On High School Parking Lots

"Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available" (whoistheleader2)
07/20/2020 at 18:06 • Filed to: what the kids are driving these days, high school

Just what are the kids driving these days?

I recently graduated high school. I’m actually quite upset about this because I couldn’t have chosen a worse year for it. My school handled the graduation event with such blatant disregard for proper procedure that I didn’t feel safe enough to attend. My anger at their decision making did call to mind the makeup of cars in its parking lot, so I thought I would share some with you.

The student parking section is a good judge of changing styles and the overall makeup of the current automotive landscape. From hand-me-downs to low budget builds to brand new status symbols, my high school had them all.

The Generalizations

These are the default choices. The standard issue basic-white-girl-mobile, the deeply uncool hand-me downs, the whole lot. The stuff that defined the high school parking lot without any single car standing out.

The average white girl ride of choice, as always, is a sensible CPO Volkswagen Jetta. Circa 2015, these are safe, low mileage, conservatively styled but ever chic; just the car that balances what you want and what you need. And every single one of them was black.

This is the cool car to have in 2020. If your family has money, you buy a 4Runner TRD. The undisputed king of the parking lot for the undisputed queen of the school. What makes this remarkable is that a surprising number of the parents with cool kids took a hint and bought one themselves, so one day these will become the greatest hand-me-downs ever.

The Toyota Highlander was the car the oldest son was unfortunate enough to inherit. This is the car you desperately did not want but were forced to accept. A surprisingly, possibly suspiciously, large amount of guys in my graduating class drove these in varying states of neglect. With fogged up headlamps, vast quantities of filthy grayscale, sun-soaked upholstery and filthy paint, there is nothing cool about these not-a-minivans. Most also suffered poor reliability from years of missed oil changes and a hard life. A friend of mine’s Highlander had the rear wiper fail in hilarious way, left dangling by the wire clanging against the hatch, where he left it to this day.

The modified pickup. This needs no introduction. A light lift, some interesting wheels, usually with substantial sidewall surprisingly, a fart can exhaust, and maybe a brush guard if you were feeling spendy. Timeless, cool, and great for impressing girls.

The standouts

This needs no introduction. This is the stuff you notice.

One family bought all their kids Buick Park Avenues. Except they all had the torquey monster of a supercharged V6. The one I was familiar with was surprisingly cool despite being an “old man car.” It was just a big boat that could push you right back into the overstuffed leather seats from sheer acceleration in a heartbeat. A big trunk for a big subwoofer was also a plus. The Park Avenue’s design has aged much better than any other 2000s Buick, not that that mattered much. I think it is down to the proportions. These are a blast to hoon and cheap enough that you don’t feel bad about going full throttle all the time.

My own dynamic trio comprised of some of the only colorful cars in the student section. There were two purple cars, a blue sedan, and the orange Hummer I’m about to get to. Really, it was that monochrome.

The 2014 Jeep Patriot on the right has not only a 5 speed manual, but crank windows and manual locks too. And FWD. How that was sold in 2014 I have no idea. Really that is the rugged wagon we all asked for, except it wasn’t very good.

Why anyone would give their child a bright orange Hummer H3 in the year of our Lord 2020 I don’t know. It’s not safe, it’s not cheap, it’s not new, and it’s not particularly useful, and you can’t see a thing out of those gun slits posing as windows. It was cool, that cannot be denied, but I don’t think it was quite cool enough.

The only other stick shift worth mentioning is this rally inspired Ford Focus. Somehow this silver compact sedan managed to get into the yearbook’s list of the coolest cars as voted by my peers, so clearly he did something right.

A sample of some specific modified trucks. Story time! The purple Durango managed to lose a wheel doing donuts, which also shattered the rim somehow. Impressive!

Surprisingly, a thrashed hand me down Focus wagon wasn’t considered particularly uncool. Maybe there is hope left after all.

The convertibles were actually not all that cool. The obviously crash damaged and poorly rebuilt Solara convertible and the Chrysler Sebring were not exactly something you would want to be seen in, especially since their tops were broken, but the VW Eos was certifiably cool. The red leather interior probably helped. And the power hard top was interesting to see in action. Story time! The Eos is a 4 seater and being the 5th occupant was not particularly clever.

