I currently drive a bright yellow Chevy cobalt and I love it!! I wouldn't have a white, black, or even red car. I will always go for more unique colors.
I passed on a certified pre-owned Hyundai Sonata (the model I was looking for) that went for 2.5k below the next lowest priced comparable vehicle just because I hated the white color. I've been beating myself ever since, because it disappeared within 24hrs and haven't seen anything come even close to that price-wise...
On another note, maroon red is probably what I hate the most (white, black and any shade of red are close in line)
I bought the car I'm currently driving sight unseen. I knew what the model looked like but they didn't have the exact one I was buying on the lot. Brand new $27000 car, didn't even know what it looked like.
@Stallion You listed all the colors I prefer. In reverse order actually. Orange>green>brown. Although I think the copper color comes in top for me. I saw a few copper cars and actually started looking by color then model. Till I found out the mpg on the copper cars..:
I seek out the ugly color! Right now, I'm looking for a green 2010 or 2011 Mercury Mariner non-hybrid all wheel drive. These things are almost impossible to find. But I love the challenge.
Years ago, I bought a brand new bright yellow Ford Ranger as a leftover at a significant discount. It was also pretty much the only one within 100 miles that was reasonably equipped - everything else was either stripped or loaded.
It was a great truck, and easy to find in parking lots. Got pulled over a lot in it, though.
Do we mean colors that we personally find ugly, or colors other people are less interested in? Because I was very interested in getting a Ford Focus ST in tangerine scream with a blue interior, but found the interior uncomfortable when I actually drove it; too cramped. I'd previously always driven a white car because that's the color my parents always picked and I bought my first car from them, so I swore my next car wouldn't be white. Then the car I picked was only available in black, gray, or white, and of those the white looked best. Maybe next car.
I tend to look for stand out colors, I'm not interested in blue, black, white, silver so I've kept my current car and color(orange) longer. Why spend all that money on something I'm not going to be happy with even if it saves some cash. I'd rather be happy with my choice than always kicking myself for a boring color I hate. Life's too short to compromise on small bits of happiness.
Actually car colors like yellow can cost more not less than black, white colors etc..my velocity yellow Corvette cost more $$$ ( premium paint cost) than a black or white Corvette-- never thought I'd buy a yellow car but loved it when I saw it-- beautiful color and car!
As a one of a kind American who has never had a motor vehicle license, a share the road cyclist, never understood the love of cars no matter the color! Motorist seem to love them cars so much but when they are in a traffic jam for 5 minutes they get so steaming upset - I sit there wondering "Where is the love of your car now?"!
@fjp999 I can't say that it's all about love. For many, the car is a need, a tool, an appliance - for them to get from point A to point B.
Understand too that there are folks who are passionate about driving, but it's not necessarily represented or reflected in their commute. My daily driver is a pickup; nothing exciting there. My "weekend" wagon is stick shift, turbocharged, and has a few other mods; on an open road, now I drive.
@narfcake I do understand. Just asking that for those that do use alt modes of transport for a little piece of the road (it is the law) instead of horns blaring or worse!
And also to maybe chill the fuck down when you are in your tool. Please and thank you!
@fjp999 As someone who's been subjected to the horns more than once while I let a bike pass, I hear ya. Those same inconsiderate assholes probably don't know that it's the law here in California to allow 3' of space.
@nadroj I always felt that meh left some way for those that didn't exactly fit into the survey to answer
"Some other answer you'll prime, paint, and buff in the forum"
but if in any way I have broken some forum rules the good people at meh should immediately remove my disturbing attempt to really understand something that has puzzled me for a long time.
Maybe a better way to have answered the question would have been thus:
If you want choices in color in transportation the way to go is cycling and ugly is always in the eye of the beholder... not a fan of the odd green Bianchi and one won't be saving $$$ on that brand either.
one can always get out those sharpies too!
Currently just a few of what I have:
70's road Fuji in an odd dark blue w yellow banding and red bullhorns.
2nd edition Bianchi Pista silver w white branding.
newish road Trek white w navy blue stripes and purple handlebar tape.
This is my problem right here. In my area I find that cyclists are the first to scream "It's the law!" yet they're the last to obey it themselves. Cyclists are required to follow the same rules of the road as motorized vehicles. Do not split lanes. Do not go right through red lights and stop signs. Use appropriate signaling. Etc...
I've done it. Walked into the dealership, tried to buy a green car, they couldn't get one, they offered us a price break on (sigh) metallic beige. Lasted over 15 years, though, and we only sold it when the cost of labor --man, Audi, why is everything 3 hours away from being accessible -- made fixing things impractical. I think it was hurt when we bought a Honda Fit; two days afterward, when we were about to drive it off to a charity, it wouldn't start.
P.S. My house is painted a brilliant turquoise blue. We were eating supper the day after the paint job when the neighbors came by to ask if we knew what color the house was. My husband said we did. The neighbors said we were bringing down the property values. My husband said "I'm sorry, I'm eating supper right now." It makes me happy every single time I drive in the driveway. Such a fine blue.
P.P.S. When we do finally have to sell it, we'll paint it beige. Some people have no taste.
@Kidsandliz It's a mini-house in SA, which is known for it's colorfully painted early 20th century neighborhoods. I found the pix on google, but it's a joy to just drive around there.
@Kidsandliz The purple one was purchased by the writer Sandra Cisneros, who had it painted that color. That caused a neighborhood fight that went to court. She held her ground and won.
Now it's getting to be fashionable in SA to have an older house with interesting color choices, and the prop values in those neighborhoods are doing well, even tours and driving trails i think.
I drive a Corolla in the color of "cactus mica." It's their fancy way of saying "it's an unmanly blue-green color."
I'm stuck with it. It's also never broken down aside from many times I've put the car in danger. All the times it's been in the shop, it was either for routine maintenance or because I broke something through some kind of crashes. So I've grown to like the car, although I'd really rather get a different colored car. Mazda's red and white cars look sexy. But again, I've got a good car; just bad color.
I really wanted one of the blue Prius v's when I got my last car. But it wasn't available unless I wanted to pay sticker price... So I waited and waited... Litterly 6 months. Then one day I asked why is your price about 1k higher than other offers I've gotten (all on email) I was told in email that it was an out the door price including tax title etc... I asked the other place. It was 3 k higher. So I called him up and said how late are you there tonight and are you available. 1st time talking to him on the phone. Made an appointment. Got my loan from a local credit union. Got up there. He was busy. (He later admitted that he didn't think I was going to show up) test drive and handshake. Asked if I wanted to try to save money by using the finance manager to see if I could get a better rate.... Finance manager found a mistake. The "out the door price" that we agreed upon and shook hands on was missing tax. (Which is why it was cheaper). I had it in writing. They tried hard. I said nope that's what you agreed upon and shook my hand on. If you can't stand behind it I'll go elsewhere. They didn't bend. So I left. Devastated. But I got a call the next day. Saying how about we split the difference. I refused and said I don't really like their business practices to bait and switch on prices when I have it in writing. An hour later they caved. Asked if I could use financing from them at the same location I wanted it from with the same rate (they get a kick back typically 1% from this.) I agreed. When I asked for the vin to set up insurance I found out that the one we negotiated on they had sold already and that they were giving me a model that had more options on it (decals and mud flaps plus a carpeted cover for the trunk area I believe. ) I still hate the silver color (I'd love to get a new one in the brownish color) but for the savings. I'd probably do it again.
Tl;dr I saved $3k on my car by getting silver over blue and the dealership paid my taxes on the car (they increased my trade in to made it a wash on their part)
I dive a "Western Brown" Ram with their "chrome package." I absolutely love it but all my friends and family find it hideous. I guess most agree because Car Gurus stated it was sitting on their lot for over a year and it was listed for roughly 7k less than all the other Rams with the same engine, miles, and trim options. I'm still calling it a win.
