h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Ergh..you may or may not know that one of my more volatile life-relationships has been that I share with my car, a '98 Kia Sephia *hears audible retching in the audience*. I got the car after my husband wrecked our pontiac and his dad bought us this new one - I would *never* have picked a Kia! I mean do some research! Regarding the '98 Sephia, Consumer Reports said "You'd have to look far and wide for a worse car." In any case, I get a recall notice today that indicates that my front seatbelts may not in fact work properly! Apparently, they may..oh let me find and quote the notice ..OK. here it is - "Certain limited front safety belt buckles may emit a "click" sound during the buckling process that is similar to the sound emitted when a buckle is being latched." What kinda cracker ass bureaucracy type sh*t is this!? I wonder how many people f*cking died before they issued that recall - I'm thinking of Fight Club here. . And..oh the lovely irony..to get the f*cker fixed, I have to drive the thing at relatively high sppeds to another town that actually *has* a Kia dealership. *tears hair out*

I swear(&^&% My husband gets almost monthy recall notices(different company same mentality). I think "recall" is just a giant loophole created for/by industry, legally allowing sloppiness.

My mate bought a Kia Pride as his first car.

He wrote it off within 2 weeks!!!

*sigh* If *I* could buy a car, I think I'd buy a Suburu Forester or something...that's of course in addition to the crappy VW van I fully intend to buy at some point

My m/bike does me right now, coz I have access to my mums car when it gets really icy or stormy. Im not sure what Im gonna do when I move out in a month or two though...

Hmm..one of the things I'm more resentful about in my culture is the fact that I *need* a car. I suppose I could move to a milder climate and get a job at a supermarket that I live next door to, but that's not exactly livin'. Really though, that humans ever thought it a good idea to put themselves in huge hunks of metal and hurl themselves at high speeds down stretches of concrete just boggles my mind.

Well, I work 15 miles from my home, in an area where there is no public transport, so I need wheels really. But I dislike cars. Nasty boxes. You want a nice motorbike!!!

*Plugs his 'Review of 2002' in his journal*

Yeah, I prefer to hurl myself down concrete on a lump of metal rather than in one...

Ah...I bus it to most places. Anything else can be provided for by my many legions of men...

Wohahaha...

*pictures legions of smiling men following her, hoping she makes a request of them*

*Pictures one smiling girl following him, and is amazed*

What type of motorbike do you have?

*hugs*

To Kia's credit, it's nearly impossible to get everything perfect in a new model of car. Anyone with a line of car that's come out less than 5 years ago (Echo, Focus, Insight, etc.) will have numerous product recalls, as they iron out the kinks. That's why I go with tried and true models, like the Honda Accord I drive now.

On the other hand, having a seatbelt that sounds like it's locking but is not actually locking is a pretty ridiculous flaw. I'm reminded of the quasi-commercial in Robocop 2 for SPF 2000 sunscreen. At the end of the commercial, there's a warning: "Caution: Repeated use will cause skin cancer."

I HATE CARS!!!

Speaking as someone who's managed to get knocked over by them 3 times, I consider them a necessary evil on a par with going to the dentist.

We don't have a car, which can be a pain in the ass, & I have to confess that sometimes we do have to get lifts (big shopping, gigs etc). Both & I are very unhappy about this, but can't be avoided especially as I'm not exactly breaking records in the marathon walks events!

I once lived on a Greek island where cars were banned, the only transport being on foot or by donkey; it was bliss at the time but I'd have problems now unless I could afford my own donkey!

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