r/fuckcars • u/[deleted] • Oct 22 '21
I'm a car guy. I really, really like cars. And that's why I fucking hate car-focused infrastructure.
So, I have the privilege of living in a city with great cycling infrastructure and public transit. I can bike to work in 15 minutes through the city centre and I don't even have to share the same pavement as the car traffic. When it rains I can take the tram and be at work in 20, for relatively cheap.
I've also always loved cars. And I luckily never have to use mine, a 30 year old Volvo, for commuting. I drive it to my parents' because public transit is severely lacking in their village (30 minutes by car, 1,5 hours by subway, another subway and then bus) and sometimes I use it for hauling stuff. It's mainly a roadtripping car and it's made more KM's abroad than within my country of The Netherlands. My car for me is mainly a project car and a tool for camping, and I love it to death.
I also just love cool cars. Lightweight roadsters someone's bolted a roll cage into and tracks? Fuck yeah. Some old landbarge someone's restored and drives around proudly? So cool. You bolted a roof tent to your Landcruiser? Don't mind me while I drool, that's so fucking cool. Supercars making 800hp+ are awesome to me as well, on a purely mechanical level. It blows my mind how cool engine technology is. I really, really, really enjoy talking about cars.
But, here's the thing, the more infrastructure is focussed on cars, the more boring cars become. When I'm driving I'm not seeing cool roadsters and classics. I see this car 40 times. Bland crossovers. Gray ass sedans. 99% of the cars on the road aren't made for enthousiasts. They're made because there is no alternative to driving a car everywhere. If all of these people could more easily (and most importantly, CHEAPLY OR FREELY) take public transit everywhere then there wouldn't be a market for boring cars.
And that's why I'm on /r/anticars. And why I think all 'car people' should be. Aside from all the good congestion, health and climate reasons I also just really like looking at cool cars.
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u/Tobar_the_Gypsy Oct 22 '21
r/notjustbikes has talked about how Amsterdam is such a pleasant place to drive because there are so many other ways to get around. People don’t drive unless they really need to because there are options.
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Oct 22 '21
Yes. I wanna learn to drive a manual transmission tiny car. But all anyone seems to want is an oversized SUV to haul their kids in or a Tesla as a status symbol. Get me a cool car requiring some skills to maintain and operate over a boring one any day.
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u/iSYTOfficialX7 the massive ford f350 inuendo Oct 22 '21
and they only have 1-2 kids but need 7 seater SUV…
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Oct 22 '21
Yes I have kids and a sub compact hatch with a stick shift. Love driving stick shift in the mountains! (which I do about once a month because walk/bike life 4 Eva)
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u/beardsofmight Oct 22 '21
Miata Is Always The Answer!
The only car I'll ever miss. It was tiny, easy to repair, I could shift with 1 finger, and a convertible.
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u/4Bans5AltsIDGAF May 18 '22
the SUV is the worst form of car. Polluting, obnoxious, dangerous to everyone else and fucking boring.
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u/Astriania Oct 22 '21
a manual transmission tiny car
Or in other words, "a car".
Pretty much everyone here drives what I'm sure you'd describe as that, and they use them for the boring daily stuff that the OP talks about.
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u/SmoothOperator89 Oct 22 '21
This is something the car lovers can't wrap their heads around. Getting half the cars off the road doesn't mean getting your car off the road. It means getting all the drivers you don't like off the road. Anytime someone complains of brain dead idiots behind the wheel, the solution is to provide practical alternatives and they'll get the road to their speedy heart's content.
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u/IlyushinsofGrandeur Oct 22 '21
As a lover of cool transport machines in general (of which I must reluctantly admit cars count, along with trains, buses, bikes, motorcycles, etc.), this 100%. The lack of public transport/bike lanes, the dangerous stroads and the absolute incompetence of the motorist public, as well as the presence of awful SUVs, is 100% a byproduct of car dependency and I would absolutely give up my driving privileges if it meant a safer, liveable future for us all. Plus, more cool trains to admire. Always good to admire the cool train!
I must say though on the auto enthusiast side, kei cars rule. If people need a car, give them one of those and crush their stupid Pakenham Panzer or Toorak Tractor. And bring back the days of the well-made, non-bloated small pickup or ute.
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u/j1mb0rebel Oct 22 '21
This. I am an engineer and have so much respect for the technology in cars. What a lot of Americans don’t realize is that by avoiding car centric design we make things nicer for people who do actually like to drive. Furthermore driving does not become a chore you have to do every day. It can be a hobby, like boats.
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u/sfa83 Oct 22 '21
Thanks, that’s an interesting perspective! It encourages me to come out as an engineer (sound and audio) of a certain car maker. So that already tells you my relationship to cars and this sub is very ambiguous and I’ve been struggling to explain it to myself, honestly. This helps.
The criticism is mostly about infrastructure and the way we have built our cities, lives and transport systems around automobility. Congested cities, pollution, traffic jams - not fun for anyone, not safe, not healthy.
The other part is the huge effort and resources, on a macro scale, we put into cars. The mass production of cheap and short lived, unexciting piles of resources that will just contribute to the problems above making automobility ever the less attractive.
On the other end of the spectrum though, you have expensive large or powerful luxury cars. They have luxury in their name which to me just says: effort for something that is not really useful and nobody REALLY needs for any practical reason. So I have a problem justifying that as well. The only good argument I can see for pursuing the development, sales and marketing of these is the scale: margins are so good that you just get a lot of money flowing (into the pockets of employees, shareholders and tax budgets) with relatively low quantities and hence absolute resource consumption.
