In his defen(s/c)eMost British people have (relative to Americans) bad teeth.
The Irish like a drink. It's true.
Italians eat pasta, and probably quite often.
I Can't speak for the driving. I think most people on the road are really bad drivers. But most Americans drive in very simple environments, and I always find it funny seeing them trying to drive when the roads aren't 80 foot wide and straight for 200miles, and when the car isn't choosing the gears, and the engine isn't purposely limited to only giving 0-60 in about a week.
Sorry. Didn't mean to get involved in this one.
(The Irish like a drink. It's true.
Italians eat pasta, and probably quite often.
I Can't speak for the driving. I think most people on the road are really bad drivers. But most Americans drive in very simple environments, and I always find it funny seeing them trying to drive when the roads aren't 80 foot wide and straight for 200miles, and when the car isn't choosing the gears, and the engine isn't purposely limited to only giving 0-60 in about a week.
Sorry. Didn't mean to get involved in this one.
wonko the sane,
Mon 6 Oct 2003, 22:58,
archived)
Which means that if an American calls someone a bad driver, they must really suck...If Americans are bad drivers, and consider asians bad drivers, it gives an indication of how bad asian drivers must be.
I know this is a massive generalization, I know several asians who drive as well as anyone else. Unfortunately, most people I flip off in traffic seem to be asian due to their tendancies to drive half the posted speeds, take up multiple lanes, never use a signal or check blind spots before making turns or lane changes, and so on...
Also, lets not forget that the Americans invented the car. I think that, in regards to national driving customs, that should afford us some level of authority.
(,
Fri 10 Oct 2003, 16:36,
archived)
I know this is a massive generalization, I know several asians who drive as well as anyone else. Unfortunately, most people I flip off in traffic seem to be asian due to their tendancies to drive half the posted speeds, take up multiple lanes, never use a signal or check blind spots before making turns or lane changes, and so on...
Also, lets not forget that the Americans invented the car. I think that, in regards to national driving customs, that should afford us some level of authority.
eerrmmmmm....I think your wrong there.....
"In 1889 Daimler and Maybach placed their engine into a horse carriage and drove the car at speeds of 12 miles per hour. They had therefore produced the first four-wheeled automobile. After the men had designed a gearbox and a belt-driven mechanism to steer the wheels, they decided to sell the cars." - not a yank in sight.....sorry!
("In 1889 Daimler and Maybach placed their engine into a horse carriage and drove the car at speeds of 12 miles per hour. They had therefore produced the first four-wheeled automobile. After the men had designed a gearbox and a belt-driven mechanism to steer the wheels, they decided to sell the cars." - not a yank in sight.....sorry!
the bonzo dog , down on Jollity Farm on,
Fri 10 Oct 2003, 17:09,
archived)
Ever heard of Henry Ford??That name ring a bell at all? The guy that invented the assembly line? The transmission?
He was the one to invent the automobile AS WE KNOW IT... better? BTW, he released the FIRST automobile (without horses) in 1896.
If it helps, here's a simple biography.
inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blford.htm?terms=Henry+Ford
(,
Fri 10 Oct 2003, 17:24,
archived)
He was the one to invent the automobile AS WE KNOW IT... better? BTW, he released the FIRST automobile (without horses) in 1896.
If it helps, here's a simple biography.
inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blford.htm?terms=Henry+Ford
WankerYou're thinking no doubt of Ford? That may have been the first example of mass production in automotive production but you are very, very wrong. Buy an encyclopedia. A children's one with pretty colour pictures should do nicely.
(,
Fri 10 Oct 2003, 17:26,
archived)
Should I provide some more links?Or would you prefer that I draw you a pretty picture with crayons?
(,
Fri 10 Oct 2003, 17:30,
archived)
From your own fucking link you tagnut:The first car manufacturers in the world were French: Panhard & Levassor (1889) and Peugeot (1891). By car manufacturer we mean builders of entire motor vehicles for sale and not just engine inventors who experimented with car design to test their engines - Daimler and Benz began as the latter before becoming full car manufacturers and made their early money by licensing their patents and selling their engines to car manufacturers.
(,
Fri 10 Oct 2003, 17:37,
archived)
What did you not understand aboutclarification I made above? "As we know it today"... do you get that? He was the first person to make vehicles available to the common man. If it weren't for Ford, the automobile would be as widespread as jet aircraft. Plenty of them around for businesses and the extremely rich, but you can't afford one.
Can I make it any clearer? Possibly use smaller words?
(,
Fri 10 Oct 2003, 17:52,
archived)
Can I make it any clearer? Possibly use smaller words?
Very childishHaving realised that the argument is lost, it is in particularly poor sport to redefine your initial statement. It is also a bemusing strategy on a blog where the whole argument is laid bare. I refer you to my initial post.
EDIT - Shit - I didn't think you'd be as low as to go back and edit your initial argument. Pussy.
(,
Fri 10 Oct 2003, 18:00,
archived)
EDIT - Shit - I didn't think you'd be as low as to go back and edit your initial argument. Pussy.
Nearly as childish asdouble posting, straying from the point I was trying to make in my initial post, and looking so closely for things to misinterpret that you miss the fact that I ammended my statement before you posted initially.
(,
Fri 10 Oct 2003, 18:05,
archived)
Not to mention childish name callingAnd I didn't edit my initial post, I ammended it with an second post.
(,
Fri 10 Oct 2003, 18:12,
archived)
The reason asian drivers seem bad over hereHaving spent a bunch of time in Taiwan recently I can explain why immigrant asian drivers seem bad over here. First off you have to understand in Taiwan at least (maybe not so much Japan but definately mainland China as well) there are a zillion scooters whizzing around at all times and nobody pays much attention to the lines on the road or the "rules" really at all because if you did you would never get anywhere. They drive slow so that they can react quickly if something jumps out of a side street. Now over here (Europe, North America) mostly follow the rules of the road so we can drive a lot faster. It's more of a cultural thing - not just that they can't see over the dash (although I love that effect when it looks like the car is driving itself)
If you took a good driver here and dropped them in a car in Taipei they would probably be considered a bad driver and get in quite a few accidents until they adapted as well
(If you took a good driver here and dropped them in a car in Taipei they would probably be considered a bad driver and get in quite a few accidents until they adapted as well
nocarrier,
Fri 10 Oct 2003, 17:40,
archived)
I can understand that.When I was in the military, I had to drive a military Hummer through residential japanese streets...
They probably thought I was a maniac, since the vehicle was as wider than the lane, the steering wheel was on the left side, and I drove at standard American speeds.
(,
Fri 10 Oct 2003, 17:49,
archived)
They probably thought I was a maniac, since the vehicle was as wider than the lane, the steering wheel was on the left side, and I drove at standard American speeds.