"This is a man's car."
January 5, 2016 9:00 PM Subscribe
Salesgirl drifts a pickup truck Professional motorsports athlete Leona Chin (dubbed Malaysia's Drift Queen), together with Mitsubishi Motors and Maxman.tv, pretends to be a sales girl on her first day selling the Mitsubishi Triton to unsuspecting male customers. Hijinks ensue during the testdrive. This isn't her first time: she's pranked driving instructors before.
If it cuts down on guys flapping their jaw off with their kneejerk sexist comments, then I'm all for #constantvigilance
posted by cendawanita at 9:09 PM on January 5, 2016 [26 favorites]
posted by cendawanita at 9:09 PM on January 5, 2016 [26 favorites]
Wow and she even closed a sale to the Malay guy! Hope she gets a commission.
God that creepy sleaze though - man I hope his "giflfriend who is not here" gets to see that video.
posted by awfurby at 9:17 PM on January 5, 2016 [9 favorites]
God that creepy sleaze though - man I hope his "giflfriend who is not here" gets to see that video.
posted by awfurby at 9:17 PM on January 5, 2016 [9 favorites]
I like the chubby guy who is clearly enjoying the ride - everyone else just looks terrified.
posted by emd3737 at 9:30 PM on January 5, 2016 [78 favorites]
posted by emd3737 at 9:30 PM on January 5, 2016 [78 favorites]
The driving instructor video just seemed to terrify that one poor instructor who screamed the whole way. This one with the footballers, however, is pure delight.
posted by Dreadnought at 9:33 PM on January 5, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by Dreadnought at 9:33 PM on January 5, 2016 [3 favorites]
There's a whole genre of race car drivers taking people on fake test drives, both as pranks and as ad campaigns, and I wonder if people might start expecting it to happen.
like the jeff gordon ones :P /pepsi blue!
posted by kliuless at 9:41 PM on January 5, 2016 [1 favorite]
like the jeff gordon ones :P /pepsi blue!
posted by kliuless at 9:41 PM on January 5, 2016 [1 favorite]
There's probably a whole discursive, feminist-positive topic to be had about this, but most of us are looking at this like, "she's an awesome driver, yup."
posted by linear_arborescent_thought at 9:54 PM on January 5, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by linear_arborescent_thought at 9:54 PM on January 5, 2016 [3 favorites]
My favorite part of this was the look on her face while she drives, that mix of concentration and joy.
posted by davejh at 9:56 PM on January 5, 2016 [23 favorites]
posted by davejh at 9:56 PM on January 5, 2016 [23 favorites]
I like the chubby guy who is clearly enjoying the ride - everyone else just looks terrified.
The chubby guy told her he wanted to be a racer some day, so I guess it was like a pleasant surprise.
In the salesgirl video, I didn't mind the schadenfreude that came after these guys were puffing up their chests. But, I wasn't really into the driving instructor prank...
posted by picklenickle at 10:04 PM on January 5, 2016 [4 favorites]
The chubby guy told her he wanted to be a racer some day, so I guess it was like a pleasant surprise.
In the salesgirl video, I didn't mind the schadenfreude that came after these guys were puffing up their chests. But, I wasn't really into the driving instructor prank...
posted by picklenickle at 10:04 PM on January 5, 2016 [4 favorites]
Sabine Schmitz will be happy to drive you around the Nürburgring for a small fee (€499/lap).
posted by Confess, Fletch at 10:06 PM on January 5, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by Confess, Fletch at 10:06 PM on January 5, 2016 [4 favorites]
for anyone who needs a skill check on car control - that last shot of holding a ~2ton truck in a steady-ish sideways circle (even on level wet asphalt) takes a supreme amount of practice and concentration.
as in: "I normally drive with the front end of the car pointed in the same direction as my eyes (and with constant throttle and no steering input), but for the sake of variety, let's just throw that shit out the window. point the car this way, my eyes over here, and let's make constant course corrections with both wheel and throttle to keep things going smooth. oh yeah, and at this speed, something really terrible could happen at any moment."
posted by rye bread at 10:12 PM on January 5, 2016 [4 favorites]
as in: "I normally drive with the front end of the car pointed in the same direction as my eyes (and with constant throttle and no steering input), but for the sake of variety, let's just throw that shit out the window. point the car this way, my eyes over here, and let's make constant course corrections with both wheel and throttle to keep things going smooth. oh yeah, and at this speed, something really terrible could happen at any moment."
posted by rye bread at 10:12 PM on January 5, 2016 [4 favorites]
I'm pretty certain the "this is a man's car" dude was a plant/actor. Not a very good actor, though.
posted by lastobelus at 10:12 PM on January 5, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by lastobelus at 10:12 PM on January 5, 2016 [3 favorites]
holding a ~2ton truck in a steady-ish sideways circle
"I don't want to buy this car, it doesn't track straight!"
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:23 PM on January 5, 2016
"I don't want to buy this car, it doesn't track straight!"
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:23 PM on January 5, 2016
It didn't do much to showcase the truck, though. Other than the sign-off drift/doughnut, it seemed to spin out pretty easily (and most of the shots were of that). Not surprising for the truck, but an odd stunt to try with that kind of vehicle.
The Malaysian (wide generalisation, but I saw it a lot) attitude towards women drivers (specifically race drivers) is pretty neanderthal and pretty well demonstrated by the macho idiots in that video, although the "This is a Man's car" one is hard to believe even so. Seconding that was a plant. I spent a few months over there with a race driver scholarship programme and one girl was very quick and was picked with three other boys to progress, but it was a bit distasteful watching how the older men treated her - like kind of a novelty toy that was 'surprisingly able to do this and not crash' kind of thing. Her peers respected her as a driver, yet the people running the programme (a generation older) treated her nominally well (I guess, as in they didn't actively discriminate against her) but OMG SO MANY patronising bullshit comments - a lot to her face, but worse in the background. Even though she was genuinely quick (2nd fastest of the 4 chosen consistently) they always kind of acted like she was picked because she was a girl to demonstrate how open minded they were. Fortunately, she was raised a little differently than most and was tough as nails and took no bullshit.
