Cars are not people.

"DMCVegas" (DMCVegas) 01/02/2016 at 15:26 • Filed to: delorean, doug demuro, cars, abandoned, de lorean, porsche, mercedes, rescue, restore, derelict

5

32

Recently Doug DeMuro posted another Letters to Doug article on Jalopnik entitled, What Do I Do About The Abandoned Porsche 911 In My Parking Garage? That article you can find here:

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

In response to this reader’s question, specifically one question in particular, “ Is there anyway to make this poor misunderstood work of broken egg whites mine? Legally?” ,I decided to write my own response to the contrary that this person should NOT pursue such avenues as to legally engage in the theft of someone else’s property. Because after all, taking something that doesn’t belong to you without someone else’s consent IS in fact theft. And as someone who is the current owner of a classic car in storage, I wrote my response from the factual point of view of someone who actually does fear theft of his own car by such means. The barrage of responses I received was plentiful. The majority of them absolutely appeared to be in my favor. Both from the few positive comments, as well as the overwhelming amount of stars I received. But some of you were less than enthusiastic, to say the least. As usual I get to see the typical barrage of how I didn’t deserve my car, the name calling, and even the threat to steal my car. Which who knows how much jest is involved from an anonymous source across the internet, of course, but just perfectly proved my point.

But I wanted to talk about this a bit more in depth. This is something serious that I don’t think many people have really dealt with before. The emotional investment we place upon inanimate objects, and how we tend to anthropomorphize them even further. Which in turn fuels our emotional responses even further. So lets talk about this, and how it plays a significant role in the car hobby. First, a little background:

People can have a strange relationship with inanimate objects. We tend to place a strong emotional value on lifeless things. It’s true. What is even more interesting about this is how through those emotions we feel, we can even give a bit of sentience to them sometimes. As if they were able to feel emotion. Which works both ways in order to “protect” a thing, or even to “harm” it as well. We’ve seen demonstrations of this in popular culture. In the game, Portal, players are forced to destroy their Weighted Companion Cube, and some players have even reported feeling remorse about the task as seen here:

In the movie Forrest Gump, the title character opens up his tale of his life story while talking about all of the shoes he’s owned, and how he thinks back to his first pair and how his mother told him that they could take him anywhere.

And in consumerism, we can measure customer satisfaction with a product by how much of an emotional attachment the customer develops with it. Apple for example not only trains their Family Room staff to know how to repair computers and portable devices, they send employees through crash courses in psychology to know how to deal with people who have developed strong emotional ties with their devices. Because people do. They think of all the places that they have been, and all of the experiences they’ve had with their devices. It tends to get very emotional for some people. They have a very hard time letting go, and they have to be guided through the change. Even when they have backed up a device, get it swapped out, and everything gets restored to the new iPhone or iPad like nothing ever happened. Sure, they have pick up right where they left off like they never missed a beat. But the physical device isn’t the same. People get very attached. I have seen the spectrum of emotion from wanting to hold an iPhone one last time before it goes into it’s coffin, (“Coffin” is the slang term we used to refer to the reusable, black, ABS plastic boxes that the replacement iPhones arrived in. But it wasn’t something you’d want to use in front of the customer for obvious reasons here.) to even outright emotional breakdowns with a parent telling a child that it was ok to let go and take the new iPad. A 12 year old crying on the floor because the iPad they received as a gift from a parent was going to be taken away, despite being exchanged for another one. It wouldn’t be the same physical one they received as a gift. That is a LOT of emotional value to place onto an inanimate object.

But people do, and I’m sure that you do as well. Remember earlier talking about Forrest Gump and how he spoke of shoes? I want you to do the same now with two of your most personal effects that are with you the most: your shoes and your wireless phone. Where have you gone with those things? What did you see? What did you experience? What people did you meet?What have you done with them that may even have affected your life? Did you go on a trip? Did you correspond via email for a new job, or a new love? Did you walk someplace famous? Don’t just think about how these things have changed your life, I want you to think about how they have been directly involved with your life. Go ahead take a minute or two to contemplate and think about it. Seriously, please do. Shoes and cell phone, 2 events each you’ve had with them. Go.

