Why some people are too stupid to own a car

[5030]

In Canada a US built vehicle is a foreign vehicle so no problems driving what ever you want.

My priority's for cars are a comfortable ride and excellent fuel mileage. A standard transmission is also a big +. VW's and Dodges deliver.

The local NAPA tells me that the most popular vehicles around here are F-150's and TDI Jettas. I live in a very rural community and vehicle mileage is a concern.

Being 60 miles from the Canadian border (Ontario) is close enough for me.

 

[kf4uda]

Regular or synthetic?????

I am definitely a regular guy. Don’t need that fancy synthetic stuff

Several here have mentioned portable compressors/inflators. I use this one which uses common batteries to other tools that I have. It also will shut off at a pressure that you set:

M12™ Compact Inflator kit

www.milwaukeetool.com

 

[masseyrider]

Nothing new. Maybe 50 years ago I carpooled with a guy who was one of those who wouldn't turn on his headlights unless it was pitch black. One day I pointed out to him it was getting kinda dark, might be a good idea to turn them on...he just turned on the parking lights! Not sure if he was absent minded or just didn't like being able to see/be seen. Stopped riding with him shortly thereafter.

Friend of mine, a very Kramer like guy, always drove without lights even in the countryside. He put reflectors on his car so people would know he was there.
Took the fan belt off his alternator and put a solar panel on his roof to charge his battery.
Claimed it saved significant gas.
When his AC broke down he put a window unit in the back seat, drilled a hole in the floor to drain off the water and ran it off an inverter and 2 large deep cycle batteries.
You couldn't convince him the additional weight used more gas than what he saved, if anything, disconnecting his alternator.
With the inverter he also plugged in a one cup coffee maker and a toaster so he never had to go to a coffee shop.
He would pump up his tires to 60+ lbs to improve milage.
On a long road trip, Niagara Falls to Edmonton, his low oil light came on.
What to do? No extra oil, miles to the next town.
He added water to the crankcase to bring up the oil level and made it to town.
There he went to a quick oil change place and got a couple gallons of used oil and off he went.
Somewhere along the highway he ran out of gas so he had to push. To help he opened his doors and trunk to act as a sail.
When he had gas money he would carry a full gas can in his trunk but would only put a gallon or less in the tank. He claimed the extra weight reduced his mileage.
But... You couldn't convince him the weight was still in the car.
And these are just some of his ...

 

[KennyG]

In Korea in the 1980s, everyone would turn the headlights off when they stopped at stoplights. I was told it was because they thought keeping them on would wear out the electrical system. Of course, considering Korean cars of that era, maybe it was true.

 

[kenmbz]

I have been to many countries where they don't use headlights in the town, only out in the country.
One bridge I went over on the way to work usually had a car stuck to the abutment on the down side each morning.

 

[3930dave]

When I was a little kid, I enjoyed the tales of Paul Bunyan, even though I knew then they were just "stories".....

As much as I'd like to think most/all of what is in this thread is made-up, sadly, I think Not !

Rgds, D.

 

[3930dave]

Friend of mine, a very Kramer like guy, always drove without lights even in the countryside. He put reflectors on his car so people would know he was there.
Took the fan belt off his alternator and put a solar panel on his roof to charge his battery.
Claimed it saved significant gas.
When his AC broke down he put a window unit in the back seat, drilled a hole in the floor to drain off the water and ran it off an inverter and 2 large deep cycle batteries.
You couldn't convince him the additional weight used more gas than what he saved, if anything, disconnecting his alternator.
With the inverter he also plugged in a one cup coffee maker and a toaster so he never had to go to a coffee shop.
He would pump up his tires to 60+ lbs to improve milage.
On a long road trip, Niagara Falls to Edmonton, his low oil light came on.
What to do? No extra oil, miles to the next town.
He added water to the crankcase to bring up the oil level and made it to town.
There he went to a quick oil change place and got a couple gallons of used oil and off he went.
Somewhere along the highway he ran out of gas so he had to push. To help he opened his doors and trunk to act as a sail.
When he had gas money he would carry a full gas can in his trunk but would only put a gallon or less in the tank. He claimed the extra weight reduced his mileage.
But... You couldn't convince him the weight was still in the car.
And these are just some of his ...

I fear guys/gals like this ^ on the road, more than any of the street-racers I've known..... (not joking).

No car will stop/handle safely with 60+psi, just to pick one "Kramer" move......

Rgds, D.

 

[jjeff]

A few urban born people don't realize what or where the brights are on there car probably why they developed automatic brights in my experience. Imo if your going to have daytime running lights on cars with illuminated gauges they should also be automatic turning on at night.

