S4 from NY to Seattle

November 25, 2006 6:18 AM

S4 from NY to Seattle.
posted by hama7 (52 comments total)

You know how we roll. hahahaha
uh... glad they got it all on tape...
I got nothin'.
posted by hal9k at 6:30 AM on November 25, 2006

Boobies. LOL.
sometimes I hate teh internetz. LOL.
posted by piratebowling at 6:43 AM on November 25, 2006

Gotta admire their sticktoitivness....
posted by ph00dz at 7:29 AM on November 25, 2006

Are the police in flyover country usually like that? Are they just looking for things to do?
posted by randomination at 7:39 AM on November 25, 2006

So, I waited an eternity for all them pics to load, and not once did I get a twinge that there was anything really interesting here. Apologies for snarkiness, but seriously.
posted by parki at 7:40 AM on November 25, 2006

Awwww, parki, that's really rough. youwannacookie?
posted by dazed_one at 7:45 AM on November 25, 2006

I thought the post said "$4 from NY to Seattle," which would be pretty awesome.
posted by sklero at 7:46 AM on November 25, 2006

I love a good road trip and I hate those guys.
posted by forallmankind at 7:48 AM on November 25, 2006

The roadside sculptuary angle made this tons more interesting. The blue duct tape angle made it sound like it was going to be crazier than it was. At the end they just seemed bored.
posted by dhartung at 8:00 AM on November 25, 2006

I dunno, maybe I'm bored today but I kinda liked it. Thumbs up.
posted by Justinian at 8:14 AM on November 25, 2006

I didn't get the blue tape thing till the end -- the owner wanted it (paid for it to 'protect' the car)! OK ... as a joke it is one thing, but they were serious.

American kitch -- buy something so expensive that you can't use it (like putting plastic over the living room furniture) ... then drive past all the roadside kitch and make jokes for people sitting at their computers.

eXtreme kitch?
posted by Surfurrus at 8:23 AM on November 25, 2006

Audi blue!
posted by lalochezia at 8:26 AM on November 25, 2006

Ok, so they don't have license plates, or insurance, and they're vandalizing road signs along the way. way to go, kids.
posted by orthogonality at 8:45 AM on November 25, 2006

Police in the flyover areas have a lot more problems with rowdy teenagers fighting, drinking, deciding to set the local public attractions on fire, etc. than cops in larger cities. Small town kids can be destructive.

Also about every fourth person the Montana highway cops stop is actually driving from Toronto to Vancouver or Calgary. Stopping those drivers gives the state troopers the chance to hand out a few speeding tickets that the drivers won't contest because doing so might keep them out of the US. They can also be creative with the tickets because most Canadian cars these days don't have speedometers in mph, just kph. (Drivers choose the I-90 because it's about 300 miles shorter than the Trans-Canada - going over Lake Superior is a pain - and because gas - and tickets - are cheaper in the US.)
posted by watsondog at 8:47 AM on November 25, 2006

I really wanted to see pics of the Audi after the puled the tape off. All that weather and sun baking the adhesive...
posted by Thorzdad at 8:58 AM on November 25, 2006

This is very stupid link to a very stupid site about a very stupid thing done by very stupid kids.
posted by davy at 9:30 AM on November 25, 2006 [3 favorites]

Like Thorzdad I was waiting to see the ugly results when the tape came off. Disappointing.
posted by jamesonandwater at 9:33 AM on November 25, 2006

I want davy's statement on a t-shirt.
posted by Smart Dalek at 9:35 AM on November 25, 2006

"People with newer, shiny cars or recently painted cars usually tape off the front of the car with blue painters tape when traveling long distances. The tape sticks well but peels off very easily and protects the front of the car from rock chips. "

I liked it. Thanks hama7!
posted by anotherpanacea at 9:35 AM on November 25, 2006

I was waiting to see the ugly results when the tape came off.

Actually that kind of tape (3M Safe Release) has a relatively benign adhesive, so it probably wouldn't have been all that impressively bad when it was removed.

A lot of those photos in the top third of the link were from the Wisconsin Dells, or as we like to call it 'the Land of Giant Concrete Animals'.

