# What's the most interesting car you saw today? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 21, 2014, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-car-you-saw-today/688889 "2014-05-21T02:35:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 366
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2025, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-car-you-saw-today/688889/7307 "2025-04-29T16:36:29Z")
> [@Tride](#): > > Well, ok, but you are modifying a vehicle that really has one purpose–to carry and tow extremely heavy loads at the expense of many many daily driver capabilities Because not everything has to be functional, some people just like how it looks and/or enjoy modding cars. > [@](#): > > and severely compromising that ability Sure, but how many people that did that to their truck bought it with the intention of hauling anything substantial with it as opposed to buying it for the purpose of modifying it? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2025, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-car-you-saw-today/688889/7308 "2025-04-29T18:13:38Z")
> [@Tride](#): > > a vehicle that really has one purpose I would suggest that the one purpose is to meet the owner’s needs, which may not be functional. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2025, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-car-you-saw-today/688889/7309 "2025-04-29T20:18:01Z")
Also, I think part of the appeal of the lowrider scene to many is the fact that it’s sort of an act of rebellion. Making us normies complain about how “useless” their mods are is probably part of the point to them. ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2025, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-car-you-saw-today/688889/7310 "2025-04-30T02:18:01Z")
Low Riders are a more deep rebellion than just tweaking the normies. The low rider cars go back to the 1940’s, started by the same young Mexican Americans that endured the Zoot Suit Riots. The use of hydraulics to lift and drop the cars was prompted by the widespread anti-Mexican attitudes of cities in, first California and then through the Southwest. Until 2023, Low Rider cars were against the law in a great many California municipalities. So yes, just a tad rebellious. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/BsrqKE1iqqo/maxresdefault.jpg "WAR - Low Rider (Official Video) [Remastered in 4K]") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsrqKE1iqqo) ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2025, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-car-you-saw-today/688889/7311 "2025-04-30T02:40:50Z")
> [@peccavi](#): > > Until 2023, Low Rider cars were against the law in a great many California municipalities. I knew “cruising” was banned in many California municipalities until recently, and those laws were originally passed due to backlash against Low Rider culture, but I hadn’t realized the cars themselves were considered illegal. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2025, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-car-you-saw-today/688889/7312 "2025-04-30T14:19:27Z")
Part of the reason for the hydraulics is to avoid minimum clearance requirements and such. Raise it up to be legal, then lower it back down to be illegal. From _American Graffiti_ (set in 1962, produced in 1973): Officer Holstein: And Milner, the front end of this … this… this thing you’re driving looks a little low. Milner: Oh, no sir. It’s twelve and a half inches. Regulation size. Now, it’s been checked several times. You can check it if you like, sir. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2025, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-car-you-saw-today/688889/7313 "2025-05-01T12:15:07Z")
There’s a minimum ground clearance law for cars? Googling, I see mentions of license plates or headlights having to be at a specific height, which could be out of compliance due to lowering the ride height. But other than some anecdotes, I’m not seeing anything about a minimum ground clearance. To be clear, I’m not saying I don’t believe there’s one, it’s just not something I’ve ever heard of. It seems like kind of a self limiting problem. As long as the car isn’t dragging on the ground or getting hung up on speed bumps, I’m not sure why the law cares how close to the ground it is. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2025, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-car-you-saw-today/688889/7314 "2025-05-01T13:56:38Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > As long as the car isn’t dragging on the ground or getting hung up on speed bumps, I’m not sure why the law cares how close to the ground it is. For the same reason there was a law about how big a suit could be. Gotta keep those brown people in their place. > [@WildaBeast](#): > > I knew “cruising” was banned in many California municipalities until recently, and those laws were originally passed due to backlash against Low Rider culture, Low riders is probably only part of the equation. I’ve had to drive through Benson, NC to get to I-95S before the I-40 connecter was completed. The cruisers added forty-five minutes to a ten minute drive. ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2025, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-car-you-saw-today/688889/7315 "2025-05-01T14:19:41Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > There’s a minimum ground clearance law for cars? > Googling, I see mentions of license plates or headlights having to be at a specific height, which could be out of compliance due to lowering the ride height. But other than some anecdotes, I’m not seeing anything about a minimum ground clearance. You didn’t google “lowrider laws”, did you. Here’s an [NPR account from 2024](https://www.npr.org/2024/03/18/1239107264/lowrider-culture-history-california#:~:text=In%201958%2C%20the%20enactment%20of,to%20pass%20anti%2Dcruising%20ordinances.). From the article: > In 1958, the enactment of Section 24008 of the California Vehicle Code banned modifying cars so that the frame would be lower than the bottom of its wheel rims. In 1988, California state lawmakers passed a bill that allowed local governments to pass anti-cruising ordinances. The law stated: > “It is unlawful to operate any passenger vehicle, or commercial vehicle under 6,000 pounds, which has been modified from the original design so that any portion of the vehicle, other than the wheels, has less clearance from the surface of a level roadway than the clearance between the roadway and the lowermost portion of any rim of any wheel in contact with the roadway,” It was in place from 1958 to 2024 (66 years!). ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2025, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-car-you-saw-today/688889/7316 "2025-05-01T16:14:03Z")
This morning I saw a 1990s or early 2000s Toyota Tacoma pickup… with a stepside style bed. I honestly had no idea Toyota ever offered that style bed, but it looked stock, as it had Toyota and SR5 badges on it. And a Google image search shows that they did in fact exist: [![](https://preview.redd.it/who-else-has-an-stepside-tacoma-my-taco-is-a-2002-with-a-v6-v0-1igbgcii7yi81.jpg?width=1080&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=0b5cc02f761462601e48fa86ac666861441ec32f) ](https://preview.redd.it/who-else-has-an-stepside-tacoma-my-taco-is-a-2002-with-a-v6-v0-1igbgcii7yi81.jpg?width=1080&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=0b5cc02f761462601e48fa86ac666861441ec32f) The one I saw wasn’t a 4x4 and was a burgundy red color. the above photo is just to illustrate the bed style. ---
**Author:** ![Capn\_Carl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/838e76/32.png) [@Capn\_Carl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capn_Carl)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2025, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-car-you-saw-today/688889/7317 "2025-05-01T21:43:19Z")
These posts made me think of that scene. I love that movie. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2025, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-car-you-saw-today/688889/7318 "2025-05-02T01:35:58Z")
1953 Ford Customline Coupe on the highway, in gorgeous condition. [[Album] imgur.com ![](https://i.imgur.com/wdOnRwj.jpeg?fb "imgur.com") ](https://imgur.com/a/bVbWgck) Also a nice HD trike conversion at the office [[Album] imgur.com ![](https://i.imgur.com/VJtmJOb.jpeg?fb "imgur.com") ](https://imgur.com/a/XlbGxws) ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2025, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-car-you-saw-today/688889/7319 "2025-05-03T17:20:05Z")
Perhaps you’ve seen these? **ANTI ELON TESLA CLUB** [![](https://i.imgur.com/5Hti2qS.jpeg) ](https://i.imgur.com/5Hti2qS.jpeg) More and more Tesla owners are distancing themselves from Elon Musk, because politics, obviously. This one has Texas plates and was spotted near San Francisco. A quick search for these yields many kinds of anti-Elon bumper stickers for your car. The last dozen photos are from some of the web products out there. In general I’m all for eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse, and for lower costs and higher efficiencies in our government. [[Album] Perhaps you’ve seen these? ANTI ELON TESLA CLUB ![](https://i.imgur.com/zrLJsXp.jpeg?fb "Perhaps you’ve seen these? ANTI ELON TESLA CLUB") ](https://imgur.com/gallery/XG0pUD2) ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2025, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-car-you-saw-today/688889/7320 "2025-05-05T02:06:57Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > > [@echoreply](#): > > > > I think it’s a flange to attach a hose to pipe the exhaust out of the building. I can understand why a pumper truck might need something like that, run the engine indoors while it fills with water, but why would the Chief’s SUV need it? > > I agree that it sure seems like that’s what it is, there’s just so many reasons my brain is coming up with for why it shouldn’t be. In addition to what I mentioned above, you’d have to slide something rigid into it, like the way you’d connect a vacuum hose to an attachment, that just seems harder/slower to remove than being able to kick a hose off the tailpipe. And, with that, modern fire stations have exhaust hoses designed in such a way that the vehicles drive away with them still connected and they release on their own. If you tried that, even by accident, with this one, something’s going to break. IOW, at the very least, you’d think it would be on the rear, not the side. Plus, assuming there isn’t some station-specific logistical reason for it’s location, it’s about as far from the driver’s door as possible. > > Having said all that, this is a modern Chevy Suburban/Tahoe with a gas (not diesel) engine, they have no difficulty starting in even the coldest weather Wisconsin is likely to see and it seems unnecessary just to keep the cabin warm. > > And I know I said this earlier, but it also seems like having it mounted like that would either burn/damage or at least leave residue on the paint. Whatever it is, it appears to be, if not a one-off, at least rare. I can’t find anything similar on the internet. I’ve always seen them on the side of apparatus, & you’re right, only hook them up; when you drive out they automatically disconnect. I’ve even seen stations where their procedure is to back in only far enough to hook it up again before backing in the rest of the way. It keeps exhaust out of the building, which depending upon design of the firehouse, may also be a day room for the firefighters & not just an engine bay. WI gets plenty of snow & ice; keeping it inside means no wasted time clearing windows before rolling out. > [@Bullitt](#): > > Perhaps you’ve seen these? **ANTI ELON TESLA CLUB** I haven’t seen that sticker but I’ve seen a couple oval ones bordered with a red oval & a diagonal line thru the only word which was “Elon” ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2025, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-car-you-saw-today/688889/7321 "2025-05-05T02:11:58Z")
