa, it's just the same. Idiots will give their left nut to own a gas-guzzling behemoth. Every day, when I ride my motorcycle I see these things, usually being driven by ONE person, in the suburbs or supermarket parking lots.

People just don't seem to understand (or give a shit) that gas is a FINITE resource. The world WILL run out. One day, in the near future, there will not be a DROP left on this entire planet. And these moronic gas-guzling vehicles are greatly accelerating the process. Our entire way of life depends on fossil fuels, and when they're all gone and used up, as they WILL be, the human race, in it's unwillingness to commit to sustainable resources (all in the name of status and being seen to be cool) will be utterly fucked.

Think of the fossil fuel situation of the world as a group of people stranded in a desert. Their only means to survival before hopefully being rescued is a small well of water that will dry up at some stage. Now, some of the people are wise and use only the smallest ration of water they need to survive on every day. However, some idiots insist on hauling buckets of water out to wash themselves, cool off in, drink until their bellies are absolutely bursting, and then just pour over the hot sand to make it cooler for their feet to walk on.... Same thing. So go on driving fat-ass, gas-guzzling vehicles. Don't give a shit about the survival of the rest of us.

 

I'm not a fan of gigantic SUV's but I do want a mid '70's Trans Am with a 455 and a 4 speed. This wouldn't be my daily driver.

 

Bigger cars are fine, but why do they have to be so show-off-ie and ugly? It takes a big car for a big family or to carpool.

I don't like convertibles--cars with tents on tops. Spoilers are getting ridiculous. Now that most everybody has a spoiler, now all these "my spoiler is bigger than your spoiler" spoilers are popping up, and to me, they look like a big ol' handle for somebody to grab and twist up that thin sheet metal. Spoilers are for race cars, not for cars to have "wings" and yet can't fly. Stupid. Spinner hupcaps are distracting and quite unnecessary.

A lot of the show-off features have one simple function--TO JACK UP THE PRICE.

 

Other than my truck I haven't owned a non-convertible in about 20 years.

 

Paying more for less? Perhaps you could explain the logic of that to me? (an honest question)

I can see going "topless" maybe on a boat, or maybe very temporarily with a rental car, but I wouldn't want to own a car without a "hardtop."

Question: Which car would suffer more damage in a hailstorm? A convertible or a hardtop?

I like the partial protection from the sun's rays that a hardtop provides, and didn't I hear that windshields offer UV protection, although the side windows don't, hence people's faces "age" more on the left side. And if it is supposedly nice to be out in the open and feel the wind, then I must not be "outgoing" enough to appreciate the wind zipping by at 60 mph. Boats may seem fast, but don't they usually go more like 20 or 30 mph, or 45 mph at most?

Even the fancy, hi-tech "indestructable" computer-driven K.I.T.T. car on the old TV series Knight Rider didn't have some flimsy/fragile "tent on top," but when "upgraded" to be more like a convertible, the hardtop folded away.

Actually, I would also pass on a "moon roof" too, as what for do I need so many windows? Just another place to develop a possible rain-water leak.

Actually, if I could have my preference, I would own my own "indestructible" space-ship, and travel in that rather than a car. Can you imagine how fast you can get there, when you have the option of zipping up into orbit? Why is it anyway, that we have to have these really big houses, but we can't take our houses with us, when we go somewhere? Even RVs are usually rather "small" in that regard. I think it would be cool, to live in such a "mobile" house, so that I can be "at home" no matter where I go. Except, contrary to Star Trek folklore, I fear there might not really be much out there in outer space, to go to.

 

No logic invovled, I like convertibles.

 

I know what you mean, i live hear in the redneck state of the world (or so it seems) where everyone put thousands into their F-350 Deisel to make it suck up even more gas, and make it look all spiffy, then take it through mud!! what is the point?!

 

Generally, I don't even *consider* a car unless I can get great gas milage from it. I wouldn't be caught DEAD in a Hummer or anything of that sorts.

My car, a '91 Honda Civic, has been in our family since it was made, and since it's still driving great for the most part, I plan on keeping it as long as I can. Not to mention I love getting 45 mpg on the highway~!! When it finally kicks it, I am considering the equally awesome Honda Fit. Milage like my Civic, with room like a minivan~

 

actualy, it would be the hard top.. convertible tops are pretty much immune from hail damage ( the fabric moves when the hail stone hits it), but metal hard tops can need extensive repairs following hail, due to hundreds of dents

this happend to both my brothers mercedes and my fathers old Jaguar..

 

I love my Hummer.

It runs on the blood of dead hippies.

 

Yeah, but Dodge also came out with the Magnum wagon with up to 400HP. They stopped production in the second year because they couldn't sell the thing.

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One of the trends in the U.S. appears to be the smaller 'sport crossover vehicle'. It's a cross between a wagon and SUV. They won't call it a wagon because people don't get excited about a vehicle that's called a wagon. Much the same reason why they didn't market 'trucks' to people in the 80s and 90s but instead used the fancy name of Sport Utility Vehicle.

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Plymouth marketed a car called the Colt Vista back in the early 90s that was almost exactly what today is considered a sport crossover. It was manufactured in Japan. It was a wagon with a slightly higher than normal height. Nearly 15 years later, the car industry in the U.S. is returning to this type of body shape.

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1993 Plymouth Colt Vista wagon.



Looks much like the 2008 Pontiac Vibe crossover, huh?


2008 Pontiac Vibe.



.

 

Excessively HUGE cars like HUMMERS need to stop being produced OR become all hybrids. They are too damn big and I am sure, unless you have 12 or so kids, that a person needs one. I personally like Civics and other smaller cars as that. I just think that all these big cars/trucks need to become hybrids or get reallllly great gas mileage.

 

We bought a Honda Civic hybrid that runs like a top and gets great mileage. I live in a GM production area though, and many of my fellow citizens do not appreciate "foriegn cars". What would really be nice is to see some sort of limit on the amount of cars one family can operate, I see some families with five and six cars in the yard. I would also love to see Hummers disappear. I passed a girl in traffic the other day, about sixteen, texting and steering daddys's Hummer at the same time. Needless to say, I got out of her way fast. I realize the problems cars pose to the human race, and I don't like being a hypocrite, but after years of walking and thumbing and buses and trains, I am in love with my car. It's warm inside, and you can play music really loud. And sometimes, you can go fast and feel the speed...

 

Your first lesson in economics:
If the market shows ask for those type of cars, they get produced.

People buy what they 'want' not what they need. That is how the feeling of wealth works...