Car Brand Stereotypes

Velocity173 said:
Looking at buying a Forester before the year is out. Once I saw it on YouTube going against other small SUVs I was sold. Can't beat that AWD on a Subaru.

I'll be going from a hybrid to a Subaru so I suppose I'll still get made fun of at work.
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I know a couple of glider guys with Foresters they use for towing glider trailers. They work out pretty well for that. But it's limited to 1500 lb trailer weight, and 175 lb tongue wt. The Outback is rated at 2700lb/200lb.
 
Matthew said:
I know a couple of glider guys with Foresters they use for towing glider trailers. They work out pretty well for that. But it's limited to 1500 lb trailer weight, and 175 lb tongue wt. The Outback is rated at 2700lb/200lb.
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Yeah 1500 lbs is kind of weak. I suppose though if I ever put a hitch on it, it'll be like a little jet ski or something.

Mainly I'm getting one because this last winter I couldn't get out of my neighborhood with the snow. The company doesn't mind putting me up in a hotel for a few nights but it also doesn't look good when fellow coworkers have no problem getting into work because they drive 4X4 trucks. Plus I need a little more interior room. I think the Forester will fit the bill just fine.
 
It was good enough for Simon Templar, and he always got the girl.

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timwinters said:
I drove one of these when I was a kid:

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It definitely was NOT a babe magnet.

Two Volvo sayings:

They don't write songs about Volvos.

And in the words of Click & Clack:

Everyone who owns a Volvo swears that they are reliable cars and that they get wonderful gas mileage. But privately wonders why their car is the only exception to both.
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nddons said:
Color me shocked - SHOCKED - that you drive a
Subaru. ;)
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:rofl: When I bought the first one I didn't know about the stereotype, just that a lot of people (even very conservative males) drive Subarus around here. Then people started teasing me about it. Which is fine.

nddons said:
Here in Wisconsin most Subarus seem incapable of going faster than the speed limit in the left lane. Is there a governor on them or something?
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Just did a long trip with mine. It has no problem going 85 although it kills the gas mileage.

nddons said:
My ride is an F-150.
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Figures. ;)

I have no interest in a pickup. Especially a full-size one.
 
timwinters said:
Personally, I've never understood the attraction of a mini.
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The "Hardtop" is a fairly sensible car, if you're looking for something compact and tossable. It's like the Neon of our days. The headroom is good, too - much greater than, for example, in Civic. The reliability of Mini is poor by modern standards, reportedly, but then it's supposedly very poor in Wrangler, too, and mine gave me no trouble so far.
 
jordane93 said:
Cadillac Escalade = ghetto.
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Add "older Mercedes."

Subaru really turned things around starting about the early 90's. I've had the "priviledge" of driving a few older 70's and 80's models, and the quality was about as horrid as you could get. Modern Subarus are pretty solid.
 
zaitcev said:
The "Hardtop" is a fairly sensible car, if you're looking for something compact and tossable. It's like the Neon of our days. The headroom is good, too - much greater than, for example, in Civic. The reliability of Mini is poor by modern standards, reportedly, but then it's supposedly very poor in Wrangler, too, and mine gave me no trouble so far.
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And the Mini Cooper S with 6-speed is an absolute blast to drive if you like go kart type handling (which I do). And I can sit in it with the top up unlike the Miata, S-2000 and Boxster.

I've got 3 years ownership in my 2006 and ~56K miles and I just bought a 5 year warranty as the 3 year ended. I'm mechanically inclined, and this is the only car I've owned so far that I wouldn't own without a warranty. It's EXPENSIVE to keep on the road. It's never left me stranded, but I'd have spent ~4-5 AMUs on it in the last threes years without the warranty.

John
 
Alexb2000 said:
I agree there are some strong car stereotypes and it's a little sad.

Are we so desperate for socially acceptable ways to discriminate?
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Unfortunately, it would seem so.

