Typical 4X4's

[skwerl]

Don't get me wrong, it's a great place to go. But it's not a realistic picture of the USA.

What is? The USA is just a large collection of small countries (not literally, before someone starts). No one state gives you a real view.

 

[very-near]

Can you PM me the VIN numbers of these cars and I'll check their warranty history.
Chances are the mischievous Abingdon chappies have tinkered with them.

I'd say that they couldn't cope with the conditions presented.

Petrol Landys don't like puddles.


and I didn't see any new ones there (owners didn't want to mark them)

http://www.abingdonphotos.com/Abingdon2008/

 

[jimboalee]

I'd say that they couldn't cope with the conditions presented.

Petrol Landys don't like puddles.


and I didn't see any new ones there (owners didn't want to mark them)

http://www.abingdonphotos.com/Abingdon2008/

If you want to take any spark ignition engine into a river or the sea, its best to waterproof it first.

A liberal coating of grease, the type used on speedboats, all along the electrics.

I can't be held resonsible for owner's lack of preparation.

 

[jimboalee]

Some Land Rover owners take their vehicle into the dealer complaining of a rythmic 'ticking' sound when the car is being driven.

The service technician sits for an hour with a screwdriver picking gravel out of the tyre treads.

W****rs.

 

[fossyant]

21 pages and counting

 

[User482]

Yup. A couple of times.

I've been fortunate enough to properly see both the resort side of Florida and the residential side. They're quite different.

Don't get me wrong, it's a great place to go. But it's not a realistic picture of the USA.

That's my experience too, based on some family holidays over there. If you get off the tourist routes, you realise just how poor a lot of Americans are.

 

[very-near]

That's my experience too, based on some family holidays over there. If you get off the tourist routes, you realise just how poor a lot of Americans are.

They did invent the term 'Trailer Trash' after all.

 

[User482]

They did invent the term 'Trailer Trash' after all.

These people aren't trash, they're just poor. Something that appears to be depressingly common in the US.

 

[mm101]

I wonder what it is about the 4x4 which inspires such loathing in people. The vast majority of drivers parking outside schools are a nightmare. In fact the roads in general, at chucking out time, are best avoided. It is not just 4x4 drivers. It is all drivers, with various makes of car.

I don't think 4x4 drivers are any more or less skilled and considerate as drivers. I wonder why they are more conspicuous though. Probably because they are brutish and brash looking things .

 

[User482]

I wonder what it is about the 4x4 which inspires such loathing in people. The vast majority of drivers parking outside schools are a nightmare. In fact the roads in general, at chucking out time, are best avoided. It is not just 4x4 drivers it is all drivers, with various makes of car.

I don't think 4x4 drivers are any more or less skilled and considerate as drivers. I wonder why they are more conspicuous though. Probably because they are brutish and brash looking things .

I suppose it's because selfish or stupid driving is exacerbated by 4x4s, due to their size and weight. They are also a conspicuous example of pointless over-consumption.

Insurance companies will tell you that 4x4 drivers are more likely to be involved in accidents, and are more likely to be at fault.

 

[User482]

I know. 2 minutes off a main tourist strip and you're down a gravelled road full of faded wooden houses.

I last went to Florida 15 years ago, but it sounds from your description that it hasn't changed. Rows and rows of houses barely better than sheds, housing workers at the orange juice plants.

 

[very-near]

I suppose it's because selfish or stupid driving is exacerbated by 4x4s, due to their size and weight. They are also a conspicuous example of pointless over-consumption.

Insurance companies will tell you that 4x4 drivers are more likely to be involved in accidents, and are more likely to be at fault.

Selfish or stupid driving is not the reserve of 4x4 owners. I am just as likely to be pee'd off by a Fiesta doing this as a Hummer.

However resentment and envy play a part in the reaction to a badly driven Hummer.

Your assertion of insurance companies comes from a report commissioned by Churchill. This is not reflected in the premiums of the Insurance companies I have dealt with over the years who specialise in underwriting the policies on them.
Churchills article just looks like a lazy way of excluding them as they cost more to put right than regular shopping trolley cars. They have never been able to offer a competitive quote on any vehicle I've owned whenever I've tried them.

I expect they say the same about Jag owners as well.

 

[Joe24]

But you would be more likely to go after the Fiesta then the Hummer?

 

[skwerl]

Hands up who has ever been envious of a Hummer driver......

never. There is something incredibly camp about Hummers. There's too much macho Village-People-contruction-worker going on there

 

[jimboalee]

They did invent the term 'Trailer Trash' after all.

Do you mean 'Tinkers' or 'Gypsies'?

BTW, Eurps invented them, the septics changed the name ( as they ALWAYS do ).

I've been to eleven states of the Union. They were all the same to me. Glitzy malls, rich suburbs, trashy downtown and 'the other side of town'.

The weirdest place I went to was a small village near Ashville, Tennessee. The locals hardly spoke. They just drooled some words slowly. Everyone knew what they were saying except me.
After a couple of shots of the local illicit alcohol, they were perfectly legible...