Of course there were plenty of beater thrashed beyond caring. And chief among them is this monstrosity. The Supreme sticker says it all. Someone paid way too much for this, since it was bought as is.

Other honorable mentions include my friend’s ‘99 F150 Lariat which apparently turns so poorly that he was scared by the nimble handling of an early 2000s Cadillac Escalade. Another friend’s Honda Pilot without air conditioning and another friend’s very rusty and also air conditioning-less 4Runner also deserve mention. Both were around $500 if I recall and have been very dependable, so they were still worth every penny. And neither were as tasteless as that Trailblazer. My goodness, what a sight!

And really that is it. My high school had a particularly boring parking lot. The only thing that made it interesting were the shenanigans that went on in it.

DISCUSSION (53)

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
07/20/2020 at 18:26

My nephew’s first car was a BMW X2 that he crashed on the way home from the dealer before he even had his license.

I got mom’s old Dasher wagon, but my sister got to pick a vehicle of equivalent value to my car and she chose a ‘77 Accord hatchback. This was the ‘80s, so those cars make sense for the time...

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
07/20/2020 at 18:29

That is rough. Real rough. So probably not insured yet either. What do you even do in that situation.

So basically you got the equivalent of a Focus wagon. So functional and not strictly uncool but not exactly going to win you any admirers. Not that those are the kind of “friendships” that matter. Well, I did get to know the guy with the 5 speed Patriot when I noticed the shift knob.

winterlegacy, here 'till the end > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
07/20/2020 at 18:31

When I graduated high school, you could find just about anything from the late 90s to early 2000s. The seniors who had tradesmen fathers drove the lifted trucks and all parked together on one side of the school, conveniently where they would be the most obnoxious for people trying to leave the parking lot without impacting a vehicle as they turned.

Vicente Esteve > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
07/20/2020 at 18:32

As someone who had a 2001 F150 in high school I approve that its still a good choice.

The Compromiser > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
07/20/2020 at 18:33

My son is rocking the 09 Sentra SE-R. Black on black.

DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
07/20/2020 at 18:38

Yeah I’d say mine was a lot of generic hand me down 5 year old cars, c rossovers, and trucks . Most t rucks remained unmodified cause high school kids couldn’t afford lift kits and parents sure as hell weren’t going to pay for t hat. The car of choice for the cheerleader/athletic girl seemed to be either a mustang or a Camaro.

Some stand outs were the 350Z that may or may not have had a turbo that some girl had (her dad owned a tuner shop apparently), Some one had an older Porsche Cayenne, Someo ne else got an FRS (auto sadly) when it came out.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
07/20/2020 at 18:41

My sister, the one that had the Accord, was sitting in the right seat when he made that poorly-timed left turn and so it was her door that got smashed. It was nearly a total, but after all of the body work and engine replacement (!) he eventually got it back. They rented him a car whilst his was in the shop for months, and I’m sure they didn’t tell the rental agency that a 16 year old was going to be driving it. One more piss-poor decision to add to the list.

For my senior year I bought a Rabbit GTI. My classmates were all into muscle cars and trucks and were not impressed by my car. But I liked cornering and they didn’t (and couldn’t) so the finesse that is the GTI was totally lost on them. My girlfriend didn’t understand why I paid so much for something that looked like her aunt’s diesel Rabbit, but I didn’t care - those that knew what those three initials meant understood. It was an unreliable piece of crap, however, and decades later VW seems to be keeping that tradition alive. Great when it’s running, but when it’s not...

wafflesnfalafel > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
07/20/2020 at 18:51

Our local high school has quite a few hand-me-down family SUVs, Lexus RX, Acura MDX, Toyota Highlander, Merecedes ML, etc... quite a bit of Microsoft/tech money in the area.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
07/20/2020 at 19:04

That entire sequence of events sounds like a bad idea. My idea is that you shouldn’t buy someone a nice car until they’ve proved they can own a beater and not crash it. If you don’t crash it, someone else will run into you because high school kids can’t be trusted. Save the nice car for the graduation present.

