We rented a car during our trip to Kentucky. If you do not already know this, here’s a good car renting tip: There are VERY few economy cars in a rental fleet. No one rents them, so the companies do not really buy them. Chances are if you book one in advance by the time you get to the counter the one or two they have will be out and you’ll get a free upgrade.
Unless, of course, you really need a bigger car but are too cheap / poor to upgrade yourself and pay the extra cash.
At the Nashville Airport, for the first time in my career as a traveller and car renter-er I was not upgraded. They actually sent us out the door with an Economy. It was fair, I’m not really complaining. They were nice about it. According to the guy behind the counter they had “saved” it for us.
Having never actually driven an Economy car I was unprepared for the acrobatics it would take to pack ALL of the baby shit in it and then the surprise of the absolute lack of engineering in the vehicle. It was, essentially, a glorified golf cart. For real. I’m surprised it didn’t come with a set of clubs. Not that they would fit.
We were coming out of lunch at the local shit mall and I was lamenting our luck and discussing the finer points of the crappy ass vecicle with my brother-in-law. Just as I finish my rant and older gentleman comes up, all Southern like, and says:
“Oh, how to you like your Aveo?”
Rob, matching the man’s Southern grace, “Oh, it is nice, it is just not well suited for our needs. It’s a rental and we are traveling with a baby.”
While this conversation goes on my brother-in-law is elbowing me in the ribs whispering - “Go on, tell him what you really think.”
I kick in all twangy like, “Actually, it’s a piece of crap. A lawn mower with a body.”
“Oh, well me and the wife just bought one, we thought it was great.” whispers the old man.
Ladies - never listen to your brother-in-law. He knows you are from the North and that you have no social graces. He does not have your best interest at heart. He wants to laugh at you.
Someone just shoot me.
We get in the car and Rob says, “In the South you have to learn to say something but not really say anything”.
For crying in the beers. Give me New York any day.
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I had a Chevy Aveo on my most recent business trip. No power windows. No power door locks. No floor mats or “carpeting” on the floor anywhere. I had it for a week.
Thank God it had really crankin’ AC (I was in Oklahoma City in June) and a plug-in for my iPod, or I might have revolted.
But it was supremely weird to be without power windows and doors for the first time in at least a decade.
Sheesh. I have been driving an Aveo for 3 or 4 years. Yeah, it doesn’t have power stuff and it isn’t big enough to carry tons of luggage and baby crap, but it is fun to drive, has plenty of power when I need it, and gets a bit over 30 mpg. And it only cost about $8k. I’m happy. Although I can totally understand that you were disappointed in it — I would not have liked it as a rental when my kid was a baby, either.
Well, and girl, ya gotta know when a guy comes up and wants to know how you like the car you’re in, it’s ‘cuz he’s got one too and wants to totally have a geeky lovefest over them with ya. Or at least, that’s my experience with my TDI. Some guy and I stood in a parking lot the other day an jawed for about fifteen minutes and I thought his wife’s eyes were going to roll right out of her head.
Hey, it’s a special kind of love. No matter what car you’re in, there’s somebody who loves it, it’s part of that wonderful diversity of America.
Nick and I actually love renting economy cars when we’re on vacation, we think they’re hilarious. When we went to get on an Arizona freeway in a Kia Rio and it sounded like a lawnmower meets The Little Engine that Could, I nearly peed myself laughing. We still like to imitate its desperate wailing sound. And down in Mexico, we always try to get a Chevy Pop. Funny, plucky little pieces of cr@p, and so much fun, because down there you can still get rentals with stick shifts.
The Aveo hatchback looks kind of cute, but dang, yeah, very stripped down. And for as little power as it has, surprisingly poor fuel economy. 103 hp at 5800 rpm? Yikes, I’d hate to hear that.
Dale would do really well in the south. Know what I mean?
ah, the fine art of sidestepping a conversation. My college roommate moved to KY and everyone thought she was supremely rude… it wasn’t until she realized: these people talk and talk without saying anything.
I drove a kia sportage for 10 years: it was like one of those cars that you put the penny in the back and raced?? Loved the mpg, but we upgraded to a V6 this year, just in time for the price hikes….
Has to laugh at you too, all Southern like. LOL
Well sometimes you’ve just got to be honest. I’m sure the car is fine for the older gentleman and his wife who probably drive 15 mph anyway.
Someone once told me that whenever Southern women pull out their very sweet “Well, bless your heart!” they are really saying “Well, f*** you!” So I think they have their own New York attitude just fine.
Oh dear. Kill me now.
My room mate in college had this early model huyndai -88 model year. It was like that - a tin box with a lawnmower engine. It was right handy though, and fun to put stickers on.
I’d never be able to live in the South.
Southern women definitely have their own New York attitude - we just sound so much sweeter about it, haha! I think some Southerners are like the British, they can insult you SO politely! We really don’t talk and talk without saying anything, though. It just takes longer to say some things nicely, I guess.
i get economy or compact cars all of the time (ok, three times) when i rent and in fact, i don’t like it when they offer to upgrade because i’m not comfortable in anything bigger than a golf cart (when i had to drive a volvo station wagon loaner i thought i was going to die). but then again, i drive a mini.
and yeah, i wouldn’t make any friends in the south.
Hee hee.
I got a Chevy Suburban the last time I rented a car, when of course I had asked for an economy. The thing had this giant horn on it when you put it in reverse, and it was terrible to park and change lanes. Hated it!
Oh those southern social differences…
I’ve never even heard of the Aveo, but I applaud your approach to the car rental, and the old man too. Curse with pride!
Bless your heart.
I thought I learned how to say something without saying anything by growing up as a minister’s daughter, but maybe it was my Southern mother’s doing.
Did you do any yarn shopping in Nashville?
That is just horribly funny. I probably would have said the same thing as you even without being able to drive!
I just believe in saying what I think and sometimes that is a skill better left untapped!
hahahahaha. I’m from the South and I’ve had many conversations where nothing was actually said. I just returned from a trip to South GA, and was, as always, surprised by some of the dishes I was offered. Canned pears (and they must be canned) topped with shredded cheddar cheese and a dollop of mayo. Ick. Though I am craving a good piminto cheese sandwich now.
Oh man. I just got back from a family wedding in Georgia, and am up to here with Southern charm. Trust me, when a southern belle says something about you followed by “bless her heart”, it’s not a compliment. And “I like your hair” (pronounced hay-er), it means the rest of you is just a mess and they’re trying really hard to come up with something nice to say.
Oh, and they did have pimiento cheese sandwiches at the wedding. Apparently you can’t really get married in the south without them. They are pretty good. Those southerners know how to cook.