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In this thread: We discuss your car and your many road shenanigans

Whether it's your clanky first-time rustbucket that you got for cheap or your 4th/5th luxurious automobile, a man carries a strong bond with his machine. The car becomes a piece of your free will. A symbol of freedom and liberty. To coast across the country landscape at 100km/h is a serene experience…and we shall post about it here. What car do you drive (or bike if you don't drive) and what have you done with it?

Me? I drive a 1995 Corolla II hatch

It's the first car I bought for a dirt cheap price. Was formerly used a farm vehicle but I bought it off the farmer, cleaned it up and added new hub caps. Now it's my chariot which I proudly steed across the east coast or Auckland.

I currently serve as a free Taxi service for all my friends now. They have me drive them to MacDonalds and back (Yes I am fully licensed)

Hatchbacks are easy to parallel park too and don't require so much fuel. I can get a full tank off just 45 NZD. Another reason why I got it. I don't know where I would be without my car.

Now watch as someone comes along here and posts a better looking car that makes mine look like utter shit. Come at me bros!

I drive This:

Can't drive on a freeway, but it has the best gas mileage out of all modes of transportation that isn't electric.

Another downside is people sometimes don't see me. And even once somebody purposefully cut me off because they knew they wouldn't get harmed.

My first car was an F350 super duty, It's my workhorse still. I use it all the time for my job. It does everything I need. Pulls trailers good, great load capacity, 4×4 so I almost never get stuck. Plus I got a pretty good sound system in it. Nothing great, I could only fit two 10"s in the back.

I also have a used 2007 porsche cayman. Needless to say, it's pretty fast. I've taken it up to 140 mph, though I wouldn't do it again. It's a mid engine, 5 speed manual transmission. It's a really great ride.
Inb4 small penis jokes

You drive a Porsche? Damn you. See, I knew there would be someone here with a jelly-inducing ride.

Where do you get the money for one of those?

Spoiled rich kid. My dad got it for me. Though, since I work my ass off for my parents company, I guess I earned it.

>General
>In JFF

If I posted this outside the General board everyone would just say "NOT EVERYTHING NEEDS A GENERAL HURRR!"

I'll let the mods be the judge if this should be anywhere else but here

Laugh at me. Do it!

I don't drive.

This is what I drive when I'm here:

This is what I drive when I'm in Portland:

This isn't the exact car, but someone on Photobucket happened to have the same model. It's a '98 Toyota Monte Carlo.

Once upon a time, BSoD said:

See, I knew there would be someone here with a jelly-inducing ride.

The joys of driving a massive behemoth in the streets of Seattle. I get, like, 16 MPG. It's my parents' car, but I'm the only one who uses it. I still try to avoid driving where I can.

Some of you may know I once lived in a magical land called North Carolina, which is notable for being entirely flat and made out of highways. For its girth, the mighty Odyssey is actually pretty fun to drive. It's powerful enough to go fast enough (242 horsepower if memory serves. Anything above 90 gets pretty scary, though) but still heavy enough that I would literally floor it coming out of turns. Not that there were too many, of course, but hitting 70 every day feels pretty good. It's the one thing about that forsaken state that I miss.

And it's got heated seats and a GPS and a sunroof, but automatic doors that open painfully slowly and continue to thwart my attempts at finding joy in opening the back doors. With the middle seat rest, I've got 20 cup holders, as well. I can list most of the stats off the top of my head (0-60 in 8.9, for example), which is required knowledge for us van drivers.

Added to that is my tendency to be "that guy" who always drives around with his windows down blasting rap music.

Not trying to brag or anything, but I once had myself and six girls in the car at once.

As for other driving madness, just last spring I did some track driving at the BMW factory in South Carolina in a brand new 335d. I must say, watching Top Gear and playing Gran Turismo er'rday does actually translate into driving skill. It literally does. It sucks the people in front of me were so damn slow. Got up to 100 in the rain, which is pretty dope. Now seriously trying to find my way into a rally school here in Seattle called DirtFish. For you bronies, Sibsy has a couple pictures on her deviantArt of her at DirtFish.

