Car Prejudice - Are you brandist?

TimD · 24 Mar 2001, 10:40 (Ref:74108)

There I was, four cars down in a traffic queue this morning. It was blatently obvious what the problem was. Up front, some twit had stopped in the middle of the carriageway to go and get cash out of a cash machine, and as a result, while they did this, absolutely no one could get past.

Typical damn' BMW driver, I thought. It was bound to be a BMW. No other make of car fosters that sort of selfishness.

But I was wrong.

When the culprit got back in her car and moved on, she turned out to be driving a (sorry Maisie) 1990 Rover Maestro Clubman. Not a car I would have predicted at all.

So do you have any pet loathings among cars and their typical drivers? Are you a BMW bigot like me? Do you anticipate that every motorway queue in the land is led by a small Volvo? Has a white Ford Escort convertible ever, I mean ever, let you out at a junction?

Carrie · 24 Mar 2001, 12:14 (Ref:74118)

Metros, those are my personal pet hate, what is it about Metro drivers that seems to make them think that they should drive 20 mph below the speed limit wherever they are! Oh and in Bolton, there's a certain builder's merchants and I think most of the town expects a silly manouevre from one of their wagons whenever one is sighted.
In defence of BMW drivers, there's quite a few who regularly let me across the traffic to do the right turn into work. I have one especially to thank for saving me from an accident. I was stopped in the road waiting to turn right into work and this is one of the BMWs who regularly lets me across. This time he slammed his anchors on and started flashing his lights frantically, just as I heard skidding tyres behind me. The Beemer stopping just gave me the space to start to turn and a transit van went up the kerb and into the hedge at the side of me mere centimetres from my car. The look on Mr BMW Man's face was a classic and I'm sure I probably had a pretty similar expression on my face

Liz · 24 Mar 2001, 14:24 (Ref:74142)

MINIVANS. I hate the suckers. I have to walk about four blocks to work every day on one of the main drags (Avenue Road) off the 401 Expressway, and every day as I cross Dupont Street I am nearly taken out by some woman in a Minivan who is apparently late in dropping her brood off at school or something. I don't believe people who drive Minivans ever face forward or look out the windscreen.

Yesterday one block before Dupont I wasn nearly nailed by a 30 something in an SUV who had missed his turn and dived down this small side street to do a K-turn, again without looking out the windscreen (he appeared to be looking at his watch).

Sharky · 24 Mar 2001, 17:26 (Ref:74152)

As a general rule everyone that rides a motorcycle is a jerk. (well......except for those that ride high performance bikes, right Amoffat?

) They think they're so versatile. They can go through red lights, switch lanes without looking, and pass through cars even when there's no space to to pass. And the worst part is that if you do as much as to touch one of those guys in a matter of minutes you'll be sorrounded by fellow bikers that will be asking for compensation regardless of who's fault was it.

I also have a thing against people who drive corean cars. Hyday Accent's in particular. Probably because they act like they're driving a super machine that can only be compared against the products of certain german manufacturers. Who are they trying to fool? The fact that they're chaep doesn't mean that they're good.

And most Corsa owners behave like if they were driving a Ferrari.

And of course I have to mention my hatred against public buses and their drivers which is more or less the same feeling that everyone in this city has (including the passangers of those infernal machines).

Les · 24 Mar 2001, 18:00 (Ref:74164)

Oh dear Sharky has got me twice - used to have a motorbike (and not a high powered one) and now we have 2 corsas. So Mr Sharky what do you think of Reliant Robins to make it 3 out or 3.

Carrie · 24 Mar 2001, 20:19 (Ref:74206)

Quote:

Originally posted by Sharky
And most Corsa owners behave like if they were driving a Ferrari.

Hey Mr Sharky, I could take serious offence at that remark

Liz just reminded me of another one - the School Run Brigade. We have one near work who has just changed to driving one of those ridiculous Citroen people carriers. Leaves it to the last minute every day to get the little darlings to school, thinks she should ride on the back of the bumper of whatever car she's following and always takes the outside of the roundabout and cuts people in the get the exit she wants. I encounter her ocassionally, my boss tends to encounter her more often and when he does his sole aim in life becomes to ensure that she doesn't get ahead of him at the roundabout

Les, I could say a thing or two about Reliant Robins, but I'll behave...

**Bononi** · 24 Mar 2001, 21:08 (Ref:74212)

Ford Mondeo drivers act like they are kings of the roads.

Omega drivers tend to be a little like ferrari drivers...

Civic drivers thinks they are in a BAR...

fudge · 25 Mar 2001, 01:02 (Ref:74275)

For all of us in the U.K I have three words to strike terror into the hearts of most motorists. WHITE VAN MAN!

Sharky · 25 Mar 2001, 03:10 (Ref:74296)

Oh god, when will I learn. I knew that the Corsa was a good selling car in Europe and I was bound to find someone with a Corsa in the forum and have a problem but I still decided to post that comment.

He he he. Well the thing Les and Carrie is that the Corsa that's sold over here (which by the way is sold as Chevrolet Corsa (!!!)) comes with very short gear ratios and a relatively powerful 1.4 engine. So the car gives a good acceleration which makes all the owners want to make a drag race on every traffic light. But I'm sure that back in europe Corsa drivers know how to behave

.

