Jason,
This is off topic but I have a VW TDI also . . . if you don't know about tdiclub.com then you should. Mine is great on mileage, which I love, but honestly the worst car I've ever owned in terms of reliability of major components. Without the help from the club I doubt if I would still own it . . . truly a lifesaver.
Your theatrics comment reminded me of one memory of driving in Louisiana. It was 1980, and a good friend had just bought a new Renault R5 from his old dealer in Georgia, although he lived in Texas. We drove his Alfa trade-in to Georgia, picked up the little silver R5, complete with red "LeCar" decals, and proceeded back to Texas. By Lousiana we really wanted to cover some ground and I had the Renault sitting on 80 when we passed a new Trans Am somewhere on I-10, complete with the "screaming chicken" decal on the hood. In a moment the Pontiac came blasting by and pulled in front of us. That was fine with me, except soon he slowed down to 70 and I repassed him. This happened three times before the guy finally got off the interstate. He A) did't want to go 80, and B) couldn't stand anyone else going faster than he was. We all laughed too hard about that!
More on topic, I don't care for SUVs too much either. Not all SUV drivers are inconsiderate, but I'm REALLY tired of those who park full-sized SUVs in clearly labeled compact spaces. The worst I ever had happen was a few years ago when I parked my Fiat X1/9 in the City of Beverly Hills parking garage to take care of some business at Planning. When I came back there was a Lincoln Navigator on the left, and a Range Rover on the right, both in compact spaces. I couldn't get in either door of the Fiat as both SUVs were over the white lines.
All I can guess is that the Range Rover driver was a very tiny, skinny woman who squeezed out the door. After waiting awhile, I finally was able to open the passenger door of the Fiat, hold onto the roof, and reach my arm in to turn on the ignition and hit the passenger's window button. That allowed me to lean on the window sill and snake my legs into the Fiat, tail first. Now I just go up to the top floor of the garage and figure on walking down a lot of stairs, as the lower level is usually full of big SUVs with drivers too lazy to go to the full-sized spaces on the upper levels.
Big SUVs can be a menace to pedestrians, too. In Santa Monica the cops sometimes run sting operations where a disguised cop will start to cross an uncontrolled crosswalk on Santa Monica Blvd. or Wilshire. People who don't stop instantly will then be ticketed by a waiting motorcycle cop. That's fine if you're in the No. 1 lane, but try being in the No. 2 or 3 lane with an Escalade in the No. 1 lane! You'll NEVER see the pedestrian, as he or she is not as tall as the SUV . . . and they'll still ticket all of you. I haven't been caught myself, but now if I have an SUV to my left and I sense it slow down I hit the brakes asap just in case. Thankfully I don't drive a lot in Santa Monica.