posted by Brockles at 10:25 PM on January 5, 2016 [15 favorites]
The Malaysian (wide generalisation, but I saw it a lot) attitude towards women drivers (specifically race drivers) is pretty neanderthal and pretty well demonstrated by the macho idiots in that video, although the "This is a Man's car" one is hard to believe even so. Seconding that was a plant. I spent a few months over there with a race driver scholarship programme and one girl was very quick and was picked with three other boys to progress, but it was a bit distasteful watching how the older men treated her - like kind of a novelty toy that was 'surprisingly able to do this and not crash' kind of thing. Her peers respected her as a driver, yet the people running the programme (a generation older) treated her nominally well (I guess, as in they didn't actively discriminate against her) but OMG SO MANY patronising bullshit comments - a lot to her face, but worse in the background. Even though she was genuinely quick (2nd fastest of the 4 chosen consistently) they always kind of acted like she was picked because she was a girl to demonstrate how open minded they were. Fortunately, she was raised a little differently than most and was tough as nails and took no bullshit.
posted by Brockles at 10:25 PM on January 5, 2016 [15 favorites]
Truck looks pretty top heavy. She's a damn good driver to keep it from flipping over on them.
posted by a lungful of dragon at 10:32 PM on January 5, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by a lungful of dragon at 10:32 PM on January 5, 2016 [1 favorite]
that last shot of holding a ~2ton truck in a steady-ish sideways circle (even on level wet asphalt) takes a supreme amount of practice and concentration.
It really doesn't - a steady state circular drift like that just isn't hard, it's just a matter of balancing steering and throttle with the same sort of balance and awareness you need walking along a thin line/wall/plank. I could train anyone with a modicum of skill (or even coordination) to do that within 30 minutes, reliably, and completing a full circle within an hour. If they have any natural skill at all it would take not very long at all.
I had a guy approach me in his brand new Merc while I was doing a demonstration at a county show once and when everything was over he wanted me to show him how to drift his car. So I showed it could be done a few times, explained what I did and sat there with him while he tried to get it. He was utterly clueless - no experience in the car (less than 100 miles on it!) or at the task in hand, but within 20 minutes we had him sliding his car around a central obstacle pretty reliably.
at this speed, something really terrible could happen at any moment."
...not so much. There isn't much that can go wrong unless a rim digs into the surface. It's not as hard as it looks. HOWEVER, that truck was really holding her back. It's not through lack of talent on her part (I've seen other stuff from her) but more a damning statement on the lack of dynamic ability of that truck that she wasn't able to do something genuinely difficult in that thing.
Some of the harder things in drifting is to throw the car at speed from straight ahead into a drift, or switch from one side drift to the other. In this video you can see that whenever she tries to do any of that kind of stuff, the truck always lifts a rear wheel and spins out. The truck is the problem, not her. She's just not able to show much skill in a flashy way in that thing, but uses considerable skill preventing it landing on its roof while she certainly has a bloody good try to drag it around by its collar.
posted by Brockles at 10:37 PM on January 5, 2016 [24 favorites]
It really doesn't - a steady state circular drift like that just isn't hard, it's just a matter of balancing steering and throttle with the same sort of balance and awareness you need walking along a thin line/wall/plank. I could train anyone with a modicum of skill (or even coordination) to do that within 30 minutes, reliably, and completing a full circle within an hour. If they have any natural skill at all it would take not very long at all.
I had a guy approach me in his brand new Merc while I was doing a demonstration at a county show once and when everything was over he wanted me to show him how to drift his car. So I showed it could be done a few times, explained what I did and sat there with him while he tried to get it. He was utterly clueless - no experience in the car (less than 100 miles on it!) or at the task in hand, but within 20 minutes we had him sliding his car around a central obstacle pretty reliably.
at this speed, something really terrible could happen at any moment."
...not so much. There isn't much that can go wrong unless a rim digs into the surface. It's not as hard as it looks. HOWEVER, that truck was really holding her back. It's not through lack of talent on her part (I've seen other stuff from her) but more a damning statement on the lack of dynamic ability of that truck that she wasn't able to do something genuinely difficult in that thing.
Some of the harder things in drifting is to throw the car at speed from straight ahead into a drift, or switch from one side drift to the other. In this video you can see that whenever she tries to do any of that kind of stuff, the truck always lifts a rear wheel and spins out. The truck is the problem, not her. She's just not able to show much skill in a flashy way in that thing, but uses considerable skill preventing it landing on its roof while she certainly has a bloody good try to drag it around by its collar.
posted by Brockles at 10:37 PM on January 5, 2016 [24 favorites]
I've no doubt that she's a skilled driver, but that camera work made it look more like me on one of those GTA "scare the passenger" missions. I was hoping for tyre smoke, donuts, and precision driving between things that would hurt... :/
posted by sodium lights the horizon at 10:37 PM on January 5, 2016
posted by sodium lights the horizon at 10:37 PM on January 5, 2016
I'm a little surprised enterprising race teams aren't looking for more women drivers. I know racing takes stamina and strength, sometimes incredible amounts of it, but I think women would be able to hold their own there, and they have a built-in advantage of size and weight.
Two equally skilled people, one of whom is 5'4 and 115 lbs and another who is 5'8 and 145 lbs...that's a huge difference in both room needed for the driver and weight savings. That must already be accounted for, eh, in the regulations?
posted by maxwelton at 10:47 PM on January 5, 2016 [1 favorite]
Two equally skilled people, one of whom is 5'4 and 115 lbs and another who is 5'8 and 145 lbs...that's a huge difference in both room needed for the driver and weight savings. That must already be accounted for, eh, in the regulations?
posted by maxwelton at 10:47 PM on January 5, 2016 [1 favorite]
I would imagine that they have minimum driver weights, with drivers below those required to carry supplemental weight to meet the minimum.
posted by NoxAeternum at 10:52 PM on January 5, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by NoxAeternum at 10:52 PM on January 5, 2016 [1 favorite]
It really doesn't
doing it: 1) on demand 2) reliably enough to create 15s of uninterrupted shot/dialogue 3) again in a heavy truck w/ street tires at a controlled approach on a relatively ungroomed surface - i still think qualifies for "high" levels of skill. if supreme gets you a web video franchise, then fine, not supreme, but still - more skill than the average person would be willing to acquire.
posted by rye bread at 11:09 PM on January 5, 2016 [1 favorite]
doing it: 1) on demand 2) reliably enough to create 15s of uninterrupted shot/dialogue 3) again in a heavy truck w/ street tires at a controlled approach on a relatively ungroomed surface - i still think qualifies for "high" levels of skill. if supreme gets you a web video franchise, then fine, not supreme, but still - more skill than the average person would be willing to acquire.
posted by rye bread at 11:09 PM on January 5, 2016 [1 favorite]
I'm a little surprised enterprising race teams aren't looking for more women drivers.