You can’t expect beer swilling truck driving high schoolers to understand a tiny little hot hatch. That sounds amazing. . . while it was running. How has VW not actually addressed their long term reliability problems?

None of my classmates understood why I liked my Cruze so much either. It is genuinely probably the slowest thing in the parking lot, but it can comfortably haul 5 people AND their backpacks (that came in handy often and made me some money too) while still being fun in the twisties. Straight line speed gets you in trouble but nailing the apex of a parking lot island never earned me a word of reproach. It was just the best all around car I could afford that was still fun.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back
07/20/2020 at 19:08

You must have gone to a richer school than I did. I went to the private school that wasn’t overly expensive without being full of “poors.” So, we got people who ball on a budget. Hence, you get new iPhones with 5 year old luxury SUVs but almost no sports cars because insurance costs matter too.

I don’t think anyone got a muscle car until their early graduation present. Just one or two that were borrowed (manual Shelby GT350 was sweet!) and one or two that showed up right before the lockdown. The only regular two door cars were the convertibles.

EDIT: And the lifted trucks were always bought that way.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Vicente Esteve
07/20/2020 at 19:09

There’s nothing more fun than driving off with your friends hanging on in the bed.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Vicente Esteve
07/20/2020 at 19:09

There’s nothing more fun than driving off with your friends hanging on in the bed.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > The Compromiser
07/20/2020 at 19:10

I highly approve. It must be tough convincing kids that it is something special though. “You could have had a V8!” “Yeah but I can turn circles around your F150!”

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
07/20/2020 at 19:13

A kid at my kids school drives a convertible PT crui s er with a custom plate “Peanut”.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > wafflesnfalafel
07/20/2020 at 19:13

Atlanta is a perpetual boom town and this school was in the place where people who made it halfway up the ladder end up. A few standouts based on how much you had to give up to go to a private school (hence un- air conditioned beaters and brand new 4Runnners) but the majority were hand me down or CPO premium CUVs or whatever the father got a good deal on at the buy-here-pay-here.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
07/20/2020 at 19:14

My HS parking lot:

F150's like 1970's F150's, random shit boxes like geo storm, monte carlo, my datsun, dodge colt, some old subaru’s. Pretty depressing really. Now there are kids driving ford raptors to school.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > winterlegacy, here 'till the end
07/20/2020 at 19:17

That can be said of every high school in the nation. The modified vehicles were almost all bought that way but we didn’t have any hard core bro dozers. And of course most of the trucks and SUVs that were lifted were 2WD because reasons.

The automotive landscape is getting less diverse but there are still relics from a different attitude towards cars left. You still have the pimped out Tahoe parked next to the fwd CUV parked next to the lifted truck parked next to the dented up hatchback.

fintail > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
07/20/2020 at 19:19

High school parking lot, PNW, early-mid 90s, cooler then than the modern day counterpart.

Stuff I recall: 64 Impala, 66 GTO, TR-6, Datsun 710 coupe (!), first gen Supra, early Preludes, Ford EXP, Volvo 122 wagon, Nissan NX2000, early Pontiac 6000 with whitewalls, VW Fox.

Friends cars: 65 Galaxie, 69 Nova, MGB, Gremlin, Mitsubishi Precis (the likely now- extinct Hyundai Excel rebadge), Knight Rider style Trans Am, 86 Escort, Ci marron, a couple of 80s S10s.

Default spoiled/rich kid vehicles - girl: new Civic or Prelude or equivalent, boy: Toyota 4x4.

I mostly drove a 66 Galaxie or a Tempo.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
07/20/2020 at 19:20

More money than brains. It’s a common problem, especially in the wealthy suburbs of Los Angeles. Those spoiled brats are in for a real dose of reality one of these days, and it ain’t gonna be pretty. But their parents will probably protect them for years, and ‘affluenza’ will be a part of their lives.

