You are in Guest mode. If you want to post, you'll need to register (we promise it's painless).
Registered users should log in now. (Forgot your password?)
![]() |
Wheels.15 |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Do You Judge People By What They Drive? |
{Wheels.15.1}: MJ {sfbayarea} Sat, 18 Sep 2004 22:23:37 CDT (10 lines)
I have to admit, somewhat ashamedly, that I do! I definitely have a stereotypical opinion about those who drive Hummers, although I have to admit much of it is based on a co-worker who drives one. He's egotistical, status-conscious, politically conservative, gun-loving NRA member, couldn't care less about the environment...so I tend to think other Hummer drivers might be like him too. Do you think cars say a lot about their drivers, and if so, what are you guilty of thinking about some cars/drivers? I hope I'm not opening up a huge can of worms here!
{Wheels.15.2}: Michael Cerkowski {michael33} Sun, 19 Sep 2004 03:48:19 CDT (9 lines)
I think that some vehicles - like Hummers, 'Riced -Up' cars and Hybrids - make more of a personal statement than others. People driving Escort Wagons probably just had a Ford dealer nearby, and liked the color... I loathe pretty much all SUVs, including trucks that are used just for transportation. The little ones I'm indifferent to. I'm a motorcyclist, but I also dislike sport bikes, because their riders are just as likely to be assholes as are HumVee drivers.
{Wheels.15.3}: Jil {rabbit} Sun, 19 Sep 2004 06:58:41 CDT (16 lines)
Yes, sometimes I tend to judge people, and then I tell myself I shouldn't. One week I was testing a BMW convertible, and that's when it really hit home. As soon as I pulled up at the first light, I realized I was "the asshole in the Bimmer". I can't describe it exactly, but I could see the glances, and I could almost feel the attitude. My nephew had owned a BMW and traded it in for the same reason -- he didn't like the attitude other drivers gave him. The week I drove an Acura MDX, I noticed it, too. Here I was in the big, dumb, expensive SUV, and people were driving differently. There was absolutely no quarter given by any other motorist. If I was trying to get out of a parking lot by a light, and people normally let me in with an economy car, they'd pull right up to the car in front so I couldn't.
{Wheels.15.4}: MJ {sfbayarea} Sun, 19 Sep 2004 12:30:19 CDT (47 lines)
Jil...you hit the nail on the head. It's the attitude I sometimes sense from other drivers that makes me uncomfortable, and prompted me to ask this question. I drive a BMW...but I hope I'm not the "asshole in the Beemer"! I certainly try NOT to live up up to that stereotype anyway. I sometimes feel uncomfortable in my present car, because for the past 30 years I've always driven small economy cars. I learned to drive on a Chevy Vega (remember those!), went off to college with a Ford Pinto, bought a Toyota Corolla when I got my first job, bought a Nissan Sentra after that, and last drove a Honda Civic. I never really thought too much about cars...they were basically just transportation. For the past couple of years though, I kept noticing the BMW 325i on the road, in a beautiful color called Metallic Steel Blue. Every time I saw one, I jokingly thought "that's my car". I never really had any intention of actually buying one! When it came time to buy a new car earlier this year, I was planning to buy a Honda Hybrid. I test drove one,liked it...felt almost exactly like the Civic I had been driving. Someone in my office, who knew I liked the BMW, asked if I had ever considered buying one. I said no way, I didn't want to have to worry about really taking care of a nice car, didn't want the added expense, didn't care about cars. He said to just go test drive one...just so I wouldn't regret it every time I saw "my car" on the road. I went for my test drive...and was absolutely blown away. The car felt so solid and heavy, yet handled incredibly easily. It turned on a dime, had unbelievable power...I had never experienced anything like it before. I was now in love with it, but went home and wrestled with my decision...do I make the sensible choice or treat myself to my dream car just once in my lifetime. I was hedonistic and went for the BMW. It was so out of character for me, and people at worked teased me incessantly. I don't regret it for a moment though, because I commute about 1 1/2 hours everyday and now I enjoy the drive. I live in the San Francisco Bay area, and there are tons of luxury cars on the road, so I don't feel too conspicuous. Still, I do feel sometimes people judge me because I'm behind the wheel of a BMW. It's probably my own sense of guilt, knowing that I indulged in something extravagant, and knowing I tend to judge people too. But I also know I'm the same person who has always driven economy cars, and could be just as happy (well, almost as happy!) behind the wheel of a Honda Hybrid right now. It's taught me a lesson not to jump to judgement so quickly...although that's much easier said than done! Every time I see a Hummer, I still think to myself "what a selfish ass!"...I guess old habits die hard!
{Wheels.15.5}: Michael Cerkowski {michael33} Sun, 19 Sep 2004 15:42:20 CDT (4 lines)
I don't give the little Beemers the same scorn as the more expensive ones. I'm surprised a 325 would get that response... BTW, how's the gas mileage?
{Wheels.15.6}: Jil {rabbit} Sun, 19 Sep 2004 15:56:52 CDT (4 lines)
I definitely got the response in the 325. I love BMWs, but I don't know if I could handle the attitude of other drivers all the time. Out of curiosity, Michael, why would you scorn the expensive ones?
{Wheels.15.7}: Michael Cerkowski {michael33} Sun, 19 Sep 2004 16:02:00 CDT (3 lines)
For the same reason I scorn Caddy's, and Lexusususus and Jaguars. Well, I actually just pity the ones in Jaguars - they must not have had a Ford dealer nearby...