I always said that color didn't matter all that much and a bargain was a bargain. Until one day many moons ago I was looking for a small truck. I found a place with lots of used trucks that seemed to be just what I needed. Then the salesman asked whether I had a color preference, and I said: "Oh, not really, as long as it's what I want otherwise." Hah. And he said: "I think we have one that you will like for a great price!" And then we stopped in the parking lot to look at a nice, low mileage truck. It was pink. Not hot pink or pale rose - Pepto Bismol pink. And where the usual stripes would be on the sides, there were little green vines with blue and yellow flowers, that kept vining right over the hood and top. It looked like a hippie van had exploded all over a nice little truck. And all of the voices in my head (which are usually at odds with each other) joined in a chorus of "Oh, way to the hell, NO!"
Now I say: "Lets see what is available with the options I want, and then see what colors are available."
@rockblossom i'd have bought it... I have no problem with pink. In fact, some day i'd like to paint a crown vic (ford's panther platform) in chrysler FM3 panther pink.
@earlyre There might be, say, half-a-dozen people in the country who will get that joke; everyone else will laugh politely once you explain it and then try to find someone else to talk to. But the people who do get it will think it's quite clever!
@jqubed works for me. my favorite t-shirt designs are ones that either you get right away, or no amount of explaining will help... I've received a few blank stares, or "I don't get it"(s) lately when wearing my "Make Donald Drumpf Again" hat. and short of just whipping out my phone and sitting them down to watch the 20 min video, I don't know how to explain it to them. (also i'm in an EXTREMELY republican heavy area...)
@earlyre Somewhere back around 1980 on a highway in Kansas, I was driving behind a car with a license plate: IML8. It took my brain cells a while to parse that, and the fact that it was on a white Volkswagen Rabbit. Then I nearly veered off the road laughing.
A few years ago I went truck shopping by myself. I was looking for a work truck, nothing fancy. The first question each dealer salesman asked me was, "What color do you want?" The GMC dealer didn't ask. Needless to say, I bought a GMC Sierra. It was blue. Did not give a shit.
I've reached an age when being able to see my car in the parking lot is important - so a car painted neon yellow-green, the color of vomit, is just about what I want. The last thing I want is a car that looks just like every other car. grump grump grump - get off my lawn.
@TexMehx Thanks for the thought, but that would only work if I had remote access. I drive low-end beaters, the kind you'd have to pay somebody to steal.
@earlyre I like that, although it probably didn't help his resale value any. Not a problem for me, since by the time I'm finished with a car, that car is finished. :-)
When searching for my latest vehicle, I spent hours looking around various lots and seeing a sea of white, black, silver, and beige.
It was awful. At that time it seemed like NONE of the car makers were selling cars in anything but the most basic fleet colors. I actually pointed it out to a friend who had never noticed it before and she was shocked at how accurate it was once we went to a few lots.
My current vehicle is Caribbean blue, which is a muted teal color.
Also, I live in Florida so i refuse to buy any of those light beige or silver cars that essentially vanish in heavy rain. Those are the dumbest things ever and should be illegal on the roads in florida.
I met this friend of mine many years ago when I had purple hair. We were getting into his car one day and I said, "Your car kind of matches my hair!" because it was this mauve-purple color. He looks at me and says, "Huh?" I said, "I have purple hair." He said, "You do?" It was at this moment I learned that he was completely colorblind and not only did not know what color my hair was, but did not know what color his car was.
Why all the hate for the base colors? If the stealership ordered the same number of cars in each major color, you'd be going in and seeing only a few silver/grey/white/beige/black cars (the rest having sold) and bunches of bright color ones that just didn't sell.
Black is an awesome color for many cars appearance-wise (it has maintenance and heat issues to be sure). Unless its a truly dowdy design, black makes many cars move from OK to awesome. My favorite sedan ever was a 1969 Chrysler Imperial LeBaron in triple black; the owner had given it a mirror black repaint, and rechromed all the trim; it looked perfect. 20 feet of American awesome purring along the street, drinking up the light. Lesser cars peed themselves in its presence.
Beige and white are great sleeper colors. You don't expect that white car with the side moldings and steel wheels (looks like a fleet car) to blow your doors off and leave you effectively standing still watching its tail-lights recede in the distance. A brighter color is like plumage on a critter thats looking for something to play with, whether or not it is actually capable. The plain white/grey/beige car just might be the predator looking for a tasty meal.
That said, I really would rather not have a green, brown, pink, yellow, or pastel car. Various reds and blues are ok, silver and grey are good.
@duodec Completely different philosophy here. My vehicle is the opposite of a personal indulgence, a hi-tech adult toy, a techno accomplishment, or a mark of individuality - all of which are fine w me for others.
I want my vehicle to be utilitarian and socially invisible. Unnoticed in the sense of drawing attention. Black does look good, but it shows dirt and gets hot. White doesnt get hot but shows dirt. I like those silver, grey, & beige vehicles, because no one looks at them, tho they are hard to see if a downpour.
If my vehicle is amazing inside or under the hood, i tend to drive so that people dont notice anything unusual.
I wouldnt mind having something cool for weekends, but that would be a banged up 4 wheel drive pickup.
@nadroj +100000000. Individual ownership and control over effective means of transportation is awesome, and part and parcel of a truly free society. No collectivist transportation monopolies!
@ianrbuck Individual vehicles aren't inefficient if you must get around for economic reasons, & use your vehicle kinda all day, and live in the "little to no public trans zone" - or commute to someplace impossible. Many cities aren't built to make public trans useful for most citizens. Tho cities that are built that way are often more fun.
Besides, i like driving, and cars offer astonishing ranges/choices in one's personal freedom.
FWIW, i also v much liked living in Manhattan, liked walking for hours every day, liked the 24 hour subway, and so forth. And never needed a car there unless escaping the city or moving furniture.
(Should admit the truth: I cheated. I'm a Texan, i cant help it. I had a guaranteed-to-explode green, abused, 250+K miles Pinto wagon. I paid for the city parking by charging my friends exorbitant prices to do car errands for them. Day-to-day never used it, only sometimes late at night going out to where you could park. The capacity to go to Maine spur-of-the-moment was pretty great.)
@ianrbuck You need to change the word 'everyone' to 'some'. I bought my car last May and have almost 21,000 miles on it. Round trip for work is 75 miles a day. Outside of work, I'm the one that drives pretty much everywhere. Road trips, nights out, family visits, etc. Obviously most cars sit there parked but it's far from inefficient for me to own my own car.
@ianrbuck Perhaps our cities should be designed otherwise. But they aren't. How much might it cost to tear pieces of them down and start over? Other considerations aside, might that be inefficient?
If you had to do the NYC subway from scratch now, any idea what it would cost, assuming NYC has the same building and population density as now? Where might the funding come from for that? NYC was smart and started eons ago.
Ok, spoze you live in, say, Mesquite, TX, and commute to location in DFW where that's commercially zoned and job-heavy. Ok, 7-40 miles one way is likely. Wanna use public trans? You likely need a car to get to public trans. And unless the gods smiled on your particular route, you may be out an hour or far far more each way. And it might costs more than the cost of a car.
Carpools? This isn't Boston. Carpooling works in some places. Here you won't find anyone who wants to. I promise this is true.
Ok, pay someone to give you work-rides. You will still be trapped by their schedule, including their errands etc. And they will resent you. I promise.
Biking...ok, thats works for some, if the route and distance are ok. But...life-in-hands every goddam second. Too too many examples.
Live next to work? You better hope your job is in a neighborhood where residency costs are low and lots if of places are available. This is rare, and it limits what job you can move on to next time, and you have to move every time you change jobs.
Walk to work? Do-able for the dedicated, but very tough, esp mid-summer and during storms, and you may need a shower when you arrive.
And none of this addresses medical care, shopping, routine errands, entertainment, socializing, changes of plans.
Zipcar? Dont think that works for a daily commute. Everyone wants the car at the same time. Uber/Lyft/taxis? Prob somewhat unreliable for morning commute (these services are far less dense in less-dense cities), and you will spend more than a car costs to own and drive.
The economics of the auto are far diff in a dense urban city than in a suburban sprawl city, both in terms of actual car own&use costs, and in terms of the cost of not owning. Owning gets way cheaper, not owning way more expensive.
Or we can start over on our cities. I hear that's not cheap either.
@f00l yes, of course there are cases where people use a car for work, and for them it is essential to own one.
