Traffic? Politics? People who invoke the name Jesus 67 times in a two minute conversation? Those are universal ‘triggers’. But what about cars? I used to have this unyielding urge to yank off every motorized belt I saw. Even to this day I have nothing but wrath for car with this pseudo-safety feature.
Then there are the ‘shift now’ lights. If I wanted corporate and government nannys to invoke their ‘pearls of wisdom’, I wouldn’t black tape their suggestions. What else? Catalytics that don’t last. New car smells that do. The list is long and the day is young. So let us know what intrusions should be slaughtered and catapulted into the foolish knight.
Writer’s note: This can be car features, cars, dealers (even used car dealers), highways, toll roads, car magazines, roadkill, service centers that lube your wealth, the local DMV. Heck, even the odd activities of your fellow commuters. Anything you want really. After all, we consider this place to be an autonomous collective these days.
Cadillac’s panel gaps. They’re huge! Audi et al sweat these kinds of details. Does GM have the institutional wherewithal to do the same?
Now if Audi would just sweat details like oil leaks and ignition coils…
*ducking*
Any person who tries to argue that the Prius is “quite sporty,” and “fast off the line.”
Have you checked the gaps lately? Lutz fixed them.
Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Come on Michael, you know that it simply would not be a B&B comment thread on TTAC if it didn’t start off with a good dig at ‘ol GM!
The above comment is not directed at the editorial staff or compensated contributors to TTAC so relax – I didn’t even hint at the word that shall not be uttered
Alright Econo Save, you just made the List
Porcupines. Totally piss me off.
Years ago was driving on a dark Massachusetts two-laner. As I came around a turn there was Porcuzilla right in the middle of the damn road. I had no idea these things were so big. Direct hit, driver side front and rear wheels. No question I had put the sucker out of his road kill misery.
The next morning I come outside to two flat tires. Quills embedded in the tread and sidewalls. Did you know porcupine quills are hollow? Did you know they keep working their way deeper and deeper after embedding themselves into a surface? Did you know keep driving with them jammed in your tires you break off the ends, creating a group of tiny straws that once through the tire suck the air out.
Now lacking two spares my options was a tow truck – where the tire dealer looked at stunned amazement at the rubbery carnage. This was hey guys, stop what you’re doing, come check this out – you’ll never see this again, har har har situation.
Oh the tires – of course I had only bought them about 4 to 6 weeks earlier.
Feckin’ hate porcupines.
Ha! Nature’s version of a spike strip! The critters may be dead, but he got his revenge! Well, porcupines may not be tire-friendly, but I think they’re adorably cute.
Especially when they’re babies. How about hedgehogs on the adorable spectrum, when they’re rolled into a ball?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HK0l2tqFDvM
Quite adorable.
Pandas are really, really cute – right before they kill you!
People who ignore the “Slower traffic keep right” sign.
^THIS^
“But I’m not going slow, I’m doing the speed limit.”
^this^ and people who don’t understand the meaning of the words “acceleration lane”.
If it isn’t snowing, raining, sleeting, or full of traffic there is NO reason that you need to hit the freeway going 45 mph (please try for at least semi-prevailing speed ~65mph). I, who am behind you, do not want to get smoked by a semi because you don’t know how to STFU (clever use of the acronym eh?).
oh good lord yes!
Especially when I have a car with malaise era power levels in overly large engines, with the two ton curb weights.
I’m coming up the ramp like a charging elephant, not because it’s fun (well it is), but 0-60 takes 14 minutes, and I need all the room I can muster.
mrhappypants FTW
Here, here, and that just goes for slow drivers period. If you can’t at least do the speed limit then by all means don’t drive on the highway/freeway!
I also have a thing for slow accelerators on entrance ramps too. Now, if the car they are driving is obviously a malaise era POS with a motor that can’t get out of its own way if it tried then I can kind of understand, but in a modern car, hell, even a Camry can scoot out of your way if it needs to without much effort so why drive it like old and creaky?
I get my old, high mileaged truck up to speed and yell, get outta my way as I climb to speeds at or above what the prevailing traffic is doing and then high tail it down the road in a fast lane when traffic permits.
Pretty much any gimmicky feature causes my head to shake, especially when I have to pay for it but don’t want it!
I also be peed off when a vehicle (or anything for that matter) doesn’t do well what it’s supposed to do well.
I’ve actually become tired of getting mad at people who don’t signal, or who signal while they’re turning, or people who ease out from an intersection onto a highway as you’re barreling towards them, or people who are so self-absorbed that they don’t notice anything that’s going on around them, and so on, and so on…
I do my best now to just try and be patient and calm and look at things from as objective a manner as I can so as to give me some needed perspective on situations like those–better for one’s health.
The idiotic notion that driving is a privilege. It has been abused far too many times for the most dubious of goals.
As a debt-averse cheapass, I generally do my own wrenching on cars that are at least ten years and 100K miles old, both for myself and occasionally for my friends. So, hey, automakers: fasteners in rust-prone areas (such as the underside of the car) need some special considerations that you don’t see for fasteners in non-rust-prone areas.
The most recent problem of mine was changing the fuel filter on a late nineties Saturn SL2 (sidenote: why the hell does a fuel filter cost sixty dollars for this car?). It was held in by 8mm steel bolts to the underside of the car near the rear wheel. The bolt heads didn’t even need any torque to break right off. What were they thinking?
Seriously, stainless steel for anything lower down than the head gasket. How much extra would it really cost, anyway?
That fuel filter has a pressure regulator built into it, IIRC.
Non-damped grab handles annoy me on new cars, though it’s excusable on older ones. I was really surprised when I sat in a new Subaru Legacy and found that the grab handles just banged back into place.
Also, and this is a new one, hubcaps with fake lug nuts. I helped a friend change a tire on his Sable and I thought it would be easy, seeing as I’ve swapped wheels on my car in the past. The thing is though my car has alloys, so it took me a while to realize that the lug nuts on the Sable’s hubcaps were, you know, purely decorative.
I always get pissed when people come to a near-complete stop in front of me when taking a turn, but that probably falls under the universal “traffic” category.
We had a ’97 Saturn with plastic fake lug nuts on the wheel covers — they actually attached to the real lugs beneath them to hold the fake-mag-looking covers on, to cover up the rusting steel beneath. I wonder how many of these were stripped by air tools by unthinking grease monkeys (emphasis on “monkey”).
I think that may have been the function of the Sable’s wheel cover lugs as well, but I wonder if there’s a way to do it that doesn’t confuse those who don’t know any better. At any rate, my previous indifference to wheel covers has now turned into distaste – alloys are much more straightforward to swap out.
When I was in college (1995-1999) and working for the Physical Plant the college had recently aquired mint lightly used Dakota longbed which was added to the fleet of trucks they had, the others pre-1989/post mid 70s Chevy trucks. The Dakota had the aforementioned “nut covers” to hold the fake mags on but still attached to the real nuts.
Some of the other student workers were out using the Dakota and it got a flat. The intrepid (but slightly dim) middle-aged head of grounds maintance was dispacted with a storage tank full of air and an air wrench to get the flat tire off and help with the changing of the spare. 20 min later he was back to the shop, cussing, with one of those nut covers jammed in the socket for the air wrench. We (back at headquarters) all laughed our asses off. He was not amused. :P
I’ve remembered a couple more things that piss me off, and I’m honestly surprised I didn’t remember them in the first place because they’re such a common occurrence:
-Huge lifted trucks. I’m in College Station, TX and they’re everywhere. EVERYWHERE. I was driving in a parking lot today and there was a Ford Superduty backed into a spot, not only 2 feet higher than everything else but 2 feet longer – so it created a nice bottleneck in the lane.
-Hummer H2s offend me more than just about any other car I can think of (apart from H3s which are INVARIABLY driven by 20-year old sorority chicks), but that’s probably a subset of the above.
-Also, backseat drivers. My friends do this alot – at least telling me where to go, comments on my actual driving style aren’t very common – and it’s fine when I don’t know where I’m going and ask for their help, but when it’s unprompted and especially when we’re going someplace we’ve all been to before, it really peeves me.
-Huge lifted trucks.
Now I know you’re not surprised to see huge lifted trucks in College Station, are you? I live in East Texas, and besides the lifted trucks, we have to deal with The Official Redneck Female Vehicle of Texas, AKA the Dodge Ram 3500 Dually.
And if you think those trucks look silly in College Station, you ought to see how damn stupid they look in Dallas. Every time I see one, I wonder what the hell they’re gonna climb…an off-ramp embankment??
“-Also, backseat drivers.”
When I owned a 1972 Nova, you could pull out the head restraints. That’s exactly what my buddies in the back seat did to me when I was driving, getting invariably hit over the head, kind of like a pillow fight in the car!
I stopped carting them around shortly thereafter – we rode in a friend’s Nova – and we did the same thing to him!
The cognitive dissonance of hard left anti-market progressives who somehow have an encyclopedic knowledge and love of automobiles and driving.
The cognitive dissonance of people who can’t see that a love of cars, and a concern for human rights are not mutually exclusive.
Political arguments/trolling on car websites.
Sorry, I know, I should avoid feeding the trolls.
FleetofWheel: That’s actually quite funny!
But they’re not actually anti-market (at least not as I read them). The market is fine in it’s proper place. What they oppose is the market-as-a-universal-hammer-for-solving-all-life’s-problems speal.
More cognitive dissonance?
1). Hard-right blowhards who can’t fathom that human greed, corruption and/or corporate negligence ALWAYS eventually poison ‘free’ unregulated/unchecked markets in some way.
2). Hard-right blowhards who can’t fathom that appropriate levels of regulation and wise industry-specific oversight actually IMPROVE the function of markets over the long-term.
3). Hard right blowhards who can’t fathom that desiring well-functioning, properly ‘balanced and checked’ markets is actually being PRO-BUSINESS.
And to get back to the business of TTAC and actually follow Lang’s well-meaning request…
4). Slow-moving idi*ts yacking on their cell phones while blocking traffic in the left lane…
5). Slow-moving idi*ts who refuse to accelerate to traffic-matching speed when merging onto an expressway. ( =dangerous!)
6). Psychopaths who’ve ‘missed their turn’ and cut across multiple lanes of traffic to make the turn at the last minute, risking other’s lives because they can’t be troubled to go to the next intersecton and turn around/go back.