Are you thinking? I hope so. Go ahead and continue once you’re done…

So, what was that like? Maybe it was something small, maybe it was something big? Who knows. It’s your personal experiences, no one else’s. But you do have these connections whether you realize it or not. Furthermore, you also need to realize that no matter how much you would look down on something like this, there are other people who really do invest this much emotion in inanimate objects. So what does this have to do with cars? Lots! People know that you have these emotions not just with electronics, but even cars as well. Need proof? Here you go:

Yes, it is one of the most annoying commercials of all time. On the surface many lament it because it appears to be a vapid young woman who is clearly NOT a gearhead, not merely waxing nostalgic about the car she is assumed to have crashed, but her facial expressions are those of immature pouting which further irks many people. Certainly there are bad commercials that go into heavy rotation simply because they will annoy us and get the advertising jingles permanently stuck in our heads. But that’s not the case here. There are no real earworms to get stuck in our heads, yet of the series of car insurance commercials that were produced for the specific advertising campaign, this is the one spot that goes into heavy rotation. So why is that?

Easy: Love or Hate this commercial, the advertising agency knows for a fact just how emotionally invested you are in your vehicles. Think about it. We have a nameless character here, and she has completely anthropomorphized her car. She gave the thing a name, and now espouses about her emotional attachment to it, and is saddened by the broken attachment to it…

But then she talks about how her insurance company made things right for her. Not just by getting her a new car, but by helping her cope in order to get through this emotionally devastating situation. And she further communicates this by her facial expressions. She is reassuring the emotional viewer that the insurance company she is promoting has the advantage of not only replacing the car (which any competitor could do), but that they can also heal the emotional scarring of losing a beloved car. Sort of in the same way the funeral homes pitch themselves as being able to give the bereaved the same compassion and closure.

Sound crazy? Sound far fetched? Sure it does. But is it? Not a chance. It is as real as you are as your read this. Judging by the responses I received for my statement, this commercial is in heavy rotation because it is successful at hitting home for allot of you.

So what were the responses? Well, allow me to share them. What is interesting is despite that one little quote but the reader who submitted the question that clearly asked, “Is there anyway to make this poor misunderstood work of broken egg whites mine? Legally?” , almost everyone still accused me of a lack of reading comprehension. Which is ironic given the fact that they themselves were so emotionally invested in Doug’s article, that they didn’t even take the time to actually read it themselves. Go figure. But still, let us examine some of the more choice responses that I received, accompanied by the submitter’s usernames:

Dake:

Whew - slow down there. I don’t think either “Horace” or Doug have suggested trying to steal the cars.

Again, this is the running theme here. Defending the person who is trying to take the car by way of clearly ignoring their own words.

CrapcanPilot:

I was almost shot by a lunatic for rummaging through his delorean that appeared to be abandoned next to a house, which also appeared to be abandoned. You guys would really hit it off.

Now while taking CrapcanPilot’s words at face value, I would never encourage anyone to blindly shoot a gun at anyone without any provocation, let alone at all. However, again, we have a person who is justifying both illegal actions of trespassing and auto burglar through their own twisted viewpoint.

gravit8:

“Because it’s mine/not yours and I’ll let it rot if I want to” is not a defense any jalop will ever accept. Also, it’s pretty stupid and selfish, and shows a lack of compassion and empathy for people that cannot afford $200+ a month to store old cars, let alone $200 a month for the car itself.

Covet your shit all you want. Once your shit is done being coveted, give it to someone else who’d treat it as you did when you first had it. Otherwise, tattoo the words ‘selfish douche’ on your forehead, and continue on your day.