But for most of us, who just use cars for getting from one place to another, it doesn't make much sense for every household to own one or two cars. I'm not saying that cars aren't the best way to get around (there are many reasons they are the preferred method of transportation) I'm just saying that it is overall inefficient for everyone to own a car that sits parked while you aren't using it. The problem is that for each individual household, it is most efficient to have access to a car anytime they need it. So we have two competing standards of efficiency.
The two systems currently available that come closest to solving this problem are ridesharing (Uber, Lyft, etc) and carsharing (car2go). The real beauty will be in the future, when self-driven cars take this to a whole new level. Imagine a fleet of self-driven cars that park until somebody requests a ride, then they drive to that person and take them where they want to go. It would remove the need for individual car ownership in most populated areas without requiring a huge infrastructure overhaul.
@ianrbuck The scarce resources, for the moment, are personal freedom, choice, and time.
Not other costs, whether these costs are in direct ownership and use of a vehicle, in infrastructure, in community services to deal w vehicles (licenses, registration, inspection, insurance regulation, police, fire, ambulance, tow trucks), road maintenance and construction, emvironmental, in personal costs such as delays, unexpected probs w vehicle, wrecks. Insurance, and possible sever injury, medical bills, or even death.
I know building roads and freeways to service urban sprawl begets more urban sprawl. Not great. But every single person i have ever met who lived in a sprawl city wiuld disagree w you about efficiency, unless you use an artificially narrow definition of efficiency and force people to give up freedoms they cherish.
Further, your vision of self-driven electric vehicles will include private ownership of most of them. In Washington, NYC, Boston, London, Tokyo, etc, people may settle for shared cars because they have alt transportation. But those public trans systems dont fit modern sprawl cities. That horse left the barn a century ago, so to speak.
In surburban sprawl cities, everyone will want the share car at once, and very few people will be anywhere near where the share car is. So they will have their own electric self-driven car, yes, parked most of the time, waiting for them.
And thus doesnt even touch on rural and semi-rural. Those people need their tractors, their diesel F350s, and will possibly drive 100s of miles a day, each family member in a diff direction. Ever lived 15-20 miles from the nearest grocery store, hospital, school, office, and factory? Or should we just outlaw that? Sez who, exactly? Or perhaps those people should have to get special permits to be so wanton?
Doing w/out cars works nicely in the heart of v urban cities, in certain carefully planned neighborhoods and other places.
Have you ever lived on the far outskirts in a semi-suburban area w no public trans and a job at a good distance? Say, so your partner could get the job they wanted, or your kid could have a horse? If you don't think that lifestyle should be prohibited, try to imagine a modern sprawl city where there isn't pretty much a need for 1 car per working adult plus more cars, on any practical basis, given the sprawl, at least for most people in most neighborhoods? How would that work? By people not being able to choose their lives, or not being able to have partners live together but not work at all near each other? By people not having the freedom and choices they have now?
In the absence of strong economic pressure (possible but unforeseeable) people wont make that choice unless forced. I wont. Who gets to make that choice for us?
So, the valuable constraints for most people, the scarce resources, are time, money, choice, freedom. I dont give a damn if my car sits a lot. We dont build our world to maximize efficient use of cars at the expense of all else, unless cars become far scarcer than they are now.
My eggbeater (to take an extreme example) is rarely used. Inefficient. What the hell, i dont exist for the eggbeater, it exists in my house for me. I'm not much willing to have a neighborhood eggbeater. It's prob tired and needs the rest anyway.
I know the impact of cars does not compare. But i'm keeping mine until i cant drive, become destitute, or the economy does a total backflip back to the Great Depression, and so will everyone i know. We might get smarter cars or cleaner cars, we're gonna have cars. Who, exactly, has the right to say we can't?
@ianrbuck the great thing about a free society is you can make that choice for yourself right now.
If others choose to spend the money they earn in ways that seem inefficient to you, simply take a deep breath and remind yourself it's their money, and no more your business than is their sexual orientation.
@f00l I'm not trying to force anyone to give up their car, and of course I understand that car ownership is necessary in many situations, especially rural areas. But if we take the concept of self-driven cars to its conclusion, it solves a lot of the problems you brought up, even in large urban- and suburban-sprawl areas.
"Everyone will want the share car at once" || We have pretty good data on traffic patterns and commuter numbers already, and once a car sharing system is in place, the data only gets more accurate. It would not be difficult to preemptively move cars to areas where demand is expected to be high. So in the morning, much of the fleet would be out in the suburbs, ready to pick up the morning commuters and bring them downtown; vice versa in the afternoon.
"Very few people will be anywhere near where the share car is" || In addition to predicting overall demand, the system can predict individual need. Let's say I have a calendar event at a certain time and place. My phone knows where I am, and how long it will take to get there. A self-driven car can be dispatched to me before I actively request it. These kinds of predictive systems already exist, like in Google Now.
"The scarce resources, for the moment, are personal freedom, choice, and time" || The system I describe would serve those goals very well, probably even better than any system currently available, including car ownership.
It is very freeing not having to worry about where you parked, being able to just spontaneously leave without worrying that you are leaving your ride home behind. Also, freedom from having to deal with car maintenance, insurance, etc is a huge deal.
Choice is built into the system: maybe today I am just commuting to work, so it sends me a Smart car; tomorrow I am going out to eat with my friends, so it sends us a van; and the day after that I need to move furniture, so I get a flatbed truck.
As for time, this shouldn't take any longer than driving yourself to your destination. You can even do other things while in transit because you are not driving (though that also applies if you own a self-driven car.)
So I'm not saying that forcing people to adopt this kind of system is the right way to go. I do believe that it will succeed on its own merits; it serves all of the same purposes as car ownership, without a lot of the friction associated with car ownership. And because it is overall more efficient, it should be cheaper to the individual users than car ownership.
Your example of an eggbeater made me think of a book I read in college, More Work for Mother. One of the technologies they examined was laundry washing machines, and the reasons that individual ownership is more common than going to the laundromat or having a neighborhood-wide service that picks up your laundry, washes it, and brings it back to you. I think the biggest difference between cars and these other two examples is that cars are self-transporting. It would take a lot of extra effort to transport eggbeaters and clothes to-and-fro, whereas cars can just drive themselves.
@MrMark good point! It's possible but I bet that most times the distance from the end of one person's trip to the start of the next person's trip will be short. We would have to ask taxi companies what the norm is.
All these comments have reminded me of an excellent quote from Jeremy Clarkson. It's from the news segment of Top Gear, series 13, episode 7 (apparently). I'd link to a clip but the BBC DMCA'd it. Anyway:
If you buy a rubbish car, what you are saying is: “I have no interest in cars.” If you have no interest in cars, you have no interest in driving. And if you have no interest in something, it means you are no good at it, which means you must have your driver’s license taken away.
"You dont know much about cars" might mean you dont care about about cars per se, or that your life is immersed elsewhere in other, potentially quite important, tasks and worries, ir you have very limited resources, and cars are perhaps not a high priority given other pressures.
And what does that have to do with driving skill? There's so little correlation. Plenty of people who barely know how to open a hood are very good drivers. Quite a few knowledgable car hobbyists can be bad drivers, more likely younger people who can lack experience or maturity.
Driving is a necessity for many, an activity of handling an expensive, complex, powerful machine, esp to aficianados, a means of doing a job, of getting from place to place, a means of experiencing emotional escape or privacy, of experiencing a landscape, a part of daily life, a part of one's job as a human being for many....most people seem to do it well enough, despite whatever else is going on in their lives.
And the consistently best drivers are the consistently best social drivers, who understand that handling your car as a machine is a part of interacting with way too many people all day long and doing that well. But well, i mean handling the car well, driving efficiently, understanding your own limits and the car's characteristics and limits, accomplishing whatever you need to accomplish, not being captured into a bad situation if possible (drivers or traffic or other hazards). And it means not showing off unless there is a lot of open road and perhaps not then, being quite polite, not getting po'ed, not behaving in a way likely to cause other people to be po'ed, not getting in other people's way if you can help it, being extremely considerate and patient, being aware and responsible and of good judgment. And it's the package, not a few select elements. Some people who are too much into the car can either have little maturity or sacrifice some good social judgment along the way.
