Some car thoughts

[Inquartata]

Make you life simpler, get the power options.

This is symptomatic of why we have an obesity epidemic here: Power everything. Why do anything for yourself that a machine can do for you?

a new car is automatically a money-losing investment. Most cars depreciate about 20-30% in their first year.

I tend to drive a car until it either falls apart or needs repairs costing much more than it's worth. Depreciation isn't a factor.

I personally like having all manual stuff, or at least a manual option. Sucks when you can't close your windows because of a fuse, flat battery or system malfunction.

And then it starts to rain...

I find it shocking that there are actually people who don't know how to drive stick or operate a motorcycle.

I wouldn't ride a donormobile, excuse me, motorcycle if you paid me. Hence why on earth ever bother learning to ride one? That's like expecting men to learn how to use tampons.

[Purple Fencer]

How about people who have no concept of how to use the turn lane?? I was leaving home last week...crossed the near lane and settled into the turn lane, turn signal blinking, waiting for traffic to clear so I could enter my lane...complete stop.

Some guy passes me blaring his horn....even though it's OBVIOUS I'm not going anywhere.

Or my BIG peeve...people who don't start to accelerate until they hit the end of the on-ramp...THAT'S WHAT IT'S FOR, YOU MORONS!!

I can understand it if you're driving the 110 through Pasadena....those on and off ramps are about the length of my car...but when the ramp's 100 feet long and it's clear in front of you, there's NO excuse not to be at speed when you hit the lanes.

Other ones...how in the name of GOD do you drive a freeway at night and NOT realize your headlights are OFF??

Those guys I get away from REAL fast.

[Inquartata]

Or for that matter the people who insist on starting to slow down a mile before the off-ramp they plan to take. Really? You've been blasting along at 70 in a 55 zone, and suddenly NOW you have to slow to 45?

[Purple Fencer]

Or for that matter the people who insist on starting to slow down a mile before the off-ramp they plan to take. Really? You've been blasting along at 70 in a 55 zone, and suddenly NOW you have to slow to 45?

Or those who do 45 at all times....which is almost half the ambient speed in SoCal...BIG hazard there.

OR....you're cruising up.want to switch lanes and flip the switch....but the car in the lane you want to move to refuses to back off a little....keeps pace until you slow up to let him pass...and then after you move over HE moves into the lane you were just in.

Would it *(&#^% hurt to let me in instead of being a tool???

[Inquartata]

I'd wonder if maybe that was the reason some people never signal lane changes, if I didn't know that it was laziness, distraction, cell phones and malice instead...

[larkascending]

I hate driving. I'm just slightly too distractible to do it well, and as a result of some... incidents... I avoid it whenever possible.

I walk, bus, and subway almost everywhere I need to go, and get somebody else to drive me anywhere else, with the exception of getting to the local fencing club and grocery store when I am at home for the summer and breaks. It's easy, cheap, convenient, and far less stressful, and when somebody drives me I get the bonus of conversation and company.

Driving in the city is miserable anyway. I would not want a car here at school.

[telkanuru]

I believe someone above mentioned Massholes, and I resemble that remark, as they say the true Masshole believe the term to be a compliment

My pet peeves:

-People who *break* on onramps, especially if they come to a dead stop. I mean seriously, are you trying to get me killed?

-MA is one of the few places in the US that does have roundabouts (rotaries, to us), and people still don't know how to use them. There's no need to come to a dead stop. You do NOT go around them clockwise (yes, I have seen this).

-I do not care how fast you are going, or how slow the lane to the right of you is going, if there is someone behind you who is riding you a bit close, pull over and let them by at the first opportunity.

-70mph is not a valid left-lane speed.

-I'm not passing you on the right because I'm a jerk, I'm doing it because you didn't pay attention

-The one place you *don't* need to use your turn signal is in a turn only lane

-Turn only lanes are for that: turning. People who use them to hop ahead of traffic go to the special Hell.