1) Left wing blowhards who think that everybody in the private business sector is evil and that everybody in the public or nonprofit sector is pure at heart and always has our best interests in mind.
2) Left wing blowhards who care so much about people and the environment but own multiple houses and fly in private planes.
3) Left wing blowhards who rail against the unfairness of the rich not paying their fair share and then paying lawyers significant sums to minimize their yearly income taxes and estate taxes.
4) Left wing blowhards who laud themselves for years of public service and then retire to six and seven figure incomes lobbying and consulting for interest groups.
And finally..
5) left wing blowhards who call right wing blowhards every name in the book and accuse them of being unpatriotic, stupid, racist, et al and then call for “civllity” in public discourse.
I seem to remember during the Bush years that folks on the right would call someone unpatriotic if they didn’t support the Iraq war, and if you don’t support the war then that means you don’t support the troops, as if you can’t support one but not the other. Also, right wing politicians seem to enjoy saying that ‘Obamacare’ is socialist. Which is funny really because our taxes pay for their medical care. But I’m a libtard socialist so what do I know lol
I shall now go put on my fire retardant suit (and matching tin foil hat) and prepare to be flamed! :-)
People who mistake The Truth About Cars for “The Truth About My political views,” then mistake their opinions for something that anyone reading TTAC gives any percentage of a rodent’s posterior about.
Your post would be apropo at Faux News. This is the Truth About CARS.
But I’ll throw in my two cents: Right-Wing Blowhards that see ANY topic as a great chance to bring up their political views in the assumption that someone cares. Even if the topic is “stuff that bugs us about cars.”
But I’ll throw in my two cents: Right-Wing Blowhards that see ANY topic as a great chance to bring up their political views in the assumption that someone cares.
I’ll throw a few hundred bucks into that pot. The political rants are tedious, and most rational people don’t really care.
If I wanted to immerse myself in that tripe, I’d be posting on a right-wing political site. The fact that I’m not should be a big fat hint that I certainly didn’t come here to find it.
And is typical per 5), pch101 and mrb00st go right past the original poster sfdennis1 and go straight to me. Faux News – how original!
17-inch wheels on EVERYTHING.
Seriously? I like them on most cars. They look good on the 2006 generation acura TL and most volvos in my opinion.
Whats your problem with them in particular?
Drivers piss me off.
Well, OK…people piss me off.
Monkeys.
Monkeys with car keys.
And the ability to propagate without a license or skill test.
So, put these things behind the wheel and you are asking for pain and suffering.
And how does it happen that the more stupid they are, the larger the vehicle?
I mean, there has to be some kind of formula that can determine the size of the truck and its height off the ground X it’s wheel size X tire size X the exhaust pipe size that will tell you the low IQ of the owner.
Come on, there are a ton of funny people here at TTAC. I KNOW you can come up with a formula that ends with a low number!!!!
This was a bad feature.
I’m bummed now.
I don’t like to drink scotch before I finish my first coffee!!!!
Interior squeaks and rattles that I can’t find or identify . . .
Intermittent electrical problems on my VW Passat that ALWAYS disappear when I spend a half day trying to finally track them down (after driving around for months with packing tape over the partially open side window) . . .
Service manual instructions that (after two pages of lawyerese) invaribly start with “Disconnect the negative battery cable . . .”
Six different screw or fastener types used on the SAME door panel . . .
Door panels that you can study for two hours and STILL not know how to remove . . .
Factory service manuals which don’t even give you the first clue how to remove the door panel . . .
I’ll be here all week!
How about fasteners and tabs that are designed to fit perfectly together…once.
++++1 to both you and redmondjp!!!
I drive my whole family NUTS with noise.
You can hear the group moan when I ask if anybody hears what I hear.
What? Nobody?
Nobody hears that noise?
Um…no. What noise.
Oh, come on! That clicking right over by the window near the dash!
I kind of leave it for a second. Then do small moves trying to see if I can find the damn noise.
Thing is, everybody eventually begins the search because they know the trip to Florida will be pure hell if dad doesn’t find that noise of his.
This type of conversation happens all the time.
Good call…
People that are too stupid to turn their headlights on during inclement weather – like heavy fog and snowstorm situations. How stupid do you have to be to realize that you need to be highly visible in conditions like those? Makes my head hurt and makes me want to beat them with a tire iron.
People that drive at the speed limit or slightly under even though there’s no one in front of them and they’re typically driving a powerful newish car of some sort (usually a Toyota). To calm myself down I tell them they should be driving a Jetta diesel since that’s a more appropriate car for them. Then I remember the fun I had with my Jetta diesel and I laugh. But I still want to beat them with a tire iron or maybe give them a push with my bumper.
People on cell phones that can’t concentrate on the road. Those people really deserve severe beatings. You’re in the car to drive, not talk to your idiot friends and put other people’s lives at risk because you’re too dull to pull over, talk, and then resume driving.
Left lane bandits. I could go on about them, but I won’t. Suffice to say, they might need beatings for not knowing how to pass and get back over.
I think that’s it for now. I’m not a violent person, but some people just need beatings until they smarten up. Or something.
Number 12! Yes, a thousand times YES! Thank you!
Me and traffic generally get along well, until I’m doing 80 mph down the left lane, and some dumb soccer mom in an Escalade ESV is doing 55 mph on her cell phone and will not get over into the middle lane no matter what you do behind her. It pisses me off double when I realize she only has one child and bought a vehicle the size of the damn state, and is only 5′ 2″ so she can barely see anything around the behemoth her husband bought her in the first place.
I’ve got a friend, she’s 5’2″ and drives a Tahoe, she got into my ‘tiny’ ’95 Explorer and was amazed at how well she could see out of it!
told her it’s amazing how well you can see of something designed for visibilty, and not a big hulking Tahoe.
Traffic circles and roundabouts with stop signs at the entrances. These things are the bane of driving in Portland, OR. WHY.
What? I thought the whole point of roundabouts was to maintain the flow of traffic? That’s bizarre.
Yeah, exactly. And it’s not like there’s any consistency. Some have 4 stop signs, while others only have 2. One particularly bad example has 2 lanes entering in all directions, but the right lanes are all turn only (as in, can only be used to go to the next exit). All entrances and lanes have stop signs.
In Portland the point of roundabouts is to piss you off so much you’ll ride transit. Of course, the bus driver still has to negotiate the roundabout….
My cure for that little problem is to stay on I-5 or I-205 and never set a wheel on any other street in Portland.
That sort of thing is spreading though…witness “University Place! We have roundabouts!” as in about fifteen of them on what used to be a nice street near the water.
Fincar1,
I grew up there! Went to Curtis,graduated in ’83. My Mom lives in the area over on 35th St W,not far from the Fircrest Golf Course in a duplex.
The traffic roundabouts are common as dirt everywhere, even here on Capitol Hill in Seattle.
What’s bad are the inconsistencies in the S. Tacoma area in the residential streets just East of S. Tac. Way. Back in the 1980’s, some had no signs, some had stops in 2 directions, some had them in all four directions and it’s amazing how many people even then just Zipped through the intersections without slowing up. I’m surprised no accidents were involved in those intersections. I know as I was a delivery driver for Domino’s Pizza back in the mid 80’s in that part of town.
The way Nissan groups options together into hideously expensive bundles. Actually, any MFR that groups sunroofs, leather, the good stereo, etc. together.
Cheap tires from the factory on new cars that wear out right away.
I sat in a new CTS and started pushing on the dash parts, it sounded like torquing a Rubik’s cube. Less parts, more solidity, please.
Salesmen who, when asked, don’t know what engine is in the car you’re standing next to, or what trim level it is. This, when there are only a handful of cars on the lot.
Drivers who, in increasing numbers, ignore that they are in a turn only lane, or a straight lane, and just do whatever the H they feel like when they get into the intersection. No turn signals, nothing. Just chaos.
I briefly owned a 2001.5 Passat. That was love/hate.
People in intersections who ignore rules, yeah, have that here in Seattle. At the end of Rainier Ave, we have 3 lanes, the left requires you to turn left, a hard left onto the cross street, the middle lane requires you do a soft left to continue up another street by veering left gently, the right lane gives you 3 options,one being a soft left to continue up another street, or continue straight to continue up yet another street, or a hard right to go East on the cross street.
The idiot in the middle lane decides to cross lanes in front of you as they decided to continue up north through the smaller north bound street in front of you as you begin to veer left to continue up that street to your destination and have a close call near accident.
I actually had a minor tangle with one who decided to do just that.Is till have the paint scuffs to demarcate it on my old truck.
“Car enthusiasts” with a closed mindset, unwilling to even consider hybrids, EVs, or anything else that has less than 8 cylinders or weighs less than 3 tons.
HOV lane squatters.
Political hacks thinly disguised as automotive enthusiasts.
Anybody who offers me an absolutist opinion of a car without ever having driven it.
Anyone who repeats the phrase “German engineering” as if it’s anything but a marketing slogan (same thing with “Japanese reliability”).
Pet peeve – People who, when they’re turning either left or right continue to slide right over into the wrong lane.
I mean, really, turn left, stay in the left lane; turn right, stay in the right lane. It really isn’t that difficult.
Bonus points for the ones who look at you in outrage when you turn at the same time as them into the lane they are sure is “theirs” or for the ones who go 20 or 30 yds down the road and then change lanes into the one they should have been in, in the first place.
YES!!!! This happens to me every day as I leave work. I get into the right hand turn lane (two lanes turn left) only to have the person to my left slide to the right after the turn, cutting me off. You know you need to get into the right hand lane after the turn, so get into the right hand turn lane!!!
I usually just hate drivers:
People that don’t use blinkers
People that go 30mph in a 55mph
People that crawl off an exit to merge onto a highway and almost get crushed by a car doing the speed limit.
People that don’t use their emergency brake when parking on a hill.
People that think Japanese cars are the best thing since jesus.
People that think VTEC makes a car a race car.
Finally, people that hesitate or try to drive too carefully. People are so scared of driving that they actually cause more accidents by being careful than actually just driving confidently. An idiot grandma in a Lexus SUV that slams on her brakes going around a slight turn on a main road will cause more accidents than a speeder on a highway.