Speaking as a guy who has owned a Geo Prizm, lifted Bronco II on floatation tires, Exploder, full size Chevy pickup with a long bed, fake Pinto (Mustang II), a dinky Jetta, a Camry, and a few others, it all seems more than a little silly.

Cars are tools. That is all. They say very little about the kind of person who drives them.
 
Worse stereotypes to have, like the one for Caddys that their drivers forgot how.
 
Around this part of Canada, at least, black vehicles are much more likely to be seen speeding excessively or otherwise behaving very badly. A black vehicle draws a cop's attention much quicker than other colors.

Dan
 
Dan Thomas said:
Around this part of Canada, at least, black vehicles are much more likely to be seen speeding excessively or otherwise behaving very badly. A black vehicle draws a cop's attention much quicker than other colors.

Dan
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I heard that red is the one that draws the most attention.
 
I bought a Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk several months back and it's the best car I've ever owned. It's optimized for off road with lifted suspension, true 4WD including locking rear axle, steel skid plates, and tow hooks. It's fantastic on the worst backcountry mountain trails I've been able to find.

jeep01-sm.jpg
 
Doesn't look like there's much clearance on that.
 
Pffft...when Jeep went to aluminum transfer cases I quit buying them.
 
That's still under 10" right? 8.1 vs 9.1. I don't off road but that just seems...low...with such a long wheelbase.
 
MAKG1 said:
Cars are tools. That is all. They say very little about the kind of person who drives them.
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In some areas yeah, in others "you are what you drive." The average person in some areas that I've worked has as much or more money in their car than they do in their house...if they even own their house. Especially in places like Southern California.

The car still doesn't say much about "the kind of person who drives them" but rather the kind of person they are pretending to be.

I agree with you, I've never been one to pick a car for the purpose of status.
 
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write-stuff said:
Hehe... No, but an hour and 15 minutes north I'm in the Appalachians. I go up there just about every week.
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I had my Jeep Wrangler when I lived in Colorado for many off road adventures in the Rockies, so I am a little jaded about calling the Appalachians "mountains".

Real mountains would eat up your little mall crawler, and spit it out. :D
 
write-stuff said:
I bought a Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk several months back and it's the best car I've ever owned. It's optimized for off road with lifted suspension, true 4WD including locking rear axle, steel skid plates, and tow hooks. It's fantastic on the worst backcountry mountain trails I've been able to find.

jeep01-sm.jpg
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That's a pretty tame trail. I could get through that in the Prizm. Might need to put a wheel between the ruts, but it doesn't look like they are that deep.

Now, with an open diff FWD, that would be problematic if it was muddy. But that's not a clearance issue unless you screw up bad.
 
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Not sure, exactly, Ed. I have the clearances, including entry and egress angles somewhere. But I've taken this through some pretty rough terrain where 4x4 PUs can't make it. It's not the smoothest on the highway, but smooth enough and the seats are the most comfortable I've ever had in a car.

Several weeks back I gritted my teeth and followed a paved road over a mountain. It had snowed 7" the day before and was very icy. I passed two 4x4 pick up trucks, one abandoned on the side and another stopped in the middle of the road waiting for a tow truck. I made it the whole way with ease and had a lot of fun doing it.
 
MAKG1 said:
That's a pretty tame trail. I could get through that in the Prizm. Might need to put a wheel between the ruts, but it doesn't look like they are that deep.

Now, with an open diff FWD, that would be problematic if it was muddy. But that's not a clearance issue unless you screw up bad.
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Unless your Prizm is 4WD and you have some big tires, not a chance. The picture is deceiving. That trail is 24%, badly eroded, and covered with grapefruit-to-melon sized rocks. You wouldn't stand a chance.
 
A short wheelbase and having the wheels closer to the bumpers(no front/rear overhang) makes a difference. Most of the time when you get stuck it's because of getting high centered... the middle of your frame touches the ground and now there's a bunch of drag and less weight/traction on the wheels.