Now this is a rather interesting response. I’ve always said that when I’m ready to pass on my car (because I am quite aware that I cannot take it with me), I would much rather it go into the hands of someone who would drive it on a regular basis, rather than end up rotting in a museum.

Likewise, exactly what is it again that I’m lacking compassion for? In my original response, I clearly stated that people should have compassion for the owner, as they do not know the circumstances involving these cars being parked and seemingly abandoned. It isn’t that I don’t have compassion, the problem is apparently that I don’t have compassion for criminals and thieving assholes.

And yes, a true “Jalop” will always respect the property of others. It is why at car shows we always lean over with our hands behind our backs so as to keep our hands out of the way, we don’t touch anything, and we NEVER just jump into other peoples’ cars for photo opprotunities. Anything less is a clear sign that you yourself are NOT a Jalop, car guy (or gal), gearhead, or enthusiast on any level. Respect for others is the core of these, and something any person with such an attitude clearly lacks.

RevengencerAlf:

Woah. Easy there champ. Nobody here suggested “stealing” a damn thing. I get that you’re all frothed into a rage because of some dipshits on another website but there’s a hell of a lot of transference going on here. It’s easy to find out if a car is actually abandoned or not. If they’re paying for the spot, problem solved and you can make an offer if you want. If not, it’s totally up to the owner of the garage if they want to have it removed or let it sit.

Sp TL;DR... chill out and stop being such a bitch.

Yes, I should “stop being such a bitch” because I’m trying to protect personal property from theft. It’s like I’m being yelled at by Bizzaro Ayn Rand. WTF?

quattro_for_life:

I’ve met people like you before. I once approached an old man with a dilapidated service station about buying his first gen mustang that was rotting away to the side of the shop. And he went ballistic when I asked about it and ran me off. He actually told me that if I came back again he would call the sherif. So much for him doing my oil change and tire rotation. He died a couple years later and his family auctioned his stuff off. The mustang sold for less than a quarter of what I had offered him. I was mad because I didn’t have the space to take it on any more. But I did go talk to his son about my encounter with his dad, and he confirmed that his dad was a sentimental idiot with anger issues.

Now this one hit home a little bit. For years there was an abandoned DeLorean sitting in some guy’s driveway out in Vegas. I talked to him every once in a while and asked about buying his car, and he always rebuffed me. Then one day it disappeared once he finally sold it. It’s disappointing, and I totally get where quattro_for_life is coming from, because I’ve been in the exact same situation myself. But I don’t project anger at that DeLorean owner simply because I wasn’t there when the opportunity presented itself. That’s my fault, and I take responsibility for it. But again, I’m not feeding off of emotion, so…

CobraJoe:

Hey now, don’t got that rough on the guy asking the question, all of us here get emotional about cars, and it hurts to watch someone else neglect their amazing machine when you’re stuck driving a 15 year old Hyundai.

Yes, the abandoned car remains their property, but surely there is a point where a car is abandoned on someone else’s land where they can legally do something to remove it. After all, that Porsche is taking up a spot that another paying customer could use (and possibly pay a higher price!) And if the car in question was something like a rusted out Taurus, it probably would have been moved or sold off by now.

However, I do agree that the best course would be to contact the owner and make an offer based on what’s there. After all, if the owner abandoned it, they might be willing to sell it off to someone else to deal with the problem.

Woo hoo! Let’s go over this again! Even as a younger man (and even a child witnessing abandoned cars I wanted), I get the emotion and anger of seeing someone else with a cool car, even perhaps your dream car, and neglecting it. And then you get PISSED at them! Guess what? It’s still none of your business. Which by the way, it doesn’t matter which kind of car it is.

Also, whatever agreements the owner has with the person paying rent on a parking spot, that is between them and the person leasing the spot. Whatever conditions are apart of the lease contract for dilapidated vehicles, if any, and violations are between the the owner of the garage and the owner of the car. Which, again, is none of your business.

