This past Sunday I was cruising around in the FT and stopped by a farmer's market I've been wanting to check out. As I pulled up I saw that I had several admirers and one 25-30 y.o. looking guy who scowled at me from the moment he saw me get out of the car and as I walked past his area. I noticed he was holding a Topo Chico (popular drink here in South Texas) bottle in his hands. I didn't do anything other than pull up to earn his disdain and certainly didn't return it towards him

Now I was there for all of 10 minutes as the market was not very big. As I was backing up to leave, I heard a loud pop and shattering of glass. I stopped and got out of the car to investigate what the cause was and found a broken Topo Chico bottle where my driver's front tire had been. He must have placed it behind the tire outside of view while I was browsing around. I looked for the guy but couldn't find him unfortunately.

So far, my tire which is brand new since I had the dealership replace all of them for me free of charge due to the convertible top debacle I experienced recently seems fine. I will probably stop by the dealership or Discount Tire just to see if the tire sustained any damage that has not resulted in a flat tire yet.

Has anyone else had any negative reactions or experiences due to driving an FT or any vehicle for that matter?

 

Unfortunately, I think we've all dealt with haters in the past, and most likely will continue to in the future. I generally get it from people driving beat up old cars or pick up trucks. Truck drivers love a) cutting me off, b) speeding up behind me as I change lanes, and c) (diesel only) dumping their black smoke all over the road when I'm either next to them or behind them.

I find this behavior FAR more prevalent in Texas than in the Bay Area. Go figure...

 

I haven't noticed much because nice cars are common here in Toronto, but what I've noticed is people speeding up when I put my blinker on. Alhough that is easily solved by stepping on the gas. One situation I recall was a middle aged woman trying to block me in traffic by accelerating beside me. stomping on the gas works wonders for those kind of people.

 

 

Never had any issues. Lots of positive comments and thumbs up though.

 

I actually admit that I am SHOCKED I've not seen more hate. I came from 20 years in a Wrangler, and I fully expected spam/limes to be placed on the car to discolor paint, scratches, keying, etc.... but it seems there is a MASSIVE disconnect in the U.S. of the "99% vs 1%" and our car culture. It strikes me as amazing how much respect most people have for a vehicle, vs hating on the person driving it as a bro, or jerk, etc.

In fact, this surprise led me to a thread that garnered some ire. I was asking how FT owners drive their car, as people are judged by their actions, and this car could gain a consensus of having "polite" or "idiot" drivers, over time. There was an Audi ad that brought this home to me. I think it was a BMW driver who drove through a puddle super fast and splashed people, while the A4 guy went slow and no one got splashed. It was a great ad.... some people did not like the thread.

Some people don't want to be a role model, whether they drive an aspirational car, or not. I never wanted to be looked at, and didn't realize we would get looks, during the purchase of my car. I hadn't thought about it, coming from a stupid truck.
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/f...-image-169841/

That being said, the only "negative" reactions I get are from:
Challengers and Chargers that want to race, new and old. But they are happy.
Porsche guys who pass by, look at me, and immediately stop looking at me when I notice them looking at the car.
Old souped up Mercs seem to want to prove a point.
And oh my goodness there is something about Corvette owners that particularly are challenged by our existence.
BUT... ESPECIALLY.... BMW M2-4 who need to prove some banal point by revving/gunning/racing/breaking away.

Let me tell you... the A7 and A8 Audi guys, and the M5 and M6 guys do NOT give a **** about us.

But I've not experienced acrimony from some sort of Bernie-supporter perspective. At least not yet. =) (I say that as someone who wants to see the blue wave actually happen, but a good blue wave).

 

Yes, A Holes / Haters are every where. Case in point I live in Rural Arkansas, Farmers / Rice country. We are the most economically depressed county in Arkansas. I purchased My 2008 Mustang, Brand new. First new car I've ever owned. So to say I was a little proud of it, would be correct. We had the car for about 6 weeks, and my wife took it to Wal Mart. and when she came out there was a perfect round dent, over 3/8 of an inch deep, in the passenger door. It looked as though, it was made with a Ball Peen hammer. Busted the paint clear to the primer. I covered it over with touch up paint, and lived with it. But if I could find the stingy Bas---d, that did it. I'd take a hammer to his head. and put a knot on it to match the dent in my door. So it happens to us all, whether we own a Mustang, or a Jag. Some "Hater" always feels the need to be the first to damage our pride and joy.

Jack

 

Not a "hater" experience but an "experience" anyway. Years ago I was in a Mall parking lot sitting in the car when a woman
pulled up next to me.
She got out of her car by violently swinging her door open as I watched whereupon it hit my car with a very loud bang..

I got out and asked her what she thought she was doing, words to that effect anyway, She replied that she had done nothing!

