If you could eliminate one common misconception about cars/driving...

". ." (xllx) 03/05/2014 at 18:54 • Filed to: oppositelock

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what would it be?

Would you stop people from thinking that AWD makes them invincible in winter conditions, once and for all establish that hybrids are actually really bad for the environment, or maybe eradicate some other common but wrong belief?

Speak your mind!

Here, have this Monteverdi in return:

Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis > . . 03/05/2014 at 18:56

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The whole slow=safe fast=dangerous thing. Driving is not that simple, while this can be the case, it should not be the rule.

Singhjr96 > . . 03/05/2014 at 18:56

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The hybrid ones.

For Sweden > . . 03/05/2014 at 18:58

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That cars are better than airplanes.

scoob > . . 03/05/2014 at 18:58

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That racing/driving fast is easy.

People look at NASCAR and think all you do is put your foot hard down and turn left. And then they think all of racing is like that.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > . . 03/05/2014 at 19:00

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That new Alfas are unreliable.

Yeah, there are many better things to deal with, but I'm a fanboy, and Alfa picked up a reputation in the 80s that just refuses to budge. No matter how inaccurate it might be.

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > . . 03/05/2014 at 19:00

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Diesels are bad.

Mercedes Streeter > . . 03/05/2014 at 19:01

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Well, not trying to spark any wars or anything, but many modern hybrids and EVs aren't as bad on the environment as they used to be. Vehicles like Teslas and the newest Prii are actually built to rather insane levels of environmental caution.

Where it's still bad though, is in China. The mining there hasn't yet caught up with the rest of the world. If you buy an EV/hybrid with Chinese batteries, indeed you're not doing the world any favours.

That said, if I could eliminate any misconception, it's that RWD sucks in the snow. Maybe decades ago, yes. Today? Not at all.

Casper > . . 03/05/2014 at 19:01

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I was going to go with the one Dwhite did about speed not being equatable to danger, but I'll go with all cars are not equal. I hate people lumping cars into one huge pile and saying this is unsafe for xyz car therefore it's unsafe in all cars. Stopping/following distances are a great example, so are cornering speeds and even why people should be allowed to pass and drive a faster average speed.

Just because your silly Honda Fit feels above 60 MPH does not mean it's unsafe for the Porsche 911 to be going the speed he was when he passed you.

Casper > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis 03/05/2014 at 19:02

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So much agree. I hate people who think driving slow is automatically safer, and I can't believe more money hasn't been spent to educate people. Likewise, I can't believe how much money some states have spent to spread inaccurate or out right FUD about speeding.

With-a-G is back to not having anything written after his username > . . 03/05/2014 at 19:02

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That "driving" is some kind of necessary evil that takes away time and attention from your life which should be spent on other pursuits.

Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif > Mercedes Streeter 03/05/2014 at 19:10

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My 03 Sonoma in the snow, terrible. In 4x4, bullet proof.

stuttgartobsessed > . . 03/05/2014 at 19:10

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The "My prius is better for then environment because it just is" thing. Ugh I hate these people and I will refrain from posting the "Prius Lady" video because we've all seen too much of that stupidity.

stuttgartobsessed > scoob 03/05/2014 at 19:11

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Great video! Is that an Alfa GTV6?

Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis > For Sweden 03/05/2014 at 19:11

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Depends. I would be tough to take a 747 to the Target. But cross country? Ill take a plane all day.

Dusty Ventures > For Sweden 03/05/2014 at 19:12

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(Seriously though, I love both)

Blondude > stuttgartobsessed 03/05/2014 at 19:12

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Senna in an NSX.

scoob > stuttgartobsessed 03/05/2014 at 19:13

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It's an NSX, they show it in the beginning of the video.

stuttgartobsessed > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 03/05/2014 at 19:14

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Same thing with Land Rover. Just because the ones in the 80's/90's were pretty unreliable for a myriad of reasons doesn't mean the new ones or older ones are automatically terrible and unreliable just because. Companies change and so do their products. If a company refused to acknowledge that their product was not perfect/unreliable that would be bad business.

For Sweden > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis 03/05/2014 at 19:14

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A 747 would be great for Target; you could take the entire store home.

DollaMoneyAve > . . 03/05/2014 at 19:14

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That SUV's are safe/safer/safest

Blondude > . . 03/05/2014 at 19:14

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That you need a big SUV to be safe if you're in an accident.

It's as if all of the safety innovations of the past 50 years mean nothing.

stuttgartobsessed > scoob 03/05/2014 at 19:15

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It started from a predetermined spot when I played it. Though now that you say its Sennna that guy does look like Senna. Plus there's the whole being good at driving thing going on.

Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 > . . 03/05/2014 at 19:19

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That manuals are confusing and archaic

DylanToback > . . 03/05/2014 at 19:23

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That the left lane of the highway is the "fast lane".

