I hope this can be regarded by the moderators as being beneficial for not just Maxima, but all automobile enthusiasts who might read about this.

Yesterday, I was horrified as I flipped on CNN to catch a cheeky "personality piece" reported by Jeannie Moost, CNN's glib "gal in the streets" reporter, on what kinds of interesting words and phrases are being scrawled all over cars by gritty little fingers in the winter salt and dirt sludge on the paint finishes of vehicles all over New York City.

The anonymous prose, etched (YES, ETCHED) into the paint finishes of all the featured vehicles was deemed "funny, witty," and even "poetic" by the clueless reporter, Ms. Moost.

It amazes me that so many people are STILL unaware of the damage that writing messages in gritty dirt on a paint finish can do. It disgusts me that not one moron at CNN took a moment to realize that it might be a bad idea to encourage people to go around damaging total strangers' vehicles by engaging in this thoughtless act.

Please, if you are one of these mad-taggers, and you cannot restrain yourself, at least confine your scribbling to the WINDOWS of your target vehicles!

Better yet - don't mess with other people's rides - PERIOD!


SHAME ON CNN FOR THIS EXAMPLE OF IRRESPONSIBLE JOURNALISM!

 

Thankfully it doesn't snow here in Tucson, so I don't have much to
worry about. However, it is pretty dusty so I wonder if CNN will do
a piece on writing in the dust on a car...

 

Dust can have the same effect. Any contaminant, once on the paint surface, will act as an abrasive if rubbed against the finish.

Anyone who has a dark car and has been the victim of a "finger-tagger" knows this from experience.

 

Dude...they're just cars. If they mean that much to you, perhaps I shouldnt tell you about the TRILLIONS of tiny particles that get on your car just by exisitng on the planet Earth. Seriously...its not like they're taking rocks and embossing messages on the car. I like my car just as much as the next guy (its black) but honestly, if my cars dusty (which it is quite frequently, i live off a gravel road), I dont care that much if my freinds/siblings write something on my car.

 

I saw that last night too....the story ended with her writing "CNN...(somthing)" on some guys car

 

Well, what can I say to that. . .You either:

A) Don't give a rats a$$ about your car,
B) Don't fully grasp how bad this type of damage can be,
or
C) Both.

I find "B)" hard to believe, considering your own clearcoat must have about as much writing scratched on it as the average dictionary, especially given your indifference to people causing this damage.

You know what? This brings me to the whole point of posting this thread in the 1st place:

You're entitled to not give a rat's a$$ about your own car. But don't not give a rat's a$$ about other people's property, or encourage impressionable siblings, young children, or people who just don't know any better that this is acceptable behavior.

Frankly, you could be putting them at risk by doing so. Some people DO GIVE A RATS A$$ about their own cars and may lack the diplomatic skills to calmly explain to an offender why they are a idiot, if they should happen to be caught in the act. Follow me?

 

how about just on the windows?


someone drew a bruins symbol on the hood of my old van and it was on there until the day we traded it in.

 

Or maybe D) Realize that there is more to life than worrying about your car 24/7

 

Thank you!


Honestly, sometimes, I wonder why I even bother. . .

 

I don't worry about my car 24/7. Besides, I looked for but couldn't find the "More To Life" Forums in the maxima.org index. Aren't we here for car stuff?

I made a valid point. Do with the information what you will.

Cheers,
-K-

 

Sure, we're here for car stuff and you made a valid point that writing stuff on cars can damage the paint.

But you also jumped down someone's throat because they had a conflicting view on the information that you posted.

That's what I was calling you on.





And the "More to Life" Forum is called the "Off Topic" forum.

 

Dont move this to off-topic, I cant access that forum. And so cant many other members - this is an interesting topic.

I for one, never concidered the damage it does to "write" things on people's cars, or my own. We (group of friends) always write "Vtec Type R, DOHC Vtec", etc etc . on our dirty cars, whether it be a BMW 530, Mercedes S430, My Maxima, Altima, Navigator, etc etc. . . I guess we just dont realize that it is that damaging to our cars. After all; once we pass through the car-wash, that S430 is no longer the "vtec" it said it was. . . but from now on - i'll make sure that everyone knows that this "fun and games" can actually be damaging to our cars. The last thing I want is my Maxima to be embedded with a "type R VTEC" on it's side for life.

-Wisky (97 SE)

 

gepetto-

Sorry if I came off too harsh. My Max is dark blue, and some punk scrawled with a finger on my trunk-lid (in the dew & 2-week road-dust) and I still haven't completely removed the scratches. It's a sore spot.

