Lost My Car

Funny story. One day, I walked out of Wal Mart looking for my car. It took me like 5-10 min trying to find my car and guess what? My car was behind another corolla!!! The current gen of corollas are huge, like big enough to hide my 8th gen corolla. LOL

I've always found modern generation of cars just BIG. The current gen of corolla is like the previous gen of camry. I don't get it. The new gen of corollas are also heavier. Also, because they are so BIG and tall, the doors almost resembles squares, the speed at which to obtain maximum fuel economy is no lowered because more frontal surface area with wind. wow. I also think the side of the current generations of corollas kinda looks like an egg. Don't get me wrong, corollas are freakin cool, they've been around from the 60's and toyota knows their stuff. Just something amusing I'd share.

Bikeman982

I don't have a currrent generation Corolla. I guess I will always be behind the times.

I did misplace a rental car in Seville, Spain one day. I thought that if I parked it in front of a scooter shop that I would be able to find it pretty easily. It took me three hours to locate it - how did I know they have 1,000 scooter shops in Seville??

Last weekend, I walked out to my car in a shopping mall parking lot and used my key to open the trunk. The key would not turn. Has happened to me three or four times randomly in the past three years I have owned the car. I flipped the key around and try. The key will not turn at all. I start thinking "let me just use the trunk opener inside the car". I walk towards the driver's door to unlock that door. Suddenly, I notice that there is a huge paint chip on the door, as if the outer paint was peeled. I look inside the car and realize "This isn't my car". LOL. My car was two cars over, thanks to some big minivan/suv, I could see my car. I am laughing as I go to my car. 7th generation teal (blue) corollas are everywhere, I see more corollas of my color in the 7th generation than any other color. default_laugh

Have you ever tried your key in an identical car (thinking it was yours, of course) while the owner walked out? default_smile

Bikeman982

Have you ever tried your key in an identical car (thinking it was yours, of course) while the owner walked out?

and they ask - What are you doing to my car??

Have you ever tried your key in an identical car (thinking it was yours, of course) while the owner walked out?

O I have, however, they weren't there to notice it though. I saw another 98-99 corolla stick shift and thought it was mine. My key was stubborn but it opened the stranger's corolla! I always think it so wierd to see a corolla as an automatic because I'm so used to mine as a manual.

your key opened the other car? uh-oh ! default_ohmy that doesn't sound too good

My mother also accidentally opened up another maroon 1982 Corolla's door with her key...

Bikeman982

My mother also accidentally opened up another maroon 1982 Corolla's door with her key...

Did she get caught?

No, luckily, the owner wasn't around.

1,424 posts

I have a theory about Toyotas over the years. The Yaris is the size of the early-90s Corolla. The current Corolla is the size of the early-90s Camry. The current Camry is the size of the early-90s Avalon. If anyone has noticed, Toyota is making their cars bigger to accomidate our rather large butts. Take the Rav4 as an example. The current Rav4 is 20 inches wider than the previous design to make each front seat 10 inches wider and the middle seat 20 inches wider. This was done to accomidate larger butts.

I personally find this trend disgusting. We need to slim down as a nation, making cars bigger simply isn't the answer.

So yes, you could easily lose a Corolla behind a Camry. I do it all the time when I pull both cars out of the garage and my Corolla can't be seen over the Camry, well you can see the Corolla's little whip antenna.

Soon gas prices will be soo high we wont be able to buy / eat food any more.. . Then we will slim down and they will make smaller cars... Then gas prices will go down ... They we will eat more and get fat again... then they will make bigger cars... Its a cyclical thing…

Although it didn't happen in a Corolla a few years ago my friend and I had a moment of stupidity. We walked out of the mall and to his little red Ford Escort. This was in South Dakota and crime wasn't a real big concern so we rarely locked the doors. We both hop in the car and my frined finds he's having trouble with t the key in the ignition. After about a good 10 seconds or so we begin to notice that some of the stuff doesn't look so familiar...like a different radio, and a picture of some baby hanging from the rear view mirror. Oops...

About a year later I was at a used car dealerhip looking around. I was walking down the line of used trucks and see a full size Balzer I really like. I decided to hop in and see how it felt behind the wheel. I swing the door open and get half way in before I realize there are two people sitting in the back seat and even worse one in the passenger seat. Oops...

damn! that's insane. What did you say to the people in the car?

Bikeman982

Soon gas prices will be soo high we wont be able to buy / eat food any more.. . Then we will slim down and they will make smaller cars... Then gas prices will go down ... They we will eat more and get fat again... then they will make bigger cars... Its a cyclical thing…

Not likely. People are just plain obese. Natural selection will kill them off faster.

