oncepastthepost
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General Men in Fiat 500s
- Thread starter oncepastthepost
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General Men in Fiat 500s
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Codswallop. And I come from Cheltenham.
If anything, the non-threatening 500 makes other male drivers less confrontational in my experience (my other car being a BMW...).
Clearly on this occasion Mr Hammond couldn't think of anything else to write about.
If anything, the non-threatening 500 makes other male drivers less confrontational in my experience (my other car being a BMW...).
Clearly on this occasion Mr Hammond couldn't think of anything else to write about.
After my experience yesterday I can't say that this is true. Pulling out of a McDonalds car part, I was going straight onto the little exit road and someone was joining from the left, well as he'd been waiting a little longer than me he seemed to think that he had right of way and when the truck in front of use moved I pulled away and he just put his foot down and drove at me. Complete twunt. If I'd kept on going we'd have had an accident.....
As for people bullying you, I think it does happen. It's a ***** thing, the very sorts of people Hammond talks about seem to be a bit insecure or have something to prove. I've got a theory about these sorts of things. Basically to these sorts of men, a car is their ***** and no red blooded fat sweaty knob of a man wants his big grey generally-Germanic ***** to be beaten by a small, cheap (ish) girly little Polish built Italian *****, especially one where the fores... errr I mean roof peels back.
I wouldn't say that I drive aggressively in the 500, but when I need to pull in front of someone I don't dilly dally, I pull in front of them and they can go and make love to themselves if they have a problem with it. Back a couple of months ago I was driving on a motorway and was pulling into the fast lane on a 3 lane stretch whilst doing about 65. There was a guy coming up behind in the fast lane doing a silly speed, so I indicated for quite a while before changing lanes because you've got to give people a chance to see you and slow down, upon seeing me indicate he sped up, so I started pulling across and he buried his foot deeper into the carpet and I just kept on going across, at no point was it going to be an accident, but I just kept on pulling across. Well ........ this guy went absolutely ape**** because my 3 inch ***** had pulled in front of his 5 inch ***** (a vauxhall Astra). As Murray Walker would say, it was "FAN-TASTIC!", he was pointing fingers, shouting, scrunching his face up as if constipated and you could just see he was having a good time. I waved to say thanks and this just made it worse, or better IMHO
. For a good couple of miles he just kept on shouting, pointing, tailgating, flashing lights, beeping horns and so on. I did think of waving when he went past when I pulled back into the middle lane, but a sideswipe didn't seem to be the favoured option so I just avoided eye contact and tried not to grin like a moron as he went past looking all constipated and pointing at me Now I know I probably should have just let him go, but I think Britain is full of too many meek and mild people who just allow the fat sweaty knobs of the world to get away with intimidating the rest of us. If every person in a little 500 or Twingo or whatever made the effort to show that guy in the X5 or A4 that the size or cost of your matter doesn't mean anything then I suspect the UK would be a better place and people would probably stop buying needlessly big cars.
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Whilst I would also cut Hammond up if I had the chance, I see where he's coming from. In a 500 you tend to get let out by a lot of women and just people driving cheapish cars. On the other hand, people in repmobiles and german cars tend to let you out less than if you were driving something bigger and manlier.
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Maxi, what you describe above does not sound particularly like it was to do with the small car you were driving, more your "press on and give no quarter" style. I suspect you would have had the same experiences driving a BMW or a Bentley.
ahmett
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I can understand Hammonds point sometimes wannabe men look at me in the 500 and think they are cooler. But in the end of the day an idiot is an idiot, so whichever car you drive they will create danger.
Well I've never had the same experience quite as often in my 406 or in the Subaru.
Lets just say that I was being a very Christian motorist indicating for so early when the guy was hundreds of metres back. At the end of the day I will only change lanes when I can see that the other person has seen me because to just assume that because there's space that it's all good is rather dumb. He acknowledged that he'd seen me so I could see it was safe to change lanes. Others would just change lane or indicate and then change straight away.