The vast, overwhelming majority of race car drivers are not paid. They bring money or pay themselves. So it's not about the 'enterprising teams' it's 'bring a budget and be fast'. There are not enough female drivers out there that can do both. There aren't actually that many AT ALL, so it's hardly surprising we don't see more at higher levels. There are a huge number of male drivers that can't do both also. As with a lot of drivers (men and women alike) it's usually one or the other (money or speed). It's rare to get both at the same time, and when there are vastly fewer women drivers it becomes a tiny actual number. The sheer volume of number of male drivers means the sample is large enough that the small subset of money and talent still produces a sizeable number or drivers. Percentage wise, at present, women drivers find it a little easier to progress in the lower ranks (despite lacking in talent quite a lot) because funding can be easier to find for women because of their relative rarity. But by the time they get halfway up the levels they just need to be funded as a FAST driver because results matter in racing too. Lots of well funded women drivers have foundered at that stage, and I have seen several talented female drivers fail well before that from lack of funding, just like their male peers.
they have a built-in advantage of size and weight.
I've been through the women race car drivers thing A LOT and it really isn't that simple. There is no real size advantage as strength (through mechanical advantage of your limbs) can be a factor and being small doesn't help you. Current race cars are designed to allow a driver to fit safely, so being small isn't such a big deal as it was. Also a weight advantage does not outweigh a skill advantage unless it is a HUGE weight advantage, and driver weight is taken out of the equation as much as possible in most of racing anyway with minimum car/nominal driver weights (for parity of competition) so it's not all that relevant. But at this stage, your woman driver, just as much as a male driver would need to be light, strong for their size (whatever it was), well funded AND very, very good. Which is a tiny subsection of drivers, never mind women drivers. Also, the strength and stamina needed to drive the top level cars means muscle mass, which can narrow the gap for smaller people because they need to bulk up a little or they are too easily affected by fatigue. But the simple fact of the matter is that there are very few women in race cars, and if 1% of male drivers get to the top in most of racing (which is probably about right) then when there are only 15-20 women drivers in the World (maybe 2-3 of which are actually any good) 1% doesn't leave much chance.
Racing needs many more women drivers because that's the only way we'll get the women drivers that are actually good enough, in enough numbers, that we will happen upon the ones that have talent AND funding to get through the lower stages of racing and get noticed for full time and generate elevated funding and make a career of it. But there is a HUGE amount of skill, luck and talent needed that will never outweigh a few pounds weight advantage.
posted by Brockles at 11:09 PM on January 5, 2016 [15 favorites]
The vast, overwhelming majority of race car drivers are not paid. They bring money or pay themselves. So it's not about the 'enterprising teams' it's 'bring a budget and be fast'. There are not enough female drivers out there that can do both. There aren't actually that many AT ALL, so it's hardly surprising we don't see more at higher levels. There are a huge number of male drivers that can't do both also. As with a lot of drivers (men and women alike) it's usually one or the other (money or speed). It's rare to get both at the same time, and when there are vastly fewer women drivers it becomes a tiny actual number. The sheer volume of number of male drivers means the sample is large enough that the small subset of money and talent still produces a sizeable number or drivers. Percentage wise, at present, women drivers find it a little easier to progress in the lower ranks (despite lacking in talent quite a lot) because funding can be easier to find for women because of their relative rarity. But by the time they get halfway up the levels they just need to be funded as a FAST driver because results matter in racing too. Lots of well funded women drivers have foundered at that stage, and I have seen several talented female drivers fail well before that from lack of funding, just like their male peers.
they have a built-in advantage of size and weight.
I've been through the women race car drivers thing A LOT and it really isn't that simple. There is no real size advantage as strength (through mechanical advantage of your limbs) can be a factor and being small doesn't help you. Current race cars are designed to allow a driver to fit safely, so being small isn't such a big deal as it was. Also a weight advantage does not outweigh a skill advantage unless it is a HUGE weight advantage, and driver weight is taken out of the equation as much as possible in most of racing anyway with minimum car/nominal driver weights (for parity of competition) so it's not all that relevant. But at this stage, your woman driver, just as much as a male driver would need to be light, strong for their size (whatever it was), well funded AND very, very good. Which is a tiny subsection of drivers, never mind women drivers. Also, the strength and stamina needed to drive the top level cars means muscle mass, which can narrow the gap for smaller people because they need to bulk up a little or they are too easily affected by fatigue. But the simple fact of the matter is that there are very few women in race cars, and if 1% of male drivers get to the top in most of racing (which is probably about right) then when there are only 15-20 women drivers in the World (maybe 2-3 of which are actually any good) 1% doesn't leave much chance.
Racing needs many more women drivers because that's the only way we'll get the women drivers that are actually good enough, in enough numbers, that we will happen upon the ones that have talent AND funding to get through the lower stages of racing and get noticed for full time and generate elevated funding and make a career of it. But there is a HUGE amount of skill, luck and talent needed that will never outweigh a few pounds weight advantage.
posted by Brockles at 11:09 PM on January 5, 2016 [15 favorites]
doing it: 1) on demand 2) reliably enough to create 15s of uninterrupted shot/dialogue 3) again in a heavy truck w/ street tires at a controlled approach on a relatively ungroomed surface - i still think qualifies for "high" levels of skill.
As I said, she has significant skill and I'm not at all trying to minimise that, it's just that the move in question isn't showing the depth of it very well. Yes, performing on demand with 15 seconds of it is a higher level of skill/practice than most, but it's pretty basic stuff for someone of her skill level. She could do that in her sleep. It's just not as hard as you think it is if you have the time, vehicle and space to practise it (which is what most people lack).