I agree. Companies are trying to work around fat american asses instead of americans trying to set standards for themselves

Bikeman982

They supply what they think the people want - that's called "business".

They supply what they think the people want - that's called "business".

really?

1,424 posts

They supply what they think the people want - that's called "business".
really?

Bikeman, you are exactly right. However, you do realize that your entire statement hinges on "what they think people want" The problem isn't providing what you think people want, it is making what you think people want match their actual wants. When this matching of want and thought goes awry, then you get things like the Pontiac Aztec, the Ford Explorer SportTrac, and the Chevrolet Avalanche. These vehicles beg the question, Do American car companies besides Chrysler do market research?

Bikeman982

They supply what they think the people want - that's called "business".
really?

Bikeman, you are exactly right. However, you do realize that your entire statement hinges on "what they think people want" The problem isn't providing what you think people want, it is making what you think people want match their actual wants. When this matching of want and thought goes awry, then you get things like the Pontiac Aztec, the Ford Explorer SportTrac, and the Chevrolet Avalanche. These vehicles beg the question, Do American car companies besides Chrysler do market research?

They do polls prior to offering cars to get an idea of what the majority of people want for an automobile. They also make new designs and show them around to see if they would be popular.

You are right - they goof up sometimes and produce something that not many want. That's called "bad business".

Its been said that Ford & GM 'Build cars for factories' and Japanese companies 'Build factories for cars' You can tell there hasn't been any innovation in GM..like stepping into a time machine. The first time I drove in my uncle's 95 Buick Century, it was like being in a car from the 70's. default_biggrin Cadillac's are alright, but compared to a Lexus..forget it.

Bikeman982

Its been said that Ford & GM 'Build cars for factories' and Japanese companies 'Build factories for cars' You can tell there hasn't been any innovation in GM..like stepping into a time machine. The first time I drove in my uncle's 95 Buick Century, it was like being in a car from the 70's. Cadillac's are alright, but compared to a Lexus..forget it.

I hate to say it, but American cars leave a lot to be desired. I have not wanted one for 16 years.

1,424 posts

Its been said that Ford & GM 'Build cars for factories' and Japanese companies 'Build factories for cars' You can tell there hasn't been any innovation in GM..like stepping into a time machine. The first time I drove in my uncle's 95 Buick Century, it was like being in a car from the 70's. Cadillac's are alright, but compared to a Lexus..forget it.
I hate to say it, but American cars leave a lot to be desired. I have not wanted one for 16 years.

American cars leave a lot to be desired for sure. I have not wanted one since I got rid of my first car. Sunday I went to a Ford lot and looked around. The Ford offerings were so uninspired and poorly executed compared to the Toyotas I looked at on Saturday. This one Mustang GT convertible I looked at was the worst. It is silver with a black top and a red leather interior. There are several problems with this car that I personally find unacceptable for a $35,000 car. One is that the belt-line trim on the exterior of the car is loose. Two is that the hood gap on the passenger's side of the car is twice as big as the one on the driver's side. Three is that the rear bumper doesn't have enough support behind the middle and it flexes with even the slightest touch. Four is that the panel behind the convertible top storage area is misaligned. Those were just the fit and finish problems. There were other problems relating to design. One was that a $35,000 car has a manual opening fuel door with a tab to pull it open instead of the remote operation one like we have on our Corollas. Two was that such an expensive car had black plastic mirrors that weren't even a glossy finish, but a textured flat black. Three was that the red leather seats were ugly because the stiching was mis-aligned badly and the leather grain was really rough and pronounced. Four was that the controls for the wipers and turn signals look like they were designed for those with limited mobility. Five was that a black-fender mounted, mast antenna is unacceptable on a $35,000 car.

The Mustang is an American Icon, and if Ford can't do any better than that for a top of the line Mustang Convertible, I don't have a great deal of confidence in their ability to make a car that rivals the Camry or Corolla in terms of quality and durability.

Bikeman982

The quality of American cars has gone downhill and they fail to appeal to me anymore.

1,424 posts

The quality of American cars has gone downhill and they fail to appeal to me anymore.

I can't say that about every American car. In previous posts I should have stated that most American cars leave a lot to be desired and the American cars I can afford don't appeal to me anymore. The '06 Corvette Convertible my GM dealer has is really high quality (fit and finish, features, styling) and leaves almost nothing to be desired. Same goes for the Chrysler 300C (the HEMI powered one that has a lot mf Mercedes-Benz running gear).

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