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What Irked You Today?


LokisTyro

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What's with the cramped conditions in so many modern cars?  I get that cD can play a role in highway mpg etc, but I doubt Americans have somehow gotten shorter.  Current examples:  Best friend recently got a great deal on a well-cared-for '08 Cadillac DTS.  OK, I think, this should be great...until I tried to climb in.  You'd think if anything would have easy ingress built in, it'd be a Cadillac sedan.  Apparently not if you're 6'3".  Getting out was even worse.  It's rare that I use the word contortions, but that's what it took.

Second example:  local repair shop provides a ride home for those who need it.  They use some medium-sized GMC crossover.  Guess who had to fold himself into and out of that?  I say that, having ridden in and driven Chevy S10 pickups with no issues.  

Current car is a 2005 Buick LeSabre, which has all the room I need.  And no, I don't want a truck or SUV.  

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1 hour ago, Monty said:

What's with the cramped conditions in so many modern cars?  I get that cD can play a role in highway mpg etc, but I doubt Americans have somehow gotten shorter.  Current examples:  Best friend recently got a great deal on a well-cared-for '08 Cadillac DTS.  OK, I think, this should be great...until I tried to climb in.  You'd think if anything would have easy ingress built in, it'd be a Cadillac sedan.  Apparently not if you're 6'3".  Getting out was even worse.  It's rare that I use the word contortions, but that's what it took.

Second example:  local repair shop provides a ride home for those who need it.  They use some medium-sized GMC crossover.  Guess who had to fold himself into and out of that?  I say that, having ridden in and driven Chevy S10 pickups with no issues.  

Current car is a 2005 Buick LeSabre, which has all the room I need.  And no, I don't want a truck or SUV.  

The Lovely Mrs. Snake has a 2015 or '16 Honda Civic. I'm only 5'10", but when I drive it, I have to have the driver's seat almost all the way back and down and sometimes my head still hits the roof depending on how I sit. 

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1 hour ago, Snake45 said:

The Lovely Mrs. Snake has a 2015 or '16 Honda Civic. I'm only 5'10", but when I drive it, I have to have the driver's seat almost all the way back and down and sometimes my head still hits the roof depending on how I sit. 

I had another car surprise me about a year ago.  I needed to rent a car while mine was being repaired so I called Enterprise.  They asked what I wanted and I requested the biggest sedan they had.  They brought over a Lincoln MKZ and it was about the same as trying to get into the Cadillac.  I ended up renting a Ram pickup because that's the only vehicle they had that I could fit in.  I know the automotive world has been trending this way for some time, but I couldn't help noticing Lincoln's 2021 lineup is all truck/SUV.  

Any other tall people who prefer cars?  

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28 minutes ago, Monty said:

I had another car surprise me about a year ago.  I needed to rent a car while mine was being repaired so I called Enterprise.  They asked what I wanted and I requested the biggest sedan they had.  They brought over a Lincoln MKZ and it was about the same as trying to get into the Cadillac.  I ended up renting a Ram pickup because that's the only vehicle they had that I could fit in.  I know the automotive world has been trending this way for some time, but I couldn't help noticing Lincoln's 2021 lineup is all truck/SUV.  

Any other tall people who prefer cars?  

im pretty tall and i fit in Volkswagen really well. i had a gti and now i have a beetle and both of them, i cant put my seat all the way back or i wont reach the pedals. i did have more room in my gti vs my beetle as far as overall leg room. i had a ford fiesta for a really short while, unfortunately for me it was too small inside. i was trying to buy the chevy spark as i had a lot more leg room in it, but it was on a recall for the dumbest thing and dealerships couldnt sell it until gm had a fix. i waited probably a month or 6 weeks. it was the day before i signed for the ford that gm had a fix and i got a call from the chevy salesman. by that time i had agreed to buy the fiesta and i got it on z-plan from being in mustang club of america.   i still like the spark a lot, but i got my beetle for a steal, so when it was time to get rid of the tiny fiesta, i couldnt justify the spark since the overall price was almost the same as the beetle (both brand new). The beetle was only like 1500 more than the spark and my beetle is a 2.0 turbo, so it has a little bit of power, the spark does not. 

