Not Just Bikes / r/fuckcars / Urbanists / New Urbanism / Car-Free / Anti-Car - People and grifters who hate personal transport, freedom, cars, roads, suburbs, and are obsessed with city planning and urban design

[Xarpho's Return]

I'm starting to think that it's because there aren't any "good" examples. I don't know of a single place on Earth that has reasonable (first world) standards of living, is clean, populated with lots of people, has thriving businesses, etc. that is also devoid of private vehicles. (There are places like Mackinac Island but they don't have much population, Mackinac has less than 600 people, also see this post.)

Exactly, every single thing they like to list is either a tourist destination or glorified shopping mall.

 

[LaxerBRO]

Actual Justice Warrior has stepped up to criticize the NJB / FuckCars community:

 

[WelperHelper99]

If you want an older car that'll live forever off pure spite and probably sand in the gas tank, nab yourself an older Toyota. I've got two still trucking along that's just over 400k and about to hit 500k miles. Most I do are general maintenance, and had to replace an alternator about 8 years back.

Would you believe I tried but most were at that mileage and priced far too high because everyone wants a Toyota? Luckily my chevy is treating me well now, and I don't really plan on it being a forever car anyway. But thank you for the recommendation

Or lock it up with your chain, I’ve never had my shitty old helmet taken, might have different results with a newer one though.

Below

hate to say this, but that could also be said of a car as well, where someone could vandalize or destroy it. Maybe I'm confused if you're talking about a bike as in motorcycle or bicycle, but I don't think people usually take out insurance on bicycles (unless you're one of the fuckcars people spending $2000 on them) or bicycle helmets.

Also thieves and vandals don't really share the same motives. A thief will go around methodically looking for easy targets for profit. Sure they may damage your property out of frustration if they can't steal it, but a bicycle also isn't really flammable by itself, so it's not likely the thief is also lugging around a jerry

If someone stole my helmet... I'd just buy a new helmet. I just usually loop it in between the chain lock and call it good. Nobody has ever touched my bike, really because it's a cheap Walmart bike that just does its job and that I occasionally grease with WD-40.

The second photo was taken a block away. The third photo was taken less than a block way from the second photo (the Takoyaki stand isn't visible in street view, but the cheese ball stand next door is and the yellow billboard is in both pictures).
There's a garage less than 200 ft walking distance away from the the location of the second photo.

This means that every single one of the businesses in the pictures has parking available.
A partial map of the parking

Imagine the Japanese who are some of the BIGGEST car producers in the world, have car parking in their cities. Imagine it.

Exactly, the Hooters in Ginza is much nicer and only 27 minutes away by train.

Just for fun, I started using street view from the Sony building and the massive parking lot there and almost all the nearby housing has at least one parking spot tucked away. And garages, and surface lots, and car rental places.

For reference, the US has 908 cars per 1000 people, Canada 790, Japan 661, UK 600, Netherlands 588, But the winner for best country in the world is North Korea... with 1 car per 1000 people. We can only hope to end up with that sort of car free utopia.

I cannot wait to end up like best Korea, dying of parasites because we grow our food with human shit and the government controls our movement. Good job urbanists.

 

[Yaks]

Would you believe I tried but most were at that mileage and priced far too high because everyone wants a Toyota? Luckily my chevy is treating me well now, and I don't really plan on it being a forever car anyway. But thank you for the recommendation

In this current car market I can believe it. No one wants to give up their Toyotas until they're basically dead for a reason.

 

[WelperHelper99]

In this current car market I can believe it. No one wants to give up their Toyotas until they're basically dead for a reason.

Basically. I do want my next car to be a Toyota, just at the time, it wasn't happening. I'd rather wait for something new or lightly used than one with 400k miles I didn't put on

 

[Susanna]

I've never understood why everyone loves Toyotas so much. I've driven one, it was firmly meh. They also look meh, and the interiors are never better than okay. Why not get a BMW, or a Mercedes, or an Audi, or even a Volvo? Much more comfortable and in my experience still never break.

 

[Vecr]

I've never understood why everyone loves Toyotas so much. I've driven one, it was firmly meh. They also look meh, and the interiors are never better than okay. Why not get a BMW, or a Mercedes, or an Audi, or even a Volvo? Much more comfortable and in my experience still never break.

I'm not sure that's true, as far as I can tell the parts availability, repair cost, and reliability are well balanced in the US in a way I'm not sure any other brand has.

 

[WelperHelper99]

I've never understood why everyone loves Toyotas so much. I've driven one, it was firmly meh. They also look meh, and the interiors are never better than okay. Why not get a BMW, or a Mercedes, or an Audi, or even a Volvo? Much more comfortable and in my experience still never break.

Euro cars are generally not cheap over here and parts are expensive

 

[quaawaa]

I've never understood why everyone loves Toyotas so much. I've driven one, it was firmly meh. They also look meh, and the interiors are never better than okay. Why not get a BMW, or a Mercedes, or an Audi, or even a Volvo? Much more comfortable and in my experience still never break.

The price is the major reason.

All of the brands you named only sell luxury trims in the US. You can get a fully loaded Camry for $40k or a base C-Class for $47k. The Toyota is much better equipped and you’d have to pay thousands more in options to get the same level of equipment in the German car. Also, because the brands are luxury, service for them is usually more expensive.

 

[Code991]

I've never understood why everyone loves Toyotas so much. I've driven one, it was firmly meh. They also look meh, and the interiors are never better than okay. Why not get a BMW, or a Mercedes, or an Audi, or even a Volvo? Much more comfortable and in my experience still never break.

