More Ugly Cars...

After my first ugly car post, I've seen so many ugly vehicles out there that I have to add another one! The worst offender for the ugly car category would have to be Nissan, though, I would have to say. And next to that, Dodge.

First of all, for the Nissans. Take a look at the new Pathfinder or the Armada (or maybe don't for your sanity). What on earth did they do? It looks like they hacked those things out of a block of wood using a hatchet. OK, the Pathfinder might be argued as being "alright-looking", but the Armada has no excuses! Uggh. Just looking at it makes me shiver. Nissan states that it is both beautiful AND bold. They're partly right, it is definitly bold!

And then they have that crazy Murano. Go ahead. You can argue with me all you want. Its still ugly. What on earth is with the front of that thing? In the words of Nissan, it is an "architectural front grille". Is that the best they could come up with for "butt-ugly-somebody-screwed-up" grille? It looks more like the front bill of a platypus. However, I will admit the rest of it isn't bad. But, honestly Nissan, can you do something about that beak on the front?

I've already mentioned the Quest. I think they made this one to make the rest of their vehicles look good. Chances are, Nissan engineers watched the Murano and the Armada roll off the line, and they said "Ahhh! What ugliness! Quick, make a worse one so that these ones look good in comparision!" And BANG, the Quest was created. And it was NOT good. But, hey, remember? It's practical!!! So who cares that it scares all the children away from the playground when it drives by? Here's a quote from Cars.com: "Its in the vast middle ground between different and ugly". Hmmm. Oh, and one more thing. This heavy tank gets a whopping 19mpg (and that's on paper, so in real life it's probably closer to 16). Not that filling up all the time is a bad thing (if you're stinkin' rich). But where this is really going to hurt is when you run out of gas and nobody will stop to help you because they're too scared to get near your beastly van.

Something Positive

OK, I've put in quite a bit of negative posts here so far. Ugly cars, bad drivers, stupid fog lights. So, I think it's time to try and give this site a bit of an "uplift" and stuff in something positive. Here goes:

Not ALL drivers are BAD drivers. There are some good ones out there. They usually go unnoticed, and are few and far between this time of year (Christmas), but they are out there. Kudos to them.

Not ALL truck owners drive with their fog lights on. Either they haven't found the switch, or they're just being plain ol' nice. Whatever the reason, I thank them.

Also, there's some real nice looking vehicles out there today. Take the new Mustang. Affordable for the average Joe (although maybe not practical), and looks good. How about the Pontiac Torrent? Not bad!

Or the Lexus IS 350? The Porsche 911? Chevy Tahoe? There's lots of good looking cars out there, don't get me wrong! Just stay away from the Nissan's, Honda's....

There, I've been positive once. Let's get back to reality... :)

Flippin' Fog Lights

OK, I'm on a roll here, so why not keep going? I think the issue of fog lights needs to be addressed, and what better place than with bad drivers and ugly cars?

For the most part, little Civic's, Cavaliers and the like really don't bother too many people. Their fog lights are for show only, and really don't do any amount of help at all. However, some vans and all trucks are extremely annoying. Hey, if it's foggy out, by all means! But why have the stupid things blasting everybody when its a crystal clear night?

First of all, this is to all truck owners. Dodge, Chevy, or Ford. Your headlights suck. I know this isn't your fault, you just bought the stupid truck. But, honestly, everytime one of you comes up behind me, I can't see a blasted thing. So, yeah, your lights suck.

So, hey, why not turn on your fog lights while your at it? Let's really blind everyone on the road because you're a big man in your big truck, so let's be a big jerk too. What's the point? Your lights are more than bright enough on their own. So why turn on the fog lights too?

Do they make you feel big? Do you think they make you a cool man? Are you arrogant, ignorant or simply oblivious? I would really like to know.

And, yes, that's me flashing my brights at you. Yes, putz, I know you don't have your brights on. I'm talking about your dang fog lights. You're a hazard on the road. But, hey, when you can't bring yourself to realize that you don't own the road, who cares that no one else can see where they're going? As long as they don't run into you, right?

The "Variable Speed" driver

This guy is similar to a variable speed drill. Push the button (gas pedal) harder, he goes faster. Let off a bit, he goes slower. Woo hoo!

Ever heard of cruise control?

Oh, sure, there's still quite a few cars on the road without cruise, I understand. And the driver's that vary in speeds of +/- 5 km/hour are no big deal. I'm not referring to them.