About cars? I hate Honda Civics. Loud mufflers on 1.6L 4-cyl commuter cars. Automatic Transmissions that can’t decide what gear they want. Mushy gas pedals, on-dash shifters for mini-vans. I really don’t like how my cup holders immediately get dirty after one cold drink that sits in there for a while. I hate when quarters fall between my seat and the center console. Not much else, I love my car.
Hey, each VTEC sticker adds 10 HP. I read it on an internet forum and the kid who wrote it is on the honor roll at Contact High, so it has to be true.
People who swing left to turn right, and vice versa. (note: this is not the same as apex’ing the corner)
People who compulsively tap the brakes on the freeway when no one and nothing is in front of them.
People who seem to be blissfully unaware that they’re driving a 3-ton SUV while they eat, groom, text, talk on the phone and generally put the lives of everyone else around them at risk. My personal stance that we shouldn’t need a law forcing us to focus on driving while we’re driving is beginning to waiver…
Drivers in Vancouver BC.
I’ve driven in the UK, all over Europe, Tunisia, Egypt, all around the US, and still, no one compares to the dozey, dim-witted f**kwits in Vancouver.
Green light? Let me think about that for two minutes… tick… tock… oh yeah, I think that means ‘GO’ – now which one was the accelerator again?
How about a lane change? Lets just randomly drift from lane to lane without checking mirrors and nearly cause ‘umpteen pile-ups, but when someone gets angry with me for having worse eye sight than a garden mole and less brain power than a sparrow, I’ll just swear right back at them. It’s not my fault – I’m always right.
Oh NOES! Brain failure! I’m just going to coast to a halt in the middle of the road for no other reason than I need to check my text messages or dribble some more on my lap.
Lane Discipline! What is LANE? What is Discipline? What am I doing in this 2 ton metal box when I BLATANTLY haven’t got a friggin’ clue?
Seriously – drivers in Vancouver are the slowest, most unaware, incapable bum-nuggets to ever be handed a piece of plastic with their face and name printed on it. THEY ARE IDIOTS.
This reminds me of Memphis drivers. Do they at least pull over for emergency vehicles? Memphis drivers don’t do this for some reason.
Some do, some don’t, some try but fail. Most see an emergency vehicle in their mirrors and then freeze to the spot like frightened rabbits. Others ‘attempt’ to pull over, but merely leave the ass of their car hanging out in the way. It’s like watching a heard of lobotomized sheep bumping into stuff and panicking before falling over and playing dead.
Wow. That would surely drive me crazy(er).
Jeep and PU drivers on the interstate who drive 110 kph on off road tires that were meant for speeds under 25 kph. Not only do they waste fuel and make noise but I expect them to start doing barrel rolls down the highway if they have to change lanes.
People who turn on their turn signal AFTER they have jammed on the their brakes slowing from 50 mph to 30 mph suddenly. The purpose of turn signals is to tell other drivers BEFORE you make the maneuver.
Oooh, that’s a good one!
The Whitestone Bridge.
1 lane to the Bronx midspan at 9:15am weekdays is just dumb!
The Bronx side of the bridge with the current construction condition is like driving on Mars.
People who do not buy a car from Ford, GM or Chrysler but yet claim they are pro-union and care for American manufacturing, workers and their families.
People who do not consider Ford, GM or Chrysler products but claim to be patriotic, red-blooded Americans!
People who don’t know that many Ford, GM, and Chrysler products are built in Canada and Mexico.
Liver. I really hate liver.
Also, I hate engine/gearing/tire size combos that force the engine to run at 4000 rpm on the freeway.
I love my Scion xB1 except for that ^^
You may not like the taste of a liver (I don’t either), but you do like yours, don’t you? If not, donate it to someone who needs it and will love it dearly!
Or at least let us have it to grill up with some caramelized onions and a strip of bacon or two…
Luxury cars using LEDs for tail/brake light but using a normal bulb for the turn signal. Using the cheap round fog lights and infamous black plastic triangle.
How about the pre-’08 Accord that had LED tail lamps. Tell me you haven’t be fricking blinded at night by those! They are TOO BRIGHT and there are far too many of them. Thank God Honda went back to incandescent TL bulbs for the current Accord!
Speaking of tail lamps, cars running white tail lamps or with broken red plastic lamp covers. Especially when they hit the brakes.
Let’s see…
– Enormous, unnecessary AIRBAG labels on sun visors.
– Seat belt chimes that don’t stop. Why can’t I have my laptop bag in the passenger seat without paying a price?
– Run-flat tires
– Nav systems rendered unusable by being in motion
– bumper stickers that show just how closed-minded the driver is (all parties/persuasions may apply)
– truck nutz
– $4000 rims on a $500 car
– people doing anything other than passing in the passing (not fast, left, through-traffic, my) lane.
– People who head straight to the HOV lane from the on-ramp and drive 2 under the limit, even though the other lanes are reasonably free of traffic.
– people who don’t flush (ok, that’s work-related but good lord)
The rust that has invaded my 2003 Protoge 5…
Yess!! I’ve owned 2 mid-90s Japanese cars in the past that have been absurdly reliable and literally perfect for my needs (a 1996 Galant and a 1995 G20), perfect size, features, drove well, absurdly reliable, and I had to sell both off because the rust made them a liability if major parts failed/I got into a wreck. Thankfully, my current (1995 Avalon) was undercoated at some point and has no rust. Why didn’t this come standard? I can understand planned obsolescence from GM in the mid-90s, but mechanically, early and mid-90s Japanese cars are some of the most realiable ever made. Rust kills them at 10 years, though.
People who think their used cars value grows, while same brand new cars get cheaper.
Drivers who wait until the end of the onramp to check traffic, then STOP DEAD when they could have just applied a little gas to get into traffic.
On a side note, having that same driver pass me about 6 seconds later doing 80 REALLY torques my bolts.
Also, bumper stickers, particularly political ones, particularly particularly whiny political ones. I find that the competence of a given driver seems to drop off rapidly as the number and whininess of their bumper stickers increases. Doesn’t matter what flavor the bumper stickers are: environmentalist hippie, gun-toting redneck, fringe whacko, whatever: once you get past three really obnoxious ones for some reason they’re always going slow when they should be going fast, going fast when they should be going slow, and only ever using their turn signal when they’re going straight without a lane change for dozens of miles.
It’s commonly known that the number of bumper stickers is inversely proportional to driver ability and intelligence.
1) Crappy suburban drivers who feel entirely too comfortable dropping two tires over the yellow, sometimes by several feet, when negotiating an outside bend.
B) Tailgating, the cardinal sin of Nutmeg drivers. Bad enough in school zones (Ten feet at 25 mph is not uncommon), but unbelievably bad on interstates. I routinely have folks within 0.5 seconds of my back bumper when I’m in the travel lane, going 10-14 mph over the limit, even though the passing lane is wide open. They’ll do this for miles and miles and miles.
IV) Drivers who, when their lane is blocked, usually by landscaping trailers in the more shishi environs through which I commute, pull into the oncoming lane when it is not safe to do so.
****) Crawling past miles and miles of empty HOV lanes while stuck in slow traffic.
Those tailgaters are usually Massachusetts drivers, BTW.
No they are not.
The cardinal sin of Massachusetts drivers is left lane banditry.
Nutmeggers tailgate like no others.
I routinely have folks within 0.5 seconds of my back bumper when I’m in the travel lane, going 10-14 mph over the limit, even though the passing lane is wide open.
They’re draftin’ you ‘fer better fuel economy. Saw it on NASCAR, must work for me out here on the highway – now move it!
Drivers of large SUVs who slow down to 2 mph before going over each speed bump on a road full of them, as though their vehicles were Opel GTs.
Drivers who never signal, no matter how stupid the maneuver they’re about to undertake.
Drivers with religious or (in some cases) political bumper stickers. By the latter I don’t mean candidate names alone, but rather the type exemplified by one on the back of a Town Car in my neighborhood in 2004: “Kerry’s foreign policy plan: French-kiss Bin Laden” (all caps, of course). As for the first group, two days ago I saw a VW with a “Belongs to Jesus” sticker on the back. Did he get zero-percent financing?
Turn signals are a tool of the weak.
Every manufacturer using the Nurburgring as the ultimate test of a car. Bomb the damned place!
James May would tend to agree with you.
And coming up with a BMW M3 that in real race conditions is crap
Tailgaters, especially at night.
My eyes…
Tsunami, tsunami, tsunami!
People at stop signs who wait to make their move until the oncoming vehicle in the opposite direction ALSO comes to a complete stop.
People who think they can park anywhere with the hazards on.
4-door cars where the rear doors are cost cut to the core (wind-up windows when front ones are electric, doors that do not stay open regardless of wind conditions or vehicle angle)
Street parking permit holders that take up a non-permit parking space 10 feet away.
Cars that don’t have DRL’s
Idiots who block entire intersection in a traffic jam to make sure they don’t have to wait for the next traffic signal cycle.
Electronic parking meters with a central payment station (unable to add time to your meter).
People who don’t bother brushing the snow off their car.
Lifted pick-ups! Trucks are already ridiculously high and yet every second buyer seems to install the highest legal lift kit available. Retina searing blue/white headlamps (usually installed on previously mentioned lifted pick-ups). Employee pricing promotions that keeping telling us that time is running out…then on the last day of the month, a new spot telling us that Employee pricing has been extended for another month.
I would generally say vehicles that have been obnoxiously modified. If you put a stupid body kit or paint your car in a ridiculous manner, that doesn’t impact me. I don’t care. If you put a loud exhaust on your 1992 compact that buzzes around making a terrible noise, if you put poorly aimed aftermarket headlights in, or if you remove all your emission equipment on your diesel so you are dumping soot all over the place, I get pissed. Nothing like riding my bike through town with my wife and some jerk in a full ton diesel is dusting the place in soot from his manly “stacks”.
The trend in auto bodies…
They are darn near SUV’s!
* Flat tall fronts for pedestrian global standards.
* Slab sided bodies with little detail.
* Trunks higher than the roof of a 60’s car.
+1 on the pedestrian standards comment, because —
a) it likely won’t matter too much how high the hoodline is in minimizing damage to the pedestrian anyway, and more importantly…
b) chances are good the pedestrian did something stupid in placing themselves in a location to be hit by the car in the first place, in which case they frankly deserve the consequences.
