# Your car nemesis **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 14, 2014, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-car-nemesis/683690 "2014-03-14T13:41:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-car-nemesis/683690/41 "2014-03-14T23:38:11Z")
Fords. I do not know what it is, but every other time I think, “Mother of Christ, what an ass-hole”, the car is a Ford. (This can’t be confirmation bias, because, hey, it’s just a Ford, and I kind of like Fords.) And the Quebecois. Lovely people, lovely province, lovely language, where do they buy their licenses. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2014, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-car-nemesis/683690/42 "2014-03-15T00:04:48Z")
Toyonda Piuses. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2014, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-car-nemesis/683690/43 "2014-03-15T00:09:48Z")
Jersey plates and anything being driven by a college student. Particularly international students, who generally have a tenuous grasp of US road/parking lot etiquette. ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2014, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-car-nemesis/683690/44 "2014-03-15T01:19:52Z")
Vehicles with"In GOD we trust" tags. Apparently, the almighty will cover their lack of driving skills. Motorhomes with Minnesota, Wisconsin or Ontario tags. Is it required by law up there that you must purchase one of these monstrosities and drive it south in the fall and north in the spring, taking up two lanes of the interstate, driving twenty mph under the speed limit and nearly running down entire families in the Mickey Dees or Wal-Mart parking lot? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2014, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-car-nemesis/683690/45 "2014-03-15T01:39:42Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > Oh, and Prius’ - those people think it is a race-car, too. It’s like “Hey, I get 50 miles to the gallon so I can floor it all the time”. Thanks for the smuggy. I can’t think of a single reason anybody would think a Prius is a race car. It corners fairly well because it’s low to the ground, but there isn’t any power to speak of and it’s not why people buy them. If you floor it all the time, you’re going to be lucky to keep the mileage above 30 mpg. I bought mine for a number of reasons, none of which involve smugness: small for city driving/parking, easy on gas, big enough to haul the things I need to haul, engineered as a hybrid from the ground up (not a modified version of a production model), durable car from a company with a proven history of low maintenance issues, reasonably comfortable, and excellent trade-in value. The only smug factor seems to come from people who drive something else, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2014, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-car-nemesis/683690/46 "2014-03-15T12:17:25Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > The only smug factor seems to come from people who drive something else, IMO. No, it’s really weird but people see it all the time. I’ve got two vehicles now - a Porsche and a motorcycle, and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve watched someone in a Prius try to beat me at a light. Lots of people have mentioned the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2014, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-car-nemesis/683690/47 "2014-03-15T13:44:55Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Priuses and any car with Oregon plates. The former are all assholes and the latter can’t drive. I agree with the Prius statement. For geographical plates: Here in Atlanta 90% (yes, confirmation bias blah blah 😉 ) of the time when someone does something stupid, they’ve got an Alabama tag. When I lived in Chattanooga that held for people from Rhea County, TN. ---
**Author:** ![Ms\_Boods](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5e9695/32.png) [@Ms\_Boods](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms_Boods)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2014, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-car-nemesis/683690/48 "2014-03-15T13:54:40Z")
In the US: cars with Jersey plates; cars driven by the Chinese students in and around campus (they paid zero attention to road signs – including ‘one way’ or traffic lights – to the point where part of the ESL’s induction programme included how to drive in the States.) In the UK: Audi drivers and White Van Men. Yummy Mummies, especially the ones who clog up our street during the school run i (ex: parking on blind curbs, double parking so we can’t get into the street, parking in our drive). Drivers of what are charmingly called in the native patois ‘c\*nt carriers’ and ‘twat tractors’. BMW, Mercedes, and Citroen drivers can be pains in the arse, too. None of these cars seem to come with indicators fitted standard. The trucker/lorry culture here is very different than in the US; if a lorry wants to be in your lane, he will run you off the road to achieve this. If you are in the regular driving (or ‘slow’) left lane of the motorway in heavy traffic, it’s not a rare occurrence for a lorry to get right up on your tail and start blowing his horn and flashing his lights, expecting you to pull off onto the shoulder for him to gain that additional six feet of road. Middle lane hogs. People who use their fog lights when it’s not actually foggy. People who slow down to 40 mph on the motorway or come to a stop at the bottom of a slip road instead of merging into traffic (US translations: idiots who stop at the bottom of the entrance onto the interstate as if there’s a traffic light there). People who take the ‘quickest’ lane of a roundabout instead of the one they’re actually supposed to be in, weaving in and out of traffic as they head towards their exit. Learning how to drive on the motorway is NOT included in driving instruction here, so you get people with newly minted licences who are absolutely terrified, ignorant, or a frightening combination of both on the motorways here. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2014, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-car-nemesis/683690/49 "2014-03-15T14:03:50Z")