Like I say, I could train a lot of people with only reasonable levels of skill and coordination to do that move relatively quickly. I could have most competently driving people doing it for 15 seconds or more at a time within a couple of hours. The skill is in being able to come in and do it straight away in a strange vehicle, but the move itself isn't hard. Also, the loose/wet surface makes it easier, not harder.
posted by Brockles at 11:18 PM on January 5, 2016 [4 favorites]
As I said, she has significant skill and I'm not at all trying to minimise that, it's just that the move in question isn't showing the depth of it very well. Yes, performing on demand with 15 seconds of it is a higher level of skill/practice than most, but it's pretty basic stuff for someone of her skill level. She could do that in her sleep. It's just not as hard as you think it is if you have the time, vehicle and space to practise it (which is what most people lack).
Like I say, I could train a lot of people with only reasonable levels of skill and coordination to do that move relatively quickly. I could have most competently driving people doing it for 15 seconds or more at a time within a couple of hours. The skill is in being able to come in and do it straight away in a strange vehicle, but the move itself isn't hard. Also, the loose/wet surface makes it easier, not harder.
posted by Brockles at 11:18 PM on January 5, 2016 [4 favorites]
Putting people at some small but real risk of injury or death without their consent is some funny shit.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 11:58 PM on January 5, 2016 [6 favorites]
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 11:58 PM on January 5, 2016 [6 favorites]
She's a great driver, but I'm 99% sure the all the 'customers' are fake. If they were looking at buying a car in Malaysia, where this is filmed, they'd be speaking Bahasa Melayu, not English for a Youtube audience.
posted by dazed_one at 12:08 AM on January 6, 2016 [5 favorites]
posted by dazed_one at 12:08 AM on January 6, 2016 [5 favorites]
Similar previously: Riccardo Patrese drives wife crazy in Civic Type-R. The fighting in the comments is making me nostalgic for all the wrong reasons.
posted by Space Coyote at 12:16 AM on January 6, 2016
posted by Space Coyote at 12:16 AM on January 6, 2016
As far as those prank videos goes, I like this one: Female Muay Thai champion pretends to be nerdy girl doing her first lesson at local gym. My 11 yo daughter who just started Tae Kwon Do liked it as well... :)
posted by Harald74 at 12:18 AM on January 6, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Harald74 at 12:18 AM on January 6, 2016 [1 favorite]
And the makeup and editing makes the woman in question alternately seem like a badass and a wuss. A useful lesson to keep in mind. Also illustrated nicely in the otherwise, ahem, unremarkable Paul Blart: Mall Cop when Blart changes from a white shirt to a black one, and at the same time the camera angle goes lower and the music changes, and suddenly he's a totally different character.
posted by Harald74 at 12:22 AM on January 6, 2016
posted by Harald74 at 12:22 AM on January 6, 2016
If they were looking at buying a car in Malaysia, where this is filmed, they'd be speaking Bahasa Melayu, not English for a Youtube audience.
you mean i've lived my entire life in a lie, eh?
posted by cendawanita at 12:32 AM on January 6, 2016 [20 favorites]
you mean i've lived my entire life in a lie, eh?
posted by cendawanita at 12:32 AM on January 6, 2016 [20 favorites]
That was very satisfying to watch after a series of minor sexist encounters today.
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 2:57 AM on January 6, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 2:57 AM on January 6, 2016 [1 favorite]
Taking unsuspecting people on 'wild rides' seems deeply uncool. I mean, once they say "stop!" it's kidnapping, right?
I used to actually do this, in the Santa Cruz Mountains. I would spend something like 10-15 hours a week driving fast (read: recklessly) on Highway 9, Skyline, Bear Creek, and other nearby roads. And occasionally I'd see hitchhikers. Whenever I'd see one, I'd do my best impression of the NSX scene from Pulp Fiction, going from 60+ to 0, downshifting all the way, to stop right in front of them. Then I'd roll down the window and say "Get In."
But I'd always give a little speech about why I was out there, and tell them that if they wanted me to slow down, they should ask, and I would. About half told me to slow down, and half told me to go faster, heh. And about a third gave me weed. Fun times!
Doing it without consent is fucked up though.
posted by ryanrs at 3:45 AM on January 6, 2016 [2 favorites]
I used to actually do this, in the Santa Cruz Mountains. I would spend something like 10-15 hours a week driving fast (read: recklessly) on Highway 9, Skyline, Bear Creek, and other nearby roads. And occasionally I'd see hitchhikers. Whenever I'd see one, I'd do my best impression of the NSX scene from Pulp Fiction, going from 60+ to 0, downshifting all the way, to stop right in front of them. Then I'd roll down the window and say "Get In."
But I'd always give a little speech about why I was out there, and tell them that if they wanted me to slow down, they should ask, and I would. About half told me to slow down, and half told me to go faster, heh. And about a third gave me weed. Fun times!
Doing it without consent is fucked up though.
posted by ryanrs at 3:45 AM on January 6, 2016 [2 favorites]
Putting people at some small but real risk of injury or death without their consent is some funny shit.
You're not wrong, but I think the risk here is being overstated... I'd be willing to bet your odds of a major crash in an empty parking lot with a professional driver at the wheel are waaay lower than your odds of, say, crashing on your drive to the dealership.
posted by Mayor West at 4:28 AM on January 6, 2016 [3 favorites]
You're not wrong, but I think the risk here is being overstated... I'd be willing to bet your odds of a major crash in an empty parking lot with a professional driver at the wheel are waaay lower than your odds of, say, crashing on your drive to the dealership.
posted by Mayor West at 4:28 AM on January 6, 2016 [3 favorites]
It's the consent that matters, not the risk of injury.
posted by ryanrs at 4:31 AM on January 6, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by ryanrs at 4:31 AM on January 6, 2016 [1 favorite]
Given the liability issue, I'd think Misubishi's lawyers would strongly oppose the company sponsoring this with unsuspecting customers.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 4:46 AM on January 6, 2016
posted by Kirth Gerson at 4:46 AM on January 6, 2016
aquasplaining
posted by chavenet at 4:57 AM on January 6, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by chavenet at 4:57 AM on January 6, 2016 [1 favorite]
like the jeff gordon ones :P /pepsi blue!
posted by kliuless at 12:41 AM on January 6
It's good to know what would happen if I had decided to kidnap my 10th grade social studies teacher. Take that Mr. Pittman! Your class was terrible!
