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Location: Southernmost tip of the southernmost island in the southernmost state
982 posts, read 1,165,076 times
Reputation: 1652
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hotzcatz
After you've been here awhile, Grassyknoll, you no longer really care about things like door dings. Not sure why. Maybe it's rum drinks with little umbrellas or something that does it to folks.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jungjohann
Yes, it's those friggin umbrellas, and NOT the rum!! Ever have one of those seemingly innocent little umbrellas POKE you in the eyeball, mid-mai tai?? IT'S A BUMMER!!! And then your vision gets all blurry, you can't see for squat, next thing you know,,,, ANOTHER LITTLE DING ON THE RENTAL CAR!!!!
I HATE it when that happens
uuuurrrrrpppp,,, scuze me
Quote:
Originally Posted by davephan
The parking lot door dings can happen anywhere. There's a lot of people who don't care about other people's property. There's also a lot of dumb kids that aren't careful. Sometimes I park much farther away in larger parking lots and take a longer hike. Sometimes, I'm too lazy or in a hurry to park farther away. I've regretted being too lazy to take a longer hike when I return to my vehicle and see a new door ding.
Funny, but I am sort of looking forward to an environment where your car and its' condition aren't necessarily the status symbol they are on the mainland. I am sure I am painting with a broad-brush, but from what I have gathered lurking here for the last few years, a fellow wouldn't be judged as harshly for driving an "Island car" (aka beater) as they would be on the mainland.
And those little umbrellas? Such a practical accoutrement, considering they can offer one protection from both the Hilo rains and Kona sun.
[quote=davephan;35015612] I assume that most people who drive huge jacked up pickup trucks aren't affluent. They are probably struggling to get by, living close to the edge. But the huge jacked up pickup truck seems to be an island status symbol for some people, which some people really want to own. It must be painful to them whenever their gas gauges are close to empty and they have to visit the gas stations again and fill up again. Or, maybe the can only afford to fill it up to half full.
quote]
Sorry for going off-topic:
Don't let these jacked up trucks and others fool you; not all are struggling financially.
Several of the pickup "truck" owners in our neighborhood have homes that are valued $1,000,000+. One property owner's (with a "truck")home value is over $2,000,000: he's a landscaper. Another owns a construction company. Another's second vehicle is a BMW M3.
[We also own a full size pickup, but it's not modified.]
During our neighborhood Firewise project, I rode in one of the rough trucks and got to know the owner. He is a custom wood craftsman for multi-million dollar houses in Kohala: works about 5 months of the year and travels the world when not working. Yes his truck is rough and well worn, but he's a happy man and his house has no debt.
Note: I don't believe there are any Hybrid vehicles in our neighborhood.
Jonah K, it isn't the island itself that I am worried about beating up my car, more that I plan to use it for plenty of outdoor activities (sand) and anywhere you tend to have a lot of vacationers in rental cars, well my experience is that your door dings and frequency of mysteriously-appearing-parking-lot-damage seem to go up exponentially.
However, small lava rocks and gravel are a little more difficult to avoid if you plan to pursue outdoor activities on the Big Island with any frequency.
I'm surprised nobody has yet raised the issue of potholes on the Big Island. Suffice it to say, there are lots of potholes. A good suspension is a joy forever.
Also, if you are thinking about bringing a leased car over, be sure you clear it with the leasing company in advance. A while back we had a newbie post that he had brought a leased Lexus over from the mainland, only to discover that he'd violated his lease, because Hawai'i is in the Lexus of Japan region.
Re: the big truck and SUV fad among BI youth, nothing to be done about that. It's irrational, because they're expensive to own and expensive to drive, but it's an image thing.
Location: Southernmost tip of the southernmost island in the southernmost state
982 posts, read 1,165,076 times
Reputation: 1652
Quote:
Originally Posted by OpenD
I'm surprised nobody has yet raised the issue of potholes on the Big Island. Suffice it to say, there are lots of potholes. A good suspension is a joy forever.
Also, if you are thinking about bringing a leased car over, be sure you clear it with the leasing company in advance. A while back we had a newbie post that he had brought a leased Lexus over from the mainland, only to discover that he'd violated his lease, because Hawai'i is in the Lexus of Japan region.
Re: the big truck and SUV fad among BI youth, nothing to be done about that. It's irrational, because they're expensive to own and expensive to drive, but it's an image thing.