And many people who barely know one model from another are very good drivers. And some visible number of people who are into cars are pretty bad drivers, perhaps in part because they can be too focused on the vehicle as a wonder machine as opposed to the emotional and intellectual complexities of driving in public, esp in a crowded place.
Clarkson knows a lot about cars, and has managed to turn his passion into a career, which is admirable. But that quoted remark makes me think he's lost perspective.
I generally like different. Favorite color car I've ever owned was an Electric Green Mustang. Got more compliments on that car than any others. Went from that to a Metallic Bronze Tribeca. Bought when that color was something new and different. Now everyone offers something similiar. Currently driving a red CX-5. Considered the blue but it was too boring. Cars before the Mustang weren't all that interesting. (Vehicles pictures are not mine...)
@f00l I actually wanted yellow but that year (2000 model) they switched from the bright yellow to a really pale yellow that looked like it had sat out in the sun for years. Really hideous change. The Electric Green turned out to be a great choice. A Mustang in the snow, not so much...
I somehow forgot one vehicle in between the Mustang and the Tribeca. I had a Shadow Gray Mazda Tribute.
So I am one of those wierdos who absolutely loves cars. I specifically have a passion for stangs, but can appreciate almost any car (except those teensy little smart car thingys). Color does matter to me, if I'm going to look at it & drive it often, considering the money we spend on cars, I better love it. Not your electric green, more of a dark sparkly green, but I love the color of my stang
@lilystang Though I can't see your picture as it seems to be blocked here at work (I suggest using Imgur), I've seen that color and absolutely love it. Mustangs have had some great colors over the years. If I were ever to buy a second 'fun' car I would definitely consider another Mustang. Especially now with the independent rear suspension. If they would only develop one with AWD...
@cinoclav Its not your work filter, its me clearly now knowing how to post an image, lemme try again... ugh, still can't make it work, link is http://imgur.com/vqnskl0 if you're interested, she is very pretty
If this is your way of a asking if you offered a Tesla Model X P90D for 30K but it came wrapped in a Meh.com vinyl wrap would I buy it. Yes, yes I would. I would also renew my VMP.
Ugly? Hell-fucking-absolutely. Please send it my way.
I draw the line at a vehicle endorsing anything or anyone I consider morally repugnant. A certain orange political candidate comes to mind. Or that flag some folks in the South are so fond of. But I'd probably still take one of those, just deface or simply repaint it.
Oh, and Americans are too damned invested in our cars--literally, both financially and emotionally. I'd drive an ugly car just to rub it in the faces of all of those folks who pay a lot of money for no good reason other than that I guess it's cool.
@MrMark@narfcake Yeah, car commercials are the best. Car commercials are the best at . . . creating artificial need . . . playing to ego . . . appealing to the shallowest of our cultural and personal values . . . exploiting archetype and metaphor without actually saying anything--other than "buy this over-priced hunk of metal" . . . representing most of what's wrong with our culture . . . encouraging empty consumerism and greed and elitism . . . annoying the holy living fuck out of me . . . and, yaknow, shit like that.
@joelmw Perhaps car commercial dont bother bother me because my tv (not video) watching comes out to an average of under 30 min a week. Am guilty of Oscars and some sports watching, but MUTE button!
I like the car commercial w Matthew McConaughey tho. For him, not the car.
The commercials that piss me off in a serious way are all the "solutions" pitched to the older populations on CNN and FOX, aka the Trump Entertainment Networks.
Adult diapers, prescription drugs, cancer treatment options, dodgy investments, hearing aids, security services, insurance, house/bathroom remodels. I wanna throw them all into a black hole.
@f00l We general avoid broadcast (Netflix, HBO and Prime), but are subject to some ads on Hulu. They're fairly easy to ignore on Hulu, but I've been caught up in March Madness where the irregularity of the breaks makes it harder.
@sligett Ugh! Jan from Toyota should die a slow, painful death. Preferably with Flo from Progressive by her side and the damn Geico gecko in her pocket.
On the flip side, Subaru should be commended for their advertising company. They've had some spectacular commercials the past few years. Recently, "they lived" with the wrecked car and the one with the kid imagining himself in his father's place are great. There's an older one with the father talking to his young daughter in the driver's seat which then changes to his teenage daughter taking the car out for the first time which is wonderful. (Side note - those are the actor's actual daughters.) I'd link them all but I can't while at work.
When I buy cars I usually buy the most serviceable vehicle that presents itself for the amount of money that I have in my back pocket at the time. Color never enters consideration much to the chagrin of my long suffering wife.
@sligett Depending on model, Ford and GM, yes. Chrysler ... uhhhh.
That said, if you replace your vehicles every 5 years or less, then no; the resale value isn't is strong. And no matter the make, 1st year vehicles may be a gamble.
My daily driver is a '95 Chevy S10 with 270+k miles. Yeah, stuff has failed before, but a lot of it was due to neglect by the previous owners.
@sligett I dunno these days my main consideration is does it have a timing belt or chain. I'm getting too old to tear apart a motor every 50000 miles. We drive a Matrix Prius and Silverado, I'd favor the Accord over the Malibu unless you're buying new. Even then i'd still do the Honda, had a friend that bought a new malibu and had heads go bad at 40000 among other things. He's been Toyota guy since then.
@sligett 2016 is all new for the Malibu and I believe is the first time for GM using the 1.5 turbo for this large of a car here in the US. The 2016 Accord has been out for 3 years already and the 2.4 has proven solid for even longer. Both get the same EPA mileage ratings (27 city, 37 highway).
IIHS hasn't test the Malibu yet. The Accord is a Top Safety Pick +.
Until the Malibu is more established, I'd lean more towards the Accord.
My feelings in the matter are unless you're buying a truck or minivan stick with Honda or Toyota. I buy experienced vehicles and I've rarely come across an older american car that is still worth a damn.
@cranky1950 ummm last year my 26 year old ghetto van died (dodge grand caravan). Took much $ to get it to that point and if I had had all that money in one place at one time for the last 7 or 8 years of it's life (it blew an engine bearing) I could of paid cash for a honda fit. Unless things have radically changed, would not do another Dodge van again. Replaced it with a 10 year old Honda Element. Enjoy that it has only needed 1 repair since I have owned it. Do not enjoy how much less space I have in there and how less comfortable the seats are.
I currently drive a bright yellow Chevy cobalt and I love it!! I wouldn't have a white, black, or even red car. I will always go for more unique colors.
@stardate820926 - Wait, isn't "yellow cobalt" an oxymoron?
if im not barred from using those thousands of dollars on painting it myself and a nice meal then sure i would.
@thomasaelliott vinyl and plasidip. Gets the job done easy.
How much?
I've yet to own a car that had less than 100,000 miles. Color is the last of my concerns.
The lowest mileage car had 102k; I sold it at 103k when the A/C compressor went kaput.
My current wagon and truck each have over 270k miles.
I passed on a certified pre-owned Hyundai Sonata (the model I was looking for) that went for 2.5k below the next lowest priced comparable vehicle just because I hated the white color. I've been beating myself ever since, because it disappeared within 24hrs and haven't seen anything come even close to that price-wise...
On another note, maroon red is probably what I hate the most (white, black and any shade of red are close in line)
I bought the car I'm currently driving sight unseen. I knew what the model looked like but they didn't have the exact one I was buying on the lot. Brand new $27000 car, didn't even know what it looked like.
Absolutely not! All those horrible brown, green, and orange colors out there. Not a chance in hell.
@Stallion Hey, I like brown :(
@Stallion You listed all the colors I prefer. In reverse order actually. Orange>green>brown. Although I think the copper color comes in top for me. I saw a few copper cars and actually started looking by color then model. Till I found out the mpg on the copper cars..:
I seek out the ugly color! Right now, I'm looking for a green 2010 or 2011 Mercury Mariner non-hybrid all wheel drive. These things are almost impossible to find. But I love the challenge.
Years ago, I bought a brand new bright yellow Ford Ranger as a leftover at a significant discount. It was also pretty much the only one within 100 miles that was reasonably equipped - everything else was either stripped or loaded.