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 5:30 AM on January 6, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by kliuless at 12:41 AM on January 6
It's good to know what would happen if I had decided to kidnap my 10th grade social studies teacher. Take that Mr. Pittman! Your class was terrible!
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 5:30 AM on January 6, 2016 [1 favorite]
Would someone explaining why they're speaking English? Like even if it's fake, is it plausible that a car-buying transaction in Malaysia would be conducted in English?
posted by Potomac Avenue at 5:48 AM on January 6, 2016
posted by Potomac Avenue at 5:48 AM on January 6, 2016
My new life mission is to be like the guy with his hands up the whole time while the damn thing is spinning beyond his control.
posted by Annika Cicada at 5:53 AM on January 6, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by Annika Cicada at 5:53 AM on January 6, 2016 [4 favorites]
Man. The way those guys immediately started hitting on her was jaw-dropping.
posted by Thorzdad at 6:07 AM on January 6, 2016
posted by Thorzdad at 6:07 AM on January 6, 2016
English is spoken fairly widely in Malaysia by middle class people especially between ethnic groups where it's likely to be a common language. No-one would find it weird to have a car salesperson start a conversation in English in Malaysia, although they'd be expected to switch to Malay or Chinese if their customer preferred another language.
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 6:10 AM on January 6, 2016 [6 favorites]
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 6:10 AM on January 6, 2016 [6 favorites]
I spent quite a bit of time with a Chinese Malaysian family, what I saw was that English was the default outside the home language, unless they went to a very obviously Chinese speaking business. Lah.
posted by deadwax at 6:16 AM on January 6, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by deadwax at 6:16 AM on January 6, 2016 [4 favorites]
HOWEVER, that truck was really holding her back.
Between the live axel rear suspension, high ground clearance, and 2.4L turbo-diesel engine, I'm not surprised. She probably has the torque she needs to break the wheels loose but I be the throttle response just isn't there.
There are a couple of times you see her try to drag the rear end through a puddle in an effort to break the wheels loose (once they start skidding it's easier to keep doing it).
It's like the Harlem Globetrotters trying to do tricks with a ball that isn't inflated all the way. They can kind of do some of the basic stuff that most of the audience could do with a bit of practice and coaching but the ball doesn't have enough bounce for anything more.
RE: Safety/consent
It's an empty parking lot so there isn't anything to run into so the only real danger is from rolling over. There is a slight chance that a window might break and an arm might get flung out of it and then crushed under the rolling truck but it's pretty unlikely.
They gave consent sometime after they figured out that this isn't really a salesperson on their first day. They don't show much of that part of it and I would be asking for a different salesperson pretty quick if that was the kind of service that I got. I'm betting that they had her do her "salesperson" shtick just long enough to get the footage they needed for the clip and then told the guys a bit about what they were doing and they signed some kind of consent form/liability waiver before they got in the truck. They might have been surprised by how aggressively she drove or that it felt a LOT faster than they thought it would but that would explain the combination of wooden acting and genuine surprise.
posted by VTX at 6:16 AM on January 6, 2016 [3 favorites]
Between the live axel rear suspension, high ground clearance, and 2.4L turbo-diesel engine, I'm not surprised. She probably has the torque she needs to break the wheels loose but I be the throttle response just isn't there.
There are a couple of times you see her try to drag the rear end through a puddle in an effort to break the wheels loose (once they start skidding it's easier to keep doing it).
It's like the Harlem Globetrotters trying to do tricks with a ball that isn't inflated all the way. They can kind of do some of the basic stuff that most of the audience could do with a bit of practice and coaching but the ball doesn't have enough bounce for anything more.
RE: Safety/consent
It's an empty parking lot so there isn't anything to run into so the only real danger is from rolling over. There is a slight chance that a window might break and an arm might get flung out of it and then crushed under the rolling truck but it's pretty unlikely.
They gave consent sometime after they figured out that this isn't really a salesperson on their first day. They don't show much of that part of it and I would be asking for a different salesperson pretty quick if that was the kind of service that I got. I'm betting that they had her do her "salesperson" shtick just long enough to get the footage they needed for the clip and then told the guys a bit about what they were doing and they signed some kind of consent form/liability waiver before they got in the truck. They might have been surprised by how aggressively she drove or that it felt a LOT faster than they thought it would but that would explain the combination of wooden acting and genuine surprise.
posted by VTX at 6:16 AM on January 6, 2016 [3 favorites]
English is as much a Malaysian language as with the other vernacular languages. We might not officially recognise it as one of the national languages (unlike Singapore, which recognises the 4 main ones shared with Malaysia; Malaysia only considers Malay as the National Language), but it is definitely the language of business and law (normatively; officially it's now Malay, but for the most part the legal practitioners are much more comfortable in English than in Malay) but across class and ethnic groups and in urban areas, it is absolutely the lingua franca of choice, unless, like dorothyisunderwood says, either party signals comfort in another language (and the non-verbal signalling can very much include racial stereotyping). Depending on area, the cross-ethnic language of choice is either Malay or English, and where this video was taking place, that would be an English-dominant area.
posted by cendawanita at 6:40 AM on January 6, 2016 [6 favorites]
posted by cendawanita at 6:40 AM on January 6, 2016 [6 favorites]
And in urban Malaysian areas, you're more likely to conduct business in English period, just because the documentation themselves would probably first be encountered in English, and it actually takes more effort to translate them into the various vernacular languages (hence, even in a non English-dominant area, business conversations would fall into 50% English or so).
posted by cendawanita at 6:41 AM on January 6, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by cendawanita at 6:41 AM on January 6, 2016 [2 favorites]
I like the chubby guy
Chubby guys are the best. I want to be a chubby guy one day.
posted by Segundus at 7:08 AM on January 6, 2016
Chubby guys are the best. I want to be a chubby guy one day.
posted by Segundus at 7:08 AM on January 6, 2016
This is all you need to know.
