Rental Car Roulette

d.dutton9512

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Joined
Jul 10, 2008
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35
Location
Atlanta, United States
Car(s)
Mazda MX-5, Porsche 944, Porsche 924S, Fiero GT
While my poor car is in the shop I lost the Rental Car Roulette. I ended up with a PT Cruiser. Instantly upon driving it out of the lot I remembered a quote that fit the occasion that I thought you guys might recognize.

"I'll guarantee that nothing exciting, vibrant, dynamic, new, creative, hopeful or beneficial in any way to humanity has ever been done, thought of or driven to in that drab, dreary, entirely beige, willfully awful pile of misery."
 
While my poor car is in the shop I lost the Rental Car Roulette. I ended up with a PT Cruiser. Instantly upon driving it out of the lot I remembered a quote that fit the occasion that I thought you guys might recognize.

"I'll guarantee that nothing exciting, vibrant, dynamic, new, creative, hopeful or beneficial in any way to humanity has ever been done, thought of or driven to in that drab, dreary, entirely beige, willfully awful pile of misery."

LMAO! :lol: It probably wasn't as bad as a Morris Marina but pretty bad huh?
 
... even the awful PT cruiser doesn't deserve to be compared to the Marina IMO ... they tried to do something special with the PT Cruiser when it came out ... they failed in the long run ... but they tried ... I actually liked the way it looked when it came out ... the design just didn't age well ...
 
... even the awful PT cruiser doesn't deserve to be compared to the Marina IMO ... they tried to do something special with the PT Cruiser when it came out ... they failed in the long run ... but they tried ... I actually liked the way it looked when it came out ... the design just didn't age well ...

Agreed. They pretty much left the exterior alone and changed the interior (in both good and bad ways) throughout it's life.
 
With the turbo engine it was pretty fun for a fail-wheel-drive econobox. Seriously, the Marina is in a class of terrible all by itself among Western cars.
 
Well, maybe it's not quite as bad as the Marina but without ABS and with tiny wheels it's one of the more unruly and scary rides I've ever driven. Not to mention with the pedal to the floor it can't reach the 6K redline. Then, to add further insult, when it does finally shift it drops back down to around two before starting the painful climb all over again.
 
Well, maybe it's not quite as bad as the Marina but without ABS and with tiny wheels it's one of the more unruly and scary rides I've ever driven. Not to mention with the pedal to the floor it can't reach the 6K redline. Then, to add further insult, when it does finally shift it drops back down to around two before starting the painful climb all over again.
Sounds like they've given you a Diesel ... :mrgreen:
 
Well, since my car is a 97 Miata and they needed something comparable they skipped over words like "convertible" "rear wheel drive" and "sports" and based comparable purely on lack of man points.
 
Could be worse. I've had my newer Jags in for service at dealers a few times over the years (which means free loaner) and this one dealership insists on sticking me in some of the worst crapboxes ever. Kia Rio, Hyundai Accent, Toyota Echo. This would explain why I tend to go to another dealership that's a little further away where they just let me have the pick of the used car lot.

Compared to the Kia Rio, the non-turbo PT isn't bad. My stepmother has one and they're not terrible for the class. It's just that the entire class is crap.

Edit: I just found out that they have a DB7 in the used car lot there now. I think I need to take something in for service soon... :D
 
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last year on vacation my un-carlovers/cheapass freinds sudgested whe rented a peoplemover......I wanted a Range-Rover.......but despite the fact that I was the one who was gonna be driving it I caved in and peoplemover it was.....was promised an Opel Zafira and ended up with a Megane scenic.....
I expected to be bored out of my mind after 2 miles but instead I was bored out of my mind AND I wanted to shoot my freinds.....next time I'm taking the ferry and the Dodge to Ireland....
 
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Be very glad you were not given the keys to a Chevy Aveo. Keep in mind I like Chevys.

I got it when I went on vacation and needed something with better gas mileage. I stopped down and they told me they had a great little car that would work great. After getting on the highway, I almost pulled over to check and make sure the wheels were still attached correctly. I got over 60 and the whole car acted like it was riding on top of a waterbed. It would float and buck and wander all over the road. It really felt like all 4 wheels were loose and were about to come off. I made it to the next place I could turn around and went back and got something different. I told them I didn't feel safe at all driving that thing. I paid the difference and ended up with a Mazda 6. Not as good on gas, but felt a 1000 times safer.
 
Actually the worst cars available these days are indeed the Aveos, the Calibers and the Avenger/Sebring. If you can put up with the looks of the PT...its not that terrible. The PT is actually one of the slightly more involving cars to drive in Chrysler's lineup which is why I say the Caliber and Avenger/Sebring are horrible plus neither are as practical or easy to see out of compared to a PT.
 
I like the looks on the PT. Even if it's not pretty at least it isn't bland.

As for the Accent, i can't tell you how it drives, but i can tell it has without a doubt the most uncomfortable seats in the whole of human history.
 
Arrgh, Kia Rios. I got stuck driving one of those once and I could've sworn my parents' riding lawnmower had more power.
 
You got nothing on me.

When my car broke down, I was driven to Europcar. 4 Cars on the lot: 1 Series, Golf GT, Smart Fortwo, Opel Meriva.

I entered the shop and a man with a BMW key left. Bummer. The guy in front of me got a VW key. BUMMER. I had to decide between Smart and Meriva. I actually wanted the Smart at that point, but it was reserved - green Opel Meriva it was. Almost tipped it over in the first Autobahn exit which I took at ~70km/h with my Ibiza..the Meriva bodyrolled at 45km/h like an old barge.
 
Last time we went to Florida we got A bog-standard Chrysler 300. It sucked. The brakes were terrible, the interior trim was hard and cheap, and there was so much engine thrash, even at ~20mph.
 
Last time we went to Florida we got A bog-standard Chrysler 300. It sucked. The brakes were terrible, the interior trim was hard and cheap, and there was so much engine thrash, even at ~20mph.

Hmm, that might have been the 2.7 then..kinda odd that they'd use such a small engine in a large car....
 
The only people that buy the 2.7 are the rental fleets. At one point there was a two-year production surplus of them being parked in storage facilities in Michigan because Mercedes had thought that people would actually buy the 2.7 - and they didn't.
 
Always a great idea to allow rental fleets to rent out the crapiest version of the car. People always come back with a good impression.
 
I see a lot of PT Losers as company cars. When I laugh is when I see someone driving one by choice.
 
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