The Government wants your Wagon....

Yeah. Why fight them? I am outnumbered. Trying to have rational discussions with Anarchists is stupid. There are alot of smart liberals in Portland that I can have discussions with and are respectful, however Portland is over-run with Anarchists that destroy property and spit on your car if it isn't a Toyota Prius with a certain political sticker on the back.

Here is what Downtown Portland Oregon (where I parked my woody wagon) looks like every other weekend starting in June every year. Would you want to have a nice discussion with these As*hole's? They fight with anyone who questions them. I lived and went to school at Portland State back then. Try driving home from work when they block the roads and chant their beliefs. I wound down my window once and yelled and honked. BIG MISTAKE. They just slammed their protest signs on the hood, shook the car back & forth. Kicked and spit. Cops just watched because they were afraid of lawsuits. (Protesters usually win lawsuits against the city & police here).

I just gave up and moved back to the country side, where the air is clean, the folks are polite and most have concealed carry gun permits. :rant:

 

In the Hollywood area,they have militant bicyclists(did you know,that you're not supposed to pass them in your car or work truck?)It's more about privelege down here.Some even wanted special surface street lanes for Priuses,so they wouldn' have to get stuck in rush hour traffic(eventhough,it's when they're stuck in traffic that Priuses are saving the planet)A local Toyota dealer ran a radio commercial saying that.Prius owners complained so much about it,it was on the air less than a week.The bicyclists and Prius drivers are saving the planet!And they deserve special recognition and priveleges for it...No,really...The rest of us are second class citizens...Looks like what you're dealing with up there are people who don't want to be citizens,much less first class citizens...Are we hijacking another thread?..

 

those mazda mpv's

I forget which string I first mentioned them on,BUT,since saying that "Yeah I remembered those Mazda MPV things" I've been seeing them all over the L.A. area.Apparently they're sturdy long lasting vehicles and their owners really like them.They look a bit too mini-vanny for me.

 

OnStar is BS, all that big-brother thing is just a bad trip. You know, what happened to the good old days where you could trust people and people could trust you?

 

About 10 years ago, there was a news article about the highend stereo gear that the Japanese were throwing into the trash! Now, up here in one of the poorest neighbourhoods in Canada (25% under the poverty level), my backalley bin is usually full of equipment that used to be THE stuff for home robberies!

Back when there weren't that many cars on the road, people didn't steal them. In fact, a lot of early cars had no keys! It seems that the more of whatever, cars or gadgets, we lose respect for them. Unfortunately, because they cost so much now - a new 1908 Model T sold for less than $700, a new 1957 chevy belair HT sold for under $1,800. 49 years to almost double in price! Today, try to buy a sporty chevy V8 for under $40K! Its familiarity that's made us preoccupied with safety features.

As for GPS and OnStar, I hate cell phones for the same reason - electronic dog leashes. Now that some scam artists have figured out how to use corporate voice mail systems and charge long distance calls on them (mostly digital wireless systems), even that isn't safe. I like hardwired phones. And I if I want to be free, I don't want a 'big brother' to track me, either.

 

i hate to say this,but those days are over. now adays people are to self centered and feel that either they are alone and everyone is out to get them, or they can lie to get away with anything...

i hate the idea of the GPS. if it comes to a point where they have to tax people for mileage ill unregister my wagon, hide it in my backyard and protect it with my knives, sword, and bow. unfortunatly i have to admit my dad owns a prius, at least hes not stuck up. he encourages me to use the wagon!

 

There's no appreciation for anything anymore, it makes me sick. I grew up in a type of lifestyle, out on the farm, where you bought something, you took good care of it, and you tended to its problems, fixed it, and used it until there was nothing left of it, including cars. Now, they're all throw-aways. Mankind lived for years without safety features.
My 60 Bel-Air had no belts, no airbags, etc, etc. Just a stock car, and I got hit and besides a bad-back, came out alright. It's not a death trap, those big, true metal cars are much safer. They didn't need the safety features. And heck, you can always install belts.

 

that ever changing world

AND,people could read maps,not just listen to them talk.And ask somebody at the gas station for directions.And use Mapquest before even leaving the house...I have often said,"If you don't know where you're going and/or you don't know how to get there,please, don't get in the car."

 

that stuff too

My wife and I were immediately "not fooled at all" by the commercials saying,if you get one of these phones,that's also a camera and a radio and a TV and a PDA and a text messager and an e-mailer and that goes online and whateverelse,then you have freedom...What?..The freedom to run up a huge phone bill!..

 

those Priuses

When Priuses first showed up,here in California,there was a big push to create special priveleges for people who'd bought the.Because they're saving the planet and all.One of the priveleges was to be able to use car pool lanes with only the driver in the car.There's special stickers to put on your car,for that.One day,I saw a Prius,with no car pool lane stickers on it.But it DID have a personalized license plate "DNMYPRT" done my part.A Prius owner who knew that just getting the car,not all the special priveleges,was what was really important.

 

that no appreciation stuff

I remember,a few years back,a big push to make it so,that any car that had been in an accident,no matter how bad---or not,had to be proclaimed totaled.And instamatically junked.And no parts were to be salvaged,as they been in a car that had been in an accident.And were somehow tainted with crashedness---or something...Cars are not paper plates or plastic cups,to be tossed away,yet there ARE those who think so. "Why don't you just get a brand new car?" is a question I've heard way too often.

 

I totally get asked that all the time. I drive my '88 squire daily. I get about 40 % of the people who say "Wow, I haven't seen one of these in years" about 30% who say "I love those big wagon! My family used to have a ......fill in the blank". The last 30% say "Why don't you buy a new car" with a really nasty tone and look on their face. You know, it takes alot of balls to walk up to a total stranger and insult their car, their financial status & their taste. I could drive down to the local Ford dealer and purchase a jelly bean car and blend in with all the other jelly beans....but I gotta be me! Plus, let them try hauling 4x8 sheets of plywood,camping gear,suitcases for 4 people, 8 passengers & 2 dogs, or a 3 person couch from Ikea in the back of their Prius,Accord,Camry or Taurus!!

 

washed my car today...it was above freezing so both car washes in town were packed. i was in line behind a caprice wagon that looked exactly like "capricewagon"'s (sans redneck sticker and bull horns). i realized we have a few fullsize wagons here in town. marco, down the street from me has 2, a country squire that is modified and has been parked for a while, and he also has an 89 colony park that is in desparate need of a grille and the plastic part around the grille. and thats just my street ....i seem to be the only 90's buick wagon though. :sorry: tangent, anyway..... i feel bad for those that must deal with eco weenies. like i said im waiting for somone to open their pie hole at me. ...they will get one hell of a lecture!

 

rarities

Buicks and Oldsmobiles,like Mercurys and Chryslers,are the rarest of the rare.And,I do believe,Buicks are the rarest of those.Maybe,surpassed only by Pontiac.Those Parisiennes are vey rare treats.I think the non-wagon versions are rarer than the wagons,with that model.Don't be too depressed,I'm sure you'll find a kindred spirit about,sooner or later.

 

I do like my bull horns and redneck sticker LOL. There's two caprice Wagons in town here, but they are blue without woodgrain, a 77 LTD, and a 88 or so Electra, which is Identical to my car. The electra and me are always getting mixed up. Wish I had a nickel for every time I heard "I thought you were Wayne Bortz" There's a Grand Marquis wagon in town too that I always get mixed up with. People swear they see me in places I do not go.