BiffMagnetude:

Having had a car stuck in distant storage because I did not have the resources to deal with it. I felt a terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach because the poor thing was neglected and it was just rotting a thousand miles away. I had no way to sell it, not enough money to ship then fix it and it was nothing but a bad feeling generator that could only be dealt with through denial. If somebody stole it, I would have been so relieved.

Eventually I was able to find somebody to take it away for free.

I would be willing to bet a good percentage of abandoned car people would welcome a nice simple theft.

Again, something that hits home for me, as I once had a ’77 Ford Thunderbird with the 400 block and a town landau. Sweet ride, but alas I moved and could not take it with me. In hind signed, I should have, but I had to sell it. So I know what it’s like to have to part with a vehicle. Had I have had more of a passion for it, I probably would have found a way to keep it. But that’s on me.

But to say that anyone of us would gladly welcome a theft of any of our vehicles because the person who stole it would be a “better” owner and treat it better… Really? You actually believe this, and think that others do as well?

Mr Joshua:

“Here’s an idea: Leave the damn cars ALONE! They’re not yours, and unless you’re from code enforcement, they’re not your concern.”

Man, you are an ignorant POS.

Yes, I am so ignorant of the law, and personal property rights. As such, ALL law abiding citizens are total pieces of shit. Thank you for clearing that up.

Bearded Bastard:

If it’s abandoned on my property I will do what I can to remove it, or make it mine. Luckily where I live there are conditions where, if met, something abandoned on your property, like a car, can be made to be yours.

It needs to be sitting for a long time, as well as other conditions, but it can be done.

No, no you cannot. Even if you WERE the owner of said garage, you have the parking contract that you must abide by, lest you potentially lose your business in the ensuing law suits from your little auto theft ring.

And if you don’t own that property, it’s still not your concern.

TrueBull69:

Where do you live? I want to steal your car

And there it is. You knew it was coming, didn’t you, dear reader. The one who wants to steal my car. To perhaps punish me for whatever reason they’d like to, using whatever justification that they see fit.

Sure, you might say that this is a joke, and I supposed that it might very well be. But can you really take such a chance? I mean after all, we have a large group of people here with a hive mindset that totally justify not only such a statement, but the resulting action of it if this person wishes to follow through with it.

Now, this is all very fascinating to me, to say the least. Because I didn’t come here simply to write this post as a central rebuttal to my critics (although yes, it did serve a fine, dual purpose for such). I wanted to bring attention to the fact that these are just cars, and to explain to others why the overreactions. And here is the pinnacle of replies I received that precisely demonstrated my point.

OttoMaddox:

I’ve known about this car for 20 years. That’s the last time I spoke to the owner. He’s probably long dead now, and the vacant lot where the car sits hasn’t been visited by anyone in at least a decade which is the last time I checked on it. 30 years under a plastic sheet in the Pacific Northwest turned an Alfa Romeo Guilietta Spider into dust.

I should have done something about it way earlier.

Cars are just lumps of metal, glass, plastic, rubber, and petroleum products. They’re not alive. Camera crews are not going into junkyards and garages with Sara McLaughlin playing over the footage, asking you to save the cars. And I know that it’s tough out there with seemingly waning car culture between regulations and autonomous cars. But here is the thing: These are just cars. They’re not sentient. They don’t feel emotion, They don’t care because they can’t.

And this isn’t just about “saving” cars either. We see this almost delusional psychosis with people that posses practically autistic fixations on cars when it comes to preservation as well. The Garage Queens, and over restored classics. The quest to NEVER let the odometer collect milage, to preserve it for all time…

But you know what? That’s none of my business either. I cannot look down on those people. I certainly do not agree with their practices, but I’ve no place to question them, nor chastise them either.