A shorter vehicle has a little advantage there...
 
write-stuff said:
Unless your Prizm is 4WD and you have some big tires, not a chance. The picture is deceiving. That trail is 24%, badly eroded, and covered with grapefruit-to-melon sized rocks. You wouldn't stand a chance.
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Yeah, yours looks really tough. :D


 
Anthony said:
I had my Jeep Wrangler when I lived in Colorado for many off road adventures in the Rockies, so I am a little jaded about calling the Appalachians "mountains".

Real mountains would eat up your little mall crawler, and spit it out. :D
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I will admit that I'm not sure about the durability, but the drivability has been great.
 
Anthony said:
Yeah, yours looks really tough. :D


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Well, yes. I don't need something to handle something like what is pictured here. I could compare your airplane to any number of acro or racing birds and make a similar argument.
 
write-stuff said:
Unless your Prizm is 4WD and you have some big tires, not a chance. The picture is deceiving. That trail is 24%, badly eroded, and covered with grapefruit-to-melon sized rocks. You wouldn't stand a chance.
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You would be surprised where I took that Prizm while I had it.

Yes, even rocky desert trails. Slowly, and with a spotter in places you might not care about with a higher vehicle. I never high centered it, but I did have to build "ramps" a few times to get over a modest obstacle.

Not the best tool for the job, but it's not as incapable as you might think. Rocks help with FWD. Quite a lot, actually. It's the sand and mud that really sucks.

Then, a Bronco II fell in my lap and I could go to the same places with a lot less effort.
 
You just wait until I get going on this project.... then you're all in trouble.
:D

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write-stuff said:
Not sure, exactly, Ed. I have the clearances, including entry and egress angles somewhere. But I've taken this through some pretty rough terrain where 4x4 PUs can't make it. It's not the smoothest on the highway, but smooth enough and the seats are the most comfortable I've ever had in a car.

Several weeks back I gritted my teeth and followed a paved road over a mountain. It had snowed 7" the day before and was very icy. I passed two 4x4 pick up trucks, one abandoned on the side and another stopped in the middle of the road waiting for a tow truck. I made it the whole way with ease and had a lot of fun doing it.
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Yeah, a lot of trucks aren't made for off road either - even though they say they are. I have the offroad package on mine (Colorado Z71) but with the wheelbase, the chance of getting hung on a log or rock is still pretty good.
 
Gotta find yourself a good IH Scout. :)

I never had the guts to take my stuff on the really serious rocks. Dana 35 fronts (and even the 8.8 rears) have the unfortunate reputation of blowing up under those circumstances.

I don't mind natural pin striping or a ding or two, but I really don't want to deal with an upside down rig with half a semi floating axle and a whole bunch of gear oil hanging out.
 
MAKG1 said:
Gotta find yourself a good IH Scout. :)
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My favorite off road vehicles are the Jeep CJ, IH Scout, original Ford Bronco, Land Rover D90, and original Toyota FJ40.
 
I drive a Honda CR-Z Hybrid (with the 6 speed manual).
I'm a conservative, Bible reading, gun toting, right winger, not a fan of tree huggers, and as politically incorrect as I can be but still void fisticuffs.

But in my defense I've also owned, a '57 Golden Hawk, a '57 (supercharged) Tbird, a '63 409 Biscayne, a 65 Corvair, a couple of Hemi Plymouths and Dodges, a couple of different Austin Healeys, a '65 Jag XKE, a 2004 Mini, and a Nissan pickup truck with the Eaton supercharger.
I just like fun cars. And motorcycles (currently have 3). And airplanes.

I guess I break the stereotype.
 
SCCutler said:
I love me some Cadillacs.
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I have a hang-up with Cadillacs and couldn't own one if they were the best cars in the world. It is just an association with the brand name and has nothing to do with quality of the product. Where and when I grew up, anyone with a Cadillac was either being ostentatious about how rich they were or hiding how poor they were. If they were away form home in their old Cadillac, no one knew what a shanty they lived in.

I know that it isn't logical but that doesn't change the way it is.
 
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