> [@Ms\_Boods](#): > > In the US: cars with Jersey plates; cars driven by the Chinese students in and around campus (they paid zero attention to road signs – including ‘one way’ or traffic lights – to the point where part of the ESL’s induction programme included how to drive in the States.) Well, they _are_ coming from a country with [essentially no traffic laws](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rules_of_the_road_in_China) (and the laws that do exist are routinely ignored). I found these parts of that article particularly fascinating: > [@Road rage in China](#): > > Road rage is uncommon in China. This is possibly due the fact that Chinese motorists have fewer expectations that other drivers will offer to “give way” and have a less legalistic/absolute view of traffic procedures. > [@Traffic accidents and conflict resolution](#): > > When a collision occurs between two vehicles it is almost always resolved by the payment of money by one party to the other on the spot, > … > It is supposed that either party considers the socio-economic status and occupation of the other, and the desirability of saving face. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2014, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-car-nemesis/683690/50 "2014-03-15T14:47:34Z")
> [@epbrown01](#): > > No, it’s really weird but people see it all the time. I’ve got two vehicles now - a Porsche and a motorcycle, and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve watched someone in a Prius try to beat me at a light. Lots of people have mentioned the same thing. Probably frustrated guy syndrome. I think it’s a male imperative to beat someone off the line, and if you’re driving a Prius the only way you’re going to do that is by the element of surprise or if the other person is on a bicycle. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2014, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-car-nemesis/683690/51 "2014-03-15T18:01:31Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Probably frustrated guy syndrome. I think it’s a male imperative to beat someone off the line, and if you’re driving a Prius the only way you’re going to do that is by the element of surprise or if the other person is on a bicycle. 😃 In all fairness, it’s not just Prius drivers - guys in minivans do the same thing. As someone that used to drive a Smart car, such antics tick me off. Far more manly to commit to the vehicle you bought, warts and all, than try to convince others it’s badass. When I had the Fortwo, there was something Zen-like about knowing that no matter what, I’d never show up somewhere first. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2014, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-car-nemesis/683690/52 "2014-03-15T18:55:32Z")
small little Hondas will cut me off in the fast lane. Yes I am driving a BMW and likely speeding (shush - don’t tell), but I’m also a legal car pool in the car pool lane. 9 times out of 10 they are not. They cut me off then drive 20 miles an hour under the limit. Why in in the name of goodness and light does anyone do this? If you are not willing to drive the speed limit in scary, scary car pool lane, don’t get over here. I keep threatening to get the biggest, ugliest Suburban I can find. Rig it up with extra lights. Jack it up and ride some bumpers. I hates those guys. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2014, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-car-nemesis/683690/53 "2014-03-15T20:57:57Z")
> [@epbrown01](#): > > In all fairness, it’s not just Prius drivers - guys in minivans do the same thing. As someone that used to drive a Smart car, such antics tick me off. Far more manly to commit to the vehicle you bought, warts and all, than try to convince others it’s badass. When I had the Fortwo, there was something Zen-like about knowing that no matter what, I’d never show up somewhere first. 🆒 It’s guys in anything. I used to try to beat guys off the line with my mother’s [1960 Rambler Super](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rambler_Six_and_V8) (yes, it was pink). The only car I ever beat was a Chevy 283 that was probably running on four cylinders, and I ruined the rear axle doing it. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2014, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-car-nemesis/683690/54 "2014-03-17T02:33:40Z")
> [@missred](#): > > Vehicles with"In GOD we trust" tags. Apparently, the almighty will cover their lack of driving skills. > > Motorhomes with Minnesota, Wisconsin or Ontario tags. Is it required by law up there that you must purchase one of these monstrosities and drive it south in the fall and north in the spring, taking up two lanes of the interstate, driving twenty mph under the speed limit and nearly running down entire families in the Mickey Dees or Wal-Mart parking lot? Yes. Yes it is. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-car-nemesis/683690.md?page=2)