 

[3930dave]

Talk about old school.
Pa would do an entire check if he was going anywhere more than half an hour away.
Check tire pressure, oil, rad level, master brake cylinder, washer fluid even if he had just done it the day before.
Then he met my future father in law. He hadn't changed the oil in his car for close to 100K miles, and none of his tires were even close in pressure to each other.
Lot of head shaking going on there.

I'm not quite that thorough..... , but my sister refers to it as my "Pre and Post-Flight Inspection" for wheeled ground-transport.

OTOH, I swear some people would drive on square-wheels....

Rgds, D.

 

[masseyrider]

I fear guys/gals like this ^ on the road, more than any of the street-racers I've known..... (not joking).

No car will stop/handle safely with 60+psi, just to pick one "Kramer" move......

Rgds, D.

Coming down Sandplant hill, QEW highway going from Niagara Falls ON to St Catharines, a long drop down the escarpment to a reasonable curve to the left before it straightens out I was passed by an old school Saturn.
He had on four of what I call idiot spares. I guess he was trying to mimic the tall narrow pizza cutter rims that were/are popular.
Those spares are supposed to inflated to like 60psi and top speed around 35mph or so.
I was doing 70 and he passes me pretty quick.
At the bottom of the hill where it curves the highway shoulder is lined with concrete barriers.
He lost it at that point and slide along the barrier, I'm guessing 400 feet, before stopping. I would assume most of the passenger side was erased.
I didn't stop, he got what was coming to him.
When I think f it, it reminds me of the scene in Planes Trains and Automobiles where John Candy drives between the 2 transports.

 

[3930dave]

A few urban born people don't realize what or where the brights are on there car probably why they developed automatic brights in my experience. Imo if your going to have daytime running lights on cars with illuminated gauges they should also be automatic turning on at night.

While I enjoy the act of driving itself, I'm glad I don't commute the miles I used to.....

What I've noticed even in relatively local driving, since all-digital dashes have pretty much taken over the rusted-out driving fleet here...... many people are driving along @ night, with no taillights..... late model car - dash lights up = I'm good.

I remember seeing one F150 Platinum, with a plate something like "ISU4U" driving for an extended distance like that..... slow month in the Legal Game, and he was hoping to get rear-ended ?

Long commute miles today.... I'd definitely be running a good quality dash-cam, ALL the time....

Rgds, D.

 

[3930dave]

Coming down Sandplant hill, QEW highway going from Niagara Falls ON to St Catharines, a long drop down the escarpment to a reasonable curve to the left before it straightens out I was passed by an old school Saturn.
He had on four of what I call idiot spares. I guess he was trying to mimic the tall narrow pizza cutter rims that were/are popular.
Those spares are supposed to inflated to like 60psi and top speed around 35mph or so.
I was doing 70 and he passes me pretty quick.
At the bottom of the hill where it curves the highway shoulder is lined with concrete barriers.
He lost it at that point and slide along the barrier, I'm guessing 400 feet, before stopping. I would assume most of the passenger side was erased.
I didn't stop, he got what was coming to him.
When I think f it, it reminds me of the scene in Planes Trains and Automobiles where John Candy drives between the 2 transports.

Johnny Larue.... I miss him..... rainy day here, the kind of day I'd watch PT&A for the zillionth time.....

I remember the concrete K barriers becoming common, back when....... Front-drive can tend to climb them, and I remember marveling @ the black tire marks traveling up high and for a long ways along a set of curved K barriers like you described.....

Figured it ^ was some new competition that I hadn't heard about.... then came across the Darwin Awards, and realized I was right.....

Rgds, D.

 

[dodge man]

My son showed me a video of someone hosing down the front of their car to get the bugs off using the gasoline nozzle. Hope she wasn’t a smoker.

Another one showing someone pulled up to a propane tank, the big kind you fill gas grill tanks from, and trying to figure out how to air their tires up with it.

 

[dstig1]

Apparently, we are smart enough to expect them on $400 utility appliances....... but not on a $100k vehicle......

Me, included .

Rgds, D.

Well the big difference is a lot of small engines can run relatively unattended when in use and you have no other indication that the oil has gotten low, so I see how those make sense. Every car has a driver in the seat and dashboard lights that will at least say low oil pressure when the oil gets super low so that handles the car engine oil level...