These days I’m more about about frugality and reliability than I am about having a flashy car. For years, after graduating from VWs to more expensive German cars, I drove all the fancy toys - BMWs, Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, etc. Nowadays I’m perfectly content with my little Mazda minivan and see no reason to part with it, especially since it’s so difficult to find fun vehicles that still have manual transmissions. And even when I'm making a list of the contents of my dream garage, should I ever come into obscene amounts of money, my little Mazda5 is still featured in that garage.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever
07/20/2020 at 19:21

It depends on the area, but things have changed. Honestly, maybe they haven’t. Except the only two- doors at my HS were the 2000's most beige convertibles. The personal luxury coupes of yesteryear have been replaced by premium CUVs and the sporty fwd coupes have been replaced by crappy old 4x4s (Isuzu Rodeo anyone?).

Jack Does Cars > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
07/20/2020 at 19:29

I graduated in 2018, our local high school was similar. I had a TrailBlazer, two Volvo V70 T5's and a Maxima. Being in NC, quite a few lifted trucks, but unless if the buying habits of wealthy teenagers has dramatically changed in the last two years, the Jeep Wrangler was the vehicle to have.

There were some standouts, like my friend who had a 75 C3 Corvette that he and his father rebuilt and was later replaced with a former SCCA Autocross Champion 2003 Nissan Altima 3.5 5-spd, which was way faster than any Altima had any right being. There was grandpa’s hand-me-down 2008 Mustang GT/CS driven by a friend, a Nissan X-Terra S/C, a multitude of E46's and like two extremely ratty E90's, a 200k mile G35, a Huricane Harvey flood title Maserati Ghibli, and the school’s super wealthy star football QB got a then- new 2018 Silverado LTZ Z71 6.2 after a championship game by his dad, which replaced his 2011 Cadillac Escalade EXT. Oh, also a Suzuki Kizashi and Saab 9-2X. Looking back, it wasn’t a terrible lot.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
07/20/2020 at 19:31

Now there’s an attitude I like! Lasting friendships aren’t made by flashy cars for the sake of status, so drive what you enjoy! Not to say Mercs can’t bring you joy, but life is less fun when you are preoccupied with what other people think of you.

NO ONE understand how I can possibly like my “tiny” (it’s not) slow compact sedan but I’ve never run out of utility and it is fun to string through some corners. I bought it because I was using the back seat to ferry around some kids for money and there aren’t many cars that would have been as great in the long term as my humble Cruze.

I can’t wait to see some of my classmates in 10 years. It was a middle class private school, so some come out less spoiled than others because some families can barely afford it and others just hand out free iPhones every year to their kids. The real world ain’t as pretty as this slice of it would lead you to believe, so stop trying to impress people with it. That said, I wouldn’t turn down a Raptor but I wouldn’t feel like I deserved one. . .

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > fintail
07/20/2020 at 19:38

Cars have gotten safe so quickly that 5 years matters a lot and no parent wants their kid in a pre 2000 deathtrap. You wouldn’t have known the 90s existed from my middle class high school. And no one drove a classic because Atlanta is a boom town full of new money and we didn’t have a shop class. It certainly hurt automotive diversity. The Focus was the only true wagon and there were like 4 manuals. Stupid low budget mods still abounded though.

And the PNW doesn’t represent the same demographic as Atlanta in the 90s either (city center was still considered “ unsafe” enough that the office buildings had sky bridges between them so you wouldn’t have to ever set foot on the sidewalk, from what I’ve heard at least. White flight hadn’t quite started to return en masse).

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Jack Does Cars
07/20/2020 at 19:46

The Altima 2.5 S (all auto) were the sleeper hand me down that no one bragged enough about for my HS to realize were cool. No coupes since they were just surprisingly quick family sedans whose sun damaged paint no longer allowed them to be presentable at the office.

Not one single daily driven classic since this was a private school without a shop class for the up and coming middle class. You wouldn’t have even known the 90s existed, since even 5 years made such a huge difference in safety during the 2000s.

Suzuki Kizashi, Saab 9-2X, Escalade EXT, those are some oddballs. There was a thoroughly worn out early Avalanche at my HS that made a fantastic photo op and/or stage for impromptu dance offs etc. Those premium AWD 2000s SUVs actually were surprisingly capable so lots of kids got real stupid with them. Crappy old 4x4s were common hand me downs but were perfect for juvenile stunts.

fintail > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
07/20/2020 at 20:02

Yeah, the PNW then wasn’t just a different world from now, it was and is a different world from ATL. The climate here helped as much then as now, too - 50s stuff was still all over the place when I was a kid, and it seems like there was a daily driver 60s car on every street. It was a good time to be a car nut. I was also in a smaller town, although I don’t think the cities were much different in terms of automotive diversity.