-If you didn't manage to figure out that the lanes are merging because of the massive blinky signs for the past 10 miles, no, I'm not letting you in.

[Inquartata]

They DID figure it out, they just thought that it was their right to squeeze in line ahead of as many waiting vehicles as possible. ( I call these drivers passholes. )

[telkanuru]

They DID figure it out, they just thought that it was their right to squeeze in line ahead of as many waiting vehicles as possible. ( I call these drivers passholes. )

See, this is what makes MA drivers so unique. If you go to NYC, the drivers will drive in a similar way, but I feel safer, because I know they're all just being jerks. In MA, a good portion of the time they're driving like that simply because they're incompetent.

[MyrddinsPrecint]

-MA is one of the few places in the US that does have roundabouts (rotaries, to us), and people still don't know how to use them. There's no need to come to a dead stop. You do NOT go around them clockwise (yes, I have seen this).

DC, especially NW, is full of traffic circles. DC, especially NW, if full of people from different states and different countries.

Now, when you're in Mass, you know you're about to get cut off a mile away, and you can prepare. When you've got a diplomat plate in front of you, you just don't know what to expect. And having a Virginia or DC plate in front of you DOES NOT HELP because they may or may not have actually been here for any real amount of time....

Despite the sheer number of circles in a dense area, people still don't know how to deal with them, at least partially because you have no idea what anyone else around you is likely to do.

[I_luv_saber]

1) If you can't afford the power windows and/or power locks option on a new car, is buying a new car really a good financial decision for you?

I work at a full-service car wash right now, and many cars (primarily among the entry-level bracket) come in with manual windows and/or (less commonly) no power locks. Why? Why do people buy new cars without these options?
I can see the point if your going for sportiness and don't want the weight, but that is not a realistic concern when buying an Echo or a Caliber or a Cobalt or an Aveo etc.
Make you life simpler, get the power options.

As my grandfather says, "Just one more thing to break down". Every old car I've ever had, the first thing to go wrong: Power windows/locks. Why is it a big deal to manually roll down the windows? I/none-of-my-passengers are paralyzed. I suppose what I'm saying is, rather than give a reason to NOT have power windows, is there a particular reason TO HAVE them? As I see it, it gives relatively little convenience at the cost of another point of possible failure. Now, power locks I can see more argument for...

2) If you can't turn your vehicle around in a street/parking lot/driveway, either destroy your license or learn to drive.

I'm with you here.

3) Why are so many people do not know how to:

a) check their vehicle's fluid levels and add fluid if necessary?
b) open their hood? (seriously)
c) open their hatch? (seriously)
d) install wiper blades?
e) check tire pressure and add air if necessary?
f) change a wheel?
e) operate a turn signal properly? (i.e. before you turn, not while you turn)
g) change bulbs?
h) put gas in their car? (seriously; and obviously this one does not apply to areas where pumping your own gas is illegal)
i) control speed using the throttle instead of the brake?
j) perform a safe emergency stop?
k) understand when/why their vehicle is skidding, and how to correct it?

And why aren't these things a mandatory part of basic driver education and testing?

In Hungary you have to pass a very basic maintenance course in order to get your license (mostly what you describe here, perhaps excluding one or two). I think it would be a very good idea.

[I_luv_saber]

-People who *break* on onramps, especially if they come to a dead stop. I mean seriously, are you trying to get me killed?

In California, this results in someone getting rear-ended (or perhaps shot, in certain areas ) for sure. Unless it's a controlled onramp with lights...

-MA is one of the few places in the US that does have roundabouts (rotaries, to us), and people still don't know how to use them. There's no need to come to a dead stop. You do NOT go around them clockwise (yes, I have seen this).

We have a few here. They always either:

• Stop before entering.
• Enter without looking, much less yielding.
• Stop as they are in the roundabout to let people in.
• Stop before exiting.