Seriously, there is some kind of weird huge animal on nearly every block. It's one of the more odd places you can visit.

also: LOL Butte! LOL Bonner! LOL LOLO! actually made me LOL.

Thanks hama7.
posted by quin at 9:51 AM on November 25, 2006

Hey they drove right through my city. The muffler man holding the tire is just a few miles from my apartment in Billings, Montana. Didn't see the taped up car in person though.
posted by The Deej at 9:55 AM on November 25, 2006

"So how long did it take to get the tape OFF of the car?
About 45min. The next day it rained and washed off a bit of dust and the car was clean. The ball of used tape filled half our garbage can.

How in the world did you drive that far without gettign in trouble for no lisence plates?
I bought them 2 Washington State temp plates (good for 3 days)."
posted by roboto at 9:55 AM on November 25, 2006

I think the link died.
posted by EatTheWeek at 10:09 AM on November 25, 2006

Yes, it was stupid, but I LOL'd nevertheless.
posted by katillathehun at 10:10 AM on November 25, 2006

Actually reading the whole thing and following the story and using the pics as context, it's an amusing story about two guys getting a car from one place to another in the best shape possible.

They stick ultra-removable blue painter's tape on everything they encounter, make some boobie jokes and a couple of little-brother cute photoshop gags, visit some hilariously underwhelming roadside attractions, and he somehow manages to use emoticons in a way that made me feel like I was following a really funny but excited stoner's slideshow.

The other thing is that if you're really into cars in general, there's a lot of eye-candy and in-joking to enjoy on top of that.

Yeah. Little-brother cute, all of it. Just goofy stuff. Maybe it's just 'coz I like cars and the idea of random road-trips.
posted by batmonkey at 10:13 AM on November 25, 2006

THIS IS A STUPID POST EVERYONE IS STUPID WHINE WHINE WHINE
posted by ORthey at 10:19 AM on November 25, 2006 [3 favorites]

I saw this last week on Neatorama... so I'm glad it's finally trickled down to MeFi so the rest of you can enjoy it.
posted by wfrgms at 10:29 AM on November 25, 2006

I enjoyed it, mostly because driving across country and seeing America has always been one of those "someday..." things for me.
posted by Uther Bentrazor at 10:31 AM on November 25, 2006

Stupid but strangely compelling site.
posted by stbalbach at 10:44 AM on November 25, 2006

Great link. Makes me want to go adventuring.
posted by Drunken_munky at 10:47 AM on November 25, 2006

Reminds me of my cross country drives. Thanks for the link.
posted by vito90 at 10:49 AM on November 25, 2006

watsondog, I've never seen a Canadian car without mph on it. Unless this is terribly new, say less than the past 6 months, you're misinformed. My folks car has mph beneath the km/h and it's maybe 10 months old. My sisters car is a little older and also has it. I don't know how old the last rental car I used was, but it also had dual readings on the speedometer. The only thing I can think of is maybe a digital speedometer, but even then I've noticed that the electronics on my moms lincoln has a US/metric button.
posted by substrate at 11:07 AM on November 25, 2006

I liked it a lot - thanks, hama7!
posted by jonson at 11:13 AM on November 25, 2006

Despite the omglolzersboobiesandbuttes tone of this thing, the guys doing the driving actually seem fairly knowledgable about roadside attractions and the muffler men, not to mention the various old cars they saw. The little details were enough to make it interesting.
posted by jacquilynne at 11:15 AM on November 25, 2006

Sorry for my apparently geezerdom-inspired ignorance, here, but what is/are "mk1 kids?" It's altogether possible it was in that link somewhere, but I got really tired of the OMGLOL crap.
posted by Emperor SnooKloze at 11:23 AM on November 25, 2006

It's an entertaining photo-blog of a couple of kids on a roadtrip. I love roadtrips, and I've done 80% of the trip they did (Chicago -> Seattle). It's almost painfully boring until you get to the western half of Washingon (Idaho/Montana are good, though). So they were keeping themselves occupied.

When my friend and I did that drive, we saw the exit for the Enchcanted Highway and didn't stop. I'd always wondered what it was.

I laughed through most of it. And they didn't vandalise anything. It's tape!

