Not as bad as the Ford dealer who thought my 308 was a Karmann-Ghia! (And he was a man!) There are significant exceptions, but the number of women who know absolutely nothing about cars is pretty astonishing: A friend of my dad's experienced a power failure. Later, when his wife saw a car driving past the house with its lights on, she said, "The power's back! That car had its lights on!" When he explained that cars, aren't on the electrical grid, her response was: "How was I supposed to know something like that?" So I wouldn't be offended by a woman not knowing much about different car makes.
I was at a shell station and a guy asked me "hey wanna race your Ferrari against my Corvette" My response, "dude you're in a Camaro" people just laughed as he stuck his head out his car to check.. He then said it was his girlfriend's car, and its pretty much the same thing.
Somebody said to me recently, "Yah, Ferrari's are nice, but I'd rather have a japanese import cause it's something I can tinker on in my garage".
Not Ferrari related but years ago my father was drinking with his car dealership/mechanic mates after work and the dealers daughter burst in and ripped into her father for leaving "her" car low on petrol and she had to remain in the low gears and rev it hard just to make it here ... nobody laughed but my father sure did when he got home and told us the story . But anybody that thinks a car is connected to the electrical grid is a complete moron. Pete
That daughter was pretty dumb, too. Cars trailing 100+ miles of extension cord? Few people think things through these days. . . witness congress. (Woops! P&R!)
Off topic, but reminds me of the story I heard about a woman entering the gas station insisting she needed some "710." After a convoluted explanation of what it was she needed, it became apparent that she was reading "OIL" upside down.
That's quite insightful. Very wrong, but deep down he knew there was Italian genius behind the design.
My four year old son brought a toy Ferrari to school. Teacher says "what a nice red car". First my son looks at me a bit bewildered, then turns to the teacher and says: "it's not a car, it's a Ferrari !"
Not someone you'd depend on for anything mechanical, I hope? Compared to other cars I've owned, the Ferrari is a pleasure to work with. There's the odd "what were they thinking" bit (like running the shift shaft through the oil pan); but, on the whole, it's "elegant" engineering. My Celica GT-Four, by constrast, usually left me muttering, "Wa kaddi ma sen". A Japanese puzzle box. Everything goes on first. I tried getting to the aircon computer in my dash, one day. After removing a half a tub of screws and bolts, still not one part had come off the dash. I finally gave up, having this mental image of the car suddenly collapsing into a pile of spare parts, all at once. When the dealer changed the aircon computer, he simply pried the old one out with a crowbar, breaking off the plastic spring tabs. No, it's car related, too: Case in point: "Tire Pressure Monitoring System". Mandated by Federal dictate. Except they forgot one thing. Snow tires. Put winter tires and rims on the car, and suddenly your TPMS doesn't work any more. You'd have to have the dealer reprogram the system ... twice a year. I've seen a half dozen threads, on ricer forums, about building a TPMS "pipe bomb": They take a PVC pipe, capped at both ends, toss the TPMS sensors into it, pump it to 32 PSI, and throw it in the trunk. Problem solved --- by disabling the system. Typical government. Never *ever* check to see if what looked good on paper actually made things worse. See also R-134. Takes more engine power (and exhaust) for the same cooling, wears out parts faster, and ... oops ... it seems it isn't any better for the environment than R12 after all. This may be why Congressional retirement is so lavish: after a stint in government, they're obviously no longer qualified for any work requiring actual results.
No, it's car related, too: Case in point: "Tire Pressure Monitoring System". Mandated by Federal dictate. Except they forgot one thing. Snow tires. Put winter tires and rims on the car, and suddenly your TPMS doesn't work any more. You'd have to have the dealer reprogram the system ... twice a year. I've seen a half dozen threads, on ricer forums, about building a TPMS "pipe bomb": They take a PVC pipe, capped at both ends, toss the TPMS sensors into it, pump it to 32 PSI, and throw it in the trunk. Problem solved --- by disabling the system. Typical government. Never *ever* check to see if what looked good on paper actually made things worse. See also R-134. Takes more engine power (and exhaust) for the same cooling, wears out parts faster, and ... oops ... it seems it isn't any better for the environment than R12 after all. This may be why Congressional retirement is so lavish: after a stint in government, they're obviously no longer qualified for any work requiring actual results. [/QUOTE] U a man after my own heart, brother. think battery dead on my tire sensor as reads zero in my daily driver. I can see with my OWN eyes its not flat so I wish the computer would shut the heck up. You mean my 328 with the upgraded r134 AC system doesn't help the enivronment...sigh...typical bureaucrats making sweeping rulings on issues they have no real understanding of or listening only to "experts" who say what they wanna hear... ...its no wonder why they never wanna vote in congressional term limits. that would derail their gravy train. I'll tone it down and shut my pie-hole now cause this is a very polite forum and I don't wanna offend anyone.
The BMW system is a rare "indirect" one: Instead of direct reading sensors in the tire valve stems, it tries to figure out the tire diameter from the ABS. The indirect systems are subject to more false alarms ... which is why BMW had to put a owner reset in the machine. But the batteries in the direct reading sensors are only good for about three years, according to what I've read. And the dealer has to program the receiver for the specific tire sensor units, if you change sensors. So either way, it becomes the system that cried wolf. Worse: on some sensor units, when the sensors on the valve stems break, they can let the air out of the tire. Like corn ethanol fuel, it's an idea that looks better on paper than in reality.
"It's not a car it's a Ferrari." That would make the best signature line on F-Chat. Ask you son, so as not to violate copyright.
Good idea. I have actually explained to him that Ferraris are also considered cars but he keeps on making the distinction. (Brainwash completed and cannot be undone) When he has some toy cars lined up and I ask him to count the number of cars he disregards the ferraris.
I was up in the Catskills NY in the summer of 2010 and someone at a gas station asked me if my car was the New Mustang. Then the same person told me that he'd hate to be in an accident in that thing, and talked to me like I was an 8yr old doing something unsafe. Then another guy asked me if the car was real. I was pretty agitated at this point. Jim
lol I would have liked to be there....especially in front of the teacher. Priceless....it could be a Ferrari commercial.
I know it's tough not to, but try not to get agitated....patience my friend...the last thing you need is to lose your cool with someone who is that clueless. Just the other day, I was cruising in trafffic, not breaking any laws, didn't cut anyone off, I swear and was minding my own business and all of a sudden a car pulls up beside me with two blondes in their early 20's and yelled "fukking ***"....I was shocked and it left me speechless because I didn't do a thing to prompt them to say that....at least if I was speeding, driving wreckless, or cut them off then I would deserve it...but I didn't do a darn thing....except maybe look too good for them in my 348 and not give them any attention