I was in NYC for an event this morning; saw some _really_ cool stuff today such that the Lambo Uris didn’t even make top three. #2 goes to a [Brabus](https://www.brabus.com/en-int/cars/tuning/for-mercedes/overview/p/g-klasse/w-463a/amg-g-63-463a.html) G-wagon But far & away, the most interesting car I saw today was the most iconic vehicle associated with a city. A Checker Marathon cab, quite possibly [this one](https://www.thecheckercab.com/) driving south on 5th Ave as I was walking on the cross street. SF has cable cars, but what other vehicles are associated with a given city? ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2025, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-car-you-saw-today/688889/7322 "2025-05-05T05:25:55Z")
Checker cabs are iconic. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2025, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-car-you-saw-today/688889/7323 "2025-05-05T12:08:59Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > WI gets plenty of snow & ice; keeping it inside means no wasted time clearing windows before rolling out. But my point was that this was just a gas powered passenger vehicle. If it’s inside, it’s already room temperature and wouldn’t have any reason to keep the engine running, at least not that I can think of. While it could be some sort of exhaust flange. I’m leaning more towards either a fill/drain port for some type of tank (clean drinking water? ICE generator?) or just a generic port to use as a pass through for whatever they may need to pass through it. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2025, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-car-you-saw-today/688889/7324 "2025-05-05T12:18:04Z")
Don’t know why I didn’t think of this earlier. Firefighters, on average, area a proud group of people and enjoy showing off their rigs. I just checked youtube for “fire battalion chief truck tour” and got my answer. The trucks are full of stuff with batteries and the port is for providing mains voltage to keep everything charged. You can see the same port here, around 25 minutes in, just under the passenger side cap window where the electronics are stored: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/7jIuLEdhNwg/maxresdefault.jpg "Fleet Friday - Battalion Chief 1") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jIuLEdhNwg&t=1513) Here’s a slightly different looking port, but the FF describes it as specifically being to keep everything charged: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/WvPsPeIm4_Y/maxresdefault.jpg "Fleet Friday - New District Chief 1 Vehicle") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvPsPeIm4_Y&t=377) I’m sure there’s more examples, but I think it’s safe to say that’s what I saw. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2025, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-car-you-saw-today/688889/7325 "2025-05-05T12:19:57Z")
I didn’t realize until I just saw now when I saw the thumbnails next to each other that those are two different trucks, but the same department/youtube channel. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2025, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-car-you-saw-today/688889/7326 "2025-05-05T13:08:00Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > But my point was that this was just a gas powered passenger vehicle. If it’s inside, it’s already room temperature and wouldn’t have any reason to keep the engine running, at least not that I can think of. - It needs a minute for the GPS to locate where they are in order to figure out a route. - Especially if it’s a volunteer dept, the driver is in but others are showing up so they’re waiting to take more personnel to the scene. - The big apparatus needs time to build up pressure in the air brakes; they just did it on these to keep everything uniform. - Firefighters breathe a lot of methyl-ethyl-bad-shit (◄ Congrats, you now know a FF technical term!), to the point if one gets cancer it’s assumed to be job related. _Anything_ that can reduce exposure to CO is a positive. A busy house in a big city can do _multiple thousands_ of runs a year. Even eliminating 10-15 seconds of exhaust per run adds up to significantly cleaner air in the bay. Remember, depending upon the nature of the call, one vehicle can go out but others are staying there; that means other FF are still in the building, & possibly the bays (depending upon station configuration) > [@Joey\_P](#): > > I just checked youtube for “fire battalion chief truck tour” and got my answer. The trucks are full of stuff with batteries and the port is for providing mains voltage to keep everything charged. All of ours are plugged in, on just a standard extension cord to a 110 wall outlet; no fancy plugs needed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-car-you-saw-today/688889.md?page=365) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-car-you-saw-today/688889.md?page=367)