{Wheels.15.8}: Jil {rabbit} Sun, 19 Sep 2004 18:07:31 CDT (1 line)
So why scorn Caddies, Lexi and Jags?
{Wheels.15.9}: MJ {sfbayarea} Mon, 20 Sep 2004 01:17:55 CDT (12 lines)
Michael...gas mileage is so-so, about 28-30 mpg on the highway. I bought the 5-speed, so I think the mileage is a tiny bit better than the automatic. I have had a few "scornful" looks (I think that 80's and 90's yuppie stereotype still persists), but practically every other car in the Bay Area seems to be a BMW, Mercedes, Lexus, Jaguar, Porsche, or SUV of some sort. California definitely has a "car culture" that I haven't experienced in too many other places. I love my car, love the way it handles and performs, but when it's time to buy a new car, I probably won't buy another BMW. Next time, I bet the "sensible" choice will win out.
{Wheels.15.10}: Michael Cerkowski {michael33} Mon, 20 Sep 2004 03:07:50 CDT (8 lines)
"So why scorn Caddies, Lexi and Jags?" I think that conspicuous consumption should, at the very least, be tasteful. MJ, I bet you can get 3 more mpg just by making a rule of accelerating gently unless you have a reason to 'zoom', and putting a couple more psi in the tires.
{Wheels.15.11}: {beam} Mon, 20 Sep 2004 10:33:05 CDT (0 lines)
{erased by beam Wed, 22 Sep 2004 07:53:08 CDT}
{Wheels.15.12}: Jil {rabbit} Mon, 20 Sep 2004 17:12:09 CDT (6 lines)
<< I think that conspicuous consumption should, at the very least, be tasteful.>> Eye of the beholder, I guess. I think all three make some very tasteful vehicles.
{Wheels.15.13}: mordo {mordo66} Fri, 24 Sep 2004 10:45:49 CDT (1 line)
what's the difference between a porcupine and a BMW?
{Wheels.15.14}: Mike McCarty {beagle} Fri, 24 Sep 2004 11:14:14 CDT (1 line)
Man, I've never heard the joke, but that one is OBVIOUS!!!
{Wheels.15.15}: Joseph Kang {jsk} Fri, 24 Sep 2004 13:22:49 CDT (3 lines)
Yeah, the answer is obviously "one is a porcupine and one is a person!". :-P
{Wheels.15.16}: Jil {rabbit} Fri, 24 Sep 2004 17:02:18 CDT (17 lines)
You don't put gas in a porcupine ... Came home last night around 11 pm, going north on one of the major streets. As I came up to the main intersection I noticed flashing lights. Lots of flashing lights. Turned out to be three firetrucks, an ambulance and several police cars. Kid in a Honda -- faded red paint, black primer hood, badly-screwed- on ground effects -- had almost mated the front bumper to the back one around a telephone pole. He'd gone into the passenger door, which is why they were trying to get him out whole and not with a tablespoon. I don't know exactly how he did it, but it looked like he'd tried to make a left at the lights and spun around; he'd gone in backwards and sideways. All I could think of was, "That'll learn ya."
{Wheels.15.17}: Joseph Kang {jsk} Fri, 24 Sep 2004 17:09:05 CDT (1 line)
Wasn't wearing a seat belt? Jesus. Kids is stoopid.
{Wheels.15.18}: Jil {rabbit} Fri, 24 Sep 2004 17:13:11 CDT (4 lines)
I was going to say, "Where did you get that?" and then I realized that what I wrote could have been misconstrued ... I have no idea if he was wearing a seat belt. I meant that the passenger side of his car went into the pole.
{Wheels.15.19}: Joseph Kang {jsk} Sat, 25 Sep 2004 20:39:48 CDT (1 line)
Oh. OK. Ha!
{Wheels.15.20}: mordo {mordo66} Mon, 27 Sep 2004 13:10:44 CDT (1 line)
on a porcupine, the pricks are on the outside.
{Wheels.15.21}: Joseph Kang {jsk} Mon, 27 Sep 2004 15:41:56 CDT (2 lines)
Heh. I knew that was the real punchline. I was just having fun coming up with my own.
{Wheels.15.22}: 99 Saturn SW {kitty} Wed, 17 Nov 2004 18:21:18 CST (15 lines)
This has been quiet for a whhile, but I still think I'll put in my 2 cents worth. I do judge people by what they drive. I judge morons driving around with primer all over the car. I judge morons using a Hummer as a Mom-mobile. If someone wants to pay the price of a house for a vehicle, I get to think they have more money than sense. I don't automaticly loathe people driving SUVs. Some people do live a life that makes that the sensible choice. I do automaticly loathe bright shiny Hummers driving down the highway.
{Wheels.15.23}: 92 SVX, 59 TBird, 68 F250 {fvehafric} Wed, 17 Nov 2004 18:23:01 CST (3 lines)
Hummers are no worse than any other pickup truck. I tend to feel sorry for the dipshits who think they are driving something special. It's a freaking ugly pickup truck.
{Wheels.15.24}: Jil {rabbit} Wed, 17 Nov 2004 20:12:34 CST (1 line)
I like hot rods in primer ...
{Wheels.15.25}: 99 Saturn SW {kitty} Wed, 17 Nov 2004 21:17:00 CST (2 lines)
Frank, I disagree. You can haul manure in a pick up truck. You can't do that with a Hummer.
![]() |
You are in Guest mode. If you want to post, you'll need to register (we promise it's painless).
Registered users should log in now. (Forgot your password?)
|