Peace,
-K-

 

It's not really a point for debate. KWheelz is simply stating that you should be more careful with yours (and other people's) property.

By saying "do you not have more in your life" is like saying "I guess ****ing away $25K is okay".

We don't spend the money on our cars in order for them to come with a shi++y paint job. We pay for them to look nice. If, along the way, they get nicked and dirty, we usually try to keep them clean. BUT, pride in the ownership of our vehicles usually suggests that we want them to look good.

By extension, we can assume that other people purchase their cars for much the same reason, and if they let them get dirty, it's not a disrespect for their own property necessarily, it might be a case of lack of time to clean, or it being "pointless" due to the fact that it's snowing constantly, or they drive a lot, and their car would just get filthy again.

The bottom line here, and what he was trying to say is this: Don't go writing on yours, or other people's cars. It has nothing to do with having a life.

In this case Clee and Gepetto, while I normally think you guys have good points, I think you're completely wrong, and that you shouldn't be whoring up this guys post with counterpoints to a very sensible and considerate opinion.

Thanks.

Mike

 

Yeah, basically the biggest complaint I get out of this post was not that writing the messages damages your paint, or that you should be obsessed with your car(hard not to do when you have a Max), but that people should respect your property. This CNN newsbyte just shows another example of were this respect is needed.

One of my friends wrote on the trunk of my Super Black '99 GXE over a year ago, and it is still there.

 

Some people worry way too much about their cars. I love my car and I wash and clean it all the time. Hell, I get crap from the local Max owners because my car is spotless most of the time, but the truth is I don't sweat it if my car gets a little scratch here, ding there, etc. It's a daily driver, not a show car. I can easily have the dings removed, I can buff out clear coat scratches, repair deep scratches, etc. If someone was to write on my dirty car, I wouldn't be happy, but I'm not going to leave any sleep over it. If I caught someone kid doing it, I wouldn't beat him up. I might scare him, but I won't hit him. This CNN report was just crappy media reporting because they had nothing else better to mess with. I REALLY doubt there is going to be a huge outbreak of people writing on cars.

To many guys are way too concerned about their cars and they think violence is the answer. It bothers me when I read about guys carrying guns in their cars iin an effort to deter a car jacking or something. All you're asking for is trouble and to put yourself in a REALLY bad situation. Why not just get FULL insurance coverage and if someone wants your car, let them have it? Jesus, it's only a car.


Dave

 

Some people worry way too much about their cars. I love my car and I wash and clean it all the time. Hell, I get crap from the local Max owners because my car is spotless most of the time, but the truth is I don't sweat it if my car gets a little scratch here, ding there, etc. It's a daily driver, not a show car. I can easily have the dings removed, I can buff out clear coat scratches, repair deep scratches, etc. If someone was to write on my dirty car, I wouldn't be happy, but I'm not going to leave any sleep over it. If I caught someone kid doing it, I wouldn't beat him up. I might scare him, but I won't hit him. This CNN report was just crappy media reporting because they had nothing else better to mess with. I REALLY doubt there is going to be a huge outbreak of people writing on cars.

To many guys are way too concerned about their cars and they think violence is the answer. It bothers me when I read about guys carrying guns in their cars iin an effort to deter a car jacking or something. All you're asking for is trouble and to put yourself in a REALLY bad situation. Why not just get FULL insurance coverage and if someone wants your car, let them have it? Jesus, it's only a car.


Dave

 

Don't worry about it man. Yes cars are very, very cool. But a) being in a minor accident recently and b) having my liscence temporarily suspended (theres threads on both of these, search if you car) have taught me that there is more to life. I think also the fact that my car is a 95 and I live on a gravel road (therefore my car has every kind of ding, chip, dent and depression imaginable) makes me a little less worried about it.

I TOTALLY agree with you that everyone should respect everyone else's property. But the level on which this is concerned seems kind of minor: while youd be concerned about someone breaking a window on your house, walking on your grass is not something that's too big of deal, even if it damages the grass a little bit.

Everyone has an opinion though. DaveB, I agree with you totally. Later.

 

Since when is offering valid counterpoints considered whoring?

Notice how gepetto and I never advocated writing on other people's cars. He said he doesn't mind if his siblings write on his car.

And making the leap from writing some words in the dust of your own car to saying that he doesn't "give a rat's a$$ about his car" is a big one.

In the end, the car is a hunk of metal used to transport you from one place to another. Because of the nature and average age of this forum, we make it more than that. And some of us realize that even though we may have spent 25K to buy the car, some matters, such as people (ie. siblings) writing in the dust covering your car, is not such a big deal.