The one that drives me crazy is "what did you pay for it?" Or "how much did it cost you to build?" None of your business
I think that with age my pet peeve is changing. It used to be people leaning against (or sitting on) cars they don't own. Now I'm starting to think my pet peeve is becoming the endless debate of what a classic (or hotrod, streetrod, hoopty, muscle car... or any one of a dozen pigeonholes) is. Cheers, Harv
That's generally the case, but the 'special occasion' enforcement is unknown around here... It's 30 years here in Washington, not 20. Now, two years (IIRC) ago the DOL tried to modify the current law as they were concerned about the number of cars that were becoming eligible. It seems cars don't wear out as fast as they used to, you now have to go back 35-40 years before the registered numbers by YOM drop significantly, we got that info from the employee the DOL sent to the public hearing. A small group of us from a couple of car clubs also went to the public hearings and so stated a 40 year cut-off as our recommendation. But there would be issues with vehicles that already had those plates. The DOL was actually concerned that they would run out of numbers for the plates if too many people bought them as there's no reliable way to tell if/when the cars leave the road, preventing recycling any numbers. One idea was a renewal every five years, but we pointed out there would be howls of protest if we had to re-pay for the plates already purchased, which the guy acknowledged would be an issue. If it was a no-cost renewal, we told him most collectors could probably get behind that but the logistics of that may be difficult. As it turns out, it was all moot as the bill died in committee and hasn't been brought back... but the possibility of a problem is still there. One thing we did point out however is that in our opinion, very few of these cars would ever be 'restored' due to the high plastic content from about the '80s on up. Plastic will age out no matter what, tooling costs for any but the most popular models will likely prohibit much of a parts well for most of these, not to mention all the specialized electronics.
Pet peeve: "1962 vintage car". To me, Vintage means 1919-30, regardless of cost, quality, or anything else. The dates derive from the end of WWI and Rolls-Royce's purchase, and subsequent arguable debasement, of Bentley. But while the term technically includes anything and everything dating from those years, it also has an aspect of a particular design ethic associated with that era, when all the technical characteristics we still associate with a desirable automobile were already established, but the execution was far simpler, clearer, and more accessible to you and me than has since been the norm. As a result Vintage manifests as a sort of ideal, the like of which is unlikely to be seen again. Now, words mean what people mean by them, and that is OK, but it is not without danger. It is perfectly fine to use dog kennel to describe a mattress, but what then do you call the little house in which the dog sleeps? Worse: you are in perpetual danger of nonsensically ascribing your lack of a good night's rest to there being a dog in your mattress! Above all, when the first sense is lost, an entire body of literature becomes at best incomprehensible, and very easily disastrously miscomprehensible. What do you make of a motoring writer's 1953 reference to "the Vintage era" if that very common phrase did not refer to a specific actual era? What could "rather Vintage in its layout" possibly mean? Knowing the 1919-30 sense makes it clear that the author very probably means something similar to a Ballot 2LT: Pet peeve: The largely American idea that a classic car must necessarily have been expensive when new. In my book classic, of a design, means influential, innovative, evocative of its design culture (even to the point of being remarkably unremarkable of its type). It doesn't have to be "magnificent". And it isn't tied to a period of time — though I struggle with the idea of a K-car being a classic because it epitomizes the malaise-era USA. I think there is something there of the thing which makes for classicness having to be something commendable. But: to my mind the Citroën 2CV is more of a classic than the Mercury Turnpike Cruiser. The Mercury is a classic only because it is redolent of the US design ethic of the time, which comprised basically sticking an amusement-park spaceship on a truck frame and calling it The Future — an approach which does have a certain innocent appeal — but what it basically is is a truck, if quite possibly a good truck. The 2CV is a classic because it is fucking brilliant on so many levels, achieving quite a lot with almost nothing, embodying all kinds of lateral engineering genius, so much so that the end of 2CV production in 1989 marked a turning point in the techno-political evolution of the automobile, representing the demise of the last true alternative dynamic paradigm, after which all cars would be basically cellphones underneath. And then you get people laughing at the 2CV because they think that it is Frenchmen's spectacular failure in trying to make a Mercury Turnpike Cruiser.
