what is it about the Roundel...

that brings out the worst in other drivers.

I am a big supporter of "taking it to the track" and I generally driver very sanely and safely on the road. I usually only do 5 over the limit and I always signal and give people plenty of time to react to what I need to do.

In the past I have had an old man in a camry literally smoke the tyres pulling away from a light next to me and today I got to watch an idiot in a Civic get pulled over because he spent a mile trying to provoke me into racing him.

He would literally come up next to me, rev it a couple of times.. take off and then drift back behind me, speed up past me.. then lather, rinse, and repeat.

Thankfully I was not the only witness, a cop witnessed his idiocy too. It just gets old though. I drive an almost 14 year old BMW.. why can't people just let me drive in peace?

Hoo, boy..does that bring back bad memories. I miss a lot of things about my BMWs, but that garbage isn't one of them. I once stopped in the middle of an intersection to let a man & an injured woman cross it. Yeah, they started across the intersection a little late, but hey-it was in the city! And what am I gonna do, run over a woman who's obviously in pain?

The car behind me laid on the horn like there was an air raid coming. And the couple turned around and flipped ME off.

I get some of that crap from the ricers when I'm in the Corrado (the VW badge seems to drive `em nuts), and for some reason I can't imagine people in Pontiac Grand Ams get weird when they see it..but it's still nothing like it was when I had BMWs.

I drive across campus ( I work at the university of Illinois) in my Porsche and I will be doing everything ledal. I still get 2-3 people giving me the figer each trip.

It is worse on days I wear a tie....

Mad, At least you had the satisfaction of seeing the dbag pulled over. I think everyone that drives a performance car of some type has to put up with that crap at one time or another. While I can sort of understand the driver of a pos trying to show he has fast car, what gets me is when the driver of a cleary superior car picks on the slower car. Recently I've had a troll in a brand new Aston and a troll in a 03-04 Cobra pick on my GT. I just figure the drivers must have been the kid at school that beat up smaller kids to prove how tough he was.

I had an AE86 right when the Initial D craze got big. EVERY goddang kid in a Civic...
On the flipside I was able to sell it for a lot more than I paid for it. Thanks, Japan!

You should try driving around coal-crackersburg in a lowered red 911 with an RS wing. Its like an asshat detector.

I really love the car but I am seriously considering selling or trading for a brown, duck spoiler version. I completely understand now.

I have a E28 535is. Its red, low and has a deep rumble. I guess thats why I get crap from yuppies of newer BMWs especially the kids with E36s and E46s. But on the other hand, sometimes I get compliments from guys with beat up 528e.

My pops has a bright red '81 Corvette. Even though it's his, I drive it around when I visit (and I visit often ).

I've never had anyone flip me off. Lots of thumbs up and waves. People talk to us about it when we're stopped at lights. It's no BMW (I haven't gotten flipped off yet here while driving the E30).

I wouldn't worry about it. Annoying, yes, but these are the same jackasses with an adrenal-gland problem that get all obnoxiously competitive about everything. I can't say that I know anybody personally who's still got all their marbles that does this to BMW drivers, or anyone.

driver109x wrote: I have a E28 535is. Its red, low and has a deep rumble. I guess thats why I get crap from yuppies of newer BMWs especially the kids with E36s and E46s. But on the other hand, sometimes I get compliments from guys with beat up 528e.

I have an '86 M535i, and for whatever reason I rarely have any problems with this sort of thing. The young kids usually can't figure out what it is - more often than not if they stop to look at it, they think it's an early M3.

That's one thing I like about having a '98 Cobra... SN95s seem to be passe these days, so the only people I get trying to race me are other Mustangs at 2:30 am on desolate roads (and that's only happened maybe twice in the past 3 or 4 years)

Ricers seem to be attracted to my focus svt, I always have someone flying up on the highway while I am cruising at the speed limit. I attribute most of that to the look-at-me orange paint. Its not a fast car people, it just handles well.

When I had my '01 Impreza RS, every Monday night on the way home from the allergist's office some kid in a '80's 5-series stick and a fart can hanging off the back would try to race me. He would come weaving up through traffic to catch up to me. I'd just laugh to myself and let him go by.

When I would take my Dakota on the same trip the kid didn't even notice. He was still driving poorly, but not trying to race me or anybody else.

-Rob

In area BWM's are literally every other car, so I have not witnessed issues like that here.

Maybe guys driving new ones get this here

How common are they where you live.

Best example of this for me lately was a couple highschool kids in a beat down festiva - started revving at me at a light late night, hooting and hollering. It was hilarious. I torked it up and did a standing burn for them, just for being ballsy enough to give me crap. They both went nuts. I used to do the same thing in HS with my corolla.

driver109x wrote: I have a E28 535is. Its red, low and has a deep rumble. I guess thats why I get crap from yuppies of newer BMWs especially the kids with E36s and E46s. But on the other hand, sometimes

Fixed it for Margie.

I passed a new Evo one morning on the way to work on the interstate driving my orange Mazdaspeed Miata. There was a left lane Louey causing a rolling roadblock, so I passed a line of about 5 or 6 cars on the right. The Evo was in that line....the guy went nuts and proceeded to do all osrts of unsafe things to catch up to me. Crazy lane changes, no signaling, not looking far enough ahead to make the right lane choice, etc. I usually travel about 80 in that spot (it's either 65 or 70 speed limit, but 80 pretty much blends in during the commute times) and when he finally passed me he must've been doing over 100....I got a kick out of it - I guess he thought I was the asshat trying to race him when all I was doing is what I do every day and it had nothing to do with him.

Civics with fart cans seem to find the Miata irresistable. My BMW is too old and too slow to threaten anyone. There is all sorts of things that happen when I drive the Mini - mostly good. It's the only car I've ever had where I routinely get thumbs ups from people driving cars that cost 20 times more than mine.

We get this kind of crap (mostly tailgating) in the BMWs. The 335i is the worst, it gets picked on by the SUV driving soccer moms. I don't think the Jersey plates help, either. The E30 M3 gets picked on by the ricers. My E30 only gets an occasional tailgater, although its gotten a little worse since the new wheels and exhaust. Mom's car gets about as much attention as a beige Camry, though.

I drive a 940 Volvo wagon and it's red. I don't think anyone has ever actually seen my car. Ever.

People seem to genuinely like my yellow 2002; in spite of a fairly raucous intake and exhaust tone, and a willingness to use the higher rev range, it doesn't seem to get any unwanted attention from the boy racer crowd, while plenty of people smile and wave. My black 525i Sport with Style 5s does seem to encourage stupidity in others occasionally, but I think it is generally considered to be much faster than it actually is due to the wide wheels and aggressive stance, and is thus more often avoided.

I've never had anyone react badly or try to race me in the miata, in the 100k miles or so I've had it, I don't think. Good thing cause I'd lose. People have reacted well to it occasion though.

Joey

I think I've been driving old British cars for too long. When I read the title I immediately thought of this.

Nitroracer wrote: Ricers seem to be attracted to my focus svt, I always have someone flying up on the highway while I am cruising at the speed limit. I attribute most of that to the look-at-me orange paint. Its not a fast car people, it just handles well.

My black on black Focus SVT never gets any attention around here.

Most BWM drivers in my area are Ivy League asshats. But I wont challenge a BMW, nor will I street race, but if I have a chance to knock a ricer down a notch...

I think I was challenged once. It was late at night back when my car still had the fart can from the P.O. Out of no where when the light turned green, the escort in the next lane floored it and one-legged-it for 60-100'. I did not respond as I had my studded snow tires and an iffy transaxle.

02Pilot wrote: People seem to genuinely like my yellow 2002; in spite of a fairly raucous intake and exhaust tone, and a willingness to use the higher rev range, it doesn't seem to get any unwanted attention from the boy racer crowd, while plenty of people smile and wave.

I hate, hate, really hate, HATE to say this (I've probably owned five or six 02s over the years-still wish I'd hung on to one of them), but...they finally look like antiques. The things were twenty five years ahead of their time, but that was thirty five years ago.

02Pilot wrote: My black 525i Sport with Style 5s does seem to encourage stupidity in others occasionally, but I think it is generally considered to be much faster than it actually is due to the wide wheels and aggressive stance, and is thus more often avoided.

I was about to wonder if we're all actually talking about two different things. People's reactions to marques they consider "rich folks" cars, and people's reactions to modified cars. Then I realized that to people who aren't car people, there's not much of a difference. They consider a modified car just as much a product of wealth as anything produced by the "prestige" automakers (which would actually explain why every moron in a V6 Grand Am considers my black Corrado as a rival! ). Really, I think we're the victims of our society's inability to divorce the automobile as a "machine" from the auto as a piece of "jewelry".

When I'm elected Pope Of The World, GRM will become mandatory reading from Pre-K to Senior High...

I get that a lot in my e36 318is. I guess most people just see the roundel and assume its the fastest car on the road and don't understand what i mean when i say my car is slow. Doesn't help that I'm only 22 and drive the one of the cheapest bimmers out there, but I'm not a huge fan of the extra attraction it brings to me and my car.