If I had kids, I’d put them in an older MB sedan, Camry/Avalon, or maybe a Buick or equivalent - safe, durable, not insanely slow to be unsafe (well maybe the MB depending on the model) but still not fun - anything more, they can pay the difference. Cars that would cost maybe 5K max, and the cheaper the better, to a point.

Funny thing, I never took auto shop in high school. Maybe should have, but my dad was a car hobbyist, so I thought I got plenty of exposure from him.

atfsgeoff > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
07/20/2020 at 20:06

Just what are the kids driving these days?

Largely nothing, fewer and fewer teenagers are seeking drivers licenses because they’re always connected to their friends through social media and their phones, plus if they really have to be somewhere, they can just uber a few times a month for way cheaper than a car payment/insurance/gas/maintenance would allow.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > fintail
07/20/2020 at 20:11

By the time I would ever think about having to buy a car for a son or daughter, old cars would have become vastly more safe than old cars are today. Crash safety has leveled off from leaps and bounds, with the main advances being in crash prevention technology.

But if I were to recommend a first car car today, it would be a 2010s sedan or hatchback; as long as it has a service history and isn’t a CVT Nissan, it’ll be fine. The more adventurous kids can get a manual Infiniti G35 or 370Z or whatever else strikes their fancy. It is just difficult to reconcile allowing a classic as a first car when safety has made such leaps and bounds.

Around here, it is usually the clearcoat failing that prompts the parents to give their car to their kids and buy a new one. And Atlanta isn’t the type of place you expect to see your average Joe with a real appreciation for cars other than 0-60 times and how much bling it has. The classics stay in the garage more often than not and the new drivers aren’t allowed anywhere near them.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > atfsgeoff
07/20/2020 at 20:14

Exactly! And usually they are coerced into getting a license to drive their siblings to school in the hand-me-down family hauler. Insurance rates don’t allow anything interesting either. Usually people end up with an Altima 2.5 S or V6 Mazda6 by complete accident and don’t what they have. The few that do know what they have bought it to escape the two door tax insurance companies charge.

Under_Score > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
07/20/2020 at 20:17

What was your HS ceremony?

My high school had a lot of Rogues, Patriots, and RAV4’s. A good amount of 4Runners & some lifted trucks. There was a blue Freelander in my earlier high school years, as well as a green Esteem wagon.

Oh, and Wranglers.

fintail > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
07/20/2020 at 20:30

I think something with airbags and ABS would be adequate, those and ESP have probably done more than anything. Late run W210, early 2000s Lexus or Avalon, etc - I wouldn’t lose sleep over their safety, they are generally reliable, and most examples are afforda ble . However, I don’t plan on adding real mouths to the litter, and I am not complaining. I can’t imagine what insurance would be for a teenager on a 370Z or a G35 - and you know, eventually, there will be an eye-rolling claim. Those cars almost beg for shitty behavior (and douchey ownership).

That’s another thing that makes me happy to be here - clearcoat fail is almost un known other than on transplant cars and Hondas of a certain age. Sounds like in Atlanta, one should just get an Escalade and sit back.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Under_Score
07/20/2020 at 21:06

The ceremony was probably illegal, since it was held indoors over the weekend and no social distancing was enforced at all. There was some attempt at dismissing families in rows but it was enough for me to see over the l ivestream that I was justified.

No Wranglers in my graduating class but lots of 4Runners. Lots and lots of 4Runners and some of them 2wd.

The Focus wagon and the manual Patriot were probably the only things that were actually somewhat rare. A lot of kids got first gen CRVs and every single one of them, yes, all of them, had been crashed and replaced with a second gen at least once by the time we graduated. The many many many crappy Highlanders remained and on ly got worse with time.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > fintail
07/20/2020 at 21:15

Not a bad idea. It’s the Nissan s and Hondas that really get it bad but aesthetic sensibilities are a common reason to hand it down. My friend managed to dent his dad’s nice newish car enough with basketballs that it was no longer new and pretty enough and he ended up getting it. I almost had him in a used Volt but then he got a much more expensive car for free.