-1 on your b. Plenty of people blowing through right hand turns without checking for pedestrians in the crosswalk.
-100 on your assertion that anyone who screws up deserves to be run over. No second chances for anyone!
fetch, it is ultimately the pedestrian’s responsibility to ensure their own well-being.
Granted, drivers should give the right-of-way where appropriate… but in the end, cars are bigger than people, and it’s not very wise for people on foot (or bicycle) to behave otherwise. I happen to be very pro-elimination of idiots. We have too many of them in this country; we can afford to lose a few.
Those in the position to cause the most damage to others should have the least responsibility to prevent it? Do you really believe that?
“We have too many of (idiots) in this country; we can afford to lose a few.”
Hmmm, there’s nothing like playing God. Whose definition of “idiot” should we go with?
It truly saddens me that someone apparently needs to explain this to you, fetch. But here goes:
The pedestrian that absentmindedly steps into a crosswalk without looking for oncoming traffic runs a high risk of being hit, and I would say should be hit. Lesson: actions have consequences, and stupidity should be painful.
Same goes for the pedestrian that incorrectly assumes he or she can “beat” the oncoming car across the street, or wrongly assumes the driver will see them and stop. Lesson: Never assume someone else will protect you. That responsibility should be yours alone, not mine.
I’ll leave you to guess at my response to your asinine comment about playing God.
1) People that cannot appreciate a car for the purpose it was intended. Having expectations of a midsize sedan being a sport sedan first and foremost is ridiculous. A good car can be a terrible car for my needs, but perfect for what it set out to do.
2) On the flipside, cars that parade to be one thing but don’t deliver the goods. Vans disguised as SUVs. Station wagons disguised as SUVs.
3) 90% of “car guys”. You can always predict exactly what they will say and it is usually something like “looks like a X model mated with a Y model!” or they just ramble on about their brand or model of choice. Thankfully, TTAC seems to have fewer of these types. People that have a bone to pick with a certain brand are also extremely tiring. While there are brands I don’t have any interest in, I typically try to keep myself objective and do the “if you don’t have anything nice to say” method.
#1 – nailed it
Idiot lights. Can I PLEASE have a set of real gauges? Looks like the temp gauge is now going away, back to the 60s when all we had was the speedo and gas gauge (except in Mopars). At least for now, we still have tachometers for the most part.
+1 more gauges, more better. And I don’t care if its a Lincoln or a Lamborghini TELL ME SOMETHING. Don’t just light up a freaking idiot light when something is wrong.
Soft painted plastic simulating “metal.” Particularly when it easily scratches and/or chips, marring an otherwise immaculate interior.
Thanks, Mazda.
+1 on the painted silver plastic. Terrible idea. And new models are still coming out with it!
1. People who park mid/full size SUVs, minivans, and full size pickups in “compact” marked spaces.
2. People who when pumping gas, instead of waiting for the “next available pump” on their side of the tank decide to reverse into the one on the opposite side.
3. Manufacturers that no longer offer “manual transmission” on at least the base models of their cars. Yes we still want SUVs and Sedans in stick shift. At least give us one.
How about people who stretch the pump hose to the other side of the car, just because they can’t wait for a pump on the correct side for their vehicle.
People who drive with their brights on in traffic. Day or night, doesn’t matter, they should be shot on sight.
Number 11!
My biggest rant is the fucking stupid federal laws, specifically the FMVSS, that prevent us from having more choices of vehicles, motors, and gearboxes as the Australians and Europeans do.
This stupid fucking laws give the importers too much clout in deciding which vehicle to be homologated as well as which motor and gearbox combination to be certified for US market.
This fucing stupid agency, NHTSA, has failed the American public many times over…it has to be shut down!
Those fucking stupid federal laws SHOULD be repealed!
And ADOPT the de facto international standards, namely ECE! Australia and Japan have changed their laws to harmonise with ECE, resulting wider choices of vehicles, motors, and gearboxes at lower cost.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Highway_Traffic_Safety_Administration#Regulatory_comparison
My pet peeve(s)? This’ll be fun!
1. Rear windows that don’t roll down in coupes/2 dr. sedans anymore.
2. Pillarless hardtops.
3. Impalas w/o three tail lights (c’mon Max. Bob – it isn’t really that hard to make this and the first two reality again!).
4. Drivers that have no clue what a “turn signal” is or how to use one.
5. General Motors killing the “100 mpg carburetor” almost 40 years ago.
6. Electronic gee-gaw overload on everything. (Why does almost every appliance have to have a clock, anyway?)
7. Camaros and Challengers with fixed side glass (see no. 1).
8. Beginning a 100-mile daily commute at 60 years of age!
9. No full-width grilles or not enough chrome trim on cars.
10. Drivers lazily crossing the centerline on any road.
I could go on, but mercifully, won’t!
…killing the “100 mpg carburetor” almost 40 years ago…
I so hate Gargamel for killing off the Smurfs. I also hate that Merlin was banished to oblivion due to it becoming a time for man, and that I can’t find the entrance to Hogwarts.
That’s because you were hanging around the grassy knoll.
Cars with fancy illuminated instrument clusters that don’t automatically adjust their brightness based on ambient light. (I’m looking at you, Honda)
Yes, and they have the side effect of tricking people into thinking that their headlights are on. Making matters worse, many of these vehicles with brightly lit instrument clusters don’t have automatic headlights. I think Daniel Stern has posted comments on this site pointing out the same problem.
As a Honda owner, I feel your pain. I’ve done the “thought the headlights were on” a few times, luckily without consequences. Finally got in the habit of checking for the headlight indicator every time I drive.
Just because I turned on the headlights doesn’t mean it is nighttime! Maybe it’s just raining/snowing/foggy and I want the extra visibility. If you’d spend the extra $1.50 for an ambient light sensor, you’d know that. Better yet, save the 5 bucks the fancy display costs and just give me old fashioned gauges with needles and painted numbers.
The only thing worse than flashy gewgaws are half-assed flashy gewgaws.
Horizontally mounted Oil Filters!
Being forced to screw up, literally, the front of my new car with a license plate.
I don’t own,or have any desire, to drive a Yukon or on Expedition. I’m tired of so called activists telling me that to drive such a vehicle is somehow wrong.
Movie stars showing up in private jets to protest the USA buying Canadian “dirty oil”
Yeah well Alberta oil might be stained with sand….but not blood.
LOL Mikey! Have you ever heard of the Texas Cadillac? In my area there is an overabundance of them: Suburbans, Excursions, Expedition ELs, Navigators, Tahoes and the like. And people drive them like they’re sport cars, fast off the line, and hard braking before a turn or stop. Activists would have an apoplexy in my state and Texas.
@highdesertcat..Sooner or later, folks like you and me had to find some common ground.
Speaking as a Texan, highdesertcat is right on the money. Also see my earlier post about Dodge Ram 3500s. Green activists have a hard time of it in Texas, except for maybe Austin. But then, Austin’s kinda strange compared to the rest of Texas anyway :)
Car butchering for emerging countries that make them totally unsafe. I live in Argentina but this applies to most large third-world countries. The big problem is that they take a car, then butcher it until it fails crash tests and then they charge you an arm and a leg for airbags, on a car that’s already expensive to begin with. This doesn’t just happen with dirt-cheap cars that are expected to be unsafe, but also with more expensive cars that are bought by the middle-classes, and even larger cars like the Corolla are butchered to maximize profits. Just look at the LatinNCAP test and you’ll see what I mean. Just because people in third-world countries want cheap cars doesn’t mean you can just make deathtraps then charge it as much as a modern car.
To make matters even worse, you can’t just buy an import because the government over here is doing everything they can to force the crap built here down your throat. Want to buy a BMW and live in Argentina? You can’t, go buy a crappy 307 like a good patriotic citizen. What, your wife died because the car was poorly built? Well, she probably sucked at driving, that’s what the fascists at the government tell you. At least they are forcing car manufacturers to put airbags on cars from 2014 onwards, but without good structures, it’s useless. Not to mention they loan money to companies like Peugeot, who have massive profits, to make very small investments to manufacture obsolete cars.
“…even larger cars like the Corolla are butchered to maximize profits.”
Ha ha ha! Calling a Corolla “large” is like ordering Jumbo Shrimp!
People who can’t turn left.
Or race cars that can only turn left.
Just about everything these days!
Old and grouchy
The usual: tailgaters, street racers, left-lane blockers, coffee can mufflers, people who think it’s remotely appropriate to use their high beams in the presence of other traffic or don’t even bother to think about whether their actions could harm others.
Also: people who buy up-model Mercedes etc. for no other reason than to buy the more expensive car, then exclusively use their E65AMGs (or even E550s) to drive to the mall at 23mph. There should be some terrible, terrible punishment for this.
I’m torn on your “Also:”, if only because these folks will be eating most of the depreciation and that heavy iron will work its way down to the used market..
Yeah, this. There’s a lot of barely-used high-end automotive iron quietly depreciating out there, and I’m always happy to see six-figure performance cars fall into mainstream enthusiasts’ price ranges. Somebody out there is taking the depreciation hit on my next CTS-V for me right now, in fact…
People that are terrified of winter driving, but they drive anyway.
If your that scarred…park it.
^^ This +1.
The tree huggers in Oregon that mandated E10 and thus forced us in Western Wa to get the same, since the bulk of their gas comes from refineries in my state.
We use mandated E10 in New Mexico and in my area we’ve had several car fires from leaking fuel lines. It gets your attention when you drive your old Caprice to the grocery store only to find the fire dept hosing down your car engine when you’re done shopping. It could ruin your whole day!
Haven’t seen or hear of any fires attributed to it around here. Surprisingly the rubber portion of the fuel lines for my IH’s haven’t been affected but my old Buicks did have their lines get soft and started “sweating” fuel. The thing that annoys me the most is the drop in Fuel economy. We took the wife’s SUV on a trip last summer to states that sold unadulterated gas and low and behold it got 10% better MPG than it does traveling through the states with E10. Contrary to popular belief it’s not the farmers getting rich off of E10 it’s the oil companies. They get to sell you more of a product that costs them less, earn a tax credit, and raise the price while blaming it on the politicians. The drop in MPG does vary between different vehicles but the late model rigs I’ve had it usually seems to be about 10%.