Now my fear is some day I will die on an international flight one row away from that guy who will be on the phone until physics forces it from his crushed hand. I can't tell if it is more of less believable the biggest ego turns out to be the biggest chicken. He just about hooked his feet into the Oh Shit handle on one of the turns.
posted by yerfatma at 7:26 AM on January 6, 2016
Now my fear is some day I will die on an international flight one row away from that guy who will be on the phone until physics forces it from his crushed hand. I can't tell if it is more of less believable the biggest ego turns out to be the biggest chicken. He just about hooked his feet into the Oh Shit handle on one of the turns.
posted by yerfatma at 7:26 AM on January 6, 2016
Oh also, speaking as a former car salesperson, you wouldn't let the customer drive and then ask to take over. IF the salesperson is going to drive (which at least Nissan encouraged from the manufacturer level when I sold them) they're going to drive FIRST since it's an unfamiliar car and dealerships can be packed in pretty tight with cars constantly coming and going.
Then you drive the car to the empty parking lot, do your demo to show off the car and hopefully get the customer excited about driving it, which will hopefully get them excited about buying it. It's hard for people to picture themselves owning a car that they're not driving and you want them to be doing that as you get back to the dealership so you can start asking leading questions running up to your closing question.
posted by VTX at 7:35 AM on January 6, 2016
Then you drive the car to the empty parking lot, do your demo to show off the car and hopefully get the customer excited about driving it, which will hopefully get them excited about buying it. It's hard for people to picture themselves owning a car that they're not driving and you want them to be doing that as you get back to the dealership so you can start asking leading questions running up to your closing question.
posted by VTX at 7:35 AM on January 6, 2016
This isn't her first time: she's pranked driving instructors before.
I thought this one was deeply uncool. The driving instructors all looked terrified, and none of them looked like they "appreciated a good prank" afterwards. They were only trying to do their jobs, and all seemed to be treating her with respect.
posted by slkinsey at 8:24 AM on January 6, 2016
I thought this one was deeply uncool. The driving instructors all looked terrified, and none of them looked like they "appreciated a good prank" afterwards. They were only trying to do their jobs, and all seemed to be treating her with respect.
posted by slkinsey at 8:24 AM on January 6, 2016
Putting people at some small but real risk of injury or death without their consent is some funny shit.
I'm assuming this is all actors. The risk of liability and someone suing due to any amount of circumstances (plus the permissions needed to film people) make it highly unlikely to me that an ad agency would risk anything but plants/shills as passengers.
posted by xingcat at 8:30 AM on January 6, 2016 [2 favorites]
I'm assuming this is all actors. The risk of liability and someone suing due to any amount of circumstances (plus the permissions needed to film people) make it highly unlikely to me that an ad agency would risk anything but plants/shills as passengers.
posted by xingcat at 8:30 AM on January 6, 2016 [2 favorites]
Putting people at some small but real risk of injury or death without their consent is some funny shit.
I'll have you know, there is a nonzero chance that I will develop tendonitis or have a heart attack reading or replying to your posts. I want you to remember that you do NOT have my consent for that, so bear that in mind when you try to surprise me with your cleverness.
posted by happyroach at 8:37 AM on January 6, 2016 [2 favorites]
I'll have you know, there is a nonzero chance that I will develop tendonitis or have a heart attack reading or replying to your posts. I want you to remember that you do NOT have my consent for that, so bear that in mind when you try to surprise me with your cleverness.
posted by happyroach at 8:37 AM on January 6, 2016 [2 favorites]
... but most of us are looking at this like, "she's an awesome driver, yup."
Dunno bout anyone else, but I am mainly learning I like the sound of men screaming...
I think VTX has it, the sales part is candid, after which they are told she's a famous driver and can she drive them around while they act surprised and frightened, and the result is some terrible acting combined with some genuine fright and surprise.
posted by Iteki at 8:39 AM on January 6, 2016 [1 favorite]
Dunno bout anyone else, but I am mainly learning I like the sound of men screaming...
I think VTX has it, the sales part is candid, after which they are told she's a famous driver and can she drive them around while they act surprised and frightened, and the result is some terrible acting combined with some genuine fright and surprise.
posted by Iteki at 8:39 AM on January 6, 2016 [1 favorite]
I lived in Kuala Lumpur for a year and found this video completely believable. Any car salesperson at a dealership is going to speak English to do business in, and probably will add the "-la"s at the end of some words like she did.
Also, if my observations of how women in general are treated there, none of those dudes said anything nearly outside the norm to make me suspect them as plants.
Loved the look on her face while she was driving.
posted by allkindsoftime at 8:59 AM on January 6, 2016 [1 favorite]
Also, if my observations of how women in general are treated there, none of those dudes said anything nearly outside the norm to make me suspect them as plants.
Loved the look on her face while she was driving.
posted by allkindsoftime at 8:59 AM on January 6, 2016 [1 favorite]
It's like the Harlem Globetrotters trying to do tricks with a ball that isn't inflated all the way. They can kind of do some of the basic stuff that most of the audience could do with a bit of practice and coaching but the ball doesn't have enough bounce for anything more.
That's a pretty good analogy - you could tell that they were good and had skills, but it just wouldn't be as impressive if you knew what they *could* do.
English was the default outside the home language, unless they went to a very obviously Chinese speaking business. Lah.
Ha! Oh, the 'Lah" made it, for me! It struck me as such a charming modifier, how and where they throw it into the sentences. If I'd stayed much longer I could totally see myself picking that up.
Yes, I was very surprised that not only did everyone I dealt with and met speak perfectly good english, but I also overheard an enormous amount of English being spoken no matter where I went. It's very prevalent and made my time there much easier to get through (short notice, longish term work trip).
posted by Brockles at 9:00 AM on January 6, 2016
That's a pretty good analogy - you could tell that they were good and had skills, but it just wouldn't be as impressive if you knew what they *could* do.
English was the default outside the home language, unless they went to a very obviously Chinese speaking business. Lah.