I cannot count the number of times I have heard people say something along the lines of "I was in the fast lane doing 75 and someone was on my bumper but I didn't move cause I was going fast enough".

Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 > stuttgartobsessed 03/05/2014 at 19:23

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I accidentally just looked that up, and I have a sudden urge to punch Prius drivers.

texasfordfan > . . 03/05/2014 at 19:24

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Driving a manual is extremely hard

toadterror > . . 03/05/2014 at 19:37

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Ok, here's mine:

That Formula 1 cars use lots of fuel.

Short story time.

So last year I somehow managed to get my girlfriend into watching the racing. It was great - She really got into it. She can tell you what DRS stands for, she likes Kimi, Doesn't like Vettel - What a woman, right?

Anyway the other day we're round at her dads house having dinner and out of the blue she mentions that the seasons first race isn't too far away.

Now her dad's not what I would call an admirer of The Car or racing in any way at all and right away he pipes up with - "God, those things are so stupid. They use so much gas." - Well I had to say something. Luckily I had some knowledge and facts up my sleeve!

Ok, yes, (Flame-suit is on btw) Formula 1 cars do use lots of fuel compared to the cars we drive on the road. But in the scheme of things they use next to nothing.

Huh?

'What?' I hear you ask - for a whole season - I'm talking Engine testing, Pre-season testing, Mid-season testing, Practices 1 2 and 3, Qualifying AND Racing - a modern F1 team will use around 200 000 Litres or 52 834 US gallons. (in 2013 with those old-fashion V8s)

Quite a bit, right?

But you know what else uses that amount of fuel? (Actually, even little bit more...)

One Boeing 747-400 flying from New York to Tokyo.

stuttgartobsessed > Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 03/05/2014 at 19:38

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Yah... She's a crazy one.

Dingers Ghost, Champion Jockey > . . 03/05/2014 at 19:45

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That something has to be a brown manual Miata Diesel wagon to be a good car/fun to drive.

1337HPMustang > Blondude 03/05/2014 at 19:48

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Some advice I've heard from a trauma doc is that in the majority of serious mvc's, it's the people that were in a compact car who always come in in critical condition and who get killed, irregardless of modern safety features. His advice to North Americans is to buy the biggest car you can if you value your safety in a car accident. I don't agree with supporting a trend toward big cars but if anyone thinks a Corolla has the same chance as a Ram in any head on collision, they're delusional.

Blondude > 1337HPMustang 03/05/2014 at 19:52

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Although (in theory) Carolla vs. Carolla and Ram vs. Ram should be about the same. Carolla vs. Ram on the other hand...

But you can't really argue with a trauma doctor.

PushToStart > scoob 03/05/2014 at 19:52

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Completely agree, 100%. The thing is though, you uploaded a video that makes it look effortless. Senna makes that look easy, and pulls it off stylishly with loafers . He's driving like that with loafers on. What a badass.

Dsscats > . . 03/05/2014 at 20:08

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Prii are good for the environment

Driving manual is easy

Modified cars=totally reliable

Modified cars=asshole driver

V8=fast

V4 (what non car people say)=slow

Less cylinders=more efficient

It cost a lot at one time, it must be worth a lot now! (Old guy mercedes drivers....)

German cars are unreliable

The mechanic/car guy/dealer/anyone who know anything about cars is wrong.

Dsscats > stuttgartobsessed 03/05/2014 at 20:15

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Read Doug demuro's story about owning a range rover and tell me it's not unreliable.

puddler > . . 03/05/2014 at 21:35

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that it's acceptable to drive without paying attention.

i haven't wrecked those people yet, but i've thought about it...and self-control isn't one of the things i'm good at.

pollenstein > scoob 03/05/2014 at 23:29

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But they're right about NASCAR of course

stuttgartobsessed > Dsscats 03/06/2014 at 00:35

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Oh I have. I guess my comment didn't really make sense.

desertdog5051 > . . 03/06/2014 at 00:41

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You make a good point. It is just a good thing he did not bring up the ancillary fuel cost to get 20 trailers for most teams to the track, the cost to ship all that equipment around the world. Top tier racing is not cheap. That is why it takes sponsors with deep pockets to make it happen. But I do not want it to stop. We waste more money in other directions all the time.

Mike_Smith > toadterror 03/06/2014 at 22:55

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OK, but a 747 carries lots of people for that fuel consumption. An F1 car carries one person.

toadterror > Mike_Smith 03/07/2014 at 00:12

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And all the hopes of its fans ;)

focus3 > . . 03/07/2014 at 13:48

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That bigger is better.

focus3 > 1337HPMustang 03/07/2014 at 13:55

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Ah Ram, my favorite bugbear.

We've absolutely destroyed the silhouette of cars because in order to protect pedestrians someone agreed that we need 4 inches of space between the engine and the hood, in the same country that crap like this is legal on passenger vehicles.