My pet peeve is people who can all old classic- Official list of Approved CCCA Full Classics® Note: This is the most current up to date list of approved vehicles. Printed lists may have discrepancies as Classics are added or removed from time to time. The Classic Car Club of America defines a Full Classic as a “Fine” or “Distinctive” automobile. American or foreign built, produced only between 1915 and 1948. Many factors come into play but, generally, a Classic was a high-priced, top end vehicle when new and was built in limited quantities.
@Ned Ludd , I think you're on to something here. I never, ever considered the 2CV as a classic until I realized that Richard Gere's car in "American Graffiti" was such. Yes, that particular car is OT by two years on this forum, but the same basic car had been around since 1939. Then, there is this piece which reveals the origin of radial tires. From Wikipedia;
That thought triggered a memory. I was at a cruise night a few years ago locally. Look over and there's an old guy I don't know sitting on top of the fender of my 46 GMC talking to the owner of the car parked next to it. Literally with his feet off the ground. Shiny paint or not, you just don't do that IMO. I walk over and ask "Is this your truck?" "No." "Right. It's mine, could you get off it please?" Come to find out the guy drives a real nice restored to factory 66 Corvette. I'm not vengeful enough to sit on his fender, but I can't imagine he'd be thrilled either.
That is an extremely recondite non-standard definition of the word classic! I don't think a near-irrelevant fringe organization such as the CCCA currently is has any claim to represent the worldwide classic car phenomenon.
I am starting to have too many pet peeves to list, I'm becoming a bit of a Curmudgeon. ....but if I had to list one it's the general publics use of rat rod to describe anything and everything. I'd rather they call everything a hot rod.
This oughta get some hate mail. My pet peeve is fake patina and clear coated patina. If patina is good, then wouldn't more patina be better? So why clear coat it and prevent it getting better? Just saying.
I agree on the abuse of Historical Vehicle plates on pick ups. There is a local contractor who has Historical plates on a K series Chevy. I see it at Home Depot picking up supplies and it pisses me off. I pay commercial weight fees for my '39 p/u which seem to increase every year. And this guy avoids them with Historical plates. Of course the local PD probably don't even know the rules on the plates. OK rant over. 21.120 Historical Vehicle and Horseless Carriage License Plates (CVC §5004) Permanent special identification plates may be issued to vehicles of historic value and interest. Vehicles assigned Horseless Carriage or Historical Vehicle License Plates are limited to operation or movement over the highway primarily for the purpose of historical exhibition or other similar, noncommercial purposes, such as parades or historic vehicle club activities, and are subject to a fixed annual vehicle license fee (VLF) of $2
My biggest pet peeve is "traditional" elitism and hypocrisy. When push comes to shove, people who are geared towards the traditional style are a tiny substrata of the automotive hobby as a whole. People into muscle cars, imports, diesel trucks, late models, mustangs, etc., are a much larger part of this hobby than us. That's fine, I wouldn't have it any other way. But there are a lot of people who are the traditional elitists, who look down on other people in this niche, who are doing 95% of what they're doing, but maybe doing it with radial tires, electronic ignition, or some other aspect of the build that makes it not strictly traditional. The folks that hold this "more traditional-than-traditional" position, which usually go along with overpriced rare speed parts that don't work anywhere near as well as more commonly available offerings, and can be found loading their barely running cars onto trailers pulled by 3-year-old foreign-made pickup trucks, I find to be particularly insufferable. Some of them can be found here on the HAMB, usually complaining about how people are too poor or uncreative to use something other than a SBC, completely ignoring that their flathead, actually valued at around $500, would pray for death if it could speak, and is actually the real "bellybutton" engine in this genre. Bottom line here, we're all in this together and this part of the hobby is too small to begin with to further bifurcate. My other pet peeve is the "built not bought" mindset that permeates not only this part of the hobby, but the automotive hobby in general. It's especially comical coming from individuals who literally earn their living building cars, or even performing automotive services, whether it be paint and body or mechanical work. Not a single one of us takes that attitude with any other aspect of life, but somehow if someone farms out work to a professional in the automotive trades, they're labeled a goldchainer or check guy, or their respect is diminished. Nobody looks at my guitar and says, "Hey, nice guitar, BUT DID YOU BUILD IT?" Of course not. I would say, "No, Martin/Gretsch/Fender/Gibson... built it." and that would be a perfectly acceptable answer. Yet somehow, the very people funding this hobby, keeping the lights on in the best shops and in the parts suppliers, are the same people being vilified. It's dumb and you can't have it both ways. Not to mention, how many times have you seen an absolute shitpile of a car with the "built not bought" sticker, and thought "maybe you should have bought it".
