Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

Guys, I think I might be wheelist. Wheelist - you know, someone who discriminates based on the number of wheels. Allow me to explain:

I hate Harleys with "loud pipes" with a passion. They sound like shit and they're operated by the exact faaaaags that South Park famously described - douches who just want to show off in their assless leather chaps, while annoying everyone around them. My parents' neighbor is a prime example of this - he just HAS TO redline it up their 60 yard long dead-end street in the middle of the night whenever he comes home (I've always assumed he works a late shift somewhere).

On the other hand, my new neighbor two houses down has a Charger Hellcat and I can hear it idling in his driveway from my living room. And yet... it doesn't annoy me one bit. I can also hear him coasting down the hill behind my house and still I don't mind it one bit. Long live the V8, I say!
 
Are you twelve?
 
In that scene, you would be Francis.
 
Thank you so much for adding to the automotive discussion. Truly invaluable one-line contributions, as always. The forum couldn't survive without such thoughtful car-related comments. Bravo, good sir, bravo! I wish there was a Final Gear MVP (Most Valuable Poster) award because you'd win it hands down.
 
Going back to the discussion from the last 2 pages, I too have had issues test driving Mustangs. Took me 3 different dealers before one would let me drive a manual 5.0L. And the fact that I work for the company that I do didn’t help me one bit. Meanwhile the first Dodge dealer I went to put me in a manual Challenger R/T before I could even finish asking. Chevy took a little more convincing to let me drive a Camaro 2SS, but even then, the first dealer I went to ended up giving me one. I really should drive my GT back to the Ford dealer that gave me the most trouble in 2012 and try to test drive a new manual loaded GT to see if their attitude has changed or if showing up in a Mustang helps.

Though its not just a Ford thing. A few months ago I did want to drive a Veloster N (the 2.0L 275hp version) because Hyundai had a “we’ll give you $50 to test drive one of our cars” event (and also because I was genuinely curious about the car) and they wouldn’t let me despite having rolled up in a Fiesta ST. They said that the best they could let me drive was the Turbo model which was a 200hp 1.6L and they said it was close enough to the N for me to make a decision. Seriously? The N has active exhaust, way more power, an eLSD, rev matching, and adjustable mode suspension that aren’t even close to the base model so in no way would the Turbo be a good enough surrogate for a purchase decision.

I also had a case with a local BMW dealer where I had a confirmed appointment to test drive an M235i. When I showed up, they told me that the best they could give me was an auto 228xi because “it was too cold for manual RWD cars to go out on test drives.” Mind you, it was around 50 degrees, so not that cold, and the car I wanted to drive didn’t even have summer tires. Pointing to my much more powerful RWD manual Mustang didn’t help either. I was pissed because I had driven 20 minutes out to the dealer, if they knew it was so cold, they could’ve called and postponed my reservation.
 
The profiling dealer salesmen do is idiotic.
 
Guys, I think I might be wheelist. Wheelist - you know, someone who discriminates based on the number of wheels. Allow me to explain:

I hate Harleys with "loud pipes" with a passion. They sound like shit and they're operated by the exact faaaaags that South Park famously described - douches who just want to show off in their assless leather chaps, while annoying everyone around them. My parents' neighbor is a prime example of this - he just HAS TO redline it up their 60 yard long dead-end street in the middle of the night whenever he comes home (I've always assumed he works a late shift somewhere).

On the other hand, my new neighbor two houses down has a Charger Hellcat and I can hear it idling in his driveway from my living room. And yet... it doesn't annoy me one bit. I can also hear him coasting down the hill behind my house and still I don't mind it one bit. Long live the V8, I say!
I'm kind of with you, I don't particularly like the way motorcycles sound in general but a nice rumbly V8, fuck yeah!
 
5 doors

Storied pedigree, interior considered the segment benchmark until the new Mazda3

Surprisingly affordable

Timelessly styled

2015 or newer
All of which you would use to describe products we have previously declared not just substandard, but nauseatingly awful.
 
I am sure joyriders are a problem at dealerships. They do have to be somewhat discerning, but not everyone is good at doing it.