I then kicked her door in and made a substantial dent. She then asked me what I thought I was doing. You guessed it I said nothing and just stared her down.

I know I was not very gentlemanly however I felt great satisfaction.

 

You are brave. I live in California, and as a fairly hulking 6'6" white guy, with my friends I have learned that you do not know who does crossfit or box, you don't know those who know martial arts or MMA, and you certainly don't know who carries a gun.

 

For the most part, the Jag gets pretty decent reactions, I like the crowd it draws much more than my old viper. I drive as respectfully as I can to help be a good steward of the brand. However, when I bring the Morgan out, everyone is in a good mood Young, old, rich, poor, and everything in between is just happy to see the little 3 wheeler scoot around. I could do donuts in the downtown square and I think everyone would still smile at it. The only time I've seen someone get upset was when it was in a wedding and a guest had brought a brand new 488. That guy was a little sad, but the picture speaks volumes.

 

 

In my short 3 months of ownership, positive interactions with thumbs up from a variety of folks...all ages and driving everything from luxury, muscle, pick ups to sport bikes. People really seem to like it when the rear decklid goes up or down. Some fellow drivers really don't like the snap/crackle/pop exhaust, particularly the higher pitched, downshifting crack.

The BMW highway flyby has happened several times (I don't engage) and the Porsche guys tend to act like I'm invisible (tough when I'm Ultra Blue).

It is quite interesting aligning behavior to automotive brand choices. There are cool folks and knuckleheads in each group.

 

I notice one particular model of car where the driver almost always tries to bait me into a race, it's happened to me several times now.
They scream up behind me, tailgate for a while, then pull over to the next lane and sit beside me, then when I don't play the game they floor it and zoom off down the road to show me how "fast" their car is, then they slow right down, allow me to catch up, and start playing the same game all over again.
I just keep going at my preferred pace and totally ignore them.
I'm talking about the Nissan Skyline GTR R32, 33 and 34 and the GTS-T.
Never had this problem with an R35 but they are quite rare in my neck of the woods (nearly as rare as the F-Type) but R32, 33, 34 and GTS-T are a dime a dozen being the preferred ride of the cheap but fast young hoon turbo crowd here.

 

 

My neighbor's Morgan here in Tib. It's not an original. There's some new company rebuilding them as a concept... I think Liberty Motors out of Washington.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/FCSaBLVLr9Z8X3r77

There a wonderful homage to the idea of cars as joyful art. WHAT A GREAT PIC YOU POSTED. Cheers! Enjoy it!

 

Ohhhh... I feel like the Miata guys, and that BEAUTIFUL new alfa romeo, are kin. But like you said... cobalt or not, we're all kin. It's now two groups.... people that love cars, and people that hate driving. Whether a civic has bolted on a gaudy wing, or some guy is driving a beater that he souped up, we're all family. I take that attitude onto the road with me every second I am driving.


EDIT: Skyline comment was from prior post. Leaving it here.....
But Skylines? WOW. I see them so rarely, and I think we're a few years off from seeing all the purchased ones that are waiting in a Japanese shipping container. I cannot WAIT. I love them. Very cool.

 

OP - situational awareness fail.

You knew there was a bitter jerk lurking but still left your car parked there. Worse yet, you didn't do a walk around and check upon returning to your car.

Beware of the 'nothing to lose' lowlife that is lurking and waiting to take his frustrations out on your property.

I pulled into a restaurant parking lot and heard 'rich mother****er and his fancy car' in the crowd. Time to leave. Doesn't matter if you are 6' 6" and 250lbs. That doesn't help your isolated car.

 

Ahhh...complete with Harley Davidson V-Twin engine.

 

Situational Awareness and Normalcy Bias (this can't be happening... everything will be fine...) are concepts all people you care about should be familiar with. I'm not suggesting paranoia. I'm suggesting a healthy awareness of ones environment and the reality check process.

A significant percentage of the population does not operate within the guidelines of what a reasonable person would consider "normal". You don't want to be the person who "can't believe" an incident happened or makes a statement like "they came out of nowhere" (really?).

As Burt said...removing yourself from a situation is the simple and preferred method. Step one is the awareness, coupled with the forethought and consideration to foresee when things are going in a negative direction. As an immature younger man my over testosterone infused self lived in a world or confronting as a next step. At this point in my life I recognize the value of having the wisdom to diffuse as an approach to issues resolution. It's not that you can't take it on, it's that you choose not to.

Possibly too deep a dive into this thought stream as related to the OP's original post but it is thinking I wanted to share with the community here.

 

I have been quite fortunate not to have encountered any haterism (only thumbs-up and "beautiful car"). But then again, when going somewhere, I always ponder the circumstances and parking situation at the end of the journey. I'll take my other car if in doubt. Nobody feels threatened by a MINI.