I am proud to be part of the 80% majority who's
driving skills are "Above Average" when polled. :)
One of the values of auto-x to me is the reminder I
get at every event that I am not that great. I am much
better at controlling my car at the limits than I used
to be. However, every few events I do manage a big
spin like the one I did last Sunday. This my gentle
reminder that the limits of the car are fun to play at
but to stay away from them while driving to work or
the grocery store.
(Sarcasm begins here) As for who has a legitimate use
for an SUV, this topic has been debated endlessly in
many forums. To end this once and for all, I am
appointing myself as chief judge and arbitor of who
should drive an SUV. My basic criteria will be those
the 3 that Michael decribed.
1. Being driven by somebody wearing a hard-hat.
2. Towing a large object.
3. Is driving off-road.
These criteria will be used to judge someone
unsuitable to drive an SUV.
1. Self-image that makes you completely uncomfortable
about ever driving a minivan.
2. Belief that heavier vehicles are always "Safer" for
everyone in an accident.
3. You have rear-ended anyone in the last 18 months.
4. Your vehicle has any scars from hitting poles,
walls, barriors, support beams, or other vehicles
while parking.
5. You believe that SUV's are actually roomy inside
compared to other vehicles of the same size.
Those wishing to avoid the scorn and derision of all
right thinking gearheads, racers and auto enthusiasts
can contact me with a description on the vehicle and
the reasons they are using it. If you are judged to
have legtimate use, you will recieve a certifcation
plaque to display that says "Al thinks its Okay" the
cost for this service will be only $20 per vehicle.
(Sarcasm ends here)
Alan
--- Carl Merritt <CMerritt@luminous.com> wrote:
> This reminds me of a study I heard about....a group
> of college students were
> asked to grade their own paper, grade other people's
> papers, and then grade
> their own again in light of the competition. The
> top %15 usually at first
> only rated them selves as average, because they were
> highly self critical
> and generally believed everybody else was roughly
> the same skill level.
> People in the bottom %15 at first graded them selves
> in the top %15, and
> then even AFTER grading other student's papers they
> still graded them selves
> in the top %15.
>
> It seems that if you are totally inept, you don't
> even have the skill to do
> any self performance analysis, which often leads to
> delusions of grandeur
> and/or persecution when things don't turn out.
> Directly applicable to SUV
> drivers I would think... ;-)
>
> -Carl
>
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: james creasy [mailto:Black94PGT@pacbell.net]
> > Sent: Friday, February 22, 2002 10:28 AM
> > To: Kelly, Katie; John J. Stimson-III; Lolita and
> Mike
> > Cc: Larrybsp@aol.com; Sethracer@aol.com;
> ba-autox@autox.team.net
> > Subject: Re: SUV explosion - in numbers
> >
> >
> > how revealing!
> >
> > i rode in an SUV a couple of weekends ago with a
> two friends
> > and their two 2
> > year old sons on a trip to napa. the driver, and
> owner, of
> > the SUV kept up
> > a constant dialogue during the whole trip about
> how that
> > "f**king driver
> > just pulled out in front of me, doesnt he know how
> to drive",
> > while the
> > whole time doing EXACTLY the same thing to other
> people, and being
> > completely oblivious to it. he would curse anyone
> that
> > passed him, or drove
> > too close. he said "i dont like to go around
> anyone on the
> > freeway", but
> > would wait, cursing, a stream of dirty words
> behind anyone in
> > front of him.
> > once a car passed on the right which spurred
> another stream
> > of complaints.
> > it was clear to me he was simultaneously afraid
> and angered
> > by the cars
> > around him.
> >
> > unlike katie, i did not include myself in these
> digressions.
> > i let my mind
> > float free, watching as if from a distance; unable
> to believe
> > i was part of
> > this awful display.
> >
> > outside of the SUV, the driver was just another
> bumbling
> > lawyer dude. maybe
> > it really IS the SUVs that makes them drive that
> way!
> >
> > -james c
> > OSP - Often Steering Plenty
> >
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Kelly, Katie" <kkelly@spss.com>
> > To: "John J. Stimson-III" <john@harlie.idsfa.net>;
> "Lolita and Mike"
> > <lomike@earthlink.net>
> > Cc: <Larrybsp@aol.com>; <Sethracer@aol.com>;
> <ba-autox@autox.team.net>
> > Sent: Friday, February 22, 2002 9:58 AM
> > Subject: RE: SUV explosion - in numbers
> >
> >
> > > This brings us to the next question: how do you
> know if a
> > person has, by
> > our definition, a "legitimate" use for an SUV? You
> don't. As
> > far as we know,
> > everyone could be off road drivers.
> > >
> > > Me, I developed my disdain from having met and
> ridden with
> > SUV drivers.
> > They should not be allowed to drive.
> > >
> > > First example is my good friend and her new
> groom, when
> > they traded in his
> > really nice GTI for an Explorer. She wouldn't
> drive the GTI,
> > that's why. And
> > plus, the Explorer was for the "kids." That they
> didn't have
> > at that time,
> > but they were planning ahead. And we, and this
> other couple, were all
> > sitting around at this alumni swim meet, talking
> about SUVs,
> > pros and cons.
> > You can imagine what side I was on. This was years
> ago, right at the
> > beginning of the SUV trend, when I thought maybe
> my words could make a
> > difference. I talked about statistics and stories
> I had read,
> > about SUV
> > drivers running people off the road and never
> knowing it due
> > to the quiet
> > and solitude of their enlarged metallic wombs.
> Which they
> > regarded as a
> > safety feature. "That's it, safety. That's
> priority one for me," said
> > Daniel. I knew then that I could not win.
> > >
> > > That was the beginning of my disdain, only the
> mild
> > beginning, when I got
> > to see how these people really tick. Since then,
> I, too, have
> > been run off
> > the road, and I can still hear the cackling.
> > >
> > > Then, about a year ago, I met up with some high
> school
> > friends that I had
> > not seen since I was fourteen. Marla and Sonya
> (fake names),
> > ever the grown
> > ups now, pulled up to my house in Marla's SUV
> monster, its
> > name I cannot
> > recall, so I'll call it the GMC Subdivision.
> > >
> > > By now, I had created in my head a clear
> division between
> > "us" and "them."
> > I knew that by getting into that vehicle, that I
> was crossing
> > over to the
> > other side.
> > >
> > > I sat in the backseat, an unwilling guest, yet I
> tried to
> > be open minded.
> > She was, after all, a childhood friend, and how
> shallow I
> > would be to hold
> > this against her after all of these years.
> > >
> > > We lumbered down the road towards the
> restaurant, and I
> > noticed that curbs
> > and things really did not matter to her. All that
> mattered
> > were the people
> > in her way, which was everyone. I knew, with just
> a flick of
> > an ankle, she
> > could run them all over. She knew it too, and so
> did Sonya,
> > and that's why
> > they screamed and cursed at all the drivers,
> warning them of
> > the emanate
> > danger, of what could happen if they wronged her,
> if they
> > blocked her path.
> > Our path. I was guilty by association. I wanted to
> disintegrate.
> > >
> > > There is something I discovered about Marla,
> although I had
>
=== message truncated ===
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