It matters not if I’ve a garage full of automotive Vestal Virgin’s, or a field full of neglected derelicts. If I may paraphrase Quentin Tarantino:

You see, under the law, my car here, is my property... and I can choose to do with MY PROPERTY... WHATEVER I SO DESIRE!

And yes, I chose the infamous character of Calvin Candie to help drive that point home. Whether I fix it, swap the engine, upholster the in alligator and peacock feathers, paint the stainless, restore the entire thing to concourse, or just let it rot in place, it is my choice to do so. Likewise, I will defend anyone wishes to do with their property what they wish, because not only is it their property, it is NOT a living breathing thing. It is a machine with no intelligence nor instincts, let alone feelings nor emotions. That my friend is your imagination.

In closing I would like to thank everyone involved here. Both my supporters, as well as my detractors. This is the second in my trilogy of Automotive Psychology, and this couldn’t have been done without you. You will one day be in my master thesis, rest assured.

CB > DMCVegas 01/02/2016 at 15:48

1

I agree with you 100%. There seems to be this sense of entitlement among some people, and not just with cars, that other people are undeserving of whatever item/person because of XYZ reasons, and that if they had it, they would treat it much better. Hopefully you get what I’m saying.

djmt1 > DMCVegas 01/02/2016 at 15:48

0

I was recently looking this up UK wise and amazingly you can claim an abandoned car... Kinda. You can never out right own the car but you can register the car as effectively being under your responsibility. The catch being that the actual owner can come and take their car back at any point regardless of any work you have put in. So now all I need to do is find one of those abandoned exotics and hope the owner is either AWOL, dead or just doesn’t give a toss.

CB > djmt1 01/02/2016 at 15:52

0

That’s pretty interesting. What requirements are there in order to register an abandoned car, and how do you prove that it’s been abandoned?

djmt1 > CB 01/02/2016 at 16:02

0

First find a car which in your opinion looks abandoned. Then find out whether or not it is taxed or insuranced. If it is abandoned you will get a no to both of those.

Then contact the police and your local council to notify them of the abandoned car and ask them if you can move it. Given that they don’t want the hassle of dealing with it themselves, the awnser will most likely be yes.

You then contact the DVLA and request a V5 form. You fill it out and if they are happy you get a V5. This means you are now the registered keeper of the car not the owner. The owner can at any point come and claim the car back regardless of any maintenance you have done.

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > DMCVegas 01/02/2016 at 16:03

2

The internet doesn’t seem to realize “I’m more deserving,” and “I would take care of and appreciate it” and “well you aren’t using it” are not valid forms of currency nor are they legal means with which you can force someone to surrender their property.

CB > djmt1 01/02/2016 at 16:04

0

Hm, interesting. So there’s no requirement to contact the last known owner prior to filling out this form?

djmt1 > CB 01/02/2016 at 16:06

0

Oops I knew I forgot something. The DVLA will do that in the process of issuing the V5. If they get no response they will issue you the V5.

DMCVegas > CB 01/02/2016 at 16:08

0

I know exactly what you’re saying. I’ve personally been on both sides of the debate. When I was younger, wanting to take someone’s car, and using this twisted logic to justify it all as being “right” in my mind. But I only came up with this logic as the safety switch so to speak to justify something I wanted to do, that I actually knew was wrong.

CB > djmt1 01/02/2016 at 16:08

0

Ah, okay, that makes sense.

Imagine getting a phone call from the government with that, though.

CB > DMCVegas 01/02/2016 at 16:10

0

Yeah. Plus, it allows you to consider yourself the hero of the story. “This guy left this Alfa in a field for twenty years, didn’t touch it or even look at it, and I managed to snag it! Now I’m going to LS swap it and turn it into a drift missile.”

DMCVegas > CB 01/02/2016 at 16:28

0

Too true. It’s like that old saying of how one story’s hero is another story’s villain.

My X-type is too a real Jaguar > CB 01/02/2016 at 16:33

0

I get what you are saying, I work with a guy who thinks people should not be allowed to buy a car over $30k becuse it is a waste of money, that could be used by poor people instead.