Even though I’m an Oregon tree hugger, I hate E10 too
I should have said the tree hugging politicians of Oregon, all the actual people of Oregon I know don’t like it either, tree hugger or not. Many people didn’t like it including 1 politician who found out her Prius lost a bunch of MPG. She introduced and got a bill passed that does allow unadulterated premium to be sold but it can only be dispensed into vehicles that are 25 years old or older. So it really isn’t available still.
Environmentalists don’t like E10 or ethanol for a fuel–at least real ones. Its way too inefficient.
Not moving as far to the right as possible before turning right. They usually stop dead blocking the whole lane before turning into a driveway.
Conversely, those that pass on the right shoulder, or use the right turn only lane to go straight.
Manufacturers that cheapened out the fuel doors on their cars (i.e. Mitsubishi Galant) that used to be the locking, remote-release type but are now the push-one-end-to-pry-open type. They then manufacture them from superthin sheet metal. Shockingly, all 14 Galants in our rental fleet, ranging from 6200-17000 miles, has a huge finger-induced dent in the fuel door.
Chrysler also used this on the LX cars, although the new versions have the push-to-pop-open type.
Also, and I’ve gone into this before on here, the creep of the “sport suspension” into mainstream cars that has caused Jane McAverageDriver to think she’s able to go double the speed limit on any given road (thanks, BMW and Honda). Now I’m tailgated by Corolla Ss, Chevy Cruzes, Mazda3s, and everything else made in the past 10 years with a “sporting” bent.
If you like a sporty-feeling car, awesome. Go enjoy an empty curvy road any day of the week. But my residential road with a limit of 25 is not suddenly okay to drive at 45 because you feel your econocar “S” can handle the curves.
New/Used Car Sales”people”.
Easy there, you just told half of TTAC readers you don’t like them.
1. Proprietary fluids, tools, and software.
2. Dealer fees.
Oh yeah…Number one pet peeve…People that drive on “auto pilot” Like your signaling to make a lane change…and the zombie driver sits in your blind spot.
The trend towards lower and lower profile tires. A family sedan does not need 45 series tires. I do not need to feel every bump, crack, pothole, and expansion joint on my daily commute.
Especially since NASCAR has more sidewall on their tires than many new cars today.
The way options are packaged on a lot of new cars – Examples:
I’d like a nav system. Fine, it’s 2k when I could use a smartphone for free, a garmin for $100 or a very nice, touch-screen double din headunit for $500-1000. But if I’m already willing to pay that 2k, do I also have to spend another 2k-4k on a sunroof, or leather or something else I don’t want??
Also, I hate when companies make certain safety features optional. I could do without TPMS or mandated stability control – but if you’re going to have side impact airbags, why make them a $200 option? On cars where airbags are optional I have NEVER seen a dealer order them. Sure, they’ll do some $350 appearance pacakge of $1000 chrome wheels, but never the $200 airbags.
I agree, I remember looking for a used Altima, Accord, or Camry with side airbags (which were optional at the time) and I found one Altima and one Camry in the whole country on eBayMotors. Thankfully, they’re standard on nearly everything now.
I had to special order my GTI in order to get the rear side airbags. The dealer flat out told me that they never order those for dealer stock.
(in no particular order)
*Teenagers driving any vehicle. (Actually I hate teenagers in general, but especially on the road.)
*The notion that paying more for fuel is a good thing.
*Any economy car owner who thinks a coffee can sized exhaust constitutes “modding”.
*People that think vehicles they don’t approve of should be legislated away for “the common good”.
*Aftermarket stereos blaring excessive bass.
*”COEXIST” bumper stickers.
*People who think their choice to drive manuals makes them somehow better than other motorists. NEWSFLASH!: You’re not special.
*Car wreck gawkers.
*Sharing the road with bicyclists.
*Early morning DJs on the radio. The last thing I want to hear in the morning while driving to a job I hate is someone who enjoys theirs.
*Pickup testicles hanging from trailer hitches.
*Spoilers on anything that can’t go fast enough to need one.
*22″ decals next to wheels.
*The obvious failure of law enforcement evidenced when the flow of traffic is 10 mph above the speed limit.
I could go on and on…
*Pickup testicles hanging from trailer hitches.
THIS!!!!!!
Neuter that truck, then the guy behind the wheel.
I like your list a lot. I’m not sure I agree with the last one though… When it comes to speeding out on the interstate, let it go.
Also:
-People who don’t understand what that big white line at intersections is for (so everyone…)
-Creepers at intersections.
-People who don’t understand it usually is quicker to make minimal lane changes instead of 17. They almost always jam themselves somewhere and then I cruise past them in the lane I’ve been in for miles.
-Left lane campers. ESPECIALLY the ones that get all indignant when you flash your brights or take an opportunity to pass them after being stuck behind them for some time.
-Newyorkers that match your speed when you try to pass on the expressway. Worst state for that, I’ve noticed.
-People that have to be in front of you. Please notice the 4 mile gap behind me and don’t turn out into the 3 car gap in front of me. Or on the expressway, please just get behind me in the huge gap instead of speeding up to cut me off so you can make your exit one car sooner.
-People who don’t use blinkers.
-People who put their blinker on a mile early.
*People that think vehicles they don’t approve of should be legislated away for “the common good”.
Ah…you mean like the self-satisfied, smug, arrogant SOBs that drive Smart cars and Priuses, who paid a ridiculous premium for something that barely gets better mileage than an early-90s CRX HF (in particular the Smart), and won’t shut up about how “responsible” they are compared to you and the rest of the world/nation? Yeah, I’m with you on that.
People in high performance cars that get ahead of me as I approach an off/on ramp, and then slow down so they can crawl around those scary and dangerous turns.
CAFE regulations, and all of the idiots who think they are a good idea….
First and foremost: Those who treat driving as a constant me-first competition. They’ve just GOT to be in front of you, in all conditions, no matter what. Speeding to get ahead, swerving and switching lanes, bullying their way into all situations and executing various and sundry dick moves. These clowns bugger up traffic flow, force me compensate to for their idiocy and impatience and endanger everyone else on the road, all for what? To inflate their egos? Gain a few seconds? Or maybe nothing at all? Save it for the track, asswipe. Hate, hate, haaaaate.
People who wait until the last minute to merge when a lane ends. This is usually accomplished by speeding, swerving in front of me and then jamming on their brakes to slot in at the very last minute. What, the “lane ends, merge” signs two miles back weren’t enough for you?
Tailgaters. If we’re moving and I can’t see your front bumper in my mirror, you’re too damn close. And I WILL slow down … the closer you get, the slower I’ll move.
And, last but not least, being unpredictable. Drive slow, drive fast, I really don’t care, I’m a patient man. Just be consistent, watch where the hell you’re going and use your turn signals. Just let me know what you’re going to do in advance, okay? I’ll do my best to help. Honest.
“And, last but not least, being unpredictable. Drive slow, drive fast, I really don’t care, I’m a patient man. Just be consistent, watch where the hell you’re going and use your turn signals. Just let me know what you’re going to do in advance, okay? I’ll do my best to help. Honest.”
This. I can usually read traffic pretty well, yet these buggers are always seem to pop out where one least expects them.
People who wait until the last minute to merge when a lane ends. This is usually accomplished by speeding, swerving in front of me and then jamming on their brakes to slot in at the very last minute. What, the “lane ends, merge” signs two miles back weren’t enough for you?
Yes, but sometimes they signal first.
Manufacturers charging $1000 for a navigation device that does nothing more than a $100 aftermarket one… In dash CD changers in a world where 1 MP3 CD can hold 10 hrs of music… Automatic climate control… DRLs … Alloy wheels with a swept pattern, so on one side the spokes face Foward, and on the other they point backwards.
Other drivers on my Interstate, highway, street, country lane (you get it).
While you have your cruise on, people who speed up when you pull in the left lane to pass on an interstate.
I’m used to my vehicle so the fact that when I drive my spouses I have to hit the unlock button twice to open all 4 doors.
Seat belt dingers.
High belt lines.
Clasutrophobic b-pillars.
Lack of aux inputs.
Lack of cup holders.
NVH at interstate speeds.
Stereos with no bass.
iDrive.
Twisting nobs to recline seats.
Cars with out AC.
Sitting in tiny backseats.
Hypermilers.
Revenuers (cops).
Tolls.
Traffic cameras.
City bicylcists.
German cars with interference motors that drop timing chains (I’ve been in two when they did it.)
Exhaust leaks.
Catalytic converts.
Corn ethanol in my fuel.
Non-truckers who hate trucks but ask you to help them move stuff.
The lack of manual transmissions.
Left lane campers.
Big rigs tearing up my roads.
Talking cars with idiots.
English trackday instructors who think my car is shit.
People who think corvettes aren’t fast in the twisties.
People who think pushrods are antiquated.
People who think they know what’s best for me.
My personal peeve is headlight height on trucks and SUVs. It’s exacerbated by the majority of truck drivers where I live who feel that a lift kit is a mandatory accessory. I like trucks, but I prefer to driver cars and don’t appreciate having my passenger compartment filled with light from these things to the point that I can feel the photons burning the back of my head.
1. People who think if there’s a lightswitch on their dashboard, then it MUST be turned on! No you DON’T need those fogs, sharpshooter. Especially not the REAR fogs, Audi drivers.
2. Harley Riders and their cored-out exhausts. BROOOOM!! Lookit me! Hey, what’re you lookin’ at?! I’ll kick your behind cuz I’m a bada$$ Harley Rider. BROOOOM!! Lookit me! And repeat ad nauseum….
3. Tattoos
4. Piercings
5. People who can’t figure out the proper use of its and it’s; their, they’re, and there; you’re and your
6. Smokers who apparently think their cigarette butts magically disappear once they’ve been thrown out the window.
7. “Privacy glass” in SUVs and minivans. Look, it’s already hard enough seeing around your fat haunches. Can’t I even read traffic THROUGH your roadblocking deathmobile? Sigh. I guess not.
Thought of a couple more:
8. WalMart shoppers who can’t walk twenty feet to put the shopping cart WHERE IT BELONGS
9. Same WalMart shoppers who apparently think the purpose of parking lots is for disposal of used diapers
You shop at Walmart???