I may come across as very much a take no prisoners person, but on the road it's all safety first with me
At worst I can be a little passive aggressive at times on the road.
he probable driving like a typical short bloke, doing everything wrong and thinking it everyone else's fault
Perhaps he can't see over the wheel because his head is weighted down by jewellery
Whilst I don't agree with the whole article, I think he has got a fair point.
Whether it's a particularly regional thing, I don't know. But since moving to Mid-Devon we have seen a hell of a lot of aggressive driving coming our way. Tailgating, barging through the other way, pulling up right behind and overtaking really quickly - we've seen the lot!
The other thing which is also crystal clear is that all of the "perpetrators" are male; we've never been done (ooer missus) by a female driver when on the roads round here.
My thoughts on the matter is that these drivers are ***** of the highest order anyway and think they own the road, but seeing a little dinky toy car like a 500 probably gives them an incentive to drive just a little bit more like a ****.
Feel free to add your own four letter expletive where appropriate
Whether it's a particularly regional thing, I don't know. But since moving to Mid-Devon we have seen a hell of a lot of aggressive driving coming our way. Tailgating, barging through the other way, pulling up right behind and overtaking really quickly - we've seen the lot!
The other thing which is also crystal clear is that all of the "perpetrators" are male; we've never been done (ooer missus) by a female driver when on the roads round here.
My thoughts on the matter is that these drivers are ***** of the highest order anyway and think they own the road, but seeing a little dinky toy car like a 500 probably gives them an incentive to drive just a little bit more like a ****.
Feel free to add your own four letter expletive where appropriate
Do you mind if rather than saying ****, that I say ****sticks? It's one of my favourite combination swear words.
Tbh it's not all men, I find women seem to be pretty bad in terms of tailgating, I think a lot of women simply don't understand how quickly the car in front could brake. They think because they've got automatic headlights, wipers, bluetooth, EBD, an iPod dock, ASR, ESP, ABS and so on that they'll pull up in time. The men who tailgate probably just don't care
Tbh it's not all men, I find women seem to be pretty bad in terms of tailgating, I think a lot of women simply don't understand how quickly the car in front could brake. They think because they've got automatic headlights, wipers, bluetooth, EBD, an iPod dock, ASR, ESP, ABS and so on that they'll pull up in time. The men who tailgate probably just don't care
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I've noticed a lot of women tailgating and you look in the mirror and they're feeding their kids or something. Go out of say a 40 zone and up to 60 and you lose them. Back into a 40 or 30 and they're up your arse again.
I do find I get more respect with my Alfa ***** than I ever did with my 500 *****
I do find I get more respect with my Alfa ***** than I ever did with my 500 *****
Well that's because the 500 is a 3 incher and the MiTo is a 4 incherI've noticed a lot of women tailgating and you look in the mirror and they're feeding their kids or something. Go out of say a 40 zone and up to 60 and you lose them. Back into a 40 or 30 and they're up your arse again.
I do find I get more respect with my Alfa ***** than I ever did with my 500 *****
I go through a lot of screenwash because of tailgaters
on my daily dual carriageway and motorway commute i do find the 500 suffers from repmobile agression on the 4 out of 5 days i use it, what amuses me is off the line in 1st and 2nd the TA is rather nippy so often catches them napping
most people i know who have mocked my purchase are the first to say what a cracking car they are when experienced, 500s are the sort of car that puts a smile on peoples faces
in reality the rocco has more than enough oomph that i don' have to worry about them
most people i know who have mocked my purchase are the first to say what a cracking car they are when experienced, 500s are the sort of car that puts a smile on peoples faces
in reality the rocco has more than enough oomph that i don' have to worry about them
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oncepastthepost
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I think Hammond didn't have much else to write about and also I wonder whether people were reacting to him rather than the car. I have had a couple of incidents where (to quote Prof Brian Cox) kn0bers treat you with disdain just because they believe they have a bigger kn0b than you... but it always leaves me smiling.