CB > My X-type is too a real Jaguar 01/02/2016 at 16:37

0

That sounds unbearable.

Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero > DMCVegas 01/02/2016 at 16:55

1

While I do agree that you shouldn’t be under the mindset of “it looks abandoned how do I make it mine” states have there own laws about unclaimed abandoned vehicles. This is illinois:

10.20.090 Unclaimed vehicles-Disposition.

A. Whenever an abandoned, lost, stolen or unclaimed motor vehicle or other vehicle seven years of age or newer remains unclaimed by the registered owner or other person legally entitled to its possession for a period of thirty (30) days after notice has been given as provided herein, the police department having possession of the vehicle shall cause it to be sold at public sale to the highest bidder. Notice of the time and place of the sale shall be posted in a conspicuous place for at least ten (10) days prior to the sale on the premises where the vehicle has been impounded. At least ten (10) days prior to the sale, the police department shall cause a notice of the time and place of the sale to be sent by certified mail to the registered owner or other person known by the police department or towing service to be legally entitled to the possession of the vehicle. Such notice shall contain a complete description of the vehicle to be sold and what steps must be taken by any legally entitled person to reclaim the vehicle.

B. In those instances where the certified notification specified herein has been returned by the postal authorities to the police department due to the addressee having moved, or being unknown at the address obtained from the registration records of this state, the sending of a second certified notice will not be required. (Prior code § 7-6-9)

Essentially if an abandoned car goes unclaimed for 30 days it goes to auction with a notice going to the last registered owner. If they don’t claim it and pay the finest that have been accrued it’ll go off to auction. While this isn’t just finders keepers like Horace may have been suggestion there are ways to buy abandoned cars legally. It’s not theft.

TL;DR Check your state’s laws about abandoned vehicles first before trying anything foolish.

Sovereign, Purveyor of Coupes > DMCVegas 01/02/2016 at 17:18

1

Thank you! I’ve been seeing on these sites a lot lately this sort of attitude. Just because you are a gearhead does not make it okay to steal someone’s car, rummage through their stuff, go around lifting car covers, even checking random cars in a parking lot to see if they’re manual is pushing it. I know I’d be pissed if I caught someone “checking out” my car that up close and personal. There’s no excuses. What’s yours is yours and what’s not is not. End of story.

V12 Jake- Hittin' Switches > DMCVegas 01/02/2016 at 17:49

1

This. Why can’t people understand that they’re not entitled to something just because they think that they deserve it... Though I would be devastated if I lost my knife or, God forbid, my car.

Berang > DMCVegas 01/03/2016 at 07:23

0

TLDR.

I think the issue is, if one person doesn’t “liberate” a car, then somebody else will. Eventually. Probably a scrap merchant.

But who cares. It’s just a lump of metal anyway. Right.

Berang > DMCVegas 01/03/2016 at 07:32

0

“...practically autistic fixations...”

The irony of this appearing in a post like this.

This entire post is practically the spergiest thing I’ve ever (tried to) read on oppo, and yet without any apparent hint of self awareness, you want to shoot people down for having “practically autistic fixations” about preserving history.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > DMCVegas 01/03/2016 at 09:39

0

Hmmm, I wonder how much of the irritation is actually based on anthropomorphisation.

Personally, my irritation at this sort of thing happening is based purely on the limited supply of these older cars.

No-one is making them anymore so there is a finite supply of them. If an owner just lets a car sit in a field and rot then that’s one less of those in existence. It’s harder for someone who actually wants one to get one, and it’s harder for that owner to buy another one in the future if and when they actually have the resource/will to do something with it.

That doesn’t condone stealing, but the wilful destruction of a finite resource due to nothing but stubbornness is a dickish thing to do. Yes it’s your right to do with your property as you will, but that doesn’t stop you being a colossal arsehole if you let something that was functional and enjoyable fall into terminal disrepair just because ’it’s your property and you want to do that’.