My mom and I share an old model Nissan Altima (not sure of the model year) that my mom got from a used car lot. God dammit do I hate this car. It has had a problem with stalling out any time it idles for too long, so when I need to stop I have to press on the gas slightly as I'm pressing the brake which is very dangerous for multiple reasons but it is the only way that I know of to keep my car from stalling in the middle a stop light. And then sometimes it stalls out anyway (usually when it's low on gas or the weather is bad). My mom has tried several times to get the car repaired so that we don't have this problem but it still persists. The drivers side mirror has also been broken off twice. A driver sideswiped our car while it was parked on the side of the road and knocked off the mirror so we went a few months without one and then literally the day after we got it fixed another driver drove too close to out car while it was parked and knocked the mirror off again, so we now have the mirror held on with duct tape. And now the car needs a $900 repair in order to pass inspection when the thing isn't even worth that much. My mom and I are saving up for a new (used) car that we can hopefully get in the spring but for now I have to drive to and from work every day with a rejection sticker on my car.

If this is Top Gear: Internet, can I be the anti 'Captain Slow'?

I don't have a car though. (Yet, I'm 16, after all).

@Quantum

Sure.

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@Crimson

Ouch, sorry to hear. Wouldn't you get fined if you get caught driving a vehicle can't pass fitness inspections?

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Also we need a Stig. Any volunteers?

I'll be the stig

cars I've crashed in chronological order (which thank god were none of my fault)
used dark grey Toyota Tercel 1999
used medium grey Toyota Echo 2003
used silver grey Honda Civic Si 2002

current, white 2012 Toyota Corolla
no accidents yet, some asshole swiped my rear bumper though

BSoD wrote:

Ouch, sorry to hear. Wouldn’t you get fined if you get caught driving a vehicle can’t pass fitness inspections?

The law where I live is that you can have the rejection sticker on your car for a month but you have to get it fixed and pass inspection before the month is up. I got this sticker in like early October so I've far passed the date, but there is no way I'm paying $900 on a car that I can't even sell and am going to replace in the spring

I'd have been the Stig, but my IRL hair wouldn't fit in the helmet.

I know that feel.

I do have a driver's license, but there's no way I could afford a car. It would kinda be pointless for me to buy one anyway, since barely anyone drives at my university. Most university buildings have bigger bike storage areas than they do car parks, if they have a car park at all. Plus, everything I need is within about 1.5 miles of where I'm currently staying.

I took that picture right after I bought it, which was just over a year ago. In that time, I've had to replace the front brakes, both gear changers, the seat, the mud-guards, the chain (twice), and the front reflector. I've also got through 2 sets of lights, broke my lock, lost my chain guard, and had a puncture. It's currently out of action since one of my new mud-guards got bent out of shape so badly that it now rubs against the front wheel, and I don't have access to the tools necessary to fix it. This thing's gonna kill me someday.

/not_posting_cars_in_a_car_thread

My first car was a 2005 Renault Megane….that didn't end so well.

It was originally upside down before some nice folks helped me right it up.

Got my permit a couple months ago and I've been practicing in my dad's caviler

(same color and everything as pictured) which I'll probably get when he gets a new car. It seems to handle pretty well and looks just as nice. My only problem with it is that it's pretty cramped on the inside.

This was my first car after an accident and before it got scrapped for parts. I took a photo of a photo (yo dawg) because my scanner doesn't work.
I was driving in Dover (a nearby town) looking for some address when a car magically appeared out of nowhere at an intersection and hit me. His car (and everyone involved) was fine, but my car was broken beyond repair. At least it's scarred license plate makes some nice decor for my room.
-
This is the car I currently use:

My Dad got a new car, so I'm using his old one until I'm finished with college. Afterwards I'm unsure what will become of it.

It looks nicer now that I cleaned it up, just some light resto work. Sadly, due to numerous reasons it's going to have to go. I still got my daily though. White 01 Sebring coupe, car pictured isn't my actual vehicle thankfully. Mine's a little cleaner.

Only accident I was ever involved in was a girl ran into my ass end in the Sebring. Still waiting on getting the damage fixed, haven't had the time (and insurance gave a ridiculously low quote on repairs, amount given wont even buy the paint repairs). Thankfully it isn't too bad, still drives great, no frame damage. Just a big skuff.

