# Non-American Dopers- What's your ride? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 26, 2004, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-american-dopers-whats-your-ride/266130 "2004-09-26T04:35:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2004, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-american-dopers-whats-your-ride/266130/1 "2004-09-26T04:35:31Z")
What kind of unusual Dr. Suess-mobiles do you drive in your exotic, faraway lands? I want details! ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2004, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-american-dopers-whats-your-ride/266130/2 "2004-09-26T04:54:15Z")
I drive a Mazda 121, very similar to the one on [this](http://www.drive.com.au/used_cars/mazda/121/sydney/detail.aspx?id=1754714&pg=1&pp=11&d=0) page. Mine is white too, but I nearly bought a canary yellow version of the same car 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Maxxxie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f14d63/32.png) [@Maxxxie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maxxxie)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2004, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-american-dopers-whats-your-ride/266130/3 "2004-09-26T08:57:47Z")
I drive a [Mazda 323 Astina SP20](http://www.mazda.com.au/articleZone.asp?articleZoneID=903). It is NICE! I really love my car. It’s the first brand new car I’ve ever had and everything about it makes me happy. Power everything, gutsy engine (though you wouldn’t think it, it’s only a 2L 4cyl). Stylish as all-get-out! It’s just simply a very sexy car 😃 Max. ---
**Author:** ![Maxxxie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f14d63/32.png) [@Maxxxie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maxxxie)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2004, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-american-dopers-whats-your-ride/266130/4 "2004-09-26T09:00:14Z")
Oooo, thanks to **cazzle** I found a link with lots of photos of an identical car: [http://www.drive.com.au/used\_cars/mazda/323/melbourne/detail.aspx?id=1831165&pg=1&pp=4&d=0](http://www.drive.com.au/used_cars/mazda/323/melbourne/detail.aspx?id=1831165&pg=1&pp=4&d=0) 😃 Max ---
**Author:** ![Sisyphus\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sisyphus\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sisyphus_Stone)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2004, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-american-dopers-whats-your-ride/266130/5 "2004-09-26T09:49:36Z")
Moto Guzzi 750. ---
**Author:** ![Dog80](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6bbea6/32.png) [@Dog80](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dog80)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2004, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-american-dopers-whats-your-ride/266130/6 "2004-09-26T10:07:44Z")
[VW Polo MkI](http://www.gerges.net/img/polo.jpg) It is now rotting in my garage. Hasn’t been moved for 3 years now. [Seat Toledo (1st generation)](http://www.armiger.ee/picauto/seat/SEAT%20TOLEDO%20(2).jpg) This is 12 years old with 250,000 km. Rattles a lot and the engine is too weak. It is used as a second car. [Hyundai Atos](http://www.autotouring.at/data/technik/webuse/t_atos_4.jpg) A tiny and very tall car. Used to be my personal car. Now it is my sister’s. [Hyundai Santa Fe](http://www.autotudos.hu/kep_het_kep_43_terepjarok_hyundai_santa_fe_nagy.jpg) This is my family’s primary car. A big, gas guzzling, environmentaly hostile, substitute-for-a-small-penis, SUV 😃😃😃 ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2004, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-american-dopers-whats-your-ride/266130/7 "2004-09-26T10:12:38Z")
I drive a (yawn) Ford Focus. 1.6L, very nippy, good manoeuverability, good fuel mileage, good headroom in the back so the missus likes it too. If it was the 1.4L version I’d save a bit on tax and insurance, but it wouldn’t have the accelerative bite I like. As for Dr. Seuss-mobiles, well about a month ago I sold my [Mini Marcos](http://www.marcos-jp.com/MM5-9042.JPG) (picture similar to mine, except mine was a mess) that I’d owned for 16 years. When driving, your ass was 6 inches from the ground, legs stretched out straight to reach the pedals, and the vehicle was only 3’6" high. I couldn’t insure it in Ireland, unfortunately, and it was just rotting away in a barn, so ‘Imelda’ had to go. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![jastu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/43a26b/32.png) [@jastu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jastu)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2004, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-american-dopers-whats-your-ride/266130/8 "2004-09-26T10:18:07Z")
I drive the extremely unusual and exotic Ford Escape, a car which you would never see in the US. 🙂 Unfortunately it’s not mine. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2004, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-american-dopers-whats-your-ride/266130/9 "2004-09-26T10:29:09Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > As for Dr. Seuss-mobiles, well about a month ago I sold my [Mini Marcos](http://www.marcos-jp.com/MM5-9042.JPG) (picture similar to mine, except mine was a mess) that I’d owned for 16 years. \ I couldn’t insure it in Ireland, Why not? ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2004, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-american-dopers-whats-your-ride/266130/10 "2004-09-26T11:24:41Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > Why not? Fecking Irish insurance company cartel have the consumers over a barrel. There’s a small number of insurers here, and allegations of price fixing. They charge very high premiums, make huge profits, and offer very little flexibility. I brought the car over from the UK, where I had it insured with a specialist company (Adrian S. Flux & Co., which correctly - yet unusually - acknowledges that people with fancy cars are likely to drive them with more care rather than less). Unfortunately on arrival I discovered that no company in Ireland would insure the vehicle, so I couldn’t re-register it with the Irish authorities, nor drive it legally. Hence it sitting in a barn getting crapped on by pigeons for seven years. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2004, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-american-dopers-whats-your-ride/266130/11 "2004-09-26T16:56:31Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > I drive a (yawn) Ford Focus. 1.6L, very nippy, good manoeuverability, good fuel mileage, good headroom in the back so the missus likes it too. If it was the 1.4L version I’d save a bit on tax and insurance, but it wouldn’t have the accelerative bite I like. > > As for Dr. Seuss-mobiles, well about a month ago I sold my [Mini Marcos](http://www.marcos-jp.com/MM5-9042.JPG) (picture similar to mine, except mine was a mess) that I’d owned for 16 years. When driving, your ass was 6 inches from the ground, legs stretched out straight to reach the pedals, and the vehicle was only 3’6" high. I couldn’t insure it in Ireland, unfortunately, and it was just rotting away in a barn, so ‘Imelda’ had to go. ☹ Are those mirrors factory installed or add ons? ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2004, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-american-dopers-whats-your-ride/266130/12 "2004-09-26T16:59:50Z")
Add-ons. The car only comes with the panels and glass, and everything else is up to you. My one didn’t have mirrors quite as cool as that, but it did have the seats out of an Alfa Romeo Spider! ---
**Author:** ![sinical\_brit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/48db29/32.png) [@sinical\_brit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinical_brit)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2004, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-american-dopers-whats-your-ride/266130/13 "2004-09-28T14:32:35Z")
Big meaty VW Corrado VR6 pimpmobeel ! Its the dogs. Jjimm - i used to live in Dub and remember the locals talking bout the ins rip offs. One mate had a 5 year old 1.6 l diesel van. He was 30 with like 8 years no claims and lived in a reasonable part of Dublin suburbs. £1200!!! fully comp!! Theiving basts. Did you have panels put in the rear quarter windows on the Mini, to reduce the road tax. Fuking road tax - i was always blowing tyres out in massive pot holes. The road surface was a joke ! sin ---
**Author:** ![counsel\_wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/65b543/32.png) [@counsel\_wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/counsel_wolf)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2004, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-american-dopers-whats-your-ride/266130/14 "2004-09-28T15:23:10Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > Fecking Irish insurance company cartel have the consumers over a barrel. There’s a small number of insurers here, and allegations of price fixing. They charge very high premiums, make huge profits, and offer very little flexibility. This ladies and gentlemen is why my ‘ride’ is a bicycle, more specifically it’s a Giant mountain bike with a set of road tires in place of the more usual knobbled variety. I like it on days that it doesn’t rain. ---
**Author:** ![One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/838e76/32.png) [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/One_And_Only_Wanderers)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2004, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-american-dopers-whats-your-ride/266130/15 "2004-09-28T15:27:19Z")
Ford Escort 1.8L ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Clanger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@Small\_Clanger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Clanger)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2004, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-american-dopers-whats-your-ride/266130/16 "2004-09-28T15:53:21Z")
Mercedes C-class. Built like a brick shit house. It’s nearly ten years old and feels like new. But it’s not quick - that said I’ve had it up to 120\*\*\*\*\*, it just takes a while to get there. I actually do most of my day to day stuff by bike, which is a crappy, no make that _really_ crappy mountain job, which I will replace _next_ time the brakes break. \*\*\*\*\*mph not kph. ---
**Author:** ![YoudNeverGuess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a587f6/32.png) [@YoudNeverGuess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YoudNeverGuess)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2004, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-american-dopers-whats-your-ride/266130/17 "2004-09-28T16:37:05Z")
[This](http://www.dublinbusphotos.com/tourist.html) or me two feet… I _really_ need to learn how to drive. (I got a provisional licence with a nice photo and everthing about six months ago and still haven’t arranged any lessons yet). :smack: :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![curly\_chick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ba0ec/32.png) [@curly\_chick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curly_chick)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2004, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-american-dopers-whats-your-ride/266130/18 "2004-09-28T16:48:09Z")
> [@sinical brit](#): > > Big meaty VW Corrado VR6 pimpmobeel ! Its the dogs. How old is it? I always wanted one and was monumentally cheesed off when they stopped making them, the sods. Consider me exceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeedingly jealous. ---
**Author:** ![TwistofFate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@TwistofFate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwistofFate)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2004, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-american-dopers-whats-your-ride/266130/19 "2004-09-28T16:52:26Z")
My two feet, because Irish insurance companies are the living embodiment of Mammon on this earth. ---
**Author:** ![snorlax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@snorlax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snorlax)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2004, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-american-dopers-whats-your-ride/266130/20 "2004-09-28T19:58:54Z")
I will not drive my [citroen picasso](http://www.citroen-babis.cz/vozy/velke/picasso.jpg) on a boat, I will not drive it with a goat! It’s a good, roomy family car by European standards, but I think it would fit inside most American cars. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-american-dopers-whats-your-ride/266130.md?page=2)