Lots of Mercedes/Audi/etc. models sold in the US are actually made in Mexico so their quality is much less than what Euros get.
Japanese cars are also usually stupid easy to work on too when they do break down.

 

[Susanna]

The price is the major reason.

All of the brands you named only sell luxury trims in the US. You can get a fully loaded Camry for $40k or a base C-Class for $47k. The Toyota is much better equipped and you’d have to pay thousands more in options to get the same level of equipment in the German car. Also, because the brands are luxury, service for them is usually more expensive.

To be honest if money is that important you need to be buying used, not new. Cars drop 75% of their value in the first year or something like that.
I'm not entirely sure what you mean by luxury trim. Most of the ones I listed basically have "Standard" and "Sport", where sport adds things like pretend carbon fibre and bucket seats. They are comfier than something like Ford, VW, or Citroën though, so I guess in that way they're "luxury"? Those are budget brands though. Beyond that most of what you add is just features. I wouldn't call the ones I listed luxury brands though, that would be more like Porsche being the luxury version of VW. Mercedes is just Mercedes, high quality standard car with the sport option AMG if you want to spend more to reduce your comfort a bit. I guess European cars are just considered more expensive in general in USA? Still though, Toyota to me is a budget brand, you don't get one unless you're very poor. Like a two year old BMW would cost less and be much more comfortable.

I'm not a car expert but it just seems really strange to me to hold Toyota in such esteem.

 

[Vecr]

I'm not a car expert but it just seems really strange to me to hold Toyota in such esteem.

I think it's just good brand to tell someone to buy if they want to minimize the lifetime spend across multiple contingencies, for a given lifespan and reliability target. The car pretty much gets out of their way and lets them do what they want to do, and not spend a bunch of time thinking about how to do everything correctly.

 

[Midwit]

Japan 661, UK 600

I'm surprised the UK has less cars per capita than Japan despite probably having the shittiest public transport in Europe. Londoners, I guess.

I'm not a car expert but it just seems really strange to me to hold Toyota in such esteem.

Toyotas are good value for money and generally fairly reliable, whereas European brands tend to be considered unreliable and far more upmarket. Why would an American teenager buy a clapped-out 320i when he could buy a clapped out camaro for the same price?

 

[Code991]

I guess European cars are just considered more expensive in general in USA? Still though, Toyota to me is a budget brand, you don't get one unless you're very poor.

I would say even VW is considered "upscale" to many people in the US, even if their pricing is comparable to their American and Japanese rivals.
Toyota is considered an average, mid-tier brand that has a good reputation. The poverty tier brands here would probably be Kia/Hyundai, Mitsubishi or the like.

 

[New Fag]

I've never understood why everyone loves Toyotas so much. I've driven one, it was firmly meh. They also look meh, and the interiors are never better than okay. Why not get a BMW, or a Mercedes, or an Audi, or even a Volvo? Much more comfortable and in my experience still never break.

Nah my work has a Prius as a company run around, fucking bullet proof even with being over 10 years old, paint coming off a panel, people actually trying to kill it and plenty of miles on the clock. Even the gearhead at work has given in and said it's a good car.

Merc aren't what they used to be and some have hilarious issues like bio-degradable wiring which becomes rotten after ~10 years, no comment on Audis and Volvos always were some kind a niche at least in the UK I've never heard a bad word against them they just weren't popular. Fuck BMW for pulling the subscription service model on a car.

 

[Car Won't Crank]

I've never understood why everyone loves Toyotas so much. I've driven one, it was firmly meh. They also look meh, and the interiors are never better than okay. Why not get a BMW, or a Mercedes, or an Audi, or even a Volvo? Much more comfortable and in my experience still never break.

All the good Euro cars are the older ones from the early 2000s. I'm on team German Euro for cars ever since I got rid of my piece of crap Honda Civic and have no intentions of looking back unless I'm looking for a quick flip or beater. Many people in the states are too daunted or too lazy to do some basic diy maintenance to keep older Euro cars on the road. Sure they require more attention but they also reward the driver back in great driving reliability and dynamics.

That said modern cars from all brands aren't what they were anymore despite being loaded with tech that would be considered amazing back in 2003. It's actually really funny because I see many new Kia/Hyundais on the road that spew more than usual amounts of white smoke from the exhaust. Sniff test says it's not regular condensation, rather they're burning oil.

 

[Trennschleifer]

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Worthless Archive

They finally got it! And that's not just why americans like cars. Europeans enjoy them for that reason as well!
Also makes me think of how no-one has an issue when they have to interact with asians. It's almost as if it was less about the color a certain group than their god damned actions.

This ones golden as well.

 

[Trennschleifer]

This one's fucking great as well. Comparing a Kei-Truck (which seems like it is kitted out for labor) to a Pick-Up kitted out for Off-Roading.

 

[Xarpho's Return]

That said modern cars from all brands aren't what they were anymore despite being loaded with tech that would be considered amazing back in 2003. It's actually really funny because I see many new Kia/Hyundais on the road that spew more than usual amounts of white smoke from the exhaust. Sniff test says it's not regular condensation, rather they're burning oil.

You reminded me of something--/r/fuckcars is always talking about how the automobile makers are supposedly all-powerful, they're probably the same people who think that Stanley Meyer's water fuel cell totally worked and wasn't a violation of the laws of physics, and that he was murdered by the automakers rather than an unfortunate aneurysm suffered by a known fraud.

 

[indomitable snowman]

Merc aren't what they used to be and some have hilarious issues like bio-degradable wiring which becomes rotten after ~10 years

Well that's one way to be 'eco friendly'. Gotta make sure you have to buy a new car every few years instead of keeping one reliable and working.