I love to drive, especially older cars. But I'm tame on the street, I only drive fast on the track, don't want to put myself or others in danger by driving too quickly.

>Ouch, sorry to hear. Wouldn’t you get fined if you get caught driving a vehicle can’t pass fitness inspections?

> fitness inspections

does your car even lift?

Alright, Dac is now the Stig. We'll have you boxed and packaged until we need to help us cheat a rally with the Australian Tog Gear hosts.

You can handle doing synchronized drifts in a written-off 60's hippie van through a dirt bike track …right?

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@Algy and ANN

If it helps, I'll post a bike too. My one looks like one of these (same color and model)

I cycle around town for exercise on a regular basis. Before I got a car, I took a bike everywhere I went.

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@Kim

Well my car passed it's last Warrant of Fitness and qualified for continued insurance so I guess it does lift. Despite being a 1300cc it also lifted all my belongings from Hawkes Bay to Taupo and still managed to get over the mountain range at 120k while passing traffic along the way

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@Accidents

Damn, some of those wrecks are impressive. Most I ever did was knock out an indicator by misjudging the proximity of a low tree branch

My first car is a pretty lucky example: a black 1993 Chevrolet Camaro Z28.

Granted, it's the lowest-power model with a V6 engine, but I think it's pretty neat.

I got my permit in September, so I've only been driving for three months. Gonna be taking my driving test in March.

Anyway, I drive my mom's old car. 2005 Acura MDX.

>Be 17
>18th birthday in 1 month
>still have learners permit
>tfw:

In the short time I've been driving I got into one minor accident. I was in a particularly confusing set of intersections (where accidents happen all the time) while it was raining. There was quite a bit of traffic and the cars were all driving practically bumper to bumper. I failed to notice in time the driver in front of me stop for someone taking a left turn and so I slammed my brakes and bumped the back of the car, leaving a small dent. Luckily I bumped into the nicest driver in the entire world. She was very polite and friendly, and I came out of it only having to pay around $115 for her repairs.

@Fridge

I didn't lose my learners until I turned 18, it's not that abnormal to take your time. In fact it's probably better to not rush it. I certainly didn't pass any of the tests on my first try (Then again, driving tests in NZ are much stricter compared to the ones in the US)

I got my learners permit, got my test in February
This is what I drive (yes, its "my car". still need an adult in it though :/):

Chevy Cobalt LTZ, burnt orange
this isn't my personal one, but it looks like this
We were driving home from the dealership when a deer ran out in front of us.
It was already across the road and decided to cross back over when it saw us
I didn't even have the car for an hour and I nearly got in an accident
Fuckin deer, man

Buy a real bike. Maybe then people will stop cutting you off.

Trust me, people will certainly still cut you off if you're on a motorcycle. Basically, anytime you're in a vehicle smaller than the drivers around you they think they have every right to cut you off.

I actually failed my driver's exam but still got a license.

Gotta love Arab bureaucratic loopholes!

@Crimson

That's true. Motorcycles are practically invisible on the road. People seem to watch out for them much, much less than they should (I'd say it's because their mirrors aren't adjusted properly so they have huge blind spots and motorcycles slip right into them)

They made it NZ law for all motorcycles to have their headlights on at all times in order to dodge that problem. Sounds crazy, but that's what it's coming to.

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@phoneix

Man, the rest of the world gets it so easy. My sister in the US drove around one block and got her licence.

Me? I had to give my instructor a perfectly pleasant joy-ride all around town making perfectly sure I check every corner, indicate every turn, completely stop at every light, u-turn, 3-point turn, park, exit, reverse, give way and never go as much as 0 past any given speed limit…twice

I hear there are some countries where you have your full license mailed to you after a quick exam. Enjoy your luxury

Oh to rub salt into the wound:

I wear glasses and and can't see shit without them and I can't drive a manual to save my life. This should be indicated on my license.

Yet my license says : No restrictions.

So how safe are the intersections in that environment?