BTW. never heard of Reliant Robins.

Carrie · 25 Mar 2001, 06:15 (Ref:74305)

Sharky, Robin Reliants are little three wheelers with fibre glass bodies (somebody correct me if I'm wrong on that, not awake yet). Probably the most famous Robin Reliant was the Trotters Independent Traders van in Only Fools and Horses if you've ever seen that.

It was quite funny at the Motor Show where the Reliant stand had minders on the back of the cars to stop people picking them up and turning them over

Bluebottle · 25 Mar 2001, 09:36 (Ref:74320)

It's always amused me that Reliants cars went from one extream to the other, from the Scimitar to the three-wheelers with nothing in between! - but then AC Cars also built the little blue 'Invalid Carriages' seen on our roads in the 60's & 70's (There's one still in use in our town!)
I think the Trotters van wasn't a Robin, it's an older model simly called a Reliant Van- the Robin was the car they built until last year. How can such a fundamentaly flawed design sell for so long??

Airhead · 25 Mar 2001, 09:44 (Ref:74321)

Like Sharky said this, right?

"As a general rule everyone that rides a motorcycle is a jerk. (well......except for those that ride high performance bikes, right Amoffat? ) They think they're so versatile. They can go through red lights, switch lanes without looking, and pass through cars even when there's no space to to pass. And the worst part is that if you do as much as to touch one of those guys in a matter of minutes you'll be sorrounded by fellow bikers that will be asking for compensation regardless of who's fault was it."

Well I don't rely on friends Sharky, I give room for those around me. But if questioned over someone's incompetence or lack of peripheral vision - I don't take any quarter. With motorcycles you have to develop a thick skin to survive. That and quick reflexes toned through the virtues of anticipating the other brain dead morons reaction - or lack thereof.

Unless I'm on classic machinery (when you smile and wave at the kiddies in the back seat) I like to stay ahead of the crowd. It saves being caught up in someone elses lack of awareness. Having said all this stuff the one time I got aggro at a car driver (who had run over my right big toe, as it took the weight of the bike at an intersection) and hit the roof of the car with my fist.

I found out at the next traffic lights that the lady was on her way to the hopital to see if her husband had survived a heart attack! I felt such a low down %$#@ (insert your own word) - I then offered to drive her to the hospital as my foot wasn't that bad and I was sure at least it would recover.

Now for me I don't like the Volvo drivers. That woman drove a Volve after all!

Bluebottle · 25 Mar 2001, 09:59 (Ref:74325)

Every cyclist, when asked who the worst drivers are, will without hesitation say "Volvo Drivers", although they've spread out into the 'people carrier' category as well these days- usually seen parked on corners or by schools on the "Only Park Here If You're A Pillock" markings with their Moron lights flasing. I regularly see kids being piled out of cars on a Fire Station forecourt!
As for bus drivers, many bus companies are recruiting people on Government training schemes, which means the bus companies get paid to employ them. I think it takes a certain kind of person to make a good bus driver, and there are not many of them left! Don't get me started on coaches!
There are good drivers who own Volvo's and people carriers and there are even children who can walk more than ten yards to the school gate, and I have met and travelled with two very good coach drivers (one of whome can park a coach where many of us would think twice about parking a car!) but I have yet to meet a good Minicab driver, I refuse to use them! (Proper taxis are usually fine, especially the London taxi drivers- watch out for the unlicenced one though!)

Liz · 25 Mar 2001, 13:31 (Ref:74345)

From my motorcycling days, I would echo what AMoffat says - and add the evil blind folks who toss lit cigarets and McDonalds papers out the window without looking to see if they might wrap around someone's face or go down your collar.

And as a bicyclist I would add to that the morons who open their car doors directly in my path, the people with baby carriages who step out in front of me, and the people on rollerblades who think it is funny to grab my shoulder and give me a hefty shove as they are passing by. (I actually did manage to kick the knee out from under one of these brats, and I hope it taught him a lesson.) Bicycles do have a slim profile and it's arguable that a person yammering on her cell phone, yelling at her children, or simply floating in her own little world might fail to see us. Eternal vigilance is the price of bicyling.

Sharky · 25 Mar 2001, 14:28 (Ref:74356)

Ah yes! Now I remember carrie. He he he, I remember them from a "Mr. Bean episode" in which he's trying to get his Mini out of a parking lot and when he finally does he makes one of those Robin Reliants take immediate evasive action that causes it to flip. He he he.

Les · 25 Mar 2001, 18:41 (Ref:74390)

I went from 2 wheels to 3 then 4. The Robin was a lovely car - no hassle in Tescos carpark but it did have a couple of serious flaws.
1) I had to have a lump of concrete under the passenger seat for counterbalance!
2) the drivers door fell off whilst going down the A14. Luckily the lock heald so it just dropped about 6 inchs. Repairing it was no problem - just reinforced the hinge with fibre glass.
The good side
1) great fuel comsumpsion
2) a great plug hole to let the water out when it rained!!