It was a great truck, and easy to find in parking lots. Got pulled over a lot in it, though.
Do we mean colors that we personally find ugly, or colors other people are less interested in? Because I was very interested in getting a Ford Focus ST in tangerine scream with a blue interior, but found the interior uncomfortable when I actually drove it; too cramped.
I'd previously always driven a white car because that's the color my parents always picked and I bought my first car from them, so I swore my next car wouldn't be white. Then the car I picked was only available in black, gray, or white, and of those the white looked best. Maybe next car.
I tend to look for stand out colors, I'm not interested in blue, black, white, silver so I've kept my current car and color(orange) longer. Why spend all that money on something I'm not going to be happy with even if it saves some cash. I'd rather be happy with my choice than always kicking myself for a boring color I hate. Life's too short to compromise on small bits of happiness.
Actually car colors like yellow can cost more not less than black, white colors etc..my velocity yellow Corvette cost more $$$ ( premium paint cost) than a black or white Corvette-- never thought I'd buy a yellow car but loved it when I saw it-- beautiful color and car!
As a one of a kind American who has never had a motor vehicle license, a share the road cyclist, never understood the love of cars no matter the color! Motorist seem to love them cars so much but when they are in a traffic jam for 5 minutes they get so steaming upset - I sit there wondering "Where is the love of your car now?"!
@fjp999 I can't say that it's all about love. For many, the car is a need, a tool, an appliance - for them to get from point A to point B.
Understand too that there are folks who are passionate about driving, but it's not necessarily represented or reflected in their commute. My daily driver is a pickup; nothing exciting there. My "weekend" wagon is stick shift, turbocharged, and has a few other mods; on an open road, now I drive.
@narfcake I do understand. Just asking that for those that do use alt modes of transport for a little piece of the road (it is the law) instead of horns blaring or worse!
And also to maybe chill the fuck down when you are in your tool. Please and thank you!
@fjp999 given your ninety degree random turn in this thread, perhaps the problem is not the other people sharing the road.
@fjp999 As someone who's been subjected to the horns more than once while I let a bike pass, I hear ya. Those same inconsiderate assholes probably don't know that it's the law here in California to allow 3' of space.
@narfcake
Perhaps those Califirnia drivers misread the law to say 3". And take those inches as an approximation.
I know that's the day to day practice in TX.
@nadroj I always felt that meh left some way for those that didn't exactly fit into the survey to answer
"Some other answer you'll prime, paint, and buff in the forum"
but if in any way I have broken some forum rules the good people at meh should immediately remove my disturbing attempt to really understand something that has puzzled me for a long time.
Maybe a better way to have answered the question would have been thus:
If you want choices in color in transportation the way to go is cycling and ugly is always in the eye of the beholder... not a fan of the odd green Bianchi and one won't be saving $$$ on that brand either.
one can always get out those sharpies too!
Currently just a few of what I have:
70's road Fuji in an odd dark blue w yellow banding and red bullhorns.
2nd edition Bianchi Pista silver w white branding.
newish road Trek white w navy blue stripes and purple handlebar tape.
newish road Fuji navy blue w white branding.
@fjp999 I love Celeste green, but alas, my Volpe is more of a BRG…
@fjp999
This is my problem right here. In my area I find that cyclists are the first to scream "It's the law!" yet they're the last to obey it themselves. Cyclists are required to follow the same rules of the road as motorized vehicles. Do not split lanes. Do not go right through red lights and stop signs. Use appropriate signaling. Etc...
@fjp999 I love purple.
@TheCO2
Oh my love!
@f00l I can't help but laugh, every time I see a Smart car on the road.
I've done it. Walked into the dealership, tried to buy a green car, they couldn't get one, they offered us a price break on (sigh) metallic beige. Lasted over 15 years, though, and we only sold it when the cost of labor --man, Audi, why is everything 3 hours away from being accessible -- made fixing things impractical. I think it was hurt when we bought a Honda Fit; two days afterward, when we were about to drive it off to a charity, it wouldn't start.
P.S. My house is painted a brilliant turquoise blue. We were eating supper the day after the paint job when the neighbors came by to ask if we knew what color the house was. My husband said we did. The neighbors said we were bringing down the property values. My husband said "I'm sorry, I'm eating supper right now." It makes me happy every single time I drive in the driveway. Such a fine blue.
P.P.S. When we do finally have to sell it, we'll paint it beige. Some people have no taste.
@madamehardy
You might like San Antonio
And calling @Barney
@f00l I certainly do! Thanks for those.
@f00l I really like the green one with the blue roof. That is what? Maybe 500 sf?
@Kidsandliz
It's a mini-house in SA, which is known for it's colorfully painted early 20th century neighborhoods. I found the pix on google, but it's a joy to just drive around there.
Here is a write-up on that one:
http://tinytexashouses.com/painted-lady-tiny-victorian-house/
@Kidsandliz
The purple one was purchased by the writer Sandra Cisneros, who had it painted that color. That caused a neighborhood fight that went to court. She held her ground and won.
Now it's getting to be fashionable in SA to have an older house with interesting color choices, and the prop values in those neighborhoods are doing well, even tours and driving trails i think.
http://nicolaupereira.blogspot.com/2007/04/purple-house-of-sandra-cisneros.html?m=1
I drive a Corolla in the color of "cactus mica." It's their fancy way of saying "it's an unmanly blue-green color."
I'm stuck with it. It's also never broken down aside from many times I've put the car in danger. All the times it's been in the shop, it was either for routine maintenance or because I broke something through some kind of crashes. So I've grown to like the car, although I'd really rather get a different colored car. Mazda's red and white cars look sexy. But again, I've got a good car; just bad color.
Sorry, buddy.
shit, I'd settle for an ugly wife if it meant saving thousands of dollars.
Sorry Yellow lovers, that color is only allowed on sports cars, like Lamborghini's, Ferrari's, etc.
@Stallion
@thismyusername Sorry, this is the only paint job a Pinto should have:
@blaineg - Gotta love the symbolism of the flames on that Pinto emanating from the rear end!
@Spyder63
@Stallion i've always heard that yellow is for folks who have trouble finding their car in parking lots....
I somehow read that as "When buying a house", and got really confused once I started reading the comments. It didn't change my answer, though.
I really wanted one of the blue Prius v's when I got my last car. But it wasn't available unless I wanted to pay sticker price... So I waited and waited... Litterly 6 months. Then one day I asked why is your price about 1k higher than other offers I've gotten (all on email) I was told in email that it was an out the door price including tax title etc... I asked the other place. It was 3 k higher.
So I called him up and said how late are you there tonight and are you available. 1st time talking to him on the phone. Made an appointment. Got my loan from a local credit union. Got up there. He was busy. (He later admitted that he didn't think I was going to show up) test drive and handshake. Asked if I wanted to try to save money by using the finance manager to see if I could get a better rate.... Finance manager found a mistake. The "out the door price" that we agreed upon and shook hands on was missing tax. (Which is why it was cheaper). I had it in writing. They tried hard. I said nope that's what you agreed upon and shook my hand on. If you can't stand behind it I'll go elsewhere. They didn't bend. So I left. Devastated. But I got a call the next day. Saying how about we split the difference. I refused and said I don't really like their business practices to bait and switch on prices when I have it in writing.
An hour later they caved. Asked if I could use financing from them at the same location I wanted it from with the same rate (they get a kick back typically 1% from this.) I agreed. When I asked for the vin to set up insurance I found out that the one we negotiated on they had sold already and that they were giving me a model that had more options on it (decals and mud flaps plus a carpeted cover for the trunk area I believe. ) I still hate the silver color (I'd love to get a new one in the brownish color) but for the savings. I'd probably do it again.
Tl;dr
I saved $3k on my car by getting silver over blue and the dealership paid my taxes on the car (they increased my trade in to made it a wash on their part)
@sohmageek oh and the 3k was off the "true car price" or whatever site I was looking at. Which was much less than the msrp
I dive a "Western Brown" Ram with their "chrome package." I absolutely love it but all my friends and family find it hideous. I guess most agree because Car Gurus stated it was sitting on their lot for over a year and it was listed for roughly 7k less than all the other Rams with the same engine, miles, and trim options. I'm still calling it a win.
