The Car/Vehicle Thread

[Moonface]

Eh, had this thread in mind ever since @Dragon Lord made the thread about phones and decided to just finally make it.

So yeah, this thread is just for anything about cars or vehicles in general I guess. I suppose we can get the ball rolling by just sharing whether we can drive and if so, what car(s) we've owned or drive (if we don't own our own car).


For me, I currently drive a 2015 Hyundai Elantra that looks exactly like this (because it has my color):



It used to be @ShiraNoMai's car but I inherited it once I got my drivers license and she got herself a new car instead. I do have some decals on it but most of them are ones that Shira put on when she still drove it. The only one on it that is actually mine is on the fuel tank cover that says "Fill me up senpai!" because I thought it was stupid and loved it.

[ShiraNoMai]

UMMM ACKSHULLY you have a 2014, but clearly the year difference didn't really change the appearance much, if at all

I got myself the 3-year newer version: the 2017 Hyundai Elantra



The 2014 I got in 2016, had roughly.. 32k miles on it. This 2017 one I have I got in 2019, this one had 39k miles on it, I believe.

I hope the cars will last me. The 2014 just ran out of its 10-year warranty last year, and my 2017 is coasting along, with two incidents under its belt (one involving debris on the highway, another with a person who rear-ended me). The 2014 has a clean record, which is nice, but it has sure been having its share of obscure, but minor problems lol

[Eric]

I have a Kia Soul, which was my first car and unfortunately didn't know any better at the time. It is quite ugly, but it's great for road trips and makes for a great self-deprecating joke about me and my relationship with cars. If you don't know, the Souls are these blocky cars and are just in general clumsy-looking and not very flattering. You're not the cool kid if you own one hahaha.

[Moonface]

You're not the cool kid if you own one hahaha.

In England every kid who just got old enough to drive would be seen running about in a Ford Focus, Peugeot 106 or 206, or Citroen 107 when I lived in England. It would be funny seeing them gathering in a store parking lot after dark and popping the hood to show off the engine like it was a car with an engine worth actually showing off.

I have no idea what the cool kid car is around here in Florida but I at least always hear some imbecile murdering the rev counter on their engine by flooring it and making the exhaust create a ton of noise. There's also the kids who do that stupid shit of putting their wheels at that weird angle that is just begging to ruin the tyres.

[Kyng]

You're not the cool kid if you own one hahaha.

In England every kid who just got old enough to drive would be seen running about in a Ford Focus, Peugeot 106 or 206, or Citroen 107 when I lived in England.

When I was at school, the kids who could drive generally got Vauxhall Corsas. And there were a few who got Nissan Micras  . 

Myself, I currently don't have a car, since my Toyota Yaris failed its MOT in Summer 2022. I do occasionally drive my mum's Volkswagen Up, though.

[Moonface]

Myself, I currently don't have a car, since my Toyota Yaris failed its MOT in Summer 2022. I do occasionally drive my mum's Volkswagen Up, though.

I think the majority of America doesn't have anything resembling an MOT, which means that you could be driving a borderline death trap of a vehicle and either you and no one else knows or even if they do it probably isn't going to result in any trouble.


Now for a fun game; how many doors does this car have?

I'm curious what the answers are going to be depending on where people live.

[Eric]

At least two.

[Kyng]

Myself, I currently don't have a car, since my Toyota Yaris failed its MOT in Summer 2022. I do occasionally drive my mum's Volkswagen Up, though.

I think the majority of America doesn't have anything resembling an MOT, which means that you could be driving a borderline death trap of a vehicle and either you and no one else knows or even if they do it probably isn't going to result in any trouble.


Now for a fun game; how many doors does this car have?

I'm curious what the answers are going to be depending on where people live.

Indeed: ultimately, it's probably better that I no longer have it if it was a death trap!

In answer to your question: is that a hatchback or a saloon? If it's a hatchback, then it's 5 doors (because the rear door counts). However, if it's a saloon, then it's only 4 doors (because the boot doesn't count).

[Moonface]

@Kyng: Hatchback, so five doors.

The reason I asked the question to begin with was because I brought up cars having five doors to @ShiraNoMai and she looked at me like I was making shit up, but her mum and a co-worker of mine both knew of the concept so I was curious who here did and didn't know that cars can be considered five doors sometimes.

[Moonface]

So interestingly to me I recently received a new license plate for my car instead of just the small yellow registration sticker I usually get at this time of the year, and apparently it's because the plate I had was ten years old so it's just automatically retired? I never knew that was a thing and it just seems so weird to me because I just don't get the point? I figured since your license plate transfers with you onto a new car that the number you have on it is just forever yours unless you want to change it yourself.

Meanwhile in the UK I believe plates don't get retired until the car they're attached to is also retired, because there you don't keep your existing plate when buying a new car; the plate just stays with the car forever I think. I feel like that system makes it easier to see the full history of a car whereas with mine now I don't really know how someone could look up anything about my car by themselves to know what it's been through?

Was just an overall weird little thing that I felt like sharing my thoughts on.

[Moonface]

Dang, so I took my car in to get an oil change today, and found out that the last time I apparently got an oil change was 2021...
I can't help but feel the guy missed a record though because I can't imagine a vehicle being able to go for 3+ years without an oil change.

[ShiraNoMai]

Meanwhile in the UK I believe plates don't get retired until the car they're attached to is also retired, because there you don't keep your existing plate when buying a new car; the plate just stays with the car forever I think. I feel like that system makes it easier to see the full history of a car whereas with mine now I don't really know how someone could look up anything about my car by themselves to know what it's been through?

Cars have what's called a VIN(Vehicle Identification Number), which is basically it's manufacturer code. If you take a look at your insurance card (or registration paper), you'll see it listed there. The plate is person-dependent, not car dependent, so the plate follows you wherever you, the driver, register into the registry. The car's history is irrelevant to your plate. Think of it like, you represent your car (plate), the car doesn't represent you (VIN).

All this to say: I think they may replace it to ensure the plate is still reflectorized, and 10 years seems like a fair period to give for the life of the coating.

[Moonface]

Meanwhile in the UK I believe plates don't get retired until the car they're attached to is also retired, because there you don't keep your existing plate when buying a new car; the plate just stays with the car forever I think. I feel like that system makes it easier to see the full history of a car whereas with mine now I don't really know how someone could look up anything about my car by themselves to know what it's been through?

Cars have what's called a VIN(Vehicle Identification Number), which is basically it's manufacturer code. If you take a look at your insurance card (or registration paper), you'll see it listed there. The plate is person-dependent, not car dependent, so the plate follows you wherever you, the driver, register into the registry. The car's history is irrelevant to your plate. Think of it like, you represent your car (plate), the car doesn't represent you (VIN).

Ah, I see. That actually makes more sense, although it sucks if someone else is allowed to drive your vehicle and has an accident because it would get associated to you instead of them via the plate right? England is the same as the US when it comes to driving someone else's car (needing to be on their insurance or having your own insurance that lets you drive other vehicles) but I guess if you got into an accident with someone else's car there then it would be associated with your license since plates stay with their cars.

All this to say: I think they may replace it to ensure the plate is still reflectorized, and 10 years seems like a fair period to give for the life of the coating.

Makes me wonder if/when the US has ended up re-using a plate number if car plates are retired/replaced at 10 years. With how many cars are in the US I'd assume available plate combinations get burned through at a pretty quick rate.