No leased for me OpenD, but good advice none the less. Though I haven't quite the experience with pot-holes that you mention, I am sure that should be figured in to the equation. Since I know I'll need a truck to haul my dogs, the occasional building materials or such. I think I am leaning towards a first generation Toyota 4 runner. Manual transmission with the 22re inline 4 for decent mpg. The removable top is just icing on the cake in a place where it can be removed year-round. Pretty easy to find on the mainland, easy to work on and run forever.
Don't let these jacked up trucks and others fool you; not all are struggling financially.
Several of the pickup "truck" owners in our neighborhood have homes that are valued $1,000,000+. One property owner's (with a "truck")home value is over $2,000,000: he's a landscaper. Another owns a construction company. Another's second vehicle is a BMW M3.
[We also own a full size pickup, but it's not modified.]
During our neighborhood Firewise project, I rode in one of the rough trucks and got to know the owner. He is a custom wood craftsman for multi-million dollar houses in Kohala: works about 5 months of the year and travels the world when not working. Yes his truck is rough and well worn, but he's a happy man and his house has no debt.
Note: I don't believe there are any Hybrid vehicles in our neighborhood.
Thanks for the post about your neighbor! I guess some people wouldn't have much concern about paying more for gasoline with the Gas-guzzlers!
Potholes? I think it depends on where you're from and what you're used to. I drove on most of the paved roads in the Big Island, and there are very few potholes and are in great shape compared to the roads in Minnesota. After each winter, the roads here are littered with potholes. Some years are worse than others. This year is a bad year for potholes in Minnesota.
I'm surprised nobody has yet raised the issue of potholes on the Big Island. Suffice it to say, there are lots of potholes. A good suspension is a joy forever.
Potholes? I guess you haven't driven much in urban areas like Honolulu, Los Angeles, and New York lately. Some of the unpaved roads on the Big Island are as "smooth as glass," compared to the so-called "paved" roads in Honolulu, Los Angeles, and New York.
Potholes? I guess you haven't driven much in urban areas like Honolulu, Los Angeles, and New York lately. Some of the unpaved roads on the Big Island are as "smooth as glass," compared to the so-called "paved" roads in Honolulu, Los Angeles, and New York.
Add Houston, Dallas, etc. Texas to the list too and freeway construction makes it worse until complete.
Hybrids might fare better because of the "hard" tires typically used.
Your lifestyle will dictate the type of vehicle you drive. I live in Puna, and almost everybody has a pickup in their household. Nobody has trash collection, so we all haul our garbage, recycling, and green waste to the free transfers stations (they are roughly every 15 miles or so). You can't transport garbage, in the tropics, in a sedan. I also need to haul livestock feed, hay, etc. A "real" 4wd is useful for things like going to Waipio, top of Mauna Kea, Green Sand beach, moving a 20' shipping container (something I've done recently using a Jeep Wrangler).
In Kona things are quite a bit different and people there drive much nicer (and more expensive) cars like hybrids.
I've never heard of vog being harder on hybrids than regular cars. It is hard on windshields and plastic fixtures like what go over the headlights.
Location: Southernmost tip of the southernmost island in the southernmost state
982 posts, read 1,165,076 times
Reputation: 1652
Quote:
Originally Posted by terracore
Your lifestyle will dictate the type of vehicle you drive. I live in Puna, and almost everybody has a pickup in their household. Nobody has trash collection, so we all haul our garbage, recycling, and green waste to the free transfers stations (they are roughly every 15 miles or so). You can't transport garbage, in the tropics, in a sedan. I also need to haul livestock feed, hay, etc. A "real" 4wd is useful for things like going to Waipio, top of Mauna Kea, Green Sand beach, moving a 20' shipping container (something I've done recently using a Jeep Wrangler).
In Kona things are quite a bit different and people there drive much nicer (and more expensive) cars like hybrids.
I've never heard of vog being harder on hybrids than regular cars. It is hard on windshields and plastic fixtures like what go over the headlights.
Terracore, good point about hauling your own trash to the transfer stations. I'm sure it cound be done in a sedan, but it would likely be unpleasnant to say the least.
My thoughts on Vog were more to do with the additional technology used in hybrids and the possibility they may be a bit more suceptible to any detrimental effects of vog.
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