Modern cars are good enough you really should look more maintenance than brand. Unless it is a Nissan or has an infamous problem. I totally forgot to mention the "Eggplant Mercedes," which rarely worked for more than a week at a time. That's what you get for overpaying for a high mileage circa 2005 C Class. Also, it was very purple.

fintail > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
07/20/2020 at 21:58

I see it a lot on dark colored Hondas some well past 2010 or so. I think there’s a defect in the paint process. Must be nice to be able to give away a car because of a few basketball dents. I remember a friend’s mother was a long distance commuter, and offered a couple of her ~5 year old 150K mile cars - he took one when he was a student, but didn’t want the other (a Civic).

After a certain point, brand might not matter much, but some early 00s stuff still concerns me a little. A W203 C-class is one of those MBs I might not take for free, not a fan. I believe the color. Just today, I saw a W163 ML55 AMG in kind of a dark magenta color . The 90s were still alive in 2000.

Under_Score > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
07/20/2020 at 22:06

I saw someone who’s sister (I think private school) recently had an in-person graduation. I’d ask if you knew the person, but this is the Internet. It may have been the school you’re referring to. I know the Paulding schools had outdoor grads last month.

An in-person graduation would be cool (college), but a lot of my graduating peers would be worried about corona and all, so I don’t know if it’ll happen. Besides, we’ve kind of disbanded anyways. I work Saturdays, too, which is when a graduation would normally be held.

I’m really curious what your Alma mater is, but I don’t want to breach privacy, either.

The Crazy Kanuck; RIP Oppositelock > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
07/20/2020 at 22:10

When I graduated in 2013, it was lots of Cavalier s/Sunfires. For trucks it was mostly Ford Rangers. One guy dro ve a super beat mid-70s Triumph Spitfire. I bounced between vehicles. I mostly drove my moms 2003 Honda Odyssey. I called it the “ManVan” 17 year old me though it was the greatest thing ever.

Kinja'd!!!

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > fintail
07/20/2020 at 22:10

Yes, it must be nice to be able to. I was trying to get my friend into a used Volt because I knew they really weren’t in a place to be purchasing a $25,000 or so used car.

There are very few cars I would turn down for free that weren’t inoperable but the Eggplant Merc was one. And to think they paid 3k for it. Then again, they also used a Nissan NV600 as their family hauler so I don’t know what was going on in their heads. There are even fewer 5 year old cars I would turn down.

The only 90s in my HS parking lot were 2000s cars that were behind the times. There were one or two pickups that just barely preceeded the 2000s, but nothing radwood worthy.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Under_Score
07/20/2020 at 22:16

If we ever meet up in real life, you are welcome to be privy to that information. Funny, I don’t think I would be that hard to find based on what I’ve revealed here, but most of it was intentionally in the comments of another person’s post because lurkers.

Ah, so you didn’t get an in person graduation either. It was infuriatingly reckless of the school to do it, much less a few days after the wild unofficial prom, and someone who is almost certain to have been in contact with people present tested positive. I just don’t want to dwell on what I missed because then I would be sad.

Under_Score > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
07/20/2020 at 22:21

It didn’t bother me. I was super asocial in college, I went home all the time, and I got out in three years. I didn’t have many friends down there. I did some stuff like TRM, but no frat, no Christian organization.

I did get into rock climbing, so that was good.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > The Crazy Kanuck; RIP Oppositelock
07/20/2020 at 22:21

Everyone knows large amounts of mud make any vehicle cool to a high schooler. Even an old minivan.

That one time I got my car stuck in my muddy driveway, I made sure to leave it like that for a while and conspicuously mention the mud splatter “casually” to the pickup truck owners.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Under_Score
07/20/2020 at 22:26

Rock climbing is a great community, not that I’m very well acquainted with it other than I like it. I just get lost in a crowd and don’t like large parties so frat life is not the life for me. Charity work with friends like in a Christian organization is up my alley.