I always said that color didn't matter all that much and a bargain was a bargain. Until one day many moons ago I was looking for a small truck. I found a place with lots of used trucks that seemed to be just what I needed. Then the salesman asked whether I had a color preference, and I said: "Oh, not really, as long as it's what I want otherwise." Hah. And he said: "I think we have one that you will like for a great price!" And then we stopped in the parking lot to look at a nice, low mileage truck. It was pink. Not hot pink or pale rose - Pepto Bismol pink. And where the usual stripes would be on the sides, there were little green vines with blue and yellow flowers, that kept vining right over the hood and top. It looked like a hippie van had exploded all over a nice little truck. And all of the voices in my head (which are usually at odds with each other) joined in a chorus of "Oh, way to the hell, NO!"
Now I say: "Lets see what is available with the options I want, and then see what colors are available."
@rockblossom Ex-floral shop fleet vehicle?
@narfcake I don't know. No logo, but an obvious custom job. A flower shop would make sense.
@rockblossom i'd have bought it... I have no problem with pink.
In fact, some day i'd like to paint a crown vic (ford's panther platform) in chrysler FM3 panther pink.
Get it, pink panther.
@earlyre There might be, say, half-a-dozen people in the country who will get that joke; everyone else will laugh politely once you explain it and then try to find someone else to talk to. But the people who do get it will think it's quite clever!
@jqubed works for me. my favorite t-shirt designs are ones that either you get right away, or no amount of explaining will help...
I've received a few blank stares, or "I don't get it"(s) lately when wearing my "Make Donald Drumpf Again" hat. and short of just whipping out my phone and sitting them down to watch the 20 min video, I don't know how to explain it to them. (also i'm in an EXTREMELY republican heavy area...)
@earlyre Somewhere back around 1980 on a highway in Kansas, I was driving behind a car with a license plate: IML8. It took my brain cells a while to parse that, and the fact that it was on a white Volkswagen Rabbit. Then I nearly veered off the road laughing.
I'm in high school. I would drive a vomit green pinto complete with painted on food chunks if it meant saving ANY money.
A few years ago I went truck shopping by myself. I was looking for a work truck, nothing fancy. The first question each dealer salesman asked me was, "What color do you want?" The GMC dealer didn't ask.
Needless to say, I bought a GMC Sierra. It was blue. Did not give a shit.
I've reached an age when being able to see my car in the parking lot is important - so a car painted neon yellow-green, the color of vomit, is just about what I want. The last thing I want is a car that looks just like every other car. grump grump grump - get off my lawn.
@Chakolate if you don't care what other people think, you can try this too
@TexMehx Thanks for the thought, but that would only work if I had remote access. I drive low-end beaters, the kind you'd have to pay somebody to steal.
I am considering day-glo spray paint, tho.
@Chakolate there used to be a guy who would come into our store, had a lexus sedan painted flourescent high visability saftey vest yellow.
@earlyre I like that, although it probably didn't help his resale value any. Not a problem for me, since by the time I'm finished with a car, that car is finished. :-)
When searching for my latest vehicle, I spent hours looking around various lots and seeing a sea of white, black, silver, and beige.
It was awful. At that time it seemed like NONE of the car makers were selling cars in anything but the most basic fleet colors. I actually pointed it out to a friend who had never noticed it before and she was shocked at how accurate it was once we went to a few lots.
My current vehicle is Caribbean blue, which is a muted teal color.
Also, I live in Florida so i refuse to buy any of those light beige or silver cars that essentially vanish in heavy rain. Those are the dumbest things ever and should be illegal on the roads in florida.
In a heartbeat...
I met this friend of mine many years ago when I had purple hair. We were getting into his car one day and I said, "Your car kind of matches my hair!" because it was this mauve-purple color. He looks at me and says, "Huh?" I said, "I have purple hair." He said, "You do?" It was at this moment I learned that he was completely colorblind and not only did not know what color my hair was, but did not know what color his car was.
@Tygress I love purple.
@Barney I now have my own purple car (Honda Fit - Midnight Plum). You may like it for other reasons, though, Barney.
@Tygress Nice!
@Tygress @narfcake I think that one day I shall have a purple car.
Why all the hate for the base colors? If the stealership ordered the same number of cars in each major color, you'd be going in and seeing only a few silver/grey/white/beige/black cars (the rest having sold) and bunches of bright color ones that just didn't sell.
Black is an awesome color for many cars appearance-wise (it has maintenance and heat issues to be sure). Unless its a truly dowdy design, black makes many cars move from OK to awesome. My favorite sedan ever was a 1969 Chrysler Imperial LeBaron in triple black; the owner had given it a mirror black repaint, and rechromed all the trim; it looked perfect. 20 feet of American awesome purring along the street, drinking up the light. Lesser cars peed themselves in its presence.
Beige and white are great sleeper colors. You don't expect that white car with the side moldings and steel wheels (looks like a fleet car) to blow your doors off and leave you effectively standing still watching its tail-lights recede in the distance. A brighter color is like plumage on a critter thats looking for something to play with, whether or not it is actually capable. The plain white/grey/beige car just might be the predator looking for a tasty meal.
That said, I really would rather not have a green, brown, pink, yellow, or pastel car. Various reds and blues are ok, silver and grey are good.
@duodec
Completely different philosophy here. My vehicle is the opposite of a personal indulgence, a hi-tech adult toy, a techno accomplishment, or a mark of individuality - all of which are fine w me for others.
I want my vehicle to be utilitarian and socially invisible. Unnoticed in the sense of drawing attention. Black does look good, but it shows dirt and gets hot. White doesnt get hot but shows dirt. I like those silver, grey, & beige vehicles, because no one looks at them, tho they are hard to see if a downpour.
If my vehicle is amazing inside or under the hood, i tend to drive so that people dont notice anything unusual.
I wouldnt mind having something cool for weekends, but that would be a banged up 4 wheel drive pickup.
I don't really believe in individual car ownership.
@ianrbuck it's easy if you try. Paved road below us. Above us, only sky.
@nadroj +100000000. Individual ownership and control over effective means of transportation is awesome, and part and parcel of a truly free society. No collectivist transportation monopolies!
@nadroj sure it's easy, but very inefficient for everyone to own their own car. The vast majority of the time it just sits there, parked.
@ianrbuck
Individual vehicles aren't inefficient if you must get around for economic reasons, & use your vehicle kinda all day, and live in the "little to no public trans zone" - or commute to someplace impossible. Many cities aren't built to make public trans useful for most citizens. Tho cities that are built that way are often more fun.
Besides, i like driving, and cars offer astonishing ranges/choices in one's personal freedom.
FWIW, i also v much liked living in Manhattan, liked walking for hours every day, liked the 24 hour subway, and so forth. And never needed a car there unless escaping the city or moving furniture.
(Should admit the truth: I cheated. I'm a Texan, i cant help it. I had a guaranteed-to-explode green, abused, 250+K miles Pinto wagon. I paid for the city parking by charging my friends exorbitant prices to do car errands for them. Day-to-day never used it, only sometimes late at night going out to where you could park. The capacity to go to Maine spur-of-the-moment was pretty great.)
@ianrbuck You need to change the word 'everyone' to 'some'. I bought my car last May and have almost 21,000 miles on it. Round trip for work is 75 miles a day. Outside of work, I'm the one that drives pretty much everywhere. Road trips, nights out, family visits, etc. Obviously most cars sit there parked but it's far from inefficient for me to own my own car.
@ianrbuck
Perhaps our cities should be designed otherwise. But they aren't. How much might it cost to tear pieces of them down and start over? Other considerations aside, might that be inefficient?
If you had to do the NYC subway from scratch now, any idea what it would cost, assuming NYC has the same building and population density as now?
Where might the funding come from for that? NYC was smart and started eons ago.
Ok, spoze you live in, say, Mesquite, TX, and commute to location in DFW where that's commercially zoned and job-heavy. Ok, 7-40 miles one way is likely. Wanna use public trans? You likely need a car to get to public trans. And unless the gods smiled on your particular route, you may be out an hour or far far more each way. And it might costs more than the cost of a car.