What else would you expect from a group of wealthy , trust fund , elitist snobs !! Nothing but the best allowed in their car club.
Well, we should give quarter to typical erroneous terms, at least some of those folks are in the life. But there's a few things that make the nails on a chalkboard siren go off in my head. "Continental Kit" for any rear spare car. Sorry, wrong. A 36 Ford or Model A with a rear spare IS NOT A CONTINENTAL KIT. Those came out postwar to fuck up 50s cars. "63 Vette split window coupe" as if there was one that wasn't. "VIN number" which defined is vehicle identification number number. Yeah, "Classic Tbird" and others. The 2 scratch alarm is more logical regarding classics by definition. The arrogance to decide it was all over by 1948? So, WTF was an Eldorado Brougham? Continental MK II? Chrysler Crown Imperial? Untold Euro specials INCLUDING most every Ferarri and Aston Martin. By the original standard there were true CLASSIC cars until at least 1967. The CCCA membership is a shadow of its former self. I really believe this is one of the reasons. "Cruise Night" events. Fuckin eh. They all go home before the street lights are on, might miss Wheel of Fortune. Cruise night my ass. More like the "Bag Chair Nationals" if ya ask me. Maybe I better stop. Mods might toss me if I keep going. Sorry...
I always think the same when someone says "I drive my old car all winter in salt and snow".... If my car looked like that I wouldn't worry about the snow or salt either..... Lol.
Well... it HAS been an awfully hot stretch of weather and folks are itching to see some relief from it.... Everyones' got a valid point. There's gray areas, cut-and-dried truths, and Twilight Zones that we all tread through in the hobby. I take people's statements with a grain (sometimes a spoonful) of salt when they start talking about "the old car Dad used to drag race and beat the socks off folks with"..... or folks who call everything "rat rods" or "dune buggies" and "jalopies" (although, outside of our clan, we don't hear that one much).... There's stuff I can't stand, but it's mostly confined to the coal-rolling ass-squatting truck brigade. Obnoxious does not equate with badass.
When people ask, "What's it worth?" or 'How much do you have in it?", the answer is, "Enough to make it mine."
Sheeesh guys!!!!!.....didn't mean for this thread to become a forum for complaints or lectures. Perhaps my initial attempt to throw out examples was too general or naive. Hasn't the subject of "classic" been discussed ad nauseum,... elsewhere? I had hoped this thread would be about light hearted examples of things that bug you, minor irritations that others could identify with and have a chuckle,......like.. the thread that doesn't want to "thread", because it's metric and somehow had snuck into your nut and bolt collection. or the phillips head screw on your civilian car turned out to be a torx head that you couldn't decipher without your glasses which you left on the bench,.....LOL???? and that one, LOL, bugs me too!
You seriously started a thread named Pet peeves and didn't expect it to end up with complaints and lectures? That's actually funny!
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