Increasing hatred for cars - anyone else?

[Schaefer Light]

I hate when bikers get in the way of my car and make me slow down ;).

[The Resilent Dame]

I think you missed my point regarding the expanded circle which you can find employment.  Being able to leave a job you don't like to seek employment elsewhere can be regarded as freedom, and having a car expands the range that you can travel to and from that job in a given amount of time.  Also, time spent going A to B is time spent, it doesn't matter if you're on a bus, in a car, or on a bike.  I'm not going to argue that the car doesn't cost a lot, because it does, but it provides a level of freedom that you do not get with the other options.

I'm not saying that the social ills do not exist, but the negatives do not cancel out the positives here.  You may feel that the negatives outweigh the positives, but you can not deny that the positives exist.

Agree 100%.

Prior to automobile transportation, companies in smaller cities often had literal monopolization on workers. Many people credit unions in making working conditions better. I disagree. I think the rise of automobile transportation undoubtedly made the improvement of working conditions possible and put all workers in a MUCH better negotiating position than ever before.

My great-grandfather wrote a lot of short essays about life back around the turn of the century. It was not nearly as idyllic as so many people seem to want to think. Their worlds were much smaller. It is so interesting because he was born in 1896 and lived until the late 1980s and was an astute observer of the semi-rural culture around him. Automobile transport made huge strides in the betterment of almost everybody. Women could get out of the house and work if they wanted, it allowed for labor saving tools, people could literally escape poverty, etc.

[zhelud]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned it yet - helmet hair!!!

Relevant: http://simplybikeblog.com/?p=1006

Don't be a prisoner of your hairdo! 
(A great Christine Lavin song)

http://www.christinelavin.com/index.php?page=songs&category=Compass&display=272

[MrFancypants]

Agree 100%.

Prior to automobile transportation, companies in smaller cities often had literal monopolization on workers. Many people credit unions in making working conditions better. I disagree. I think the rise of automobile transportation undoubtedly made the improvement of working conditions possible and put all workers in a MUCH better negotiating position than ever before.

My great-grandfather wrote a lot of short essays about life back around the turn of the century. It was not nearly as idyllic as so many people seem to want to think. Their worlds were much smaller. It is so interesting because he was born in 1896 and lived until the late 1980s and was an astute observer of the semi-rural culture around him. Automobile transport made huge strides in the betterment of almost everybody. Women could get out of the house and work if they wanted, it allowed for labor saving tools, people could literally escape poverty, etc.

Emphasis mine.

This is a great point and something I feel we all take for granted, even those of us who like and appreciate cars.  If one were so inclined, you have the freedom to go from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska all the way to Ushuaia, Argentina (with little assistance from boats) and anywhere in between.

[Bob W]

Sign me up!   My wife just bought a 2013 Ford Small SUV.  It was supposed to get 33 MPG.  We just drove on a 2500  vacation and averaged 25 MPG.   Effectively making the tight fitting economy car just slightly better than our 1999 Mercury Mountaineer.

That and the salesman pretty much oversold her and she paid way too much!     Yes,  I now hate cars.

The upside,  we have the cash to pay it off,  but won't since we average over 9% on our money and the loan was 2.7%.   

I'm sure we will end up selling it in a couple of years at a tremendous loss though.   

[Ftao93]

I hate driving too.  I hate interstates.  They permit people who have no business leaving the house to get far off places, nearly kill everyone in the process, and crap all over the place.

I love traveling. Participating in my environment, or at least being more aware of it than I am a video game.   Driving feels like a video game. Mostly Frogger or River Raid!

Seeing a 7 passenger SUV that is bigger than some apartments I have lived in (and probably has better plumbing...) with 1 person in it makes me very sad.   You know that person will be paying sooo much in gas, insurance, probably payments...

On top of it they take up huge amount of space, but can't park for beans.

[GuitarStv]

Sign me up!   My wife just bought a 2013 Ford Small SUV.  It was supposed to get 33 MPG.  We just drove on a 2500  vacation and averaged 25 MPG.   Effectively making the tight fitting economy car just slightly better than our 1999 Mercury Mountaineer.

That and the salesman pretty much oversold her and she paid way too much!     Yes,  I now hate cars.

The upside,  we have the cash to pay it off,  but won't since we average over 9% on our money and the loan was 2.7%.   

I'm sure we will end up selling it in a couple of years at a tremendous loss though.

Drive slower.