Who I am referring to is the driver that feels the need to drive for 20 minutes at 130, then back off to 110 for another 30 minutes, only to speed back up to 130 later! I've got my cruise set at 120, and I'm constantly having to play "leap frog" with these oblivious drivers.

The best part is when they give you that look as you pass them for the 5th time. You know they're thinking, "Hey, why do you keep passing me?" like they have no idea.

While on a two lane higway, big deal. I'll just keep on leapfrogging 'till we know each other's license plates by heart. But once that two lane highway narrows down to a single lane, that's when my stress levels start to peak.

Just the other night, I was coming up to where the highway narrowed down to a single lane. I was catching up on another driver, so I thought I'd speed up so I didn't have to wait behind him on the single lane section. Nope, not today! I sped up to 125, and he kept speeding up. OK, I thought, maybe I misjudged his speed. So I slowed back down to my 110 and ducked in behind him. Sure enough, no more than 2 miles down the road, I was riding his bumper going 100. What the...? So, I waited for a clearing, and passed him. Kindly and politely letting him know about my displeasure :). Well, he never passed me again, but he did ride my little red Grand Am butt all the way 'till I turned off 40 kms later. I won't ever figure those kinds of people out.

Hey, little black Chevy Cavalier man, if you ever read this, would you mind filling me in on your state of mind that night? Or maybe the draft you were drinking that night? Thanks.

Ugly Cars

First things first, why do people buy ugly cars?

OK, I know that "beauty is in the eye of the beholder". But, honestly. Does ANYONE think that a Pontiac Aztec looks nice? Please, there is a point where a vehicle's "pratical-ness" cannot outweigh its "ugly-ness". Aztec. Case in point. And, no, getting it in yellow doesn't make it look any better.

How about the Honda Element? Uggh! Some designer is laughing his head off right now. Hey, all he had to do was create a plastic box, throw in some wheels, an engine and maybe a little bit of metal panels somewhere behind all the plastic, and people are buying the crap!

And don't even get me started on the Chevy Avalanche. If you want a truck, buy a freakin' truck. If you want an SUV....you get the point. The Avalanche is NOT the best of both worlds. In fact, it's probably the worst of both worlds. And, again, what the heck is the point of all that ugly plastic? Has plastic EVER looked good on a vehicle 10 years down the road? And how about the tailgate! Hey, if you're 7 feet tall, no problem! But for the rest of us, try throwing a bag of groceries in the back... Get hefting! Useless and ugly. And, still, people buy it! I will never understand some people.

Hey, all you Canadians buying up those dumb "Smart" cars. Have you people even put one bit of thought into the upcoming winter? It happens every year here, by the way. Snow. Ice. Slush. Your stupid little Smart car will be doing nothing but donuts every time you go somewhere. Hey, but don't worry! When you hit the ditch, I'll help you carry it back onto the road...

There. I think I've done enough to offend a variety of people. But, hey, it's still a free country. If you are allowed to buy this junk, I should be able to tell you that it sucks! Looking forward to hearing from you! :)

Backdrop

Here's a little information about me before we get started on this blog. I'm 27 years old, and was born in British Columbia, Canada. I've been married for 4 years and we have an 18 month old girl as well as another one on the way. We currently reside near Edmonton, AB, Canada.

We drive a 2001 Pontiac Grand Am. Not a bad car for the money. If we could afford it, I'm sure we'd drive an SUV like everyone else. But, we are who we are, and we drive what we can afford. Not that a Grand Am is a bad car. It's pretty peppy, although I wouldn't try dragging with too many people. It's roomy enough for us right now, although I'm sure we'll be tight when we get the new addition. And it looks good.

This blog is going to be my release against bad drivers and ugly cars, the two things on today's roads that drive me up the wall.

Now, just so you know, I am a perfect driver. I never do anything wrong, and I never tick anybody off..... NOT!

By writing this blog, I do not want to imply that I am innocent in anyway. But, hey, if I can rant here about the idiots I come across, why not? And, by the way, if you find I offend you somehow, feel free to drop a comment. I promise I will carefully read all negative comments and take them to heart (what? No, I didn't name my trash can "heart", what are you talking about?).

Have fun, and feel free to rant yourselves! We've all been there, we've all gotten frustrated! Let it loose!