Is There A Name For This Syndrome?

"revarthurbelling" (revarthurbelling)
04/13/2015 at 17:53 • Filed to: pickup truck, mental health

A while back, I posted about !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . I mentioned the wasteland that is the U.S. new truck market if you want something small that can haul.

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Now that I've made my desire public, I see small trucks everywhere! All around town, I'm watching S-10s and Rangers tooling around. I see small Toyota pickups !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

Is this a syndrome? I never noticed any of these small pickups before.

This is also not something new that I've encountered. It's happened with other cars I've owned over the years.

At one time, I owned a Dodge Colt (aka a rebadged Mitsubishi Mirage).

I had never actually noticed one of these until I bought one. It was a handy little car for the time I owned it. No issues. If I hadn't had an unfortunate lapse in attention, rear-ending the person in front of me, I'd probably still be driving it.

Same with my Jeep Cherokee. Looked something like this:

Great truck. I was stupid, and traded it in because my ex-wife couldn't drive a stick.

Still, I didn't even notice how many of those things were on the road until I owned one .

Does this happen to anyone else? Is it something to worry about?

Share your experience with me, and let me know if this is something that should be in the DSM-6 for psychological disorders.

DISCUSSION (18)

Destructive Tester > revarthurbelling
04/13/2015 at 18:02

What you described is a phenomenon similar to confirmation bias where, instead of looking for things that confirm your opinion, you are subconsciously more observant of things "like" you. It's part of why we see faces in a lot of objects.

And BTW if you want to find late90's- early2000's Tacomas, come to Utah and Colorado. I think it's where they all migrated to...

HammerheadFistpunch > Destructive Tester
04/13/2015 at 18:03

its where they've all come to die the salt death. Look in Arizona instead.

revarthurbelling > Destructive Tester
04/13/2015 at 18:05

Were the Tacomas small at that time? They seem huge these days.

G_Body_Man: Sponsored by the number 3 > revarthurbelling
04/13/2015 at 18:05

Huh. My dad had an 88 Sedan. He drove that thing into a small lake.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > revarthurbelling
04/13/2015 at 18:09

This is unrelated to your post, but I find your Monty Python-related username great. How's the vicarage at St. Looney?

revarthurbelling > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
04/13/2015 at 18:12

Thanks! I was searching for a perfectly obscure MP u-name. :) You're the first person who's ever noticed!

Future next gen S2000 owner > revarthurbelling
04/13/2015 at 18:16

I definitely notice a car more once I purchase it.

On a side note, your ex-wife couldn't drive a stick, I would have dropped her too.

revarthurbelling > Future next gen S2000 owner
04/13/2015 at 18:17

That was the first of, unfortunately, MANY warning signs that I ignored. :)

Destructive Tester > revarthurbelling
04/13/2015 at 18:24

They were the classic size (the extended cabs are a bit longer). I don't thing they got bloated until the 2004 redesign...

Destructive Tester > HammerheadFistpunch
04/13/2015 at 18:26

I was just referring to the sheer numbers I see. As with all cars, Arizona or New Mexico are ideal for rust-free examples.

HammerheadFistpunch > Destructive Tester
04/13/2015 at 18:28

my brother just bought a hile mile 2005 Taco from Arizona. Oh how I wish we didn't salt our roads, killing our cars, making our air a chocking haze, increasing the likelihood of spring time flooding (seriously, salt dust has been linked to early spring runoff)

Destructive Tester > HammerheadFistpunch
04/13/2015 at 18:40

I got really lucky when I found my 98 Taco a few years back, it had just under 100k and not a spot of rust. I've kept a close eye on the notorious rust points and she's still clean, not bad for 17 Utah winters...

Brian, The Life of > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
04/13/2015 at 18:41

Holy crap! Why didn't I notice that?!

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > revarthurbelling
04/13/2015 at 19:22

I believe that syndrome is called Automotivus Autoimmune Familiarius.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > revarthurbelling
04/13/2015 at 19:22

They are huge. A base single cab taco nose to end is longer than my '80 longbed.

revarthurbelling > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
04/13/2015 at 19:27

Hah!

boxrocket > Destructive Tester
04/14/2015 at 00:13

I've experienced it too. Oddly enough after watching an episode of TG UK, I remembered that I hadn't seen a Saturn Astra in years. Lo and behold the following week three came into my work, and since I've seen another four on the street. Same with the first-generation Neon: none for years, then suddenly saw about a half dozen, and a smattering of SRT-4s and wannabe-SRT-4s.

Destructive Tester > boxrocket
04/14/2015 at 00:28

I also forgot to mention another exception to the bias (that just occurred to me this evening). If you happen to be at a rock climbing crag/mountain biking/hiking trailhead and notice there are a crapload of Subarus there, it's probably not your bias from getting-out of your Subaru. 3/4 of the cars ARE in fact Subarus...