Thank you so much for adding to the automotive discussion. Truly invaluable one-line contributions, as always. The forum couldn't survive without such thoughtful car-related comments. Bravo, good sir, bravo! I wish there was a Final Gear MVP (Most Valuable Poster) award because you'd win it hands down.


If this is the reaction from you for a one sentence comment, what would you do with two? Maybe if you weren't so intent on being an ass(the word you should have used above) and childish, maybe you could learn to use the vocabulary that you went to school for.
 
I am sure joyriders are a problem at dealerships. They do have to be somewhat discerning, but not everyone is good at doing it.

Even then like... the salesman is in the car with you ime, what are you gonna do? Take off and do a burnout with them screaming next to you? I mean ai guess if you are not considering buying the car it doesn't matter if you get banned from the dealership but how many people possibly could do that?

It's probably a combination of things depending on the person. There is no way they would read me as a joyrider. The ford dealer was full on talking down to me (like, he was shocked that I knew the difference between a turbo and naturally aspirated V6, full on "that's an awfully big word for a tiny girl!" tier shit?) so I doubt that was the main factor. Part of it WAS probably because girl, but with so many people having problems I am wondering if stuff like "millennials cannot afford nice cars" is being thrown in too, and once you stack a couple of those things up they won't let you try the cars. Whatever it is, it's ridiculous.
 
I recently test-drove an F150 and the salesman was pretty ignorant (or leading me on) and insisted on being in the truck with me and my wife. Then we went to the Ram dealer and the guy tossed us the keys to a loaded 1500 and said "enjoy it, see you guys later".
 
Even then like... the salesman is in the car with you ime, what are you gonna do? Take off and do a burnout with them screaming next to you? I mean ai guess if you are not considering buying the car it doesn't matter if you get banned from the dealership but how many people possibly could do that?

It's probably a combination of things depending on the person. There is no way they would read me as a joyrider. The ford dealer was full on talking down to me (like, he was shocked that I knew the difference between a turbo and naturally aspirated V6, full on "that's an awfully big word for a tiny girl!" tier shit?) so I doubt that was the main factor. Part of it WAS probably because girl, but with so many people having problems I am wondering if stuff like "millennials cannot afford nice cars" is being thrown in too, and once you stack a couple of those things up they won't let you try the cars. Whatever it is, it's ridiculous.


Yes, I have witnessed situations like that first hand. I have talked about a female friend that I went with to get a Chevy Bolt. The first two places we went did not want to show her the car despite her coming in and saying that is exactly what she wanted to see. They tried to push her onto something that was not only not useful for what she wanted, but not an EV.

It may just be a problem with those dealerships, and not a brand situation. But if they aren't willing to let me drive a car, I am unwilling to buy from them. I recommend the same for everyone.
 
I was able to drive both the manual Challenger and the manual Camaro by myself, but the salesman insisted on coming with me in the auto Mustang. And this was before that car achieved meme-status for mowing people down at car shows.
 
When I test drove new Boxsters (a pair of them, base and S) six months before I bought? Salesman flipped me and my wife the keys and said “have fun!”

And I did :devilish:

I’ve honestly never had much trouble getting test drives except at various Ford dealers.
 
I went to two different VW dealers and both were the most outgoing people and during both test drives, I was egged on to give it some go which was cool.
I am wondering if stuff like "millennials cannot afford nice cars" is being thrown in too, and once you stack a couple of those things up they won't let you try the cars. Whatever it is, it's ridiculous.

I would tend to agree with this as I know I don't look like I'm exactly well-ish off or anything. I've heard a few stories from a coworker with friends who make quite a bit but don't look the part and therefore get turned down multiple times.

The Ford dealer I showed up in my Mustang, in a tucked in shirt and jeans, I would've thought that was acceptable wear for someone looking at a Focus ST. I guess not...
 
I must have gone to the only ford dealer that isn’t a pain about Mustang test drives. I was driving my future car within minutes and didn’t have to fill out any paperwork. I arrived in my F150 with Nabster and Der Stig in tow. Pretty sure I was in a t-shirt, shorts and sandals.
 
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