I can’t stand the Chrysler PT Cruiser. The name “Cruiser” suggests something cool, probably fast and comfortable. It’s none of that. Well, it’s cool in a naïve 1950s kind of way with its rounded angles and sorta rakish build. Which means that it’s cool if you’re 70 or 80 years old and need to be giving up your license anyway. Fast—no. Comfortable—no. And what is that “PT” all about? For me it associates the car with PT Barnum…There’s a sucker born every minute, and they buy this wretched car. You probably know I work in the auto claims department for an insurance company. In 10 years I have yet to speak to the owner of a PT Cruiser who had a measurable IQ. Which isn’t really a problem, lots of people are dumb but kind, and they make the world a good place. But PT people…they’re not nice. They’re mean. They’re ignorant and mean. In fact, “PT” is just a mirror of “TP” which in this case would stand for “Tea Partier.” But I guess if I got my name on the title to a PT Cruiser, I’d be pretty mean, too. And the fact that my name was there at all would be evidence of my ignorance. So I guess I secretly thank Chrysler for producing a product that appeals to, and identifies, ignorant & mean people. Too bad Ford doesn’t make them, but that’s a different gripe.
If you’re a PT Cruiser owner and have been offended by this thread, I’m not surprised. Not in the least.
Please share your own irrational, overly broad & general associations of cars and their drivers.
I don’t think PT Cruisers are bad looking cars, but there isn’t that much substance underneath. They’re basically Neons.
Not so much irrational hate, but I always watch out for:
Toyota Minivans
Toyota full-size pickups
Nissan full-size pickups
Moms in SUVs
Anyone talking on their cell phone
UPS Drivers
I don’t think my hatred for people who drive loud motorcycles is irrational at all. I think it’s perfectly logical - they go out of their way to make the world a worse place, and I dislike them for it.
I also have an irrational hatred for people whose over-large vehicles (or vehicles with extremely dark windows) block my view and make driving more dangerous for me. Come to think of it, that’s not irrational, either.
A car I truly hate the look of is the Nissan Cube. What a metal (plastic?) abortion!
Once, on vacation, I reserved a convertible. The rental company gave me a PT Cruiser. In addition to being a crappy, dorky car designed by a committee, it had almost no usable cargo room, thanks to an enormous plastic-encased crossmember. I’d bet it holds less luggage than a Mustang convertible. Nothing like tearing up a mountain road on a tropical island, the briny wind roaring across your suitcases, sat up like passengers in the back seat.
Even worse than that thing, though, is the Chevy HHR, which is like a bad Soviet knockoff of the PT Cruiser. It has a bright white LED mounted on the headliner, facing down, a little bit left of the center. This light is perfectly positioned to almost, but not quite, ruin the driver’s night vision while requiring the passenger to put their head somewhere in the driver lap to read a map. Best part? It cannot be extinguished. We finally wadded up a tissue and jammed it into the opening. There’s also a strange harmonic pulsing air pressure thing that happens with most combinations of open windows while moving. It made my ears throb and my eyes water. This atrocity was forced on me twice by rental car companies. I reserved a compact, went out to the lot and thought there must have been a mistake. Both times the guy at the counter insisted that it was a compact. That would make a great advertisment-“The HHR. A piece of shit for rental companies run by lying sacks of shit.”
In addition to the worst brakes I’ve ever experienced, the Chrysler 300M has the distinction of being the only car that has ever bucked, lurched, and finally stalled while I was driving at about 50 on the freeway. Another ad- “The Chrysler 300M. For people who don’t stop or go on anybody’s schedule, including their own.”
More to the point of OP, whenever I see a normal car rebadged as a luxury brand (like a Cadillac truck or a Mercury Pretty Much Anything) I think that the owner is either: a shrewd person who got a good price from a dealer who was stuck with a lot full of them, or an idiot who thinks it really is a luxury car.
Spoilers. Especially aftermarket spoilers. They look stupid and they don’t do anything - your little sedan can’t go fast enough for it to make a difference.
The only thing worse is a homemade spoiler. You’re an idiot wanna-be!
And people with those intensely bright blue headlights are just obnoxious. You can’t see any farther down the road than I can, but you blind me when you’re oncoming. I am not impressed!
Recent PT Cruiser thread, where I voiced my opinion of it.
To the OP: every woman I’ve ever known who owned a Jetta is self-involved spoiled brat. (I’m fully aware that this is not a viable sampling, but the OP said "“irrational”)
I wouldn’t have hated my neighbor’s older-model Chevy SUV for its own sake. But when he pulled off the Chevy medallion and replaced it with a Cadillac medallion, and painted the whole contraption shocking purple and pink, I started hating on it.
If he wants to fool people into thinking he’s well-heeled, he should replace the cheapy faux-chrome hubcap that has been missing for a year now.
Oh, and I hate the owner, too. He’s a foul-mouthed simpleton and the asshole of the neighborhood.
I have an irrational hate of Harley Davidson motorcycles.
To me they scream of “I want to be original and rebellious by being just like everybody else.”
How can you be original and rebellious when seeing a Harley is as common as seeing a Honda Civic. They’re freaking everywhere. And so are their accessories.
“Nice black/orange/white leather Harley jacket. Now you and 10 million others all have the same jacket.”
Ugh. I hate the 300. My FIL finally just got rid of his. I couldn’t stand driving it.
It was a massive boat that still managed to feel cramped inside. When I drove it I felt like I was driving a parade float. And that whole ganster look of the car? I felt like I should have worn a zoot suit and carried a tomy gun when I drove it.
So many vehicles are like this, does some significant market segment actually like it? Pretty much every crossover and quite a few sedans suffer from it. Big is OK, sometimes you just need all that space, but what’s with bigger on the outside than the inside? It reminds me of bulky, overbuilt sneakers. A lot of extra padding and gewgaws hanging off every side, you end up being unsure of where the exterior ends.
You know, if I were a lesbian, I would want you CW! I agree with everything you said.
Also, just want to share a completely irrational distaste for Kia’s. Can’t explain why, but I hate 'em. Not as much as mini-vans, but that distaste isn’t irrational.
ETA: upon further reading of this thread, I love you all!
I generally have a not wholly rational disdain for very large and very small vehicles. People in big pickups with oversized tires would probably like to drive right over me, but don’t have the balls. And while Humvees don’t consume all that much more gas than certain giant/luxury cars, I still bristle when I see them.
Smart cars would be OK if they actually got fantastic gas mileage but they don’t. So you’re advertising that you are green when you’re actually a sickly pale green, not to mention driving a tiny little dorky suicide bucket.
I don’t care for very big or very small dogs either.
I dislike Saabs because when Mrs. J. and I went to a Saab dealer to look at them, we were ignored, apparently because we do not fit the profile of worthy Saab owners. Guess who went bust and had to be rescued by an obscure tiny car company? Heh.
I don’t like BMWs because their owners tend to be prissy exponents of the pseudo-upper class. And BMW’s front grilles look like they sport Hitler mustaches.
And don’t get me started on Volvos and their safety-obsessed uber-mom drivers.
Well, you did say “cars and their owners.” For me, it’s not the car per se–it can be any kind of car. But if it has a “Baby on Board” sticker or placard in the window, my opinion of the driver plummets immediately. Ditto “Child in Car” or “Precious Cargo.”
You idiot, do you honestly think this is going to make me less likely to hit your car? “Oh, look–that car has a “Baby on Board.” Guess I’ll hit this single guy’s car instead.”
Morons.
Oh, and Priuses are ugly. Butt ugly. So are Smart cars. I don’t dislike their drivers for trying to be green, but I do question their aesthetic taste.