 

I am tall (ish) 6 foot, and prefer either very tiny cars, or pickup trucks, and of course sports cars. my wife was sad when i traded in my 2017 mustang gt for the ford fiesta. she loved driving the mustang with 425 hp but the mustang. that coyote engine is like nothing i had ever driven before

Edited by youpey
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2 hours ago, Monty said:

I had another car surprise me about a year ago.  I needed to rent a car while mine was being repaired so I called Enterprise.  They asked what I wanted and I requested the biggest sedan they had.  They brought over a Lincoln MKZ and it was about the same as trying to get into the Cadillac.  I ended up renting a Ram pickup because that's the only vehicle they had that I could fit in.  I know the automotive world has been trending this way for some time, but I couldn't help noticing Lincoln's 2021 lineup is all truck/SUV.  

Any other tall people who prefer cars?  

Famous magician Penn Jillette is about 6-6 (when I met him, he was way on the far side of 300, the largest human being I've ever personally been around in my life, though he's lost weight now) and drives a Mini. I have NO idea why Mini is not paying him a fortune to be their spokesman. :blink:

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16 minutes ago, Snake45 said:

Famous magician Penn Jillette is about 6-6 (when I met him, he was way on the far side of 300, the largest human being I've ever personally been around in my life, though he's lost weight now) and drives a Mini. I have NO idea why Mini is not paying him a fortune to be their spokesman. :blink:

I would have bet any amount of money he could never even get in the thing, but one of the Mini sites listed him among around 15 celebrities who own them.  

 

Edited by Monty
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1 hour ago, Monty said:

I would have bet any amount of money he could never even get in the thing, but one of the Mini sites listed him among around 15 celebrities who own them.  

 

Does he drive it, or does he wear it?

 

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Room was the main reason I drove my '56 Ford Sedan as a daily driver for years. I'm not a big guy (6ft around 220) but most new cars you have to fold up like an accordion. The '56 was a seamless transition, slide in and slide out. One of the businesses I own requires me to do a bit of travel. When I went modern iron I tried on several makes & models, ended up with a new Jetta when they did the redesign in 2019. It's not perfect but I have plenty of room. 

I always wanted a '55 Thunderbird- until I restored one for a customer. No leg room and my eyes where right in line with the windshield header.

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I’m not tall, like 5’-7” and there are cars I have trouble getting in to.. having to lean back getting into avoid the A pillar.. I think the windshield slants back too much on these.

I don’t have issues with my cars..  06 Lacrosse, 06 PT Cruiser convertible and 15 Hyundai Elantra.  
 

Oh, and for the record.. nothing irked me today! 😀

Edited by Tom Geiger
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The most comfortable vehicle for getting in and out, and with lots of headroom was my 2006 Scion xB (wagon).   The seat cushion's height was almost at a height of a home chair, and the car was low to the ground, so getting in was very easy.  The door was large enough, and forward enough not to interfere with getting in and out.   it also had plenty of headroom. I miss that car.  My current 2019 KIA Soul (while similar to the xB in size) is nowhere as easy to get in and out.

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Sounds like everyone else is having auto fitment problems also. I'm 6' 2" and north of 275 lbs. As I've gotten older tucking my head down when getting into or out of a car has become more and more difficult.  My current daily driver is a '18 Charger and it's hard to get in without scraping the top or back of my head. You would think that a car of this size would provide enough leg room as well, but in my case my right leg is in constant contact with the consol. My wife's Dodge Avenger is like wearing a tight fitting pair of pants even as a passenger. Several years ago I sold a car I dearly loved because I almost got knocked out hitting my head on the door frame getting out of the car. When I retired I bought a new '05 GTO and once inside I had all kinds of room for my legs and shoulders and my head even cleared the headliner when driving. As a much younger man I owned a '69 Camaro and it had more room than any of the current cars that I have seen in the market. The new Dodge Ram is starting to look better and better to me. 

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25 minutes ago, espo said:

As a much younger man I owned a '69 Camaro and it had more room than any of the current cars that I have seen in the market. 

Much as I love Corvettes and know about them (at least the early ones), I've never driven one, and have only ridden in one once--about a '92 or '93 C4. It was uncomfortable/awkward to get in and out of, but once inside, was pretty much okay. 

Couple years ago my neighbor had his beautiful Marina Blue '67 Roadster with optional hard top pulled out of his garage for a very rare day in the sun (I've only seen it out of the garage twice in 25 years) and I asked if I could sit in it just to see what access was like. To my amazement, getting in or out of it was almost exactly like getting in or out of my beloved old '69 Camaros. 

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Hmmmmm. When I found it difficult to get in and out of my friend's old Miata a few years back, rather than blaming the car for being "too small", I blamed myself for becoming fat and out of shape...which I've been on the very successful road to correcting. Now, ingress and egress is only mildly discomfiting, and driving the little car is a blast.

I do have to wonder though...something as huge comparatively as, say, a recent Dodge Challenger...HOW can it be so cramped inside compared to a vintage Dodge Challenger?

Even kit-car and hot-rod builders have been making an effort to accommodate the almost universal embiggening (which is a perfectly cromulent word) of people in the "civilized" world, and I remember eons ago when interior room was a significant selling point car manufacturers loudly touted.

Maybe designing everything on a spiffy little screen in CAD isn't completely a substitute for GETTING A BIG GUY TO ACTUALLY SIT IN A MOCKUP OF AN INTERIOR...ya think?

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1 hour ago, Snake45 said:

Much as I love Corvettes and know about them (at least the early ones), I've never driven one, and have only ridden in one once--about a '92 or '93 C4. It was uncomfortable/awkward to get in and out of, but once inside, was pretty much okay. 

Couple years ago my neighbor had his beautiful Marina Blue '67 Roadster with optional hard top pulled out of his garage for a very rare day in the sun (I've only seen it out of the garage twice in 25 years) and I asked if I could sit in it just to see what access was like. To my amazement, getting in or out of it was almost exactly like getting in or out of my beloved old '69 Camaros. 

The C1 Corvettes I've driven were the same way. I've drove/worked on at least one of each year from '56-62 and found them to have enough room to be comfortable. I've been half looking for a '61 to add to the collection.

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I was exposed to Corvettes from Stingray thru the mid seventies because my friend Larry and his brother always had a few.  

They tried to entice me into their ranks by letting me drive and even borrow cars. Once he went on vacation and had one car too many to lock in the garage so he lent it to me. 

Fun but not my cup-0-tea!

Edit-  His mail lady was about his age and had a Corvette.. always started conversations.. they’ve been married 30 something years!

Edited by Tom Geiger
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1 hour ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

I do have to wonder though...something as huge comparatively as, say, a recent Dodge Challenger...HOW can it be so cramped inside compared to a vintage Dodge Challenger?

 

Blame it on safety features, enhancements and all the electronic, measuring, and computerized sniffing/metering/testing/snooping gear new cars have. 

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6 minutes ago, Danno said:

Blame it on safety features, enhancements and all the electronic, measuring, and computerized sniffing/metering/testing/snooping gear new cars have. 

Yeah, I know that. But I spend most of my time these days getting way too much stuff to fit in spaces that "aren't big enough", so if little ol' me can do it consistently, day-in, day-out, why can't teams of ethnically- and gender-diverse engineers manage to?

Modern life often baffles me...

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Just now, Ace-Garageguy said:

Modern life often baffles me...

Amen.  

But I don't think those teams of ethnically- and gender-diverse engineers ever try on what they design. Probably most of them would never be caught dead appreciating something like a Dodge Challenger or the like.

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23 hours ago, Snake45 said:

The Lovely Mrs. Snake has a 2015 or '16 Honda Civic. I'm only 5'10", but when I drive it, I have to have the driver's seat almost all the way back and down and sometimes my head still hits the roof depending on how I sit. 

I have a '16 Civic Coupe, the seat is 95% back, and it's all the way down.  Is hers the 4 door, think it's tighter.  I owned an '03 and '07 MINI Cooper, they had plenty of room for me, forget the back seat.  I say that I can never own a Lamborghini Countach, designed for Italians, I'm 6'-3".

My new irk.... I'm on a water district board.  The Chair is causing problems with the Manager, and new customers.  I'll spare the details, the main problem is he has horrid speaking ability, takes at least three tries before spitting out a sentence, while never making eye contact with anyone.  I've given him the benefit of the doubt, last year gave him a pass on a major issue, but as the saying goes, fool me once........  This is why I have never hired anyone for my business, HR is not my thing.  Going to have an Executive Session with the district's attorney soon.

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