Obviously the carriage belongs in the handicapped spot because the people who need those spots aren’t challenged enough by a trip to Walmart.
“Rice rocket” riders in general tend to be much worse than Harley riders. (No offense to anyone.)
I definitely agree with #6
18 mpg minivan owners and 22 mpg sedan owners looking disparagingly at my 17 mpg V8 SUV and 20 mpg pickup like I’m using twice the gas they are.
People who change lanes while making a turn. For example, lets say you’re at an intersection and want to turn onto a road with at least 2 lanes in your direction of travel, and an oncoming car wants to turn onto the same road. If everyone followed the rules, we should be able to turn at the same time, me turning into the lane closest to me, he into the lane closest to him. This would really speed up the flow of traffic. Nobody follows this rule though.
Another: nobody knows the right-of-way rule at stop signs. They’ll either go when it’s your turn, or they’ll wave you through when they have the right away, thinking they’re being nice. Well, YOU AREN’T. If I follow your wave, and you pull out and hit me, it’s my fault. Also, it makes every stop a negotiation. If they’d just follow the rules things would go a lot smoother.
For cars, I hate the poor sightlines in all cars now days. In my old Cherokee, when parking I can put any point of the car within a couple of inches of where I want it. My 98 Accord is almost as good. My 07 335i…I can’t tell where the back bumper is within about 5′ without opening the door and sticking my head out, and it is one of the BETTER cars these days!
1. Headliners that don’t match the interior. If I get a black interior, I want a black headliner and black interior pillar covers, not some neutral grey.
2. ‘Sport’ packages that delete the wood trim. Why does getting a bigger engine or firmer suspension setup preclude me from being able to have nice wood (or faux wood) trim?
@ 2. – Because if you ordered the sport package, you MUST have the (usually faux) brushed aluminium – or (also usually faux) carbon fibre! It’s what the HIP kids want.
Bolt-on “performance parts” – If you can bolt it on or wire it up without extensive mechanical knowledge, it’s probably either not a performance part or has the real possibility of screwing something up down the road. That, or it probably looks really stupid and annoys the hell out of everyone else on there road, i.e. fart can mufflers.
Even more annoying are the bolt-on jockeys who suddenly think they are experts in engine building, maximizing performance, and all other things mechanical.
People that trade in perfectly good 3-4 year old, low-mileage automobiles for a hybrid in the name of “being green.” Head, meet tack hammer.
And, though it’s been mentioned before, people that come to a near complete stop while making a simple right turn.
That girl in a white BMW 3 series who got irritated with me when I stopped at two consecutive STOP signs rather than just slow rolling them. Don’t pout, it makes your butt look fat.
Idiots that walk 15-20 feet away from their cars and then hit the key fob once (BEEP), twice (BEEP), and then a third time (BEEP) to lock it. The car is no more locked than it can be after the first beep, and all you really have to do is hit the lock button on the door panel before you close the door, and VOILA!…..the car is LOCKED! I KNOW some of you reading this are key fob lock morons….it’s become an epidemic.
See the other comment on this thread re: unfamiliarity in switching from one car to another. On my wife’s old RX300, blipping the key fob once locked the doors, a second time turned off the lights (DRLs or headlights on “auto”) and engaged the alarm. On my TL, same thing. On the Mazda6 I just had as a rental car for a week, one blip did everything, the second caused the car to honk, loudly. I probably woke up the neighborhood five times doing this at night by accident.
Your suggestion to lock the door before closing it is how people used to get their keys locked inside. If you use the fob outside the car (after the doors are closed), it prevents that. From a safety/reliability process standpoint, the fob is great.
However, there’s no reason to need the beep. Just lock it while you are standing next to it so you can see & hear the locks. Don’t keep hitting the button so everyone else knows you locked it, too.
As someone who has owned 3 cars with power locks but no keyfob (I lost the one from my Diamante, my G20 never had one – dealer accessory, and my Avalon has one that I have been too lazy to replace the battery in, since I’ve been doing this for 5 years now), I’ve never once locked the key inside my car. I had only one key for the Diamante and have only one key for the Avalon. Not that any of those cars even had a horn-honk feature for the remote locking mechanism…
I live in an apartment, on the ground floor, about 3 feet from the parking spots. Someone does this invariably every single night as I’m about to go to bed. Mostly it’s the black Civic coupe, which has a particularly high-pitched, loud, annoying horn. And, yes, he does it 4-5 times EVERY SINGLE TIME.
The person, usually an old lady, that pulls out in front of me and goes 20 miles an hour. They know they screwed up, so they go super slow.
The person merging when I am towing my Airstream and move to the left lane to let them merge that then sits directly to the right of me and will not allow me to get back into the right lane. This usually happens with an 18-wheeler on my tail. They are about as bad as the ones who, when I slow a bit to give them merging space, they just stop instead of merging. I’m pulling 3 1/2 tons, folks.
The person who merges onto a freeway at 20 mph slower than the traffic.
People who use their mouth as a third hand.
People who wait until the cashier is totally finished scanning their items before contemplating payment.
Women who won’t move forward in the line until they put their change away, snap the wallet closed, place it in its proper location in the purse, snap the purse shut, check their bags and say goodbye to the cashier. MOVE IT ALONG, LADY!
People who come in and ask me if the car has a V4 motor.
People who ask stupid questions like “what does that knob with the 1 2 3 4 do?” Yes really
Soft touch plastic on the dash board and hard as a stone plastic on the door panel.
People who can’t merge into oncoming traffic. Hint: get up to highway speed BEFORE you get to the highway. Then speed up or slow down as needed to merge into the flow. Duh!
BMW’s ridiculous non-Comfort Access ignition key solution, that requires you to insert the suppository-shaped device into the hole in the dash, then push it in, then push the on/off button. To turn off the car, you have to push the on/off button, then push the suppository IN again to get it to release. As Jerry Seinfeld once said, “What were they thinking?”
They were thinking “hey, if we make this annoying and stupid, more people will pay the $500 for Comfort Access – pure profit!”
It worked on me – I paid the $500.
They have fixed that. Now you can keep the key in your pocket.
When somebody says something to you and you can’t think of something to say back to ‘em. Like that one time I saw the guy from TV, with the thing, you know, and he’s talking to me, and he says something to me and so I couldn’t…but I got something to say now. Shut up stupid!! Yeah!!
In addition to that which has already been said above:
Left lane drivers with no sense of patience or forethought; the light just turned red, that means you can coast and/or prepare to stop – slamming on the brakes is counterproductive and causes the automotive equivalent of the wave.
Right lane drivers with no sense of urgency; the light just turned green, HIT THE GAS. I am tired of missing lights due to these people; I cant even count how many times I’ve had slowpoke accelerators coast through a solid red light.
People who cannot understand the mystical power of cruise control. It can almost be guaranteed that the car’s computer can regulate speed and fuel consumption better than you average cell-phone talking zombie-drone.
When turning out of a parking lot, drivers of SUVs or pickups that pull up past you to peer at traffic, completely blocking your view, even though their vehicle is tall enough to see over your roof.
I second this, It drives me nuts.
Especially when you are turning right and they are turning left. Now I have to wait until both lanes clear in order to see if it’s safe. Grr!
On the plus side, their driving position is so high that they don’t notice when you roll your window down and give their paintwork a good keying…
+10
Childish socialist rants disguised at car reviews or industry editorials. I hate to admit it but I have found myself spending less and less online automotive time on TTAC. When you start looking, there are plenty of automotive websites that stick to the cars.
Two way street. Ain’t just the socialists. Scroll up for some examples.
I was referring to a couple of the editors not the TTAC best and brightest.
I like the different content, and I don’t care about the political views of the staff, because I’ll either agree or not. Try Curbside Classics. Paul’s focus is on older cars, but it is a lot less political and more car focused. http://www.curbsideclassic.com/
Wow, if you think that the editorial slant on TTAC is towards socialism, you must think that NewsMax is a worthless pinko Commie pro-Clinton website and magazine that liberals drool over.
Thanks to whoever made my comment appear. You can delete the other similar one if you would be so kind :-)
Slow drivers on two lane roads who speed up once they reach the passing lane, and then slow down again once it ends, ensuring that no one is ever able to get around them.
They drive according to their confidence. If the road is straight and visibility is good (passing zone), they go fast, but if there’s a turn, a hill, etc. (no passing zone), they get scared and slow down.
I’m sure that is true. But one glance in the mirrors will tell them that they have a long line of cars strung out behind them, and once ounce of common decency will instruct them to allow that group to pass. The best way to do this is not speed up in the passing zone.
Ha. That’s a good point. I’ve never thought of it that way. I just want to PIT maneuver them. I still do, but now I understand their terrible logic a bit better.
I guess it goes along with the fact that people just do things without thinking about it. If they all thought about what they did while they drove, maybe they would realize a lot of it is dumb and stop it.
Tell me about it – the area where I live is a magnet for retirees. Like flies, warm days bring them out in droves, bumbling around randomly and unpredictably on the roads.
I’m certain that a good proportion of them shouldn’t still be driving. I can understand older drivers being nervous of high-speed roads, but I’m talking about driving sub-30MPH speeds on a 40MPH extra-urban road. And yet still braking for speed cameras.
Here in the UK, holding up five or more vehicles behind you at a speed below the posted limit without periodically pulling over to let them pass is an offence of ‘Driving without due consideration’.
Don’t think anyone has been ticketed for it in my area since Victorian times though. We urgently need a good Flu epidemic.
People making wide turns on 6 lane suburban streets. Should be possible for one driver to make a left turn and another driver to simultaneously make a right turn with a whole extra lane in between, but no. Can’t efficiently use the pavement because the other driver may try to turn into the farthest lane and hit you.
Also frustrated by the vehicle height arms race. Too many tall cars and trucks that block my view of traffic up ahead.
“Driver’s Cars” with run-flats and automatic transmissions. And their owners.
people that stop to pick up other people and are not going to get out of the car and honk to let them know they are waiting – that’s fine – but when they honk the “Shave and a haircut – two bits” tune. I want to throw cinder blocks through the windshield.
I hate how everything, I mean everything is controlled by some sort of computer. You do not even have to think to parallel park anymore. I have a sweet back up camera! I like how old cars require real driving skills.
The Jesus bolt. This is not the same named one as used on helicopter main rotors.
This is the nut/bolt/fastener that we all curse when it a. won’t come off/out/apart, b. is in an inaccessible place, c. breaks off or strips out.
“The Jesus bolt.”
Years ago it was the “Jesus clip” – the little hourglass-shaped wire clips that held carburetor linkage rods in place. When removing one and all of a sudden you used a bit too much force, it would fling off into orbit, never to be seen again. Always had a little box of assorted carburetor “thingies” just in case! You saved everything!
dwford, you hit the nail on the head. I’m constantly amazed at people in the checkout line (almost always women) who after the cashier has rung up $150 worth of groceries have this astonished look on their face as if they never realized they had to pay. These are the same women who are also intent upon winning the Exact Change Award. “Wait a minute, I’ve got three cents in here somewhere” On the other hand, a guy goes to the checkout counter and boom, he’s got the money right out. Why is that?
Also I’m surprised that not many TTACers have complained about the guy who pulls up next to you, often in a 10 year old Nissan Maxima with the radio blaring music, customarily with a lot of four letter words, that you could hear from 100 yds. away. Invariably a dirtbag.
Finally, the teen age girls who cannot speak a sentence with using the word “like” three times. “I went to my boyfriend’s house and like we decided to like go to the movies but like there was nothing I like wanted to see.”
+1 on the LIKE thing. Except it’s not just the girls where I live, it’s practically everyone between the ages of 14 and 24.
Drivers who think lines are for anyone but them. Line’s formed for an upcoming turn lane? They’ll just zip ahead, and cut in. Oh, they put their ticker on, but that doesn’t make it better. Traffic lining up for an upcoming entrance or exit ramp? Ditto. “Lines are for the little people. I’m way too important for lines.” Most often they seem to drive giant SUVs or BMWs. Argh!
I’m a user of cruise control on lightly traveled highways. What really drives me NUTS is people who feel the need to pass (fine with me) but then slow down (for no apparent reason) 50 feet in front of me so that I now have to hit the brakes.
I could not begin to count the number of times I’ve wound up in an unwanted game of “tag-your-it”.
– GM’s feature where the reverse lights come on when the car is locked (or maybe when the door is opened). What always happens – I’m driving through a parking lot and I see a GM product with reverse lights on, so I stop and motion the driver to back up, only to see that NOBODY is in the car!
– Of course, left lane bandits, people who don’t know what a turn signal is, etc. I don’t think I even need to explain this.
– On car forums, those who think they are superior to everyone else because they drive a manual. Hmm…I think the majority of the world’s drivers know how to drive a manual – you are not special. Granted, it’s a good skill to know, and I really don’t care what transmission you choose to drive – after all, lots of cars are more enjoyable with a manual – but bashing those who choose to drive an automatic is just a display of insecurity.
“+1 on the LIKE thing. Except it’s not just the girls where I live, it’s practically everyone between the ages of 14 and 24.”
I know several grown women that speak the same way as their teenage daughters. To the point where they end every sentence (statement) as if it was a question. Ya know what I mean?
You can cure them of that pretty quickly by replying “Well, yes, actually I do, but thanks for checking” every time they do it.
Makes them suddenly go self-conscious as hell…
– Turn lanes, or rather the lack thereof. When they do exist, the planner included them for aesthetics rather than functionality so they are too short or too hard to use.
– Drivers who don’t look/think ahead. They dive across multiple lanes to make a turn at the last moment or accelerate to slam on their brakes at a light that has been red for ages.
– People who don’t know the law and/or bitch about others who are doing exactly what the law entitles/requires them to do.
– Fart cans & excessive subwoofers. I realize you need your windows to be open to get all that bad ‘music’ out of your car, but I don’t want to hear it inside my home.
– Wagon wheels on cars. When your car rattles apart (helped by your stereo), don’t complain–it’s karma.
– Car makers who think they can make a car smarter than me: auto-unlocking doors, auto-wipers, auto-volume control, wind-detecting steering assist, shift now lights, idiot lights, change oil lights, etc. More often than not, they break something that used to work just fine.
– The big, swooping creases that designers hope will hide door handles.
– Too many useless gadgets. I don’t need/want a car that talks to me. I don’t need facebook updates. I hate touch screens because they have no tactile feedback. I hate how Ford released MyFord Touch even when they knew it didn’t work. And why would I want a national weather map in my car? The only weather I care about when driving is on the other side of the glass, and I can see that just fine.
– Misadjusted headlights. Too often people have one that points up into the sky or right into my mirrors. I wish there were standard heights above ground for head/tail lights–that would permit standard bumper heights. I also hate fog lights that have nothing to do with fog. Ban bright, flashing LED ads & signs.
– Wrong-colored lights: blue turn signals, anything white on the back of a car including the bed lights on trucks & turn signals.
– NASCAR fans who can’t talk about anything else.
– People who can’t use “then” & “than” correctly.
– People who think that power is the sole measure of how good an engine is.
– Bumpers that are rated to 3 mph, and even then have to be replaced.
– People who pull half-way out of the lane when making turns, passing cyclists, etc. You are still blocking the lane!
I hate the fact that the commentators on this thread have already written what pisses me off. Thanks a lot.
Almost forgot one. DVD screens in the back seat (sometimes even in the front!) of vehicles. Children should be using the oppurtunity to stare out the window and daydream instead of staring at the idiot box for the duration of a long trip.
It’s probably heresy to be saying this on an automotive forum, but I often like to let my wife drive so I can stare out of the window and daydream.
Red rear turn signals piss me off. They should be amber or yellow, full stop.
Yup, there’s data to prove that an amber or yellow makes you less likely to be rear-ended in an accident. What I really hate is manufacturers that change the lenses on a tail light half way through a cars design cycle from amber/yellow to red like the rest of the tail light as caving to fashion.
Amber rear turns are what pisses me off, ALL lights on the rear of the vehicle should be red, that’s how you know if that car way up there in the fog is coming or going.
@scoutdude;
The amber/yellow lights on the rear are only lit when signaling a turn. You’d only see red on that theoretical car otherwise. The amber/yellow stands out better than red against red for signaling turns.
Also, the red is always visible. It’s not like it goes away when the turn signal is flashing; thus, it is very difficult, IMO, to confuse the turn signal on an oncoming car with a car traveling in the your same direction.
Being told that I shouldn’t wash the car before a road trip because “it’ll just get dirty”
Interlocks that prevent starting the car unless the clutch is in are annoying.
And those that prevent shifting from 1st to reverse and/or back (observed on autos only, thankfully) without the brake pedal pressed. Talk about fluidity killer.
Convertibles with windshield frames so raked you end up sitting under the windshield, rather than behind it.
Runflat tires.
Excessively big rims and low sidewalls. As well as small wheel wells with little snow/mud clearance.
Thick a-pillars.
High beltlines.
Lack of bench front seats in convertibles.
After nearly 40 years as a licensed driver, I believe there’s very little that I haven’t seen so far as what other drivers do. So at my age not much really ticks me off anymore. It wasn’t always that way!
But if there’s anything that does irritate me, it’s the fact that I still make mistakes on the road, when (you’d think) after so many years of experience it would be otherwise.
I’m just glad with all the frustrations that are out there I still enjoy driving,
bill,
The million dollar prize goes to you for being the first person to turn the viewfinder on himself, instead of complaining about everyone else like the rest of us are doing!
+1
I think you touched a nerve, Steven.
What grinds my gears:
People that randomly change lanes (weaving about) without use of an indicator.
People who think the stock stereo system sounds “great” (hint: it doesn’t). Also 6×9″ sitting on the rear deck = useless.
People who can’t maintain speed on the highway – they are 10 mph under the limit so I pass them only have them blow my me a mile later doing 30 over. This repeats constantly for the next 20 miles. Have they not heard of cruise control?
People that don’t understand I’m towing a trailer and thus can accelerate or stop (or even turn) as quickly as them. Can they not see my boat?!?
Fart or Coffee Can exhausts on 4 bangers. Seriously adding 5 HP to a Civic isn’t going to help. You’ll be quicker by removing your back seat and spare tire to save weight.
Rims over 20″ especially ones that are so bright with chrome they blind me and have tires with sidewalls so thin they look painted on. Double hate on people giving this to older American cars or worst… to front wheel econo boxes.
Lifted 4x4s – I can’t see around them, the tires are loud and they get even worst mpg. Plus we all know there is no place to got rock crawling in southern Florida!
It pisses me off when I move from the right lane to the middle or left lane to give an emergency vehicle on the shoulder a little room …
And then the driver behind me moves into the right lane and speeds between me and the stopped vehicle! Jackasses!
…
Also pissing me off:
LED taillamps that are pulsed to control brightness. Sorry to break it to you, bean-counter guy, but 50Hz is very, VERY noticeable for people with sharp eyes. Cadillac and Infiniti, I am looking at YOU.
And I am looking at YOU, Hyundai bean-counter who decided that LED instrument cluster lighting was a good idea. On the dim setting, it pulses noticeably. Dangerously distracting.
That tail light thing is a good call.
I have the same problem with DLP (spinning color wheel) televisions and projectors.
Whereas the pulsing tail lights leave dotted streaks, the DLP televisions leave rainbow stripes.
Hmm it seems when I mention the ‘owner’ of CC, and/or post a link to his site, my comment never shows up. Disturbing and odd. I’ll have to see if I can find out what is up with that.
I seem to recall some others saying it has something to do with posting links (actually, I think it was Jack who said that).
I was sure confused, thanks for your help!
I swear to God, the next time I hear someone say “four-pot” or “six-banger” I’m going to punch them dead in the face. And at least a kick in the shins for “tranny” and “cog”.
Man that car would be so much nicer if that four-pot was a six-banger and the tranny had an extra cog in it.
But then again, a four on the floor is worth a three on the tree.
(and a nod’s as good as a wink to a blind bat…)
FuzzBuster! Hate when people call my Valentine One radar locater a fuzzbuster!
1) Fake portholes on cars other than a Buick. I swear, if I see on more ten-year old Chevy Impala with fake portholes and 24″ wheels, I’m raiding an armory, finding a block of C-4, and blowing it to bits. And the damn things don’t look that good on a Buick anymore.
2) 26 inch wheels on old Town Cars, Crown Victorias, and the above mentioned Impala. First, as my mother says, they look like damn wagon wheels – and she’s right. Second, if I actually wanted to climb three feet into a car, I wouldn’t buy a car…I’d buy a damn SUV.
3) The outrageous prices that manufacturers charge for built-in nav systems. They MIGHT have a point, were it not for the fact that a $199 Garmin or TomTom does everything a factory navigation system does, and better. Plus now the Garmins and TomTom’s have free traffic, so what’s the real point of a factory nav system anyway?
4) The fact that on a Japanese car, if I want any kind of features at all, I’m virtually forced to have a sunroof. I’m almost 6’4″, headroom is at a premium for me anyway, and I wouldn’t use the damn thing anyway. Oh yeah, and they will leak eventually.
That’s all for now ;)
Oh yes, and one more thing…daytime running lights. Maybe I’m just crotchety in my sorta-middle age, but this is how I see things: If you cannot see a running vehicle, on the highway, in broad daylight coming towards you at a reasonable rate of speed, I have two words for you – Public Transit. Or Hush Puppies. Either way, you do not under any circumstances need to be behind the wheel of a car.
I too hate “DRLs” but the weird thing is that I’ve come to like “twilight sentinel” systems. The first I encountered one was on my fiance’s Vibe. The thing has NO options [I mean it, NO options, manual everything] but has automatic headlights. I like them. Set it and forget it, although there is something strange about driving a car with manual transmission, crank windows, no power seat adjustments, no frills stereo – but with automatic headlights.
+1 Dan:
That I can deal with, mainly because they at least turn the lights on at night, when they actually SHOULD be on. That, and the fact that I grew up with Cadillacs and the like and I’m kinda used to it :)
DRLs only increase visibility if the car is in front of a darker background. If the background is lighter than the car, the lights actually cause it to blend in more, thus decreasing its visibility.
This technique was a camouflage technique for boats and planes during WWII.
Lots of good stuff here and I’m amazed at the number of replies. I’m gonna aim 2 minor annoyances (OK hates) at TTAC. I wish the site-search feature was more powerful. It is sometimes difficult to find an article (like a “Hammer Time”) by date. And the hits that the search engine gives you are sometimes VERY tenuously lined to the orginal search term.
Second I hate when the editors decide to run a thread about a paticular car and people log onto it just to “hate” or tell everybody what “morons” they are for liking that platform. (BTW I confess to being guilty of that every once in a while.) If you know it’s a Panther/W-body/B-body/VW/BMW/Mercedes-Benz thread why get on there to tell everybody what a cheap piece of crap it is? Leave them to their opinion.
Educator (of Teachers) Dan cranks me off.
It irritates the stew out of me when he beats me to a good comment.
And his avatar is cooler than mine
Well lets see if I wanted to follow the lead of my avatar/mentor/secret-grandfather Leslie Robert Nielsen Lutz, I’d laugh at you, steal your girl, and light up a cigar as I walked away…
(BTW Alfa’s can be pretty cool. Just like an Italian mistress.)
(Responding to Zachman, down there) I’m a very mature 34 years old. Well as mature a man can be with a 20 something soon to be wife, no kids (yet), and borrowing a Crown Vic from a local dealer today an managing to get it to drift a bit in a Southwestern monson. Life is goooooooooooooooood. (Not to Baruthian levels, but hey pretty good for me.)
Mr. Nielsen certainly covered a lot of ground in a long, long career. Check him out in “Forbidden Planet” for some good early sci-fi.
Educator Dan always seems to just beat me to a post on threads, too!
His avatar is cooler than everyone’s, period. I laugh each and every time I see it, and actually kind of expect him to look like that, but he’s a young guy!
-People who use cell phones while driving
-Giant rims
-Lifted SUVs and pick-ups.
-Using pick-ups for other purposes than intended (
-People who carpet their truck bed
-Those irritating mufflers on cars with small engines
-People who don’t use turn signals
-Body kits
-Spoilers and wings
-People who don’t stop at crosswalks and don’t understand that when turning right pedestrians have the right of way with a green light.
-Those blinding projector headlights.
-Why aren’t column shift transmissions made anymore? Or even true floor shifts? Those huge consoles are annoying and the 6th seat is nice.
-People who tailgate
-People who think its okay to go down the wrong way on a one-way.
-Minivans, station wagons are soooooo much better.
-Blasting music with subwoofers
-GPSs
-Other high school students I know who worship VTEC
-Hummers and the woman down the street who is so short that when she drives by only her pony tail can be seen.
-People who have their cars set to beep when they lock and unlock the doors.
Also, those DVD screen things
-Those auto locking doors
-Push button ignition and those buttons on the door handle that unlock the car when the key is near them
-Interiors that only come in grey and beige.
-Digital climate control
Two categories of annoying drivers, together with my assigned acronyms-
WKNC – “White Knuckled New Canadian”, never got near a car in the old country except as one of eight passengers in a Corolla, never seen snow before….
EI – “Engraved Invitation (required)”, turning left in front of you, waits for at least 10 seconds of gap in traffic. Have you ever made an inside pass on one of these guys?
I hate how rush hour used to be an hour: 5 to 6 p.m.
Now it’s three hours: 4 to 7 p.m.
Everybody has the same idea: leave work a little bit early or a little bit late to “beat the traffic.”
I hate how rush hour which used to actually be 1 hour, from 5 to 6 pm, is now 3 hours, 4 to 7 pm.
Everybody has the same idea: leave work a little bit early or a little bit late to “beat the traffic.”
I hate when I’m late to a post a comment on TTAC when all the clever things I have to say have already been said.
Other things I’m not too fond of;
People who leave their cars idling, no matter what the weather but whine about gas prices.
Coffee can fart mufflers.
Oppresively loud motorcycles and the owners BS assertions it’s for safety.
The sad decline of Honda (exception being the Honda Fit)
Jacked up trucks with too much chrome.
The bigger is better mentality.
The lack of choice for manual transmissions.
CUV’s
People who hammer their brakes like they’re driving a fully loaded Kenworth because they have no idea what their car can do.
Oh yeah, and I hate that I can no longer tinker with my present cars like I did with my Ford Escorts or Mazda 323’s.
Agree to:
I hate when I’m late to a post a comment on TTAC when all the clever things I have to say have already been said.
People who leave their cars idling, no matter what the weather but whine about gas prices.
Jacked up trucks with too much chrome.
The bigger is better mentality.
The lack of choice for manual transmissions.
And would add:
-pissing contests over specs, especially engine size/power.
-using fear to sell cars, and the people who respond to it.
-any sports car that has gone through the awesome OE set of tires, only to be replaced with a fuckin set of Nankang or other shitty tire.
-a job to replace a critical $2 seal or gasket that requires $1,000 in labor
-use of anecdotal evidence to “defend” why a brand is good or bad
-the clutch delay valve in my E46
Ooh! ooh! I thought of more at lunch:
-people who buy cars they can’t afford to buy or even maintain. This is mostly people buying 5-6 year old Mercedes-Benzes simply so they can drive a Mercedes-Benz.
-car ads that contain any kind of spec or stat, which leads me to…
-THE OBSESSION WITH NUERBURGRING TIMES
-car ads that show any kind of monetary value, but specifically the ones where the base price is in huge bold letters, just above a picture of the model that costs 150-200% of that price.
-people equating high mpg to less overall consumption.
-people complaining about gas prices. Shut your mouth, realize the price will always be highly volatile, then reset your budget accordingly. Cheap gas is not a right.
-people who just can’t cope with having to get something repaired. See above comment on used Benzes. These are usually the same people who don’t give a rip about regular car maintenance.
-Cadillac CTS Coupe owners who think they are the shit because their car is “stylish”. No, you’re probably a douche. This does not apply to CTS-V owners, though.
MORE:
-incorrectly referring to wheels as “rims”. related, and more retarted: incorrectly referring to tires as “wheels”.
-Toyota low beam headlights are too bright!!
-driving around with your high beams on during the day
-driving around with your low beams off in the rain, during the day
-wipers on high speed when its barely drizzling
-one or more tail lights burnt out. if you rear-end the guy and smash the tail lights, how do you prove they were burnt out?
Cell phone uses I can live with. It’s the ones who IMMEDIATELY after getting into their cars feel they need to make a call (to the hubby telling him they’re leaving now). So while backing out of a parking spot they one-hand the steering wheel, have the phone jammed between shoulder and ear, and juggle with coffee. kids, donuts, whaever with the other hand. No shoulder checks because the phone would fall.
Pathetic.
“(Responding to Zachman, down there) I’m a very mature 34 years old. Well as mature a man can be with a 20 something soon to be wife, no kids (yet), and borrowing a Crown Vic from a local dealer today an managing to get it to drift a bit in a Southwestern monson. Life is goooooooooooooooood. (Not to Baruthian levels, but hey pretty good for me.)”
PLUS…..you are your own biggest fan!
Every man is a legend in his own mind. – Educator(of teachers)Dan
– Canadian Car prices being 10-20% higher than US car prices. And the apologists that try to justify the difference.
– Those that love to say things like “if you can afford car X, you can afford the cost to maintian/repair car X”
– Those that make value judgements for others. “No one needs an SUV, they really need a minivan or wagon but are too vain to drive one”
Wow. Over 250 comments, and NOBODY has mentioned this yet:
“Service Advisors” who insist that everyone, everywhere, no matter what, need to follow the Severe conditions oil change intervals and get it changed every 3000 miles. Even if the owners manual says 3750 for Severe. Ignoring that the majority of people do NOT actually need changes that frequently. Are we not putting enough money into arab coffers already?
-Late responders to TTAC threads…uh wait, forget that one.
-Left lane bandits that eventually notice you in their rear view mirror, they casually merge right, then accelerate fiercely to negate my passing speed
-Lifted pick ups that never leave pavement
-All lifted pick ups with the oh-so-hip HID conversion that completely blinds me after I pass them to avoid the…
-tuned, domestic light-duty diesel pick ups that spew more particulates than a fleet of 1960’s garbage trucks, AND then the same truck gets a free pass on state emissions requirements
-US Top Gear