Carpools? This isn't Boston. Carpooling works in some places. Here you won't find anyone who wants to. I promise this is true.
Ok, pay someone to give you work-rides. You will still be trapped by their schedule, including their errands etc. And they will resent you. I promise.
Biking...ok, thats works for some, if the route and distance are ok. But...life-in-hands every goddam second. Too too many examples.
Live next to work? You better hope your job is in a neighborhood where residency costs are low and lots if of places are available. This is rare, and it limits what job you can move on to next time, and you have to move every time you change jobs.
Walk to work? Do-able for the dedicated, but very tough, esp mid-summer and during storms, and you may need a shower when you arrive.
And none of this addresses medical care, shopping, routine errands, entertainment, socializing, changes of plans.
Zipcar? Dont think that works for a daily commute. Everyone wants the car at the same time. Uber/Lyft/taxis? Prob somewhat unreliable for morning commute (these services are far less dense in less-dense cities), and you will spend more than a car costs to own and drive.
The economics of the auto are far diff in a dense urban city than in a suburban sprawl city, both in terms of actual car own&use costs, and in terms of the cost of not owning. Owning gets way cheaper, not owning way more expensive.
Or we can start over on our cities. I hear that's not cheap either.
@cinoclav I think you are taking my meaning as "it is inefficient for anyone to own a car." What I mean is that not everyone should own a car.
@f00l yes, of course there are cases where people use a car for work, and for them it is essential to own one.
But for most of us, who just use cars for getting from one place to another, it doesn't make much sense for every household to own one or two cars.
I'm not saying that cars aren't the best way to get around (there are many reasons they are the preferred method of transportation) I'm just saying that it is overall inefficient for everyone to own a car that sits parked while you aren't using it.
The problem is that for each individual household, it is most efficient to have access to a car anytime they need it. So we have two competing standards of efficiency.
The two systems currently available that come closest to solving this problem are ridesharing (Uber, Lyft, etc) and carsharing (car2go).
The real beauty will be in the future, when self-driven cars take this to a whole new level. Imagine a fleet of self-driven cars that park until somebody requests a ride, then they drive to that person and take them where they want to go. It would remove the need for individual car ownership in most populated areas without requiring a huge infrastructure overhaul.
@ianrbuck That's why I leave my car running on a treadmill, not letting my car sit around. I'm efficient!
@ianrbuck
The scarce resources, for the moment, are personal freedom, choice, and time.
Not other costs, whether these costs are in direct ownership and use of a vehicle, in infrastructure, in community services to deal w vehicles (licenses, registration, inspection, insurance regulation, police, fire, ambulance, tow trucks), road maintenance and construction, emvironmental, in personal costs such as delays, unexpected probs w vehicle, wrecks. Insurance, and possible sever injury, medical bills, or even death.
I know building roads and freeways to service urban sprawl begets more urban sprawl. Not great. But every single person i have ever met who lived in a sprawl city wiuld disagree w you about efficiency, unless you use an artificially narrow definition of efficiency and force people to give up freedoms they cherish.
Further, your vision of self-driven electric vehicles will include private ownership of most of them. In Washington, NYC, Boston, London, Tokyo, etc, people may settle for shared cars because they have alt transportation. But those public trans systems dont fit modern sprawl cities. That horse left the barn a century ago, so to speak.
In surburban sprawl cities, everyone will want the share car at once, and very few people will be anywhere near where the share car is. So they will have their own electric self-driven car, yes, parked most of the time, waiting for them.
And thus doesnt even touch on rural and semi-rural. Those people need their tractors, their diesel F350s, and will possibly drive 100s of miles a day, each family member in a diff direction. Ever lived 15-20 miles from the nearest grocery store, hospital, school, office, and factory? Or should we just outlaw that? Sez who, exactly? Or perhaps those people should have to get special permits to be so wanton?
Doing w/out cars works nicely in the heart of v urban cities, in certain carefully planned neighborhoods and other places.
Have you ever lived on the far outskirts in a semi-suburban area w no public trans and a job at a good distance? Say, so your partner could get the job they wanted, or your kid could have a horse? If you don't think that lifestyle should be prohibited, try to imagine a modern sprawl city where there isn't pretty much a need for 1 car per working adult plus more cars, on any practical basis, given the sprawl, at least for most people in most neighborhoods? How would that work? By people not being able to choose their lives, or not being able to have partners live together but not work at all near each other? By people not having the freedom and choices they have now?
In the absence of strong economic pressure (possible but unforeseeable) people wont make that choice unless forced. I wont. Who gets to make that choice for us?
So, the valuable constraints for most people, the scarce resources, are time, money, choice, freedom. I dont give a damn if my car sits a lot. We dont build our world to maximize efficient use of cars at the expense of all else, unless cars become far scarcer than they are now.
My eggbeater (to take an extreme example) is rarely used. Inefficient. What the hell, i dont exist for the eggbeater, it exists in my house for me. I'm not much willing to have a neighborhood eggbeater. It's prob tired and needs the rest anyway.
I know the impact of cars does not compare. But i'm keeping mine until i cant drive, become destitute, or the economy does a total backflip back to the Great Depression, and so will everyone i know. We might get smarter cars or cleaner cars, we're gonna have cars. Who, exactly, has the right to say we can't?
@ianrbuck the great thing about a free society is you can make that choice for yourself right now.
If others choose to spend the money they earn in ways that seem inefficient to you, simply take a deep breath and remind yourself it's their money, and no more your business than is their sexual orientation.
@nadroj That sounds gay.
@f00l I'm not trying to force anyone to give up their car, and of course I understand that car ownership is necessary in many situations, especially rural areas.
But if we take the concept of self-driven cars to its conclusion, it solves a lot of the problems you brought up, even in large urban- and suburban-sprawl areas.
So I'm not saying that forcing people to adopt this kind of system is the right way to go. I do believe that it will succeed on its own merits; it serves all of the same purposes as car ownership, without a lot of the friction associated with car ownership. And because it is overall more efficient, it should be cheaper to the individual users than car ownership.
Your example of an eggbeater made me think of a book I read in college, More Work for Mother. One of the technologies they examined was laundry washing machines, and the reasons that individual ownership is more common than going to the laundromat or having a neighborhood-wide service that picks up your laundry, washes it, and brings it back to you.
I think the biggest difference between cars and these other two examples is that cars are self-transporting. It would take a lot of extra effort to transport eggbeaters and clothes to-and-fro, whereas cars can just drive themselves.
@ianrbuck Wouldn't this system burn more gas? Since cars would need to drive themselves empty to the predicted need area.
@MrMark good point! It's possible but I bet that most times the distance from the end of one person's trip to the start of the next person's trip will be short. We would have to ask taxi companies what the norm is.
All these comments have reminded me of an excellent quote from Jeremy Clarkson. It's from the news segment of Top Gear, series 13, episode 7 (apparently). I'd link to a clip but the BBC DMCA'd it. Anyway:
@jqubed
Sorry, find that statement weird as hell.
"You dont know much about cars" might mean you dont care about about cars per se, or that your life is immersed elsewhere in other, potentially quite important, tasks and worries, ir you have very limited resources, and cars are perhaps not a high priority given other pressures.
And what does that have to do with driving skill? There's so little correlation. Plenty of people who barely know how to open a hood are very good drivers. Quite a few knowledgable car hobbyists can be bad drivers, more likely younger people who can lack experience or maturity.
Driving is a necessity for many, an activity of handling an expensive, complex, powerful machine, esp to aficianados, a means of doing a job, of getting from place to place, a means of experiencing emotional escape or privacy, of experiencing a landscape, a part of daily life, a part of one's job as a human being for many....most people seem to do it well enough, despite whatever else is going on in their lives.