According to the World Health Organization:

An average of 17 Saudi Arabian residents die on the country’s roads each day, a report by the Kingdom’s General Directorate of Traffic has revealed. The news comes after the World Health Organization found Saudi Arabia to have the world’s highest number of deaths from road accidents, which now make up the country’s principal cause of death in adult males aged 16 to 36. First reported by the Saudi daily Arab News, the study found that 6,485 people had died and more than 36,000 were injured in over 485,000 traffic accidents during 2008 and 2009.

I was afraid that might be the result. The downside of easy tests is that it's easier for douchenozzles to get behind the wheel.

The tests here are so hard because the goverment is sick and tired of the asshats who learn to drive purely so they can practice IRL Need For Speed and re-enact precisely the driving you see in that video (with same results) only instead of doing it in desert roads, they do it in your quiet neighborhood at 5AM in the morning. The strict tests filter the truly shitty drivers so if we're going to have people racing in the streets, at least they know how to control their vehicle.

I always thaught about creating a motorcycle general, but I figuered that I would be quite alone there, so it never happened. This general driving thread is really a good idea and motos fit here too. A petrolhead is saluting you!

Well I don't own a car, but I got this motorcycle. It's a BMW R80 GS and over 20 years old. It doesn't have the most powerful engine or superfancy looks, but I just love it. It's quite low techy, you can tinker with it and it's just a superb bike for travelling.

I dismantled the bike completly this september, powder coated it and overhauled the mechanical parts and now it looks like this:

Unfortunately winter has just begun and I can't ride anymore, as it has started to freeze. Now I am really looking forward to spring. It's also time to plan my next tour, because I really fell in love with travelling by motorcycle.

I seem to recall people saying that Queen Street in Auckland was renovated with such large side walks and narrow road simply to deter Need for Speed Wannabes from drag racing down the road. :P

@Whitishcollar:

Motorcycles are scary to drive. "What if you fall off?" is always my greatest fear.

@phoneix

Yep, that happened. It's gotten so bad that the police are straight-up throwing people's cars in the compacter if they get caught racing it up. Boyracers are still a problem today and occasionally one will zoom down your street at twice the speed limit with a distinct lack of muffler.

The tightened tests is just one of the things they tried to whittle their numbers down but it doesn't get the ones that are actually good at driving.

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@Whitishcollar

Nice ride. Isn't that what the motorcycle cops used to drive?

>Still just 13
>Fractured wrist
>Can't ride/drive anything

@BSod
You are right, the bmw boxer motorcycles are widly-used by cops all around the world. Even though they usally used another model that has a fairing. Now the old "airheads" have been replaced by the newer generations, but the old machines are still quite popular. They are just really reliable, sturdy and can take a beating.

@burning_phoneix
Yeah motorcycles are more dangerous than driving around in a car. That's undeniable, but the experience is also very different. I know of the risks, I accept them and try to minimise them, but you know shit happens and I bet that every motorcyclist can tell you a couple of stories.

@Crimson
A lot of problems with bad idling happen due to the fouling of the intake system as the crankcase ventilation is connected to the intake. This is mostly done to reduce the emissions, but the problem here is that oil and other particles can reach the intake even with the existance of a seperator.
So after a couple of years the throttle valve will look like this:

The throttle valve is the disk in the middle that turns when you press the gas. Thus increasing the area and air flow, which results in higher rpms.

The picture shows my parents' car, which had problems with the idle. After cleaning the valve and the intake with a brush and fuel the engine was running properly again. The thing is, that we have been to a garage before, but the guys are not really interested in this kind of work, they can't sell you new parts and it doesn't really take long. They are just not interested in cleaning stuff…
Another possibility for the problem is the air filter of the engine, if they don't get exchanged after a while. The filter element can be clogged, so that the engine doesn't receive enough fresh air.

Well exchanging the air filter is usally possible without special tools and experience. Cleaning the intake and throttle valve is a bit harder. You have to dismount a couple of things and sometimes the valve isn't easily reachable and so on. Also I am not familiar with your model and it's also possible that the idle air bypass valve isn't working properly. It's always hard to tell stuff from afar…

It's actually not that hard and if you do want to try it, you can watch a couple of videos about the matter for instance this one
If you never start working or thinking about engines, you will never be able to understand them. I know that it's more a "guys thing" to do, working on engines and stuff, but there is nothing mysterious about it.