Neil C · 27 Mar 2001, 03:08 (Ref:74665)

I dont hate anyone for what they drive...I hate them for who they are!

One exception, Harley riders.

In the midwest USA it is an unwritten custom for bike riders to raise a hand or nod in acknowledgment of other riders. Even bike owners, when driving their autos, will wave to oncoming bikers. With Harley riders [broad sweeping over-generalization alert!]one is more likely to get a middle finger salute if you are riding anything but a Harley. Jerks.[all clear]

Truckosaurus · 27 Mar 2001, 07:36 (Ref:74688)

Sorry to be pedantic, but Del Boy's van was not a Robin, but in fact a Reliant Regal.

What about yoofs in Vauxhall Nova 1.2s with a loud exhaust and a stereo more powerful than the engine?

Maisie · 27 Mar 2001, 08:34 (Ref:74693)

Middle aged women in small hatchbacks (Nissam Micra - prime suspect) doing precisely 29 1/2mph everywhere, who put the handbrake on and the car into neutral at EVERY stop, accelerate briefly in 1st, then change gear so slowly that they lose all momentum and you nearly ram them, and who brake for GREEN traffic lights and oncoming vehicles even when the road is 100m wide.

Medium sized saloons (Yes Mr Renault Laguna, I mean you) who hog the middle lane on motorways, take exception to being flashed by a Maestro and brake test you.

Peugeots: why is one ALWAYS in my way??

XR31s, especially the white ones with the paint dirty, faded and falling off, the huge "Motorsport" sunstrips and the bonnet vents. Usually right on your tailpipe or tearing round with screeching tyres. Not big, not clever.

I'm sure there are more on my list - if I find any others while out driving to work, I'll add them.

EERO · 27 Mar 2001, 18:30 (Ref:74795)

Subarus.

Until recently, slow moving rust buckets driven by granola-munching pony-tailed folkies. Usually emblazoned with witty bumper stickers such as "My Karma ran over my Dogma" and "Tired of Top-40? Try Women's Music!!!!"

Thankfully, they are becoming so popular around here that that I no longer suffer apoplexy every time one gets in front of me on the Interstate.

My new favorite car to loathe: any high end SUV, (Suburban Assault Vehicle) usually a Range Rover, Lexus or Mercedes though also Lincoln Navigators and Toyota Landcrushers(sic). The bigger the truck,, the smaller the woman driving it and since she often cannot see out of the thing, (let alone climb in or out of it) it rarely occurs to her that the piece of road she is moving into is already occupied by a car of sensible size.

I hate how when I am stopped at an interesection, attempting to turn left onto the main route, they will pull alonside completely obscuring my view and I then must wait for them to turn before me so that I do not pull out into oncoming traffic.

Jeanburrasca81 · 28 Mar 2001, 14:16 (Ref:74962)

Near to the place in northern Italy I'm from there is a small valley with an incredible population. They all drive VW Golf GTI's!!! This isn't a joke...they really all drive GTI's. Now they behave like there are no rules on the road. For they think they know their own roades they drive with more than 120 kph up the winding and bad streets. Once i nearly got killed by one of them while i was on my bycycle, making a tour. This goddamned GTI driver came from behind a corner with about 150 kph! Only by braking apprupt in an extreme way he got back on his side of the road...how much I hate GTI's!
By the way...the people in this valley are sooooo ugly...must be for the centuries of incest back there...lol. OK, this was my revenge...
By the way...it's the Passeiertal...name of the valley...so if you ever pass there you will be shocked!

Ray Bell · 29 Mar 2001, 23:16 (Ref:75343)

Quote:

Originally posted by Maisie
Peugeots: why is one ALWAYS in my way??

Not mine, ever... what I find, however, as a traditional Peugeot driver, is that some with more powerful cars have absolutely no idea how much they hold me up... I have to wind up to get past them, and they just accelerate.

At one time I developed an absolute hatred for 280ZX owners... they were so much dearer when they came on the Australian market than the 260Z that they attracted a totally different type of driver, the executive type, who never learned how to corner or overtake, but had a good idea of where the loud pedal was... no wonder most of them are automatics..

I got my revenge last year, I had one for a few months and drove the thing fast... like reliving my youth!

A model that seemed to get in my way, too, was the Pajero... now this is something meaningful:

The first Pajeros were always driven quicker than most cars. I concluded that they must have conveyed a very safe feeling to their owners/drivers with good handling etc.

Anyway, for this reason, they got in my way like the ZXs, because I always drove my Pugs fast, and this was to become another car that gave me few chances to overtake because of its superior straight line performance. 404s I had those days...

As for SUV standing for Suburban Assault Vehicle... I like it, even if 'Assaust' doesn't begin with 'u'.

EERO · 30 Mar 2001, 03:25 (Ref:75369)

Ray, I cannot claim the term as my own. It was coined by Click and Clack, Tom and ray Malleozzi who host the public radio show "Car Talk" and National Peoples' Radio in the States. They are from the People's Republic of Cambridge, home of Harvard and MIT and managed to butcher sacred cows with great regularity.