I’m not asocial, just not great at competitive conversions. I am a curious middle ground where I can’t deal with lots or very little social interaction. Like I’ll talk to anyone and everyone who wishes to but I can’t talk to more than a couple people at once without talking too much or not at all.

fintail > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
07/20/2020 at 22:29

A 25K car for a new driver who is likely going to damage/ruin it is something I can’t imagine. My family wasn’t able to get me a new car when I was in high school, and I might not have wanted one anyway. Heck, I wanted something even older than the Galaxie, but the price was right on that car, and that was the era when my dad had 3 old Fords in the driveway, so it happened. A cheap vintage car can be cooler than a lot of newer cars, then and now.

There are definitely fewer “bad” cars now than 20 years ago. I can think of quite a few things from around 2000 that I wouldn’t want, as they will just break and break. There’s a saying that a 3 year old car now is as good as a new car 10-20 years ago - might be true.

When I was in HS, radwood stuff was virtually new lol. But the difference between then and now is like the difference between 1970 and then - in 1970, a high school parking lot could be pretty interesting, too.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Under_Score
07/20/2020 at 22:32

Dismissed BTW and I’m assuming that is not a capital letter on the P.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > fintail
07/20/2020 at 22:38

The lifespan of cars is going up at the cost of repairability. It’s a mixed bag but it does mean that cheap cars are getting more and more out of date as cars depreciate slower. HS parking lot diversity has taken a hit as has the percentage that are actually interesting.

fintail > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
07/20/2020 at 23:28

Yeah, many cars from 2005-10 seem almost quaint now. But it is good for people not willing/able to spend a lot, as they are generally easier to live with than 15 year old cars 25 years ago. Things were a lot more diverse then, too.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > fintail
07/21/2020 at 00:01

The late 90s and early 2000s are a sweet spot for repairability and ease of living with plenty of modern safety features and an aux port or tape deck for an adaptor if you are lucky.

At the very least, they will be what I am nostalgic for someday.

Long_Voyager94 > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
07/21/2020 at 06:59

That Park Ave and the Trailblazer are the only 2 I would even consider owning.

The Park Ave because indestructible cruiser.

The Trailblazer because fuck it.

When I graduated it was mostly bland commuter cars, beat up trucks/suvs, and daddy’s money BMWs.

When I look at our school lot today, I see bland commuter cuvs, lifted trucks, and a handful of daddy’s money cars.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Long_Voyager94
07/21/2020 at 09:34

The school I went to wasn’t the most likely to end up with a diverse parking lot. Basically spot on there.

You do not want the Trailblazer though. That’s bed liner and I’m pretty sure I remember it having 300k + miles. Supercharged Park Avenues are great though.

Pickup_man > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
07/21/2020 at 09:37

Graduated in ‘09 from a small South Dakota town. Our parking lot was littered with 90's cars and trucks. A couple standouts I remember were a Beretta GTZ, a 3rd gen Camaro RS, someone had an IROC at one point, a Grad Prix GTP, Buick LeSabre, Pontiac Bonneville, Aspire, square body S10, and a handful of trucks, all of them straight piped, my ‘99 F-150 included.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Pickup_man
07/21/2020 at 09:45

A straight pipe or fart can is the first nod most truck owners do. There weren’t too many modified pickups but there were definitely some more tasteful ones at least. No hard core bro dozers, but the whitest girl I know bought a pi mped out Tahoe with absolutely massive chrome wheels.

There were one of two late 90s 4x4s but that decade might as well have not existed for all this parking lot showed. People preferred their crappy 2x4s (because no snow = 2wd?) To be from the 2000s. An Isuzu Rodeo comes to mind.

Long_Voyager94 > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
07/21/2020 at 10:04

Eh, miles don’t matter to me on a daily driver, let alone a highschool beater.

The bedliner paint job looks halfway decent. I would 10/10 take it over anything else you listed ( except the Park Ave of course ).

The Compromiser > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
07/21/2020 at 20:45

And with an upgraded stereo. He listens to his music loud.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > The Compromiser
07/21/2020 at 21:03

Everyone knows subwoofers are cool.

The Compromiser > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
07/22/2020 at 18:38

Every car we own.... momma doesn't like to hear either...