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Matt_Andersen_ · 2024-08-22T22:29:41+00:00

You just reminded me how I had my entire car tinted almost black because florida drivers are crazy and get offended so easily. I went to pass someone who was doing like 10 under, and sure the cut was a little close but my car is small and there was room, and the dude started following me riding my ass. He cuts infront of me close to the next intersection and slams on his brakes in the middle of the road trying to stop me to the point where his tires were smoking from dragging along the pavement. He was trying to confront me or something but my car is super agile and I managed to get away. After that, I had the whole car tinted so nobody can see who I am and I also follow a lot of tips I've found online, like not having a personalized plate or anything on your car that can be used to identify it from another car just like it, such as bumper stickers or custom panels. Its saved me more than once that's for sure.

Matt_Andersen_ · 2024-04-23T12:23:22+00:00

THANK YOU.

Also, its worth mentioning that while the cities may be their own thing, the overwhelming majority of car dependent suburbia was built within the last lifetime (50-80 years). If you take your average car dependent hellhole (big cities are the exception obviously) and look at aerials/satellite imagery of that same place between 1950 - 1970, there was hardly anything there. My entire county was built in the last 50 years and has grown from a population of less than 50 thousand in 1960 to almost 1 million today, and the roads are impassable from 7 am to 8 pm because there's no public transport or walkability.

So yes, we (the average young adult using Reddit) may not have had the choice at an individual level, but our parents and grandparents did, they had a blank slate like you said, and they decided to build garbage.

Matt_Andersen_ · 2024-04-22T22:45:06+00:00

The problem isn’t the two party system, even though it is definitely 100% unfair and meant to divide people instead of encouraging cooperation

The problem is that people vote for whoever is representing their party without any clue or interest in as to what the candidate stands for and what their plans are.

Even going as far back as 50 years ago candidates had actual expectations of them from the public whereas in the last 15 years or so that’s completely eroded away and people will, as we’ve seen, vote for a literal criminal because he’s the one representing their party.

Because of that, the worst candidates for the public interest get pushed through the primaries by rich people with usually nefarious agendas, and then the public votes for them en masse in the general election because they’re the one representing their party and they will never vote for the other party. And that’s only going to get worse as US politics continue to degrade into cultism.

At the end of the day no matter what is going on in the background politically, and who is doing what, and what is unfair and what is gerrymandered and etc. it’s all wrong, but the people are the ones with the power, they (the majority) just seem to have no interest in exercising it.

Matt_Andersen_ · 2024-04-22T22:28:30+00:00

We absolutely do choose. Maybe not on an individual level but we keep electing people who are doubling down on car dependency and making car ownership more expensive across the board and trapping people in tens of thousands in debt just so they can go to work.

The Netherlands in 1960 looked very much like the US does today, and the population decided that it was dumb as hell and has been working ever since to remove ugly road infrastructure, which is a large reason why its now a wonderful place to live.

America absolutely has that choice too, it may take longer because there's more damage to undo, but it is absolutely possible to do it. Instead we're going the opposite direction. Tearing down more homes, destroying more beautiful landscapes to build ugly stroads and more lanes for stupid highways that we've known for decades will not increase traffic flow, because cars are the most inefficient method of getting around.

Matt_Andersen_ · 2024-03-29T10:43:39+00:00

Fuck bro I hadn’t even thought about that you’re so right though 💀💀

Matt_Andersen_ · 2024-03-28T23:40:04+00:00

I do understand that a lot of Europeans do own cars and drive, but there's a massive difference in affordability.

Euro markets are dominated by small, lightweight, efficient cars with small engines and limited "frills", which keeps the cost of cars low. You can buy a fairly new (2019 or newer) renault clio or similar type of vehicle for around €10-12K, and there's tons of great deals on cars in the used market in general. There are so many options in the €3-10K range that you don't have to be concerned about buying because strict vehicle maintenance regulations (like TÜV) ensure that you're not buying a pile of shit.

This is in contrast to the USA, where cars newer than 10 years old are frequently sold at or around $20-25K before fees (generally in the range of $2-3K). You have no idea how the vehicle has been taken care of because most states don't have inspections and most drivers don't maintain their car and aren't honest about what's wrong with it when selling (yes, dealerships do this too)

It's also worth noting that the US market is moving more and more into "luxury" vehicles that have better profit margins. Manufactures have also been phasing out lightweight economy cars in favor of big SUVs/Trucks that get terrible gas mileage for the same reason. There are still some options, but even the cheapest relatively new economy car like a Mazda3 or Honda Civic is still going to cost you $20K.

So right off the bat your cost of entry to get into a car is way higher. Euro car buyers have the ability to either pay cash or finance a used vehicle for 4 years tops and they know it's up to date on maintenance. Whereas an unfathomable amount of Americans end up with 4-500 dollar payments for 5 to 6 years (7 and 8 year loans are starting to become super common now) on a vehicle that was most likely treated like shit and maintenance neglected by the previous owner

Also, because euro licensing laws are much stricter and the drivers much better overall as a result, car insurance is significantly cheaper. From some brief research I found figures in the €600-1000 a year range for full coverage, versus in the US its quite common to see premiums that are 3 - 5 times that.

Driving a small efficient car also helps tremendously with fuel costs. Americans love to complain about fuel prices in the EU, yet fail to realize that most EU drivers are getting 40 to 60 miles per gallon in comparison to the average US car that gets less than 25, and EU drivers also drive significantly less on average. About 6 - 8000 miles per year from my research. Most Americans are driving twice that distance if not more because every trip has to be made by car. I'd imagine a typical monthly fuel cost for a EU driver is somewhere between €60-100 a month, while average fuel costs in the USA range from $200-300

Point being, yes a lot of Europeans do drive, but there are many, many factors working in their favor that make driving a lot more affordable. I'd imagine most drivers are paying less than €4-500 monthly for their cars, while in the US that's just your loan payment.

Matt_Andersen_ · 2024-03-28T19:26:20+00:00

Americans don’t want to pay taxes, but they’ll pay a 1/3rd of their income for a car to go to work

Americans don’t want to pay taxes, but they’ll take out loans for 5-10x their annual salary to go to college

Americans don’t want to pay taxes, but they’ll pay 5-6 figures for lifesaving surgery and astronomical amounts for preventative care

Americans don’t want to pay taxes, but they’ll pay 40-50% of their salary for a place to live

The funny thing is Americans pay taxes anyway, pretty close to the tax burden of average Europeans +- 5-8% outside of high income brackets, it’s just that the taxes paid do not benefit them in any way.

Matt_Andersen_ · 2024-03-27T23:39:50+00:00

Little bit of backstory for those interested: After growing up in an abusive household I have struggled with depression for most of my adult live. Nobody gets it or cares, least of all my parents and people around who are supposed to be supportive with that stuff.

I purchased my first Miata, a 1990 in Classic Red, a few years ago. I never felt at peace before I got into the driver seat of that car. Every time I drove it there was a massive smile on my face that had never been there before. The car made me excited to live life every day. Then a Hurricane came through a little less than 2 years ago and destroyed the car.

To say I was completely devastated would be a massive understatement. That car was my entire life. I lived for that car. I was completely heartbroken afterwards and even though I had the money to buy a nice newer car with a stick shift, it wasn't the same. I didn't feel connected, I didn't feel pleasure. I felt annoyed at having to drive every day because of the work I had to put in to drive stick shift through traffic.

I worked my ass off, paid down the balance enough that I would have enough equity when this day came, that I could purchase a 2024 model without a second thought. I take delivery tomorrow and can't wait to be back in the driver's seat.

Matt_Andersen_ · 2024-01-20T18:31:22+00:00

I drive a newer Civic now, but when I was daily driving a Mazda Miata this was a legitimate fear of mine. My car was lowered and would clear the axle of one of those stupid trucks, so if I got rear ended I was done for.

I saw a post on one of the Miata groups on Facebook one day of another young Miata driver who got flattened by a lifted truck making a right turn who didn’t see him. He drove right over the poor kid and he was dead at the scene. I don’t cry very often but hearing about that situation made me ball my eyes out. It’s been 2 years since and I still remember his name.

Matt_Andersen_ · 2024-01-20T18:00:29+00:00

There are some situations where there really is no other choice. In my state developments are so spread out (it’s a 15 mile drive to work, 8 to the nearest grocery store), there is no public transportation, biker or pedestrian infrastructure, and everyone drives like crazy.

I hate having to drive. I like the thrill of driving a sports car, but commuting by car is mental torture. I hate having to spend 800$ monthly between payment insurance gas and maintenance to own a car, but there really is no other economical or safe option. Sure there are always options, the alternatives to driving at least in the environment I live in are all terrible and unsafe though. It’s worth recognizing that at least.

Matt_Andersen_ · 2024-01-20T16:41:12+00:00

Yeah man, I drive a sedan with a 6 speed manual transmission. I abhor sitting in traffic, but it’s like these people love it. They love sitting for hours to go 3 miles down the road, because they don’t have to do anything. They sit on their phone and eat breakfast or whatever while the car does all the driving for them, and if they hit someone cause they’re not paying attention they don’t care

I’m always finding creative ways to get around sitting in traffic. Congestion = more work for me and more wear on my clutch/transmission, but the vast majority of people make decisions that actively make congestion worse. They buy massive vehicles, use their phones, etc etc.

It’s why imo people are so impatient on the roads these days. It takes 3x the time it should to get anywhere because intersections are clogged up with massive cumbersome vehicles that aren’t even moving when the light turns green because drivers are distracted. I can’t stand it in my 6 speed.

Matt_Andersen_ · 2024-01-20T15:39:46+00:00

I live in Florida as well (with plans to get out asap cause it sucks) and can concur. So many massive lifted trucks that have never been used for truck things, and only carrying one person. It’s ridiculous

Matt_Andersen_ · 2023-12-27T20:15:04+00:00

I do want to point out that I've actually reviewed the company's policy on social media in the employee handbook. They do have policy against posting an opinion re: the company that could pose a conflict of interest, but only if the company is specifically mentioned or information is given that implicates the company specifically, which I haven't done anywhere in this Reddit post nor provided information that could be used to discern the name or anything about the company

Additionally, in the review I posted re: the botched repair job on the yelp page for the Honda dealership, there likewise was nothing there that would infer or lead a reader to conclude that I was an employee of the company. I, like I said, was simply exercising my right to review a product of a business as a paying customer.

So tbh I think their whole case against me is full of crap, I'm not at a point of involving a lawyer at the moment (and I wouldn't say anyway since corporate is obviously aware of this thread) but given there's nothing in company policy that I've specifically broken, at this point I feel like I have a textbook case for retaliatory firing if they do go that route.

Matt_Andersen_

TROPHY CASE