And the consistently best drivers are the consistently best social drivers, who understand that handling your car as a machine is a part of interacting with way too many people all day long and doing that well. But well, i mean handling the car well, driving efficiently, understanding your own limits and the car's characteristics and limits, accomplishing whatever you need to accomplish, not being captured into a bad situation if possible (drivers or traffic or other hazards). And it means not showing off unless there is a lot of open road and perhaps not then, being quite polite, not getting po'ed, not behaving in a way likely to cause other people to be po'ed, not getting in other people's way if you can help it, being extremely considerate and patient, being aware and responsible and of good judgment. And it's the package, not a few select elements. Some people who are too much into the car can either have little maturity or sacrifice some good social judgment along the way.
And many people who barely know one model from another are very good drivers. And some visible number of people who are into cars are pretty bad drivers, perhaps in part because they can be too focused on the vehicle as a wonder machine as opposed to the emotional and intellectual complexities of driving in public, esp in a crowded place.
Clarkson knows a lot about cars, and has managed to turn his passion into a career, which is admirable. But that quoted remark makes me think he's lost perspective.
@f00l Well said.
I generally like different. Favorite color car I've ever owned was an Electric Green Mustang. Got more compliments on that car than any others. Went from that to a Metallic Bronze Tribeca. Bought when that color was something new and different. Now everyone offers something similiar. Currently driving a red CX-5. Considered the blue but it was too boring. Cars before the Mustang weren't all that interesting. (Vehicles pictures are not mine...)
@cinoclav
Gotta admit...if i owned a 'stang, i hope the color would be interesting and cool and attractive.
@f00l I actually wanted yellow but that year (2000 model) they switched from the bright yellow to a really pale yellow that looked like it had sat out in the sun for years. Really hideous change. The Electric Green turned out to be a great choice. A Mustang in the snow, not so much...
I somehow forgot one vehicle in between the Mustang and the Tribeca. I had a Shadow Gray Mazda Tribute.
So I am one of those wierdos who absolutely loves cars. I specifically have a passion for stangs, but can appreciate almost any car (except those teensy little smart car thingys). Color does matter to me, if I'm going to look at it & drive it often, considering the money we spend on cars, I better love it.
Not your electric green, more of a dark sparkly green, but I love the color of my stang
@lilystang Though I can't see your picture as it seems to be blocked here at work (I suggest using Imgur), I've seen that color and absolutely love it. Mustangs have had some great colors over the years. If I were ever to buy a second 'fun' car I would definitely consider another Mustang. Especially now with the independent rear suspension. If they would only develop one with AWD...
@cinoclav Its not your work filter, its me clearly now knowing how to post an image, lemme try again...
ugh, still can't make it work, link is http://imgur.com/vqnskl0 if you're interested, she is very pretty
@lilystang
If this is your way of a asking if you offered a Tesla Model X P90D for 30K but it came wrapped in a Meh.com vinyl wrap would I buy it. Yes, yes I would. I would also renew my VMP.
@MrMark
Uh.....pls, @snapster, pls!
Ugly? Hell-fucking-absolutely. Please send it my way.
I draw the line at a vehicle endorsing anything or anyone I consider morally repugnant. A certain orange political candidate comes to mind. Or that flag some folks in the South are so fond of. But I'd probably still take one of those, just deface or simply repaint it.
Oh, and Americans are too damned invested in our cars--literally, both financially and emotionally. I'd drive an ugly car just to rub it in the faces of all of those folks who pay a lot of money for no good reason other than that I guess it's cool.
Don't get me started on car commercials.
@joelmw Yea car commercials are the best are they not.
@joelmw @MrMark: Ya gotta look to the past when it comes to car commercials!
@MrMark @narfcake Yeah, car commercials are the best. Car commercials are the best at
. . . creating artificial need
. . . playing to ego
. . . appealing to the shallowest of our cultural and personal values
. . . exploiting archetype and metaphor without actually saying anything--other than "buy this over-priced hunk of metal"
. . . representing most of what's wrong with our culture
. . . encouraging empty consumerism and greed and elitism
. . . annoying the holy living fuck out of me
. . . and, yaknow, shit like that.
Now get your goddamned car off my goddamned lawn.
@joelmw
I'm kinda surprised anyone watches car commercials, except fot the scenery and the jokes. Does anyone?
@f00l Car commercial are often more entertaining than reality television like MLB and The Voice.
@f00l I actually have a hard time ignoring things. That's one of the reasons I'm glad meh keeps selling headphones.
@RedMartian I probably hate "reality TV" more than I hate car commercials.
@joelmw Car commercials - I think the Toyota ones are the worst. They're on every evening w the news. With a new sale every three weeks or so.
@joelmw
Perhaps car commercial dont bother bother me because my tv (not video) watching comes out to an average of under 30 min a week. Am guilty of Oscars and some sports watching, but MUTE button!
I like the car commercial w Matthew McConaughey tho. For him, not the car.
The commercials that piss me off in a serious way are all the "solutions" pitched to the older populations on CNN and FOX, aka the Trump Entertainment Networks.
Adult diapers, prescription drugs, cancer treatment options, dodgy investments, hearing aids, security services, insurance, house/bathroom remodels. I wanna throw them all into a black hole.
@f00l We general avoid broadcast (Netflix, HBO and Prime), but are subject to some ads on Hulu. They're fairly easy to ignore on Hulu, but I've been caught up in March Madness where the irregularity of the breaks makes it harder.
@sligett Ugh! Jan from Toyota should die a slow, painful death. Preferably with Flo from Progressive by her side and the damn Geico gecko in her pocket.
On the flip side, Subaru should be commended for their advertising company. They've had some spectacular commercials the past few years. Recently, "they lived" with the wrecked car and the one with the kid imagining himself in his father's place are great. There's an older one with the father talking to his young daughter in the driver's seat which then changes to his teenage daughter taking the car out for the first time which is wonderful. (Side note - those are the actor's actual daughters.) I'd link them all but I can't while at work.
@sligett Bad Toyota commercials are not new:
(Mute recommend.)
@narfcake whew!
When I buy cars I usually buy the most serviceable vehicle that presents itself for the amount of money that I have in my back pocket at the time. Color never enters consideration much to the chagrin of my long suffering wife.
Would you buy an american car? I've mainly been buying Hondas since 1972. I don't know if it's time to give Detroit a chance or not.
@sligett Depending on model, Ford and GM, yes. Chrysler ... uhhhh.
That said, if you replace your vehicles every 5 years or less, then no; the resale value isn't is strong. And no matter the make, 1st year vehicles may be a gamble.
My daily driver is a '95 Chevy S10 with 270+k miles. Yeah, stuff has failed before, but a lot of it was due to neglect by the previous owners.
What were you thinking of anyways?
@narfcake @cranky1950 I was thinking of the Honda Accord, or the Chevy Malibu. Probably next year.
@sligett I dunno these days my main consideration is does it have a timing belt or chain. I'm getting too old to tear apart a motor every 50000 miles. We drive a Matrix Prius and Silverado, I'd favor the Accord over the Malibu unless you're buying new. Even then i'd still do the Honda, had a friend that bought a new malibu and had heads go bad at 40000 among other things. He's been Toyota guy since then.
@sligett 2016 is all new for the Malibu and I believe is the first time for GM using the 1.5 turbo for this large of a car here in the US. The 2016 Accord has been out for 3 years already and the 2.4 has proven solid for even longer. Both get the same EPA mileage ratings (27 city, 37 highway).
IIHS hasn't test the Malibu yet. The Accord is a Top Safety Pick +.
Until the Malibu is more established, I'd lean more towards the Accord.
@narfcake Good point about the safety testing.
Thanks. I'll wake this thread up when I'm closer to buying.
My feelings in the matter are unless you're buying a truck or minivan stick with Honda or Toyota. I buy experienced vehicles and I've rarely come across an older american car that is still worth a damn.
@cranky1950 ummm last year my 26 year old ghetto van died (dodge grand caravan). Took much $ to get it to that point and if I had had all that money in one place at one time for the last 7 or 8 years of it's life (it blew an engine bearing) I could of paid cash for a honda fit. Unless things have radically changed, would not do another Dodge van again. Replaced it with a 10 year old Honda Element. Enjoy that it has only needed 1 repair since I have owned it. Do not enjoy how much less space I have in there and how less comfortable the seats are.
Antarctic blue or metallic pea, Family Truckster is Family Truckster.