Me more than happy in my 500...
Me more than happy in my 500...
Do you mind if rather than saying ****, that I say ****sticks? It's one of my favourite combination swear words.
Tbh it's not all men, I find women seem to be pretty bad in terms of tailgating, I think a lot of women simply don't understand how quickly the car in front could brake. They think because they've got automatic headlights, wipers, bluetooth, EBD, an iPod dock, ASR, ESP, ABS and so on that they'll pull up in time. The men who tailgate probably just don't care
You can use whatever swear word you like!
I honestly have never been tailgated by any women, but I will keep my eyes peeled now....
I've noticed a lot more people let me come by or out of junctions in the Yaris than they did the 500. It's not exactly a manly car either, but it seems that it does make a little bit of a difference!
The best was my 106 though, dented to hell with stickers all over it I was never cut up or barged out of the way because people could tell I wasn't afraid to dent it!
The best was my 106 though, dented to hell with stickers all over it I was never cut up or barged out of the way because people could tell I wasn't afraid to dent it!
Helps if you drive everywhere with headlights on, people actually notice you
Speaking as a lady – for I am one – generally I have found things pretty much favourable to the 500 in regards to town driving, not much different to my previous car (which was a slightly battered cinquecento). The only difference is now I get a few appreciative looks and comments rather than pitying ones. Not that I care about such things! (Much!)
Motorway driving is a different kettle of fish. I used to get barged out of the way in the cinq if I ever DARED to be in the fast lane, (despite the fact it was was very nippy). People were TOTALLY affronted to have a tiny car in front of them and I would just dip into the middle lane to avoid unpleasantness. In the 500 I don't find that half so much, but now and again it happens. Sometimes people are in a hurry, never mind what car you're in, and so I generally respect their hurriedness and I get out of the way if I can.
HOWEVER – Last weekend a total knob-end middle aged (old) man in a big old man's car full of middle aged people was behind me flashing his lights and getting all upset, regardless of the fact that there was a full solid queue of traffic in front of me all going the same (fast) speed. I was NOT going to transfer to the middle lane because it quite obviously would have meant I'd have to harshly break and sit in the middle lane for no reason.
Normally if someone in a hurry tailgates me I do move out of the way if I can and if it's safe – it's not my funeral – but this particular one behind me had no concept of te complete futileness of his mission and was a clear idiot so I stayed put.
I'm pretty sure I never had this problem if I drove my boyfriend's 'fast-but-old-man car', so sadly I'd say the 500 does have some impression in certain old people's heads as being not fast because it's small and therefore not worthy of being in front. To them I say –TOUGH ! get with the plan granddad!!!! :slayer:
Motorway driving is a different kettle of fish. I used to get barged out of the way in the cinq if I ever DARED to be in the fast lane, (despite the fact it was was very nippy). People were TOTALLY affronted to have a tiny car in front of them and I would just dip into the middle lane to avoid unpleasantness. In the 500 I don't find that half so much, but now and again it happens. Sometimes people are in a hurry, never mind what car you're in, and so I generally respect their hurriedness and I get out of the way if I can.
HOWEVER – Last weekend a total knob-end middle aged (old) man in a big old man's car full of middle aged people was behind me flashing his lights and getting all upset, regardless of the fact that there was a full solid queue of traffic in front of me all going the same (fast) speed. I was NOT going to transfer to the middle lane because it quite obviously would have meant I'd have to harshly break and sit in the middle lane for no reason.
Normally if someone in a hurry tailgates me I do move out of the way if I can and if it's safe – it's not my funeral – but this particular one behind me had no concept of te complete futileness of his mission and was a clear idiot so I stayed put.
I'm pretty sure I never had this problem if I drove my boyfriend's 'fast-but-old-man car', so sadly I'd say the 500 does have some impression in certain old people's heads as being not fast because it's small and therefore not worthy of being in front. To them I say –TOUGH ! get with the plan granddad!!!! :slayer:
