Yaris versus Corvette

[bronsin]

I did not see him pulled over on the side of the road.

I do not think your friend is correct about the use of cameras on the NJTPK. Although I do not travel it very often. If they had unmanned cameras there people would know about it.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by why?

what would have been really nice is if corvette clubs across the country didn't abuse the no speed limit in Montana so they would not have been forced to put one in.

I had an uncle that always had an old antique Vette around, interesting cars, but not my thing.

I was thinking Corvette for the no speed limit in Montana because if it broke down it would be much easier to get it fixed vs a Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche, etc. For the most part re Corvettes it's the sentimental value of that 63 coupe that was already old when my neighbor had it......although I must admit visiting the factory and museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky was pretty cool.

In my town growing up (except for my neighbor) the middle aged men who wanted that 'fast coupe' opted for the Porsche 911 or (a few) for Ferrari or Lamborghini coupes....and one vintage De Tomaso Mangusta and also one vintage Pantera.

I didn't know that the speed limit in Montana was reinstated because of abuse by Corvette owners. Very interesting.

[bronsin]

Originally Posted by nookandcrannycar

I was thinking Corvette for the no speed limit in Montana because if it broke down it would be much easier to get it fixed vs a Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche, etc. For the most part re Corvettes it's the sentimental value of that 63 coupe that was already old when my neighbor had it......although I must admit visiting the factory and museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky was pretty cool.

In my town growing up (except for my neighbor) the middle aged men who wanted that 'fast coupe' opted for the Porsche 911 or (a few) for Ferrari or Lamborghini coupes....and one vintage De Tomaso Mangusta and also one vintage Pantera.

I didn't know that the speed limit in Montana was reinstated because of abuse by Corvette owners. Very interesting.

No no its all my fault. Im the one who goes to Montana and ruins it for everyone else by brazenly exploiting the lack of a speed limit. Not in my Corvette but on my motorcycle which is capable of cruising 100 mph all day long. With occasional bursts of 125 mph thrown in just for grins and giggles.

The Corvette Clubs are blameless.

Its all my fault.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by bronsin

I did not see him pulled over on the side of the road.

I do not think your friend is correct about the use of cameras on the NJTPK. Although I do not travel it very often. If they had unmanned cameras there people would know about it.

The incident from the Fall of 2009 that I was telling my neighbor about involved me. I was staying in East Brunswick near Route 18 and I got on the Turnpike at Route 18. I was heading to Yankee Stadium. I had in the past done a fair amount of driving around New Jersey and had experienced some of the things you only see in New Jersey (Jug Handles, etc.), but I had never driven across the George Washington Bridge. I got stuck in the traffic in those center lanes, while the traffic on the sides going to the other deck was moving along just fine. I saw a bunch of huge SUVs that I couldn't see over exiting to the right, so I followed them. I soon realized it wasn't an exit but I was sandwiched in and couldn't move. There were over 10 vehicles and what the lead people were doing was cutting through a break in the median. A few people got through and then two trooper cars came flying out from nowhere and parked on either end and all 10 of us got tickets for driving on the median. I was telling my neighbor this story and he mentioned the cameras. I had no reason to doubt him at the time (and it seemed to make sense), but I'm sure he could be wrong.
I ended up missing the Yankee game, but I did get to go to a game in 2010 about a week before Father's Day. Incredible Stadium. I can't stand the Yankees (I wish they would lose every game they play), but they do have the most passionate fans. I used to say the best fans.....until they spat on Cliff Lee's wife. As much as I dislike the Yankees, the history of Major League Baseball wouldn't be half of what it is without them. When I was at the game, there was still some 'rubble' from the old stadium.

I also got to see a game at Citi Field on that same trip. The game from the previous day had been rained out, so there were two games that day. I saw the second game, and it rained a bit before the second game, but they still played it. It was the day that Lady Gaga took her shirt off and was there in her bra until management put her in Jerry Seinfeld's box (that happened during the first game I didn't see). What was most amazing about that day was seeing the parking lot where Shea Stadium used to be. I saw a game there in late 2007 during that epic 20+ loss collapse and it was amazing to see every inch of that stadium gone....... Sorry, didn't mean to go on so much about baseball .

I got the feeling from my neighbor that the area where I was (near the bridge) was fitted with cameras that fed to some sort of center near the bridge that is manned.

[bronsin]

I could believe there are cameras on the GW Bridge. But i doubt very much there are any on the Turnpike.

My friend at work Tracy is a Phillies fan. She heard Cliff Lee say the spitting inciddent didnt happen.

She believes it because if she didnt she would let me have it but good.

[jayeh]

Originally Posted by bronsin

You ought to come to NJ on the NJTPK. A Honda 600 Ninja blew by me a few years ago doing 150.

The turnpike, and the NY/NJ/CT area reminds me of driving in Ontario, although driving in Toronto is much closer to Chicago traffic. Montreal reminds me more of NY.

Originally Posted by why?

it depends where and when you are. When gas is as expensive as it is, people value their money over their time. There are many places in the US too where the speed limit is more of a suggestion, and the average speed is in the 90's.

There are also many areas where people just don't feel the need to go fast, and the journey is just as important as the destination.

Totally true, driving in rural texas people gladly pull on to the shoulder and allow me to pass and give a friendly wave. In Ontario people pull to the absolute centre of the road (on a 2 lane highway) and purposefully block your view of oncoming traffic. People also LOVE to speed to the end of a passing area then pull in front of everyone and slow down to below the speed limit because they feel the need to be the pace car for everyone. In hundreds of miles of 2 lane highway driving in the US I've only had to pass about 4 or 5 cars. Everyone just follows along at a proper distance at the speed limit. Its so beautiful it nearly brings me to tears!

Originally Posted by david_827

agree 100% with this, here in MA the speed limit is more of a suggestion. Then i've been places further south (what isnt south of MA???) and they tend to drive alot slower......

The more reasonable the speed limits, the better the drivers. Lowering the limits seems to cause people to drive faster, then the people who already want to go a bit higher end up going way faster.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by bronsin

I could believe there are cameras on the GW Bridge. But i doubt very much there are any on the Turnpike.

My friend at work Tracy is a Phillies fan. She heard Cliff Lee say the spitting inciddent didnt happen.

She believes it because if she didnt she would let me have it but good.

That's good to hear. As much as I hate the Yankees, I'm glad I can still have respect for the passion of their fans......and as much as I didn't like George, it is impossible to have COMPLETE animosity toward someone who LOVED BASEBALL as much as he did. There is a guy who works nights at my health club whenever they have a shift to give him. He does it just to occupy time. He is a native New Yorker ho didn't leave until his company transferred him to Tampa when he was 37. He met his wife in Tampa and raised his son to age 18 and daughter to age 15 in Clearwater.Then his wife needed to come to Texas to take care of her mother. With that development, he retired and they moved here. His daughter is finishing high school here and his son has a college ice hockey scholarship. He's been to the new Yankee Stadium during a nearly full game as well and he said if I think the energy is incredible during that experience, he said it is nothing compared to a Ranger home game.

I'm mentioning him because he said that it is amazing how much George did in the Tampa area so that many, many kids could play baseball (and he said George did it without any fanfare and wanted it that way). He said George bought up land in strategic places around the Tampa-St. Pete area and built baseball fields, donated equipment, and other things so that as many kids as possible could play baseball.

I'm a lifelong A's and Giants fan and when I moved to Newport Beach the Angels became my #3 team. Now the Astros are my #3 team and the Angels are #4. By the end of the 2007 season i'd been lucky enough to see a game in every Major League ballpark, and I've also seen a game at all five parks that have opened since then. I can't stand A-Rod, but I can't help but admire Jeter. If all superstar athletes comported themselves with as much dignity as he does, each professional sport would be better off.

I first became tangibly aware of just how dedicated some Yankee fans can be while waiting in line at the old Yankee Stadium for a same day ticket in 2006 or 2007 (can't remember which) . The guy in front of me in line was a lifelong Yankee fan who had never been to Yankee Stadium before to see a game. He was from Toronto and he had ridden his motorcycle from Toronto to the Bronx to attend the game and he was so excited that he had been able to do that. I wish I could have seen the stadium before the makeover in the 1970s (my dad did).

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by bronsin

You ought to come to NJ on the NJTPK. A Honda 600 Ninja blew by me a few years ago doing 150.

The closest experience I've had to that is going between 110-115 mph (converting from kph in my head) in a rental car on the Auto Strada in Italy with Mercedes, BMWs and Ferraris passing me at at least 150 mph.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by bronsin

No no its all my fault. Im the one who goes to Montana and ruins it for everyone else by brazenly exploiting the lack of a speed limit. Not in my Corvette but on my motorcycle which is capable of cruising 100 mph all day long. With occasional bursts of 125 mph thrown in just for grins and giggles.

The Corvette Clubs are blameless.

Its all my fault.

In my crazy days I went even faster than that in a Firebird with a modified suspension (not my car). I never should have gone that fast in that particular car .

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by jayeh

The turnpike, and the NY/NJ/CT area reminds me of driving in Ontario, although driving in Toronto is much closer to Chicago traffic. Montreal reminds me more of NY.

Totally true, driving in rural texas people gladly pull on to the shoulder and allow me to pass and give a friendly wave. In Ontario people pull to the absolute centre of the road (on a 2 lane highway) and purposefully block your view of oncoming traffic. People also LOVE to speed to the end of a passing area then pull in front of everyone and slow down to below the speed limit because they feel the need to be the pace car for everyone. In hundreds of miles of 2 lane highway driving in the US I've only had to pass about 4 or 5 cars. Everyone just follows along at a proper distance at the speed limit. Its so beautiful it nearly brings me to tears!


The more reasonable the speed limits, the better the drivers. Lowering the limits seems to cause people to drive faster, then the people who already want to go a bit higher end up going way faster.

I agree with you, driving in Montreal is like driving in New York and driving in Chicago is like driving in Toronto. I like driving in New York and in Montreal and don't like driving in Toronto nor in Chicago.

I HAVE to ask....where in a rural Texas did you find any roads with a shoulder In California most roads have shoulders...some not paved BUT THEY ARE THERE. This was one of the first things I had to get used to in Texas. The only rural road I can think of in Texas that has a shoulder in any places is Hwy 75 South of Huntsville. I agree that rural Texas drivers are extremely polite...and in Louisiana as well.

Re your waxing poetic about US drivers.....spend time driving in Miami, LA, San Francisco, or (on a day when the crazies are out) Houston and I don't think you'll have that same perfect single file enthusiasm.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by jayeh

That is one thing that has always shocked me while visiting the US is the number of people driving attentively at or below the speed limit. Here the only people I see driving below the speed limit are people who are screwing around with their phones, or white knuckle drivers that are almost in tears they are so scared of being behind the wheel.

I drove my work truck all over the US and it was governed to 65mph and I'd be passing cars and trucks on roads with a speed limit of 65 or 70! It blew my mind! When I'm home I'll be doing 105-110kph in the right lane and be passed like I'm standing still. I've even had people tailgate me and flash their high beams at me when I'm in the right lane of a multilane highway!

Try driving down Biscayne Blvd in Miami. You will likely encounter people driving very slowly and floating out of lanes as if they are DUI/DWI. If you peer into the car (often the window is open) as you pass, you will see that the person is texting and NOT LOOKING AT THE ROAD AT ALL.

[jayeh]

Originally Posted by nookandcrannycar

I agree with you, driving in Montreal is like driving in New York and driving in Chicago is like driving in Toronto. I like driving in New York and in Montreal and don't like driving in Toronto nor in Chicago.

I HAVE to ask....where in a rural Texas did you find any roads with a shoulder In California most roads have shoulders...some not paved BUT THEY ARE THERE. This was one of the first things I had to get used to in Texas. The only rural road I can think of in Texas that has a shoulder in any places is Hwy 75 South of Huntsville. I agree that rural Texas drivers are extremely polite...and in Louisiana as well.

Re your waxing poetic about US drivers.....spend time driving in Miami, LA, San Francisco, or (on a day when the crazies are out) Houston and I don't think you'll have that same perfect single file enthusiasm.

Well, I've got a San Francisco story for you. I'm driving a 5 ton truck down a very steep street in SF and its a one way street with pull in street parking along the right. A guy in a BMW decides that looking is unnecessary and proceeds to back out without looking. I was already in first gear and hit the brakes and the horn and luckily he got himself back into gear in time zipped back into his parking spot.

The cities anywhere have plenty of bad drivers, but rush hour aside people are way nicer. I drove through Minneapolis at night, and I think a concert/sporting event had just let out as there were a lot of cars on the road, all heading one direction and it was around 11 pm or so. To my amazement the traffic was flowing, and the far left lane was EMPTY. I was going 56mph and passing everyone! I was in shock.

Houston didn't bother me, rush hour was fine. All the toll roads are handy too. I love texas highway design. The slip roads and u-turns are very handy. People actually know what a yield sign is in texas. Here people either ignore them and blast right through, or come to a complete stop - whatever the wrong thing to do is they will do it.

These days I walk to work and witness at least 3 red light runners, somebody driving on the wrong side of the road or somebody going the wrong way down a one way street. My walk to work is half a mile!

[why?]

i don't know how you can have any respect for the yankees. especially george steinbrenner, who single handedly drove up salary prices into the stratosphere. If it wasn't for him trying to destroy the game of baseball, MLB might have a chance of actually being competitive and worth watching, instead of having a handful of big market teams win the World Series every year.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by why?

i don't know how you can have any respect for the yankees. especially george steinbrenner, who single handedly drove up salary prices into the stratosphere. If it wasn't for him trying to destroy the game of baseball, MLB might have a chance of actually being competitive and worth watching, instead of having a handful of big market teams win the World Series every year.

I think you can respect certain things that a person did without ultimately respecting the person. I don't have much respect for Steinbrenner as a human being, but I have respect for how he feels about the game of baseball and the soft spot he had for kids who want to play it. I'm very cynical, but I don't think he looked at all kids in Tampa who want to play as future Yankee prospects that he could influence....I think he just wanted some poor kids to be able to enjoy playing baseball. I don't agree with some of the things he did (and I think his sons are useless), but I think the legacy of the Yankees as a team was important to him. On the A's World Championship teams in 1972, 1973, and 1974 some of the players made so little money that they took second jobs in the off-season to make ends meet.

A few teams, especially the Red Sox, the Yankees, the Cardinals, the Dodgers, have really reached almost mythical proportions within the history of baseball, and this was true of the Yankees BEFORE Steinbrenner bought the team.

There is only one Fenway Park. You can easily drive there. Many of us cannot and being FAIRLY close to a 'retro' stadium can help give us an 'old school fix'. I don't have a problem with the state of economics in baseball. If I lived in your market, or in New York, I might. I can drive to downtown Houston and park on the east side of I-45 a few blocks from the main police station and only pay $5 in any of a number of places to park. There used to be one place that only charged $3, but that property is being redeveloped. I can buy a same day Astros ticket with a seat for $10-12 and sometimes on sale for $7.00. In 2010 I paid $50.00 to stand at Yankee Stadium and $36.00 to park. The Astros aren't burning up the standings, but great teams still must come in to play them.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by nookandcrannycar

I think you can respect certain things that a person did without ultimately respecting the person. I don't have much respect for Steinbrenner as a human being, but I have respect for how he feels about the game of baseball and the soft spot he had for kids who want to play it. I'm very cynical, but I don't think he looked at all kids in Tampa who want to play as future Yankee prospects that he could influence....I think he just wanted some poor kids to be able to enjoy playing baseball. I don't agree with some of the things he did (and I think his sons are useless), but I think the legacy of the Yankees as a team was important to him. On the A's World Championship teams in 1972, 1973, and 1974 some of the players made so little money that they took second jobs in the off-season to make ends meet.

A few teams, especially the Red Sox, the Yankees, the Cardinals, the Dodgers, have really reached almost mythical proportions within the history of baseball, and this was true of the Yankees BEFORE Steinbrenner bought the team.

There is only one Fenway Park. You can easily drive there. Many of us cannot and being FAIRLY close to a 'retro' stadium can help give us an 'old school fix'. I don't have a problem with the state of economics in baseball. If I lived in your market, or in New York, I might. I can drive to downtown Houston and park on the east side of I-45 a few blocks from the main police station and only pay $5 in any of a number of places to park. There used to be one place that only charged $3, but that property is being redeveloped. I can buy a same day Astros ticket with a seat for $10-12 and sometimes on sale for $7.00. In 2010 I paid $50.00 to stand at Yankee Stadium and $36.00 to park. The Astros aren't burning up the standings, but great teams still must come in to play them.

^^^^^ With the above being said, plus my disdain for A-Rod and admiration for Jeter and Sabathia, I hope, as long as it doesn't hurt the game itself, that the Yankees NEVER WIN ANOTHER CHAMPIONSHIP (or at least not until BOTH THE A's and the Giants are AHEAD OF THE YANKEES IN TOTAL NUMBER OF CHAMPIOSHIPS )

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by nookandcrannycar

^^^^^ With the above being said, plus my disdain for A-Rod and admiration for Jeter and Sabathia, I hope, as long as it doesn't hurt the game itself, that the Yankees NEVER WIN ANOTHER CHAMPIONSHIP (or at least not until BOTH THE A's and the Giants are AHEAD OF THE YANKEES IN TOTAL NUMBER OF CHAMPIOSHIPS )

...and the Yankees epic collapse vs. the Red Sox in the 2004 ALCS was one of the greatest weeks in baseball history!

[bronsin]

Originally Posted by nookandcrannycar

^^^^^ With the above being said, plus my disdain for A-Rod and admiration for Jeter and Sabathia, I hope, as long as it doesn't hurt the game itself, that the Yankees NEVER WIN ANOTHER CHAMPIONSHIP (or at least not until BOTH THE A's and the Giants are AHEAD OF THE YANKEES IN TOTAL NUMBER OF CHAMPIOSHIPS )

Looks like youre in for a world of hurt because the Yankees are looking to be winning more Championships.

If that bothers you...

[nookandcrannycar]

[QUOTE=bronsin;657541]Looks like youre in for a world of hurt because the Yankees are looking to be winning more Championships.

If that bothers you...[/QUOTE

Yeah, I know it is wishful thinking....but it is still fun to actually type such thoughts, even if they never come to fruition. If any team ever accomplishes the unlikely deed of passing the Yankees in total championships it won't be during the lifetime of anybody who is alive right now....and one thing that makes the Yankees winning at least some championships a win for me (although I hate to admit it) is that the Yankees winning championships is good for the game of baseball as a whole.


Some professional sports teams have fair weather/bandwagon fans who are only enthusiastic when the team is winning. One of the best things about Yankee fans (...and yes Red Sox fans as well) is that they (you) are consistently passionate about your team no matter how well or poorly the team is doing. I was in Boston in 2009 and decided to go on a Freedom Walk guided tour. A couple was part of the group, and they were obviously going to the game that day. The woman had on white pants and a shirt that matched the blue and the red from a Red Sox cap. The shirt was blue and had stitched on letters. The lettering read "Real women don't date Yankees Fans" and then it had the name of the specific bar the shirt came from (I don't remember the name)..and the city....the city was Santa Monica, California. Some teams having a far flung non-local fan base is only good for the game as a whole.