[MrFancypants]

Sign me up!   My wife just bought a 2013 Ford Small SUV.  It was supposed to get 33 MPG.  We just drove on a 2500  vacation and averaged 25 MPG.   Effectively making the tight fitting economy car just slightly better than our 1999 Mercury Mountaineer.

That and the salesman pretty much oversold her and she paid way too much!     Yes,  I now hate cars.

The upside,  we have the cash to pay it off,  but won't since we average over 9% on our money and the loan was 2.7%.   

I'm sure we will end up selling it in a couple of years at a tremendous loss though.

Drive slower.

Yeah, but to be fair, Ford was recently busted for overinflating their MPG ratings.  I think her 2013 model falls right in the middle of that.

Still, if you drive with a feather-foot and never exceed the speed limit you should approach the listed ratings, particularly on the highway.  What I do on a day to day basis is stay in the right hand lane on the freeway and go the speed that the slow poke in front of me is going which is usually less than the posted speed limit, unless they're going dangerously slow then I pass.

The only caveat here is in the name of safety.  You want to accelerate gently, but when merging onto the highway you need to merge at the same speed as the flow of traffic.  Going drastically less than that creates a potentially nasty situation.

[Daisy]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned it yet - helmet hair!!!

Relevant: http://simplybikeblog.com/?p=1006

Don't be a prisoner of your hairdo! 
(A great Christine Lavin song)

http://www.christinelavin.com/index.php?page=songs&category=Compass&display=272

Funny song!

[RapmasterD]

"Hate" is a terrible word. I suggest you use it very intentionally, and very very rarely.

[GuitarStv]

Don't hate on 'hate' users!

[libertarian4321]

I DO NOT love to drive during rush hour, in a hurry to get to work, sitting in a rolling parking lot with 25,000 other lemmings, sucking up exhaust fumes and barely moving, watching your life pass you by.  That isn't "driving," that's a form of torture.

However, I love to drive when I choose to, without the hurry and stress.  Since I've been working from home, and rarely if ever have to travel during rush hour when the lemmings are out and about, I almost never get stressed driving.

Driving is fun, if you can choose the time and place to drive.

[Beric01]

"Hate" is a terrible word. I suggest you use it very intentionally, and very very rarely.

Agreed. IMO it's quite a strong word - I can't say I've ever hated something or someone.

I just find it kind of strange to drive a car, as I drive it about once a month, and then really only to repark it to avoid a ticket (I hope to dump the car completely in a month or so). I bike or take public transport everywhere now. I'm going to walk to the airport tomorrow for my vacation - yes, I live within walking distance of the airport.

For me as of late, I'm just like "what's the big deal about cars?"

[Airc00led]

It seems a balance can be struck. Someone on this thread suggested the idea of "the right tool for the job" and that's my approach. I bike quite a bit but where I live the weather can be very volatile, today we have flash flood warnings with plenty of lightning. I'm glad I drove my ICE today.

I CAN'T really do without a vehicle due to weather and lifestyle, I WON'T do without a bike because there are so many times when it makes sense and it's fun.

[RapmasterD]

I LOVE having a bike that by MMM standards is over the top and face punch worthy.

I LOVE having a bike that by most SF Bay Area snob standards, is on the absolute el cheapo end.

I LOVE how when I ride around on my bike (I only use it for errands and replacement auto transportation), I often get looks from drivers like I'm a sad vagrant.

I LOVE how when I ride my bike I feel like I'm riding a true pimp mobile.

I LOVE my 2008 Specialized Rock Hopper Comp that I bought brand new in 2008 for $850. LOVE LOVE LOVE it.

Oh, I also love that I've spent ZERO on maintenance for it, although I did replace the pedals a few years back.

I LOVE how it's really hard for me to put more than 100 miles per week on my car, and I often put on measurably less.

I LOVE that my car has nearly 130,000 miles on it.

I LOVE that i easily go a day without stepping into my car, except perhaps to clean the interior.

I LOVE that the last time I brought my car in for service the tech dude scoffed that I had only put 2000 miles on it since I had last been there seven months earlier.

[GuitarStv]

I LOVE my 2008 Specialized Rock Hopper Comp that I bought brand new in 2008 for $850. LOVE LOVE LOVE it.

Oh, I also love that I've spent ZERO on maintenance for it, although I did replace the pedals a few years back.

Dude . . . you really should oil your chain.  I suspect you would LOVE the difference it makes after 6 years of ignoring it.