Work by Ron Cobb
I feel like a more accurate (though much less catchy) name for this community would be !fuckcarcentricsociety. Cars are awesome! They’re fun to drive, feats of engineering, and in the right conditions like a rollercoaster without tracks. They just fucking suck when they’re practically required to live. I’m as big a proponent for public transit, you shouldn’t need a car to get to your job or grocery store, but you can’t look at something like F1 and say that’s not exhilarating.
It’s not even car centric in the US or you would have way more roundabouts instead of traffic lights.
I don’t know what the US is, but it’s shitty for everyone, including cars. The difference is, that cars are comfortable to sit in, but the actual driving is a nightmare compared to Europe. (And walking half a mile in the summer sun from the car to the stadium on a concrete parking lot should be attributed to car centric infrastructure too).
Something that NotJustBikes brings up in one of their videos is that the Netherlands’ incredibly bike- and public transit-oriented infrastructure makes driving a car (for those who want or need it) much more pleasant as well.
but you can’t look at something like F1 and say that’s not exhilarating.
strong disagree. perhaps in the 60s and 70s - before we understood that ICE was spewing carbon dioxide and ruining the ecosystem sure.
Today? F1 is a fucking travesty - rich assholes burning crazy amounts of fuel to speed around in circles taking more from future generations every fucking lap.
If it were all electric powered by renewable resources harvested nearby I’d have less of an issue, but anything combusting is a giant middle finger to your own children. “Sorry skippy, even we knew, we still didn’t give a fuck to stop the silly games.”
Today? F1 is a fucking travesty - rich assholes burning crazy amounts of fuel to speed around in circles taking more from future generations every fucking lap.
While I don’t disagree that spectating races is boring, the amount of CO2 those put out pale in comparison to commutator traffic or the container ships running bunker fuel. We could have EV races and if each manufacturer entered their base models, could help with adoption. We could also make the ICE races run biogas(methane from antibiotic digesters) or biodiesel(tractor pulls could easily adopt that with only a small lowering of performance that all the tractors would share).
but anything combusting is a giant middle finger to your own children.
All consumption is.
All consumption is.
consumption for production is one thing, entirely optional, benefitting only one party entertainment coming at the cost of everyone else?
that’s a dick move.
The emissions from 20 cars driving in circles for a few hours a week could continue until the end of humanity and still be just a drop in the bucket compared to the amount of damage the production industry has done up to this point.
bud the bucket overflowed a long, long time ago. now it’s pouring over the rim, and you’re like: eh, it’s just a few thousand tons of CO2 every year, for funsies, it won’t matter.
it all matters. you’re just too vroom vroom to fucking care.
The emissions from the cars themselves isn’t even 2000 tons of CO2. That’s 1/200000 of 1% of annual emissions. If you’re that concerned, you shouldn’t be on this site because the server, your computer, and your router are all adding CO2 to the atmosphere.
it all matters. you’re just too vroom vroom to fucking care.
In the modern world, all consumable products are made with energy from fossil fuels or transported with fossil fuels. You need to be constantly thinking about the supply chain, even if you only use public transportation. Favoring Green or greener options the whole way or simply abstaining from certain optional activities.
oh shit, he’s almost there…
and if those fossil fuels are for ENTERTAINMENT ITS EASY TO REDUCE THE ENTIRE LOAD RIGHT?
COME ON YOU ARE SO FUCKING CLOSE TO WAKING UP
I agree the environmental impacts are certainly an issue, but the emissions from the sport alone aren’t that bad, the worst is from all the travel done on private jets between locations. They’ve also done some work towards being more eco-friendly. The cars run hybrid V6s instead of V10s and by 2026 will use fully renewable biofuel. There’s also Formula E, which is an entirely electric motorsport.
There’s just some things an ICU can do that an electric motor can’t. It’s simply impossible to get the same amount of power as an F1 car from purely electric propulsion at the same weight.
so you know it’s a problem, you know the sport’s total footprint is the cause, you even point out THEY know it’s wretched and are making half hearted efforts to someday maybe do something.
but you give them your attention.
There’s just some things an ICU can do that an electric motor can’t.
but it’s entertainment, not some mission critical life saving thing, it’s to watch cars go fast driving in circles.
fuck me, our civilization deserves to collapse.
You know what, you’re right. Maybe while we’re at it, we should stop going to concerts altogether. Running all those speakers and lights is bound to cause co2 emissions! We should also throw our computers in the trash. Think about all the co2 emissions and our future generations! As a matter of fact, we should go back to living like cavemen.
yeah there’s no difference between art, computation, and FUCKING WATCHING MORONS RACE IN CIRCLES PROPELLED BY TINY EXPLOSIONS
you fucking cannot be that fucking dense
Yeah and songs are just sound. Paintings are just color and paper. Computers are just silicon. Qualia. You may not derive anything out of watching it but for me and many others it is like watching a sport. And the emissions from it are relatively tiny.
we deserve to collapse because we like to be entertained?
i wonder if what you used to type and send this comment onto the internet uses any sort of battery
we deserve to collapse because we like to be entertained?
when the specific entertainment is dicking around the ONLY FUCKIN’ ATMOSPHERE WE HAVE yeah I think so.
you like the taste of smog? or is it simping for petroleum companies?
