tarpon1

i just unleash my wife...

OH997

As is often the case with me a few days of reflection can calm me down. It didn't hurt that the weather has been unseasonably warm and I could take the car out for some R&R. I actually made two stops today without getting keyed.

I couldn't kill someone over a car, but I could make them wish they were dead. I've learned that subtelty from my wife!

Dave_Car_Guy

I agree with the parking theories here...I park my cars like everyone else, in whatever reasonable space is available. I'd never think of taking two spaces, and I rarely park out in an open area. If you try to act like you've got something special, people may want to remind you of the unfairness in life.

I had a flat tire once while driving my Ferrari F355 Spider. I stopped right away in a parking lot, on an angle over more than once space, and as I walked around the car to get something, a high school kid walked by and (not seeing the flat) said "you aren't going to leave it parked like that are you?" I was confused and he said "you're just asking for it!" I realized then that he was right and it confirmed why I always park like everyone else.

The good news is that I found a company called "the dent guys" who take out 2-3 door dings for about $100 or so - they did perfect work on my 996 and I haven't had to use them on the 355, but I've found that risking a door ding and parking like the rest of the world is the best strategy. Dings are waaaay cheaper than scratches.

Finally, I'm extremely nice to anyone who asks about my cars when I'm out and about...just so as not give them any excuse to abuse it when I walk away.

I've had 5 years driving Porsches; my 996 is a daily driver (20K miles/year), and not one "key" incident...I'm sure you're ratio of miles/keys will now drop precipitously. Good luck

FineProperty

Wow! I have to vent here as well. I'll sleep better. I was doing my holiday shopping, involving multiple stores and parking lots, and was so frustrated in the end I called a fellow car nut to complain. The lots were all fairly full up close, so I parked past the cart return areas (Home Depot, Circuit City, The Mall, etc), each time I returned, there was a car on BOTH sides of me with empty spaces much closer. At HD I had all three sides parked in. WTF. 3 different people with the same thought, at 5 stores? Not very nice cars either, but no dings (I was in the Volvo). Stopped at Costco, and parked up next to the end of the row so the space left between cars was HUGE. When I returned, the van next to me was so close I had to get in the passenger side. People had written all over his van in key, four letter words, circles, personal attacks, it was quite funny to see these up close while fuming in my drivers seat. I rolled down my window, and with my pen, left an X, only later to find that I did need to buff out some white van paint from my door.

bigs

Interesting thread.

First of all, isn't it so very sad that in many peoples' small minds, success is the one sin you just can't atone for?

Secondly, there's another possibility here besides people being envious jackasses or random vandals. A friend of mine in the insurance biz recently commented to me that insurers are seeing more and more of this problem - and they believe it's organized vandalism perpetrated by various loosely-knit extreme environmental groups. These folks have taken it upon themselves to determine what is environmentally acceptable and/or permissable and to punish those who obviously haven't complied.

Insurers are apparently seeing increased key damage involving not only expensive exotics, but SUV's as well - perhaps even more so. So perhaps militant political correctness has invaded the arena of which cars we're allowed to drive. Similar, I suppose, to the practice a few years back of animal-rights' activists throwing paint on women wearing fur coats.

Sad that so many small groups of people feel they have the right to function as judge, jury, and hangman to punish all those who do not adhere to their pet cause.

ADias

I think that is correct. An SUV dealer in Los Gatos had is sales lot badly damaged (or even burned down). Communities and local police departments must pay attention and make these punks pay.

FineProperty

Let's see, key a large SUV so it can get a paint job (toxins in the air), so it can be sold cheaper (someone who wouldn't have originally bought it could now afford it). Yeah, that's environmentally friendly.

SoCal Alan

I don't think these environmentalists think like that. What should be done is everytime someone has their car keyed, someone should chop down an oak tree.

Stef Scheepers

Whoo-hoo!!! Now there's a militant talkin'.....
Actually it's not such a bad idea, just a pity on the poor trees. Here in Germany we fortunately do not suffer too much vandalism, but I do notice that the tree-huggers all drive Citroen 2CV's (cheap little French car that put out more pollutants than a Cayenne driven in anger).

bigs

Yeah, my general observation - even in conversation with some of these people - is that they commonly have a mindset of, "Hey, don't confuse me with facts, my mind's made up!"

OH997

Hey, let’s not pick on the environmentalists and animal rights folks; they have their priorities in order. If a car slides off the road into a tree and all aboard die they morn for the tree. It’s not our fault we evolved more elegantly than the spotted owl. No doubt if they had the wherewithal they bulldoze our houses(preferably while we were still in them) and plant trees.

Paul523

friend serves on the board for local Zoo...every year's "Earth Day" celebrations leave mountains of trash
in their wake, more cleanup
than any other day of the year.

DoubleNutz

Here is my TASER... Daewoo Fast Action DP51
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OUCH!!! .
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OMIGOD!!! PROGRESSIVE LIBERAL STINK'N ACLU TRASH!
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,

meridian911

Just try to park like a normal person would

munro86

Who is this twit?