 

[Rockbadchild]

A guy has a Youtube channel called Wrenching With Kenny. He recently told a story about when he ran a full service gas station and repair shop about a man that came in, asked for a fill-up. As was his routine, Kenny asked if he should check the oil, man said sure. He popped the hood, pulls out the dipstick and there's no oil on it. Sticks it back in and pulls it out again, nothing. He walked over to the driver and said "you're at least two quarts low, want me to add oil?" "Why? the man said, it came with oil when I bought it." Kenny noticed the car had about 30K on it, and doubted that the oil had ever been changed.

these people are good for the economy

 

[Rockbadchild]

at least he filled up lol … one time i was filling up a car can out of gas 15 yard away … it was down hill so the pump guy and myself go over and push the car to the pump … the pump guy ask how much … the guy answered $20….

 

[3930dave]

Well the big difference is a lot of small engines can run relatively unattended when in use and you have no other indication that the oil has gotten low, so I see how those make sense. Every car has a driver in the seat and dashboard lights that will at least say low oil pressure when the oil gets super low so that handles the car engine oil level...

I agree with your general logic.... but a lot of people don't.

Long before self-driving cars became A Thing, plenty of cars were relatively unattended.... I know someone who had to put a new 3.8L into a Pontiac, because the wife and daughter had been driving it around for a week+ with "some light on".....

Not picking on the ladies.... plenty of examples just in this thread of clueless men, including Back When....

Today, there's enough "information noise" in vehicle platforms that I have to wonder..... How many people look at anything in a vehicle, other than to see if their phone has sync'd ?

Maybe Wisconsin still has plenty what I've been calling for way too long, UNCommon Sense ?

Rgds, D.

 

[3930dave]

My son showed me a video of someone hosing down the front of their car to get the bugs off using the gasoline nozzle. Hope she wasn’t a smoker.

Another one showing someone pulled up to a propane tank, the big kind you fill gas grill tanks from, and trying to figure out how to air their tires up with it.

A teacher in my HS (it was a different time) had a Go Lemmings, GO ! TShirt..... hadn't thought about that for years....

Over in the Signs we Aren't Going to Make It thread, there was a video, likely off some social. If it was staged at that Gas Station, the young blonde lady was a good actress...... she says something about Old Gas, the guy with the phone asks her if she thinks the #'s on the pumps are Years, she looks at him and says "Well Yeah (of course)"......

Gasoline Vintages...... could have been staged, but seeing as we are probably batting close to 1000 in this thread.....

Go Lemmings !!!!!

Rgds, D.

 

[jjeff]

I agree with your general logic.... but a lot of people don't.

Long before self-driving cars became A Thing, plenty of cars were relatively unattended.... I know someone who had to put a new 3.8L into a Pontiac, because the wife and daughter had been driving it around for a week+ with "some light on".....

Not picking on the ladies.... plenty of examples just in this thread of clueless men, including Back When....

Today, there's enough "information noise" in vehicle platforms that I have to wonder..... How many people look at anything in a vehicle, other than to see if their phone has sync'd ?

Maybe Wisconsin still has plenty what I've been calling for way too long, UNCommon Sense ?

Rgds, D.

Syncing a phone on a vehicle is one of the few tasks I struggle with and terribly dislike.
Ex. My 2016 trucks outside my phones on me inside the house multiple times I say hello but crickets cause it's on speaker phone in my truck. Id it doesn't have nuts, bolts, or screws I'm screwed. Perhaps I'm to stupid to drive newer vehicles.

 

[3930dave]

Syncing a phone on a vehicle is one of the few tasks I struggle with and terribly dislike.
Ex. My 2016 trucks outside my phones on me inside the house multiple times I say hello but crickets cause it's on speaker phone in my truck. Id it doesn't have nuts, bolts, or screws I'm screwed. Perhaps I'm to stupid to drive newer vehicles.

..... I Keep Threatening..... I'll end up with a Model A Ford as a daily-driver yet.........

It's not just you..... had a similar truck story recently...... called my boss, (I'm on a different shift, he's @ home), he's standing in the driveway talking with me, his wife drive's up in their truck and pairs his phone........ Boss is used to my direct (read - expletive) speech concerning work, but during the wrong conversation his wife might have been startled....

I can be fairly tech savvy, when I feel like it, but often much tech just irritates me........ shoving options forward (in my face) that hold little/no use for me, while mangling or obscuring key functions that matter - to me .

Young lady @ work, spent a lot of time on the shoulder of a major high-speed highway here, waiting for a tow...... brand-new car, dealership had screwed up the TPMS/valve install on one snow-tire, it went flat on the highway. TPMS sure helped enhance the Safety of that car that day !

I'm just glad for her that nothing else happened that day..... too many people get hit when pulled over waiting for a Tow.....

Rgds, D.