not12listen

not a camry, but something much higher on the 'douche' meter.

the other evening an M6 tried to race me. i admit, i was being a bit of a jerk initially (i blocked him from making a lane chance without a turn signal). when the M6 driver stepped on the gas pedal, i didn't even budge. sandra and i just laughed as the v10 screamed out and he accelerated up to near 70mph (in a 45mph zone), only to slam on his brakes for the red light that had been sitting there for the past 10 seconds.

most camry drivers that i've seen are blinded by the windshield/side windows/rear window, so they do not see me nor do they try to race me.

wombatsauce

iTrader: (7)

Hmm that might just be true. I usually DD a Corolla, and been checking out a Camry someone just bought as it looks really nice. A lot heavier though and I am not sure it would be as fun as the Corolla.

I see a lot of people in a lot of different cars do a lot of stupid stuff. Sometimes I make mistakes too.

I commuted for around 2 years on 92 and HWY1. While I love it on the coast and wish I lived there again, my life has improved just because I do not have to drive that road every day. It's one of the most fun roads to drive ever, except every single ****ing day there is someone going about 18mph while swerving into oncoming traffic. Every couple weeks there is another head-on on the section between 35 and 280. People driving side-by-side up the passing area, under the speed limit. When I am out there in a car with any kind of power, I usually pass a few cars in the turn-out, since they are not using the space.

Commuting on 92 and 1, you learn to be able to spot rental cars, because those are the ones that are most likely to be parked in the road on a blind corner taking a photo of the ocean about fifty feet from the appropriate place to do something like that.

What is it about the most terrible drivers, the ones that go almost the speed limit and then slam on the brakes in front of every corner, the ones that stop the highway to let morons walk across HWY1 to the beach just south of the tunnel, almost always turning in at 2nd Street across from Costanera? I have talked to a couple other folks that have noticed that as well. I would be coming through Devil's slide and know that the car in front was going to turn there.

The funniest thing about commuting out there though was the way you would get stuck behind someone in a 700hp Mercedes or an Elise going 21mph but then see some old pickup carrying a washing machine mashing down the road at a proper pace. People getting in merge-fights at 92 and 1 in HMB going north. People sneaking onto HWY1 from the road there, stopping the whole intersection when the light turns green because the people on 1 can't go. Nuts.

I used to DD in a 2010 Camaro SS 6spd and while idling up the road in 1st I used to think to myself... "I might as well be in a Corolla." Then I got a Corolla, expecting it to basically be a boring transportation appliance, and I found out that it's a pretty fun little car.

Anyone that says a Corolla sucks to drive, or that you cannot have fun in a Corolla, most likely sucks at driving. It's not an exciting car, but it's surprisingly fun and seems to be invisible to Police.

I think the only car I have driven that I really hated so far in my life was a PT Cruiser. I drove a rental Mazda3 a while back and that sucked a lot as well. Most other stuff is really pretty fun, anything with an engine and 4 wheels really. I have fun in U-Hauls. I dunno.

After-commute Edit:

So, I guess I got a little car-karma as someone in a Corolla was being pretty idiotic in front of me in my Corolla tonight. Nice, long, sweeping pleasant turn, really comfortable at 80+ or even the speed limit, and they move into the #1 lane, slow down, then proceed to stab the brakes and get all squirrely in the nicest part of the turn, go even slower on the onramp, get in a merge fight and then speed up into traffic.

That tells me that my least favorite drivers are those who suck at driving, but don't know it or don't care, regardless of what brand of car it is. Those people you see all flipped out in stress with the car sideways trying to get through a 5-point turn. People that get all twitchy/swervy on the back roads and are noticeably in over their heads while driving slowly/badly. People that need a 20-foot buffer around their car. People that get all huffy when you get close to their car in heavy traffic. People that need the entire oncoming lane to pass a bicycle that is fully in the bike lane, in a small car. Etc etc etc. Most of this chalks up to people that hate to drive, or suck at it. The people that buy Camrys and Corollas I guess.

Driving is one of the only things where people that hate it and people that love it, and all do it at the same time. It's like if I had to go skiing to commute, because I hate skiing and I suck at it. So, it would suck if someone was forced to just ski behind me instead of going on by. For some reason this pops into my head almost every day - like DAMMIT - I wish there were a different highway for people who really like to drive.

chimchimm5

iTrader: (9)

Yes it's not the car itself, it's the type of people that gravitate to the car.

That being said, I was impressed at how fun driving an Echo was, on wet roads, with the crap economy tires. The light weight car made it spritely and crap tires and wet roads meant turning at 20 mph was close to the limit. Almost like rallying on gravel.

... But hand the keys back to grandpa and the Echo becomes road death.

chimchimm5

iTrader: (9)

Yup. And there's nothing we can do about unless we have some law that says slow drivers stay to the right. Oh wait.

And to your point I think of the subway. If some slow moron wants to meander his way up to the gate then people just walk around him. Can't do that many times on the road.

gc8Ninja

Got stuck behind a dude in a Camry today. In the fast lane he decided to match the speed of the semi in the middle lane going 60 mph with about 15 cars behind him and wide open lane in front. Made me miss my exit :/

04GG

iTrader: (33)

That's not karma, that's the sort of driver I think this thread is really about. As mentioned, it is not the car, it is the driver and the lowest common denominator: bad drivers who have no clue they are bad drivers, drivers who literally don't care, etc..., tend to go for these sort of "standard" cars.

I've driven tons of different cars and I don't disagree that you can have fun in almost any of them, but that is definitely NOT the norm. The average person driving a Camry is unlikely to be able to drive at a level where they are even using 50% of the capability of the car, let alone even driving at what I would even consider a "competent" level.

wombatsauce

iTrader: (7)

You're right - I think I meant irony instead of karma. I basically came on here playing devil's advocate, saying people can have fun in a Corolla too, then ~ten minutes later got Corolla'd by another Corolla while I was in my Corolla. I was Cor-LOL-ing.

chimchimm5

iTrader: (9)

Heh.

chimchimm5

iTrader: (9)

Multiple traffic clogs by Camry's.

Was just almost hit in a parking lot by a moron Camry who was backing up without looking. And I was in my car.

chimchimm5

iTrader: (9)

Car in Pool: Campbell Woman Drives Camry Into Swimming Pool | NBC Bay Area

emphasis on CAMRY in pool

Stifull

We have the same problem in Australia with camry drivers...Too slow and are always on the news for " the driver got the peddles confused and drove into the shop/croud/pool/train line etc" ..

d3rock

iTrader: (5)

I think they misinterpreted the concept of "Carpool"