-I'm not passing you on the right because I'm a jerk, I'm doing it because you didn't pay attention

I'm not sure anyone here even knows of the concept of passing on the left. The right seems to be used as much as the left. Either that or the shoulder.

-The one place you *don't* need to use your turn signal is in a turn only lane

Yes. I'm pretty sure everyone knows you're turning .

-Turn only lanes are for that: turning. People who use them to hop ahead of traffic go to the special Hell.

This is akin to the one that makes me want to kill people: People who get in an exit lane dedicated for a different ramp in order to hop ahead of everyone on the other exit lane for the other ramp (like at a freeway T interchange). I will not let people in at all. It brings me so much joy to watch people get angry and sail down the wrong ramp because I won't let them squeeze in without hitting me xD. I'd like to think next time they hop in back of the line like everyone else (I know I'm wrong, but I can dream...).

[Inquartata]

What the hell is the deal with metered on-ramps, anyway? "Here, we're going to make you try to enter a stream of traffic doing 65 from a dead stop. We're going to give you all of about 50 feet to accelerate. Oh, and we're going to make you do it uphill."

I wonder how much gas is wasted every year by people stomping on it in a vain attempt to go from zero to 65 in the space of 6 car lengths?

[I_luv_saber]

What the hell is the deal with metered on-ramps, anyway? "Here, we're going to make you try to enter a stream of traffic doing 65 from a dead stop. We're going to give you all of about 50 feet to accelerate. Oh, and we're going to make you do it uphill."

Seriously, huh? The concept would be a good one if they did like some places in Europe and give you a long lane in which to catch up to traffic speed before merging....

[latenight]

This is symptomatic of why we have an obesity epidemic here: Power everything. Why do anything for yourself that a machine can do for you?




I tend to drive a car until it either falls apart or needs repairs costing much more than it's worth. Depreciation isn't a factor.





And then it starts to rain...



I wouldn't ride a donormobile, excuse me, motorcycle if you paid me. Hence why on earth ever bother learning to ride one? That's like expecting men to learn how to use tampons.

You have to know how to ride a motorcycle and drive a stick. I'm not wasting time running around looking for an automatic transmission during the zombie apocolypse.

[MyrddinsPrecint]

What the hell is the deal with metered on-ramps, anyway? "Here, we're going to make you try to enter a stream of traffic doing 65 from a dead stop. We're going to give you all of about 50 feet to accelerate. Oh, and we're going to make you do it uphill."

I wonder how much gas is wasted every year by people stomping on it in a vain attempt to go from zero to 65 in the space of 6 car lengths?

Around here, they're only on when the traffic you're merging into is going 5 mph.

[migopod]

You have to know how to ride a motorcycle and drive a stick. I'm not wasting time running around looking for an automatic transmission during the zombie apocolypse.

QFMFT. That plus the ability to operate a motorcycle will provide additional opportunities for escape/mounted combat when the roads are clogged with the dead and the undead alike. You don't want to have to learn about countersteering and speed shifting when the shambling undead are clamoring for your precious brainmeats (disclaimer, I learned to drive and motorcycle in Madison, WI, which is a fairly realistic simulation of the zombie apocolypse).

[Inquartata]

Bah, motorcycles expose you to grasping, bony hands. Cars at least provide you with a layer of armor against cursory contact!

Get your priorities straight!

[migopod]

Bah, motorcycles expose you to grasping, bony hands. Cars at least provide you with a layer of armor against cursory contact!

Get your priorities straight!

If one motorcycles responsibly, one wears a lot of leather (armor even) and a helmet that is difficult to bite through, and motorcycles are much more manoeuvrable, can be ridden through much narrower gaps in the zombie horde, and are much more fuel efficient than a full-sized automobile. I'd prefer the nimble evasion to getting surrounded and pulled out of a smashed car window.

[Inquartata]

What "surrounded"? In what universe is a few dozen rotting bodies like a wall or something? You have gotten too much of your zombie expectations from Hollywood!