Also, I think this was a neat idea (the 'sign my ride' car).
posted by ninjew at 11:24 AM on November 25, 2006

I've never seen a Canadian car without mph on it. Unless this is terribly new, say less than the past 6 months, you're misinformed.

Mine (1991 Saab, Ontario plates) doesn't.

/knows this from having to do y=5x/8 many, many times driving from Toronna -> Vancouver (through the USA) this summer.
posted by docgonzo at 11:30 AM on November 25, 2006

"THIS IS A STUPID POST EVERYONE IS STUPID WHINE WHINE WHINE"

That's what I want on my T-shirt!
posted by davy at 11:34 AM on November 25, 2006

I kept scrolling and scrolling, hoping to figure out what was up with the tape. It was maddening! And kind of a letdown, ultimately.

I think I would have stopped finding the tape funny after the first 50 miles or so. These guys have an enviable state of mind going on. They're able to keep themselves entertained throughout a cross-country car trip with nothing but some rolls of tape.
posted by Tuffy at 11:44 AM on November 25, 2006

The real Moose Jaw is calling its lawyers.
posted by evilcolonel at 11:57 AM on November 25, 2006

I'm bookmarking this. This explains my uneasiness whenever I have to travel in the States.
posted by juiceCake at 12:41 PM on November 25, 2006

> This is very stupid link to a very stupid site about a very stupid thing done by very stupid kids.

And it's not even a YouTube page.
posted by ardgedee at 12:52 PM on November 25, 2006 [1 favorite]

Emperor, they're talking about the Volkswagen "A1" chassis, mostly associated with the 1980s Rabbit GTI in the USA. photo gallery Many still call it the most fun hot hatch ever. I used to own one, and I'd have to agree, it's light as a feather and drives like a go-kart. Built almost as sturdy as one, too. :)
posted by anthill at 12:52 PM on November 25, 2006

It's moderately common in some car enthusiast circles to go on so-called "blue tape runs," where the participants go on a longish road trip en masse for fun. To protect the paint (often custom) from excessive bugs, dings, and road tar, and also to as a mark of recognition among the participants, they tape up the front of their cars with low-adhesion blue painter's tape, which peels off without leaving any residue.

I can't seem to find many pic sets, but here's one car. I've seen bigger photosets with lots of cars but I can't seem to find them right now. The phenomenon seems to be most prevalent for West Coasters making desert runs to Vegas and back. Apparently there's a lot of grit in the desert or something.
posted by BeerFilter at 1:19 PM on November 25, 2006

Metafilter: very stupid links to very stupid sites about very stupid things done by very stupid kids.
It had to be said.

anthill's explanation is fine, Emperor, but it's probably simpler to know that a VW Rabbit in the US was a Mark 1 VW Golf everywhere else.

I forgot to say that the fact they randomly found that "sign my ride" car is one of the more remarkable feats of serendipity I've seen in a while. That it actually has a webpage is frosting.
posted by dhartung at 3:02 PM on November 25, 2006

This site was a fun way to spend 10 minutes. Looks like they had a good trip.
posted by Vindaloo at 3:15 PM on November 25, 2006

omg the smiley faces make it stop
posted by Saucy Intruder at 4:27 PM on November 25, 2006

This was a great post. I read half before work and couldn't wait to get home and finish. I made a cross country road trip about a year and a half ago and only had a fraction of the fun they did. The painters tape was a genius idea as well.

I can't believe how many people are so negative about this link.

Oh wait, Metafilter, now I remember...
posted by Derek at 4:51 PM on November 25, 2006

I loved it too, thanks for the post
posted by nostrada at 8:41 PM on November 25, 2006

Fun on the web, hama7. They certainly put the "Odd" in "Odyssey".

They should've used white and yellow markers; then the car would look just like MetaFilter.
posted by wendell at 8:56 PM on November 25, 2006

I think it's good..... made me laugh..... but then again I am still drunk from last night......

Thanks, hama7. I miss road tripping.
posted by peewinkle at 7:23 AM on November 26, 2006

moderately amusing--but it would have helped having an interesting narrative. I wouuld have pulled a Carol Starkweather on these two boring putzes somewhere areound the Dakotas.
posted by beelzbubba at 2:20 PM on November 26, 2006