Actually, it doesn’t necessarily make you an arsehole. It makes you a failure (unless your plan all along was to let it rot in your garden).

DMCVegas > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 01/03/2016 at 12:09

0

Valid questions in all. Anthropomorphisation actually does happen with cars quite often, if not every day. The first steps in it are when you completely ignore the human lives inside of a vehicle, and solely consider a vehicle by it’s mechanical sum. More so when that sum is used to generalize the type of vehicle, rather than the drivers themselves. Most often it happens when we approach a stop light with multiple lanes where there is a car in each lane, and we make a choice as to which vehicle to get behind. We might choose a BMW over a Crown Victoria given the fact that the “those” drivers are usually more aggressive and will get out of our way. It’s just apart of being a human. A downside of our involuntary face perception is pareidolia, which can lead to anthropomorphisation in many cases. It is a key aspect of things such as hoarding, to even as we see here the justification to “save” something from someone else. It was something I first wrote about in my initial paper/post a few years ago regarding road rage.

Now this may not apply to you nessisarily. And I say this not only based upon the fact that I don’t know you personally, but that you have been the only person so far to actually separate the two, and base this off of an idea of specimen preservation. Certainly that is in part to my article, but again, you have been the only person to bring up this point. So let’s explore that.

As I clearly stated in that original post, no one knows the situations that these vehicles were circumstance to which led to their seemingly “abandoned” states. In truth, they may not be abandoned at all. To say that they are abandoned would mean that they were discarded and not wanted. Now what is very interesting about this was that in support of my statement, the writer stated that another thing we never thought of was that the owner may actually be deployed right now overseas on a 4-year hitch. And right now over on DMCTalk, we have an airman that is back home on a furrow from Iceland who was asking questions about replacing his fuel pump. Like these other vehicles, the car has been left alone, but not abandoned at all. Again, abandoned does not mean unwanted. Likewise, we never know what other people’s plans are. That is why when a vehicle is seized as “abandoned” in America, there are steps in which the city and/or impound yards will take to try and reunite the owner with their property. Which no one here wanted to do. They just wanted to claim it for themselves.

Even with my example of the DeLorean in Vegas that I wanted, I had even offered the owner, Vince, to help him get his car back on the road. Years later when I had one of my own, I would still stop by and offer to help him. He always said no, and one day the car disappeared. Sad, especially because I knew him to be sick the last time I saw him. He was a nice guy, and who cares about the car, hopefully he’s ok.

And I must say, that is something that even you yourself didn’t seem to consider: If the vehicle is that dilapidated, and you are that interested in preserving it, why wouldn’t you offer to help the current owner try and get it back going again? If your interests are not for ownership and are preservation of of a limited vehicle, then why not the selfless act of helping someone less fortunate? I remember when volunteer work was meant to be of a service to the community... Not meant to be a personal attack, so please do not take it that way. Just offering up some food for thought.

Anyway, any vehicle needs a core of 3 things to be preserved: Time, Money, and Passion. The former two are easy to come by, but sometimes we need allot of help with the latter. That is to be apart of my final paper on the subject, and thus a personal store for another time...

DMCVegas > Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero 01/03/2016 at 12:15

0

Oh, absolutely there are laws that regard abandoned vehicles. Whether they are left in the street, or at a garage post-repair where a customer refuses to pay their bill (aka a Mechanic’s Lien). But read the wording of that municipal code. Clearing out abandoned vehicles aside, the primary goal of that is to reunite the owners with their vehicles. That is why there are all those specific regulations of conspicuous notification, and delays before auction to determine once and for all that no one has any interested whatsoever in the vehicle in question, and that it truly has been discarded.

That is a far cry from outright “finders v. keepers”.