Ha! Oh, the 'Lah" made it, for me! It struck me as such a charming modifier, how and where they throw it into the sentences. If I'd stayed much longer I could totally see myself picking that up.
Yes, I was very surprised that not only did everyone I dealt with and met speak perfectly good english, but I also overheard an enormous amount of English being spoken no matter where I went. It's very prevalent and made my time there much easier to get through (short notice, longish term work trip).
posted by Brockles at 9:00 AM on January 6, 2016
I lived in Kuala Lumpur for a year and found this video completely believable. Any car salesperson at a dealership is going to speak English to do business in, and probably will add the "-la"s at the end of some words like she did.
Also, if my observations of how women in general are treated there, none of those dudes said anything nearly outside the norm to make me suspect them as plants.
Loved the look on her face while she was driving.
posted by allkindsoftime at 11:59 AM on January 6 [+] [!]
I am Malaysian and I don't find this video believable except for the sexism.
posted by dazed_one at 9:04 AM on January 6, 2016 [4 favorites]
Also, if my observations of how women in general are treated there, none of those dudes said anything nearly outside the norm to make me suspect them as plants.
Loved the look on her face while she was driving.
posted by allkindsoftime at 11:59 AM on January 6 [+] [!]
I am Malaysian and I don't find this video believable except for the sexism.
posted by dazed_one at 9:04 AM on January 6, 2016 [4 favorites]
Didn't she get consent when she asked to show them what the car can really do, and they moved over?
I loved the screaming part. (I used to have the Mt. Lemmon Highway memorized.)
posted by Oyéah at 9:24 AM on January 6, 2016
I loved the screaming part. (I used to have the Mt. Lemmon Highway memorized.)
posted by Oyéah at 9:24 AM on January 6, 2016
I'm a Malay Malaysian Muslim woman, and I find the sexism and the normative use of English believable.
posted by cendawanita at 9:29 AM on January 6, 2016 [12 favorites]
posted by cendawanita at 9:29 AM on January 6, 2016 [12 favorites]
I mean, if we're going to throw out qualifications, I also drive a car, have had to deal with car dealerships and mechanics and men who think I can't drive well because of my gender. In English.
posted by cendawanita at 9:31 AM on January 6, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by cendawanita at 9:31 AM on January 6, 2016 [4 favorites]
The purple shirted guy is the best. Can't get enough of it.
posted by edheil at 10:04 AM on January 6, 2016
posted by edheil at 10:04 AM on January 6, 2016
For all the comments about getting prior consent and liability, are we looking at this too much from the lens of North American business practices?
Also: I echo my joy at watching the excited wannabe racer.
posted by mmascolino at 10:28 AM on January 6, 2016
Also: I echo my joy at watching the excited wannabe racer.
posted by mmascolino at 10:28 AM on January 6, 2016
Story time.
I'm a girl. My father had a sports car in high school, sold it when he got married a few years later, and as his firstborn child, saw fit to gift "me" (him by proxy) a 1972 Chevrolet Nova SuperSport on my 16th birthday. It's Anna's on this page (which is also the only remaining page that bears witness to me having a web page in the 1990s).
I took care of it: changed the spark plugs, gapped them so the engine ran beautifully smooth, took it in for repairs on my own, changed the oil, cleaned it (see those white letters on the tires? yeah), showed it, drove it.
I've shared how I have endometriosis on MeFi; well, one day my senior year of high school, I started gushing blood. That's usually how it went, it was unpredictable. Except this time I didn't have anything on me. I made do as best I could, jumped into my car ASAP once our 45-minute lunch break started, and started the 10-mile drive home. A twenty-mile round trip might sound doable in 45 minutes, except for two things: high school was in a school speed zone, obviously, so 25mph, and then there were four miles of Springfield at 40mph. Only five miles outside city limits were at 65mph, and even then, the one-way trip averaged just over 20 minutes.
Unless I drove 80mph on the countryside stretches. I'd gradually built up to it, learning the hillside curves and what my one-ton hunk of steel – and my arms with manual steering – could safely take. Having police friends, I also knew they never patrolled one of the curvy back roads. So as soon as I was outside city limits, down went my right foot.
"WHIRR WHIRR WHIRR" I saw police lights in my rearview mirror. "Shit." I pulled over. Rolled down the window. The cop walked over.
"Hello there miss. License and registration please."
I handed them over.
Cop: "You were going pretty fast there. Aw, is this your dad?" pointing to his name on the registration.
Me: "Yes."
Cop: "Aww, honey, you gotta be careful with a car like this! You're just not used to it!"
I was speechless and sobbing because I knew my abusive parents would fucking kill me if I got a ticket, and on top of it this dude's telling me I don't know how to drive my own fucking car.
Cop: "Aw hon, look, ask your dad to teach you how to handle the power, okay? I won't write you up for speeding this time, but these tinted windows are illegal, you'll have to take off the tint. I'm sure your dad will understand. If you take off the tint and show photos of it to the judge, the fine will be reduced."
Me through snot and tears: "Okay. Thank you."
Cop: "Now you drive safely okay! Use a light foot on that pedal!"
Me: "Okay."
I watched the cop. Drove off responsibly until he was out of my rearview. Punched it the rest of the way home.
Made it back to school with the necessary supplies just in the knick of time. (Don't do this at home, kids. I never cut corners.) Now that I'm older, I realize it wouldn't have killed me to be late to class for once, but back then I was a die-hard perfectionist. Refused to risk the one thing, an education, that could get me away from my family.
posted by fraula at 11:04 AM on January 6, 2016 [9 favorites]
I'm a girl. My father had a sports car in high school, sold it when he got married a few years later, and as his firstborn child, saw fit to gift "me" (him by proxy) a 1972 Chevrolet Nova SuperSport on my 16th birthday. It's Anna's on this page (which is also the only remaining page that bears witness to me having a web page in the 1990s).
I took care of it: changed the spark plugs, gapped them so the engine ran beautifully smooth, took it in for repairs on my own, changed the oil, cleaned it (see those white letters on the tires? yeah), showed it, drove it.
I've shared how I have endometriosis on MeFi; well, one day my senior year of high school, I started gushing blood. That's usually how it went, it was unpredictable. Except this time I didn't have anything on me. I made do as best I could, jumped into my car ASAP once our 45-minute lunch break started, and started the 10-mile drive home. A twenty-mile round trip might sound doable in 45 minutes, except for two things: high school was in a school speed zone, obviously, so 25mph, and then there were four miles of Springfield at 40mph. Only five miles outside city limits were at 65mph, and even then, the one-way trip averaged just over 20 minutes.
Unless I drove 80mph on the countryside stretches. I'd gradually built up to it, learning the hillside curves and what my one-ton hunk of steel – and my arms with manual steering – could safely take. Having police friends, I also knew they never patrolled one of the curvy back roads. So as soon as I was outside city limits, down went my right foot.
"WHIRR WHIRR WHIRR" I saw police lights in my rearview mirror. "Shit." I pulled over. Rolled down the window. The cop walked over.
"Hello there miss. License and registration please."
I handed them over.
Cop: "You were going pretty fast there. Aw, is this your dad?" pointing to his name on the registration.
Me: "Yes."
Cop: "Aww, honey, you gotta be careful with a car like this! You're just not used to it!"
I was speechless and sobbing because I knew my abusive parents would fucking kill me if I got a ticket, and on top of it this dude's telling me I don't know how to drive my own fucking car.
Cop: "Aw hon, look, ask your dad to teach you how to handle the power, okay? I won't write you up for speeding this time, but these tinted windows are illegal, you'll have to take off the tint. I'm sure your dad will understand. If you take off the tint and show photos of it to the judge, the fine will be reduced."
Me through snot and tears: "Okay. Thank you."
Cop: "Now you drive safely okay! Use a light foot on that pedal!"
Me: "Okay."
I watched the cop. Drove off responsibly until he was out of my rearview. Punched it the rest of the way home.
Made it back to school with the necessary supplies just in the knick of time. (Don't do this at home, kids. I never cut corners.) Now that I'm older, I realize it wouldn't have killed me to be late to class for once, but back then I was a die-hard perfectionist. Refused to risk the one thing, an education, that could get me away from my family.
posted by fraula at 11:04 AM on January 6, 2016 [9 favorites]
This is sort of a side issue, but I watched the Sabine Schmidt video that Confess, Fletch linked to, then from there I watched a POV video of her going around the Nürburgring in some other car...I enjoyed the hell out of it, but I ended up going to bed with a sort of anti-motion-sickness-induced headache, because what I felt sitting in my chair didn't match what my eyes saw through the virtual windshield.
To bring it back to this FPP, I guess I'm glad the camera in this video was pointed inward toward the cab rather than out the windshield, or I'd've really been hurtin'!
posted by Greg_Ace at 11:16 AM on January 6, 2016 [1 favorite]
To bring it back to this FPP, I guess I'm glad the camera in this video was pointed inward toward the cab rather than out the windshield, or I'd've really been hurtin'!
posted by Greg_Ace at 11:16 AM on January 6, 2016 [1 favorite]
(and in case anyone wonders why I didn't just go to a supermarket – it's because I had no spending money.)
posted by fraula at 11:21 AM on January 6, 2016
posted by fraula at 11:21 AM on January 6, 2016
Jeez guys, you don't operate a car with your dick.
Actually, the truth is: Yeah, you do. Just, yep, right in there. Go ahead. It'll be fine.
posted by amanda at 2:16 PM on January 6, 2016
Actually, the truth is: Yeah, you do. Just, yep, right in there. Go ahead. It'll be fine.
posted by amanda at 2:16 PM on January 6, 2016
Jeez guys, you don't operate a car with your dick.
Unfortunately, too many of us apparently operate our interpersonal interactions with it.
posted by Greg_Ace at 2:23 PM on January 6, 2016
Unfortunately, too many of us apparently operate our interpersonal interactions with it.
posted by Greg_Ace at 2:23 PM on January 6, 2016
... wherein the guy who reacts with "what the fuck bitch" immediately regrets it.
posted by iffthen at 5:16 AM on January 7, 2016
posted by iffthen at 5:16 AM on January 7, 2016
I loved this video. Not least because the dudes get what's coming to them:
Guy in black shirt - hits on Ms. Chin relentlessly, terrified screaming.
Guy in gray shirt - patronizing dick, terrified screaming.
Guy in blue shirt - well, the only bit pre-drive we see is him berating her for not knowing something, but we'll put him in the "patronizing dick" category. Terrified screaming.
Chubby guy in T-shirt - apparently is not a sexist asshole, "WHOOOOOOO!!!" with his hands in the air having the time of his life.
Moral of the video - your life is better if you're not a sexist d-bag.
posted by soundguy99 at 6:51 AM on January 7, 2016 [5 favorites]
Guy in black shirt - hits on Ms. Chin relentlessly, terrified screaming.
Guy in gray shirt - patronizing dick, terrified screaming.
Guy in blue shirt - well, the only bit pre-drive we see is him berating her for not knowing something, but we'll put him in the "patronizing dick" category. Terrified screaming.
Chubby guy in T-shirt - apparently is not a sexist asshole, "WHOOOOOOO!!!" with his hands in the air having the time of his life.
Moral of the video - your life is better if you're not a sexist d-bag.
posted by soundguy99 at 6:51 AM on January 7, 2016 [5 favorites]
the only bit pre-drive we see is him berating her for not knowing something, but we'll put him in the "patronizing dick" category.
That is more than a little of forcing the narrative to fit with your own version. It is completely justified for a customer to berate a sales representative for not knowing the product they are supposed to be selling (which is how the woman was initially presented).
posted by Brockles at 10:15 AM on January 7, 2016
That is more than a little of forcing the narrative to fit with your own version. It is completely justified for a customer to berate a sales representative for not knowing the product they are supposed to be selling (which is how the woman was initially presented).
posted by Brockles at 10:15 AM on January 7, 2016
I'll join in the chorus of "Malaysian woman who finds the sexism and the use of business English in this video completely believable". I've heard worse (including a variation of "my girlfriend who isn't here", except it was a taxi driver who wanted me to be his second wife). It didn't occur to me