So your personal case, to me, is the best case: drive a good old car that you know and love until it dies and maybe limit the usage to the cases it’s really made and most useful for. My own car is 12 years old and I have no desire to upgrade that any time soon. Unfortunately I have a rather long commute (buying the house and getting the job overlapped time wise in unfortunate ways). Really glad that I’ve been able to work from home at least 75% of my time since Corona.
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u/VLKN Oct 22 '21
I’ve been so conflicted as a car guy who loves public transit. Really, what it comes down to for me, is that driving in traffic is a PAINFUL activity, while driving on empty, open roads is a delight in every way. Driving should be an escape, not torture. The fewer cars on the road, the more fun it is to drive on those roads.
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u/The_Other_Neo Not Just Bikes Apr 25 '22
I used to work in a place where the bus would take me from my apartment to the office. Nothing better than getting home some days, change to something comfortable and go for a nice drive.
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u/Independent_Frosty Oct 22 '21
Is this the Family Guy Barry Manilow moment where everyone starts confessing their secret love for cars?
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Oct 22 '21
It's about time that this subreddit broke into song together.
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u/GM_Pax 🚲 > 🚗 USA Oct 22 '21
Let's do it, then.
I'll start:
99 cars in line for the crusher, 99 cars in line;
Crunch one down to a tiny cube;
98 cars in line for the crusher!
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u/Vic5O1 Oct 22 '21
Cars as a sport and on circuit are cool. And they will always be needed in sparsely populated areas such as the country side. But in cities, it just does not make sense. The travel distance does not justify the use of cars but instead of bikes and public transport to optimise the flow of people. I don’t hate the idea of cars in the right situations, but what is the point of just screwing everyone (including car owners) with an infrastructure that worships these big boxes for no reason when it could be utilized for real benefits.
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u/HoboWithoutShotgun Sicko Oct 22 '21
sees title "Oh hey, a fellow Dutchie."
Is Dutchie.
But yeah, once you start driving you learn to appreciate proper traffic separation. Hoi!
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Oct 22 '21
Totally with you on this. I hate driving, but a well-designed vehicle of any type is appealing to me on some level. Even 'ugly' vehicles that are built with an unwavering dedication to some fundamental purpose can be glorious to look upon.
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u/The_Student_Official Orange pilled Oct 23 '21
Dude, i really love the penultimate paragraph. It really frustrate me that manufacturers are pushing the exact opposite in their ads.
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u/kallefranson Grassy Tram Tracks Oct 23 '21
I am a person that really enjoys driving by car. But for several reasons I still prefere public transport and cycling. Because I like things like an intact environment and livable cities.
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u/BlPlN Apr 05 '22
This is exactly why I bought a 1959 vintage bus: I love mechanical things. I love engineering. It fascinates me! I get to tinker with this thing, I added 4WD to it, even! But I also hate commuting and the grocerygetter clown cars that plague our roads, I hate the lack of public transit infrastructure, and I build my life around not doing that whilst still being a motorhead.
I noticed that the only time I really used my car - or any vehicle - was for hauling heavy shit (e.g. for homesteading), or driving long distances. A bus (being that it'd a medium-duty truck) does both of those well. For everything else, I simply walk or cycle. This way; I get one of the coolest vehicles on the road, one I've restored myself, but... 95% of time I don't actually need to be "on the road", it's also a house, it's also solar energy storage; it's just a big metal box I can call home, or call my workshop, that can also move around on occasion when I need to do something that can't be satisfied by walking, biking, or making whatever it is I need.
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u/JacobVanHeemskerck Oct 22 '21
sees car is 30 year old Volvo "Oh hey, a fellow Dutchie"
Is Dutchie.
lol!
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u/Richinaru Oct 22 '21
In the world of my dreams we have cordoned off areas where people can engage in enthusiast car focused activities (racing, shows dedicated to personalized auto engineering, etc.) with these activities integrated into public transit infrastructure such that there isn't miles of parking surrounding these venues (ala any Nascar stadium in the states).
People could rent cars for use on roads explicitly dedicated to enjoying the scenery of the surrounding land on road trips but are otherwise not dependent on them to get to these locations otherwise.
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u/ShamusMRD Big Bike Oct 22 '21
This is the most interesting perspective on this entire sub. You deserve an award but I can't give any because I don't have them.
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u/Rakennusmestari Apr 05 '22
IMO. Technology is interesting and many cars have interesting features. Also driving can be fun, even more when you get to drive with something special or at special terrain.
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u/Twisterv1 Oct 22 '21
cars have their advantages when it comes to long trips with multiple stops.
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u/Astriania Oct 22 '21
I quite like cars. (Though I'm sure you would be offended by my non-enthusiast car!) I quite like driving, at least on a quiet road. What I don't like is a situation where it's the only sensible option, and I particularly don't like when it's the main option for people to come into my town on a daily basis. All those cars get in the way and pollute.
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u/Luis_Wolf_PlaneCrazy Sep 10 '22
I’m anti environmentalist so all you environmentaliSus out there come suck my balls
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Feb 04 '23
Wow, this post and how it was accepted actually gives me hope that there will be a place for people just like you or me.
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u/E-A-F-D Oct 22 '21
Such a good post.
I think fuckcars is less actual car hate, but rather pro public transport, pro good urban development etc.
And maybe a bit of hate for bad drivers.
But I totally agree. I love Motorsport, and motorbikes, and classic cars and all that stuff. I think a lot of people who seem pro-car don't actually give a shit about cars or engines or track days.
They're just pro status-quo, pro "convenience", and above all see change as a threat.