DMCVegas > Berang 01/03/2016 at 12:23

0

First of all, “TLDR” is more of a poor reflection upon you than it is me. That just tells the entire world that you lack either the patience, reading comprehension, or perhaps a combination of both, and are incapable to engage in any actual debate or sharing of ideas. If you’re going to try and attack me, plan it out better next time.

Speaking of attacks, trying to twist words and concepts around is pretty amateur at best. I’m talking about personal property rights, and you’re try to what now? Espouse some Buddhist Monk theology as a rebuttal? I am truly engaging in a battle of wits with an unarmed foe...

Which, by the way, the “DR” in “TLDR” stands for “Didn’t Read”. Obviously in order cobbled together that last jab, you read at least part of the article. AND you even have a second response on here too, don’t you? Which by societies reckoning, that actually makes you liar.

DMCVegas > Berang 01/03/2016 at 12:33

0

I fail to see any irony here. Especially in your Aspergers reference given the fact that I am able to communicate just fine, and I actually am showing empathy for human beings.

I do, however, based upon this, your other responses, and your general spastic lack of comprehension, clearly see how you “(tried to) read” my post and grotesquely failed.

As such, here is what I feel is an appropriately matched gold star for your flawed efforts. Not just for today, but to summarize your entire life’s work (what little you were able to put into it), and it’s many shortcomings.

Berang > DMCVegas 01/03/2016 at 12:46

0

This too is pretty spergy.

You may want to reflect a bit more on how much you think you know about “empathy” and understanding others.

Berang > DMCVegas 01/03/2016 at 12:49

0

No it means that your writing isn’t interesting, and neither are your ideas. And again, I can’t be bothered to read your entire reply, because it just seems that vapid.

Besides when somebody likens other people having differing opinions to other people having mental disabilities, I tend to lose any inclination to continue reading whatever it is they’re writing.

DMCVegas > Berang 01/03/2016 at 12:54

0

If you are refusing to read even my reply, then how are you able to respond to the words that I have written?

DMCVegas > Berang 01/03/2016 at 12:55

0

Prove it then. And please, try and use proper words instead of your uneducated, and feeble slang.

Berang > DMCVegas 01/03/2016 at 12:59

0

By dismissing them.

DMCVegas > Berang 01/03/2016 at 13:08

0

To truly dismiss my words, you wouldn’t even have responded. Yet you feel compelled to respond, again, and again... And in the process you continue to compromise your own self-proclaimed “standards”.

It seems like I’ve really touched a nerve with you, haven’t I? This is truly the only place where you ever get to feel “in control” of your life, isn’t it? Random internet comments to try and somehow obtain a sense of superiority, but yes, random so that you can avoid accountability.

Oh yes, I have hit a nerve with you. I know it.

thd7t > DMCVegas 01/06/2016 at 14:52

0

I appreciate your conviction and passion on this issue and agree that people shouldn’t “liberate” other people’s property, but you seemed to intentionally ignore that the letter writer stated that his next step was to contact the owner and offer a price (something you state that you’ve done in the past when cars appeared abandoned).

DMCVegas > thd7t 01/06/2016 at 15:15

1

Actually in the context of the letter, that wasn’t mentioned until AFTER the question was first posed by the submitter about how to make the car “legally” theirs without any mention of negotiations.

Now had this had been a question abou how to approach the owner and win over their emotional attachments to the vehicle, my post would not only have been in support, but would have offered advice on how to win over the seller’s emotions to help them try and secure a sale.

And again, place this all into the context of the replies that I received as well that clearly stated poster’s intentions on taking other’s property without their consent. Even when directed against myself directly.

thd7t > DMCVegas 01/06/2016 at 15:52

0

The writer said that the next step was to contact the owner after asking how to make the car legally his, but in the sentence before asking how to make it legally his, he specifically asked if he should contact the owner and make an offer.

I was pretty careful with my response to you, here, because I did notice that a lot of people who initially responded to you were in favor of stealing the car.