Or is the attraction fracking?
Watching the poles melt in real time?
Come on man, which is the part that gives you the entertainment?
the part where the car go fast. DUH!
so why the fuck are you on /fuckcars lol
read the room vroom vroom
How I felt last week in my busted up 350k miles shitbox when there was a Lamborghini and Ferrari beside me crawling through traffic. Even once we were out of gridlock their average speed was probably the exact same as mine. My car costs probably 500 dollars and there’s cost literally a 1000 times more than that. Made me feel good. Also made me feel like ramming them just because
As it turns out, road speed is limited by laws, safety and traffic, not the HP of your car engine.
Which perhaps makes the purchase more justifiable in Germany when you live within reach of the Autobahn…
This is why people have a commuting car and a track car. Your track car is often not your commuting car
Alternative opinion:
Car companies should stop making normal cars and instead only make hardcore vehicles. I’m talking race cars that are challenging and uncomfortable to drive.
manual only, aggressive clutches, loud gears, stiff suspension, non-adjustable seat, no heat, no ac, no radio, etc.Then while they’re making this change we expand the shit out of mass transport and infrastructure!
I can assure you that nobody wants to daily drive my race car. lol
I want all of those things. I can assure you, I want to drive a V8 loud as fuck, manual thick clutched, wide tired, non AC, non radio, rear wheel drive, fucking street menace of a vehicle.
But I also want an absolute rehaul of our infrastructure to include high speed rail for the entire country, and comprehensive pricing that is subsidized by the government with my tax money and provided for free if I need it.
I want all of those things. I can assure you, I want to drive a V8 loud as fuck, manual thick clutched, wide tired, non AC, non radio, rear wheel drive, fucking street menace of a vehicle.
I hope you understand that I’m perfectly okay with this and if you posted this to be ironic or snarky… You just made my dick hard and that’s about it.
I hope you understand that I’m perfectly okay with this
Thanks, cap, I noticed.
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
You don’t take responsibility nor pay for the externalities
What? I daily drive a 45mpg Honda fit. It’s the size of a fucking golf cart. But I also tow and have 5 people in my family. I also am in a very high tax bracket. So …you’re wrong?
No
In your ideal scenario, what am I to do? I drive 112 miles a day to commute. And my family needs a tow vehicle, I have 3 kids and a wife. I own a 7 passenger tow machine that often has a stroller occupying the 2 extra seats plus kid extras. I’ve reached the upper middle class tax bracket. I want a rail or bus system to take me to and from work. I want the choice to drive a 12mpg big ass fuck all shitty truck. But I want others to have the choice to take a 0 emissions train to their designated station with 0 emissions golf carts to take them to their jobs. I want the future. A utopia if you will. But I won’t force that. That’s unamerican. Americans need a choice.
Why are you taking it personally? The problem is that the price paid at the pump doesn’t reflect the true cost.
I’m not taking it personal in a negative way. I’m personally taking time to try to talk to you though.
While I can afford it, I intentionally have the smallest, most efficient vehicle I can possibly get away with owning while still meeting my mandatory social requirement of having a vehicle.
Due to a lack of public transportation, it is required. There’s no other practical means I can use to do the 45 minute commute to work, short of perhaps buying a motorcycle which puts me at risk due to the predominance of huge SUVs. I’ve considered an E bike, but we don’t even have sidewalks on this route.
I just can’t swallow investing in something that either sits outside or sits in traffic. I don’t use half of what that little four banger is capable of.
People don’t buy these cars and worry about the fact that it’s parked in the driveway or that it’s stuck in traffic during the week.
It’s bought because it’s something they want and they enjoy owning, and because they can fully utilize the power in the evenings or weekends.
Just enjoy your life, buy what you want. Stop worrying about how much it gets used.
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. Spend your money where it makes you happy. I’d feel more sympathetic if I didn’t feel compelled to own one when it’s not something that brings me joy.
I kind of think of it like owning a high-end smartphone. Practically speaking maybe it doesn’t make as much difference as a more cost-effective option, but if it makes you happy, by all means. Life is short. But I can still just manage to get by without a smart phone these days if I wanted to do that. I can’t say the same for a vehicle.
i thought they bought these cars to compensate for erectile dysfunction 🤷
Lmao, no.
People do enjoy fast vehicles. It’s fun.
Still, the culture surrounding spending so much of your money on a depreciating asset just to have fun or maintain appearances is crazy.
Americans are spending $1000/month for 6+ years to drive a car that mostly sits in driveways, parking lots, and traffic.
Most of enjoyment in life is spent around depreciating items that you’ll get no return on: food, entertainment, travel. If you don’t spend your money on enjoyment and focus only on return, what have you done with your life?
Made trillions.
Kidding aside, if the item wasn’t such a significant chunk of one’s earnings and also wasn’t on the never ending purchase cycle perpetuated by advertising and culture I’d feel differently.
Buy a nice car that fits your budget and provides satisfaction. Keep it for long enough that it doesn’t impact your family’s financial stability.
You also are under the assumption that the people who constantly buy new cars can’t afford it. For me, it brings enjoyment (something that is not tangible). I also can afford to buy a new car every few years. I view it as something I take pleasure in similar to eating or traveling.
The other perk about me doing that, is since I eat the depreciation, when I turn it in, someone can buy it for cheaper and drive it until the wheels fall off if they want.
And yet people get so bent out of shape when I point out that most cars are nothing more than expensive toys for adults.
Nothing inherently wrong with expensive toys for adults. Not my cup of tea, but still.
nothing wrong?
what planet do you live on, where pollution isn’t a problem, where they have a clean ocean that’s not so acidic shellfish can’t form their fucking shells?
please, tell me there’s nothing wrong with stealing your enjoyment from the mouths of future generations?
pfft
I was not referring to cars specifically. I was referring to people spending money for things that make them happy.
1969 and it is still relevant.
The groceries in the passenger seat are a nice touch, because of course there’s gonna be no trunk space.
And doing groceries or work-related is why most people drive.
Instead of a macho man forging their destiny, it is a woman, given that it is the 70s, likely a housewife, coming home from grocery shopping.
How do you know she’s not a macho man forging his destiny as a housewife?
Because it is the 70s, and I am going with the common themes of the time
That’s what I tell people. The reality of driving sucks. You might be in love with your fantasy of a 500 HP beast, but
meanwhile on an open mountain road on a Sunday afternoon
“Woooooo!!!”
Where you’re driving is as important as what. You’d love to drive a Civic Type R.
In a hospital? Maybe not.
As someone who has a big guilty pleasure for sports/performance cars and racing in general, this comic actually explains really well how I’m able to reconcile that with my dislike of car-centric infrastructure and wishing for better public transportation: without other means for getting around cities for people who don’t care much about cars (i.e. most people), everyone will be forced to use cars for basic transport, meaning really clogged highways and traffic jams that directly affect you and your fancy sports car’s enjoyment.
Conversely, if infrastructure was more accommodating for bikes, trains and buses to make them more viable, most people would use them, leaving the streets and highways freer for you to have fun driving your sports car the way it was meant to, instead of being stuck in traffic jams most of the time.
I just wish most people who are into cars realized this, instead of raving about how “they want to take away our cars!” and fellating Andrew Tate and other shitheads.
Why aren’t sport cars rented instead of sold? Only place you can really use them is the race track.
Au contraire, my Fuck Cars fellow. A sports car’s agile handling and peppy acceleration are enjoyable even at street legal speeds. They are of course most enjoyable when driven nearer to the limits at a track, but most stock “sports cars” require some modifications to be reliably driven under such intense conditions.
think, for a moment, about the world you’re leaving to the future.
is it really worth peppy acceleration when you KNOW that is wasteful and literally costing your children? Because that’s who’s gonna pay that bill. Not you or me. Our kids and grandkids.
cars for fun made sense before we understood the actual costs.
these days it just seems gross, you got yours, fuck everyone else.
I’m happy to spend my carbon budget on an occasional Sunday cruise with the top down on a sunny afternoon, rather than overseas holidays, excessive consumption, etc. I don’t commute by car, I ride my bike as much as possible, and I advocate for improved public transit infrastructure in my community, which all have a far greater impact than my ~460 kg/year of CO2 from my joyrides.
Isn’t the more significant problem that the 98% of motorists who don’t give a rat’s ass about the driving experience, are effectively forced to drive when they could be taking alternative transport, if the infrastructure supported it?
Please, for the love of God, quadruple the carbon tax and invest it all in public transit, so that cars are treated like the luxury they should be.
Isn’t the more significant problem that the 98% of motorists who don’t give a rat’s ass about the driving experience, are effectively forced to drive when they could be taking alternative transport, if the infrastructure supported it?
I’d say they’re equally problematic - but at least their use case is part of their employment, and not part of their entirely optional entertainment.
certainly agree with the last.
least their use case is part of their employment, and not part of their entirely optional entertainment.
And if they’re driving to an entertainment event, like say a concert, a vacation, or a park, is that any better than me going for a drive for the sake of going for a pleasure cruise of equal distance? Keep in mind that my sports car is no gas guzzler. It gets the same fuel economy as an average, mid-sized sedan, and better than an average SUV or truck which dominate our roads.
If you’re the type that buys their car with the leisure in mind, I’m gonna assume you’re not cost constrained and should be doing more to help the env anyway.
hypotheticals are irrelevant so you do you, have a good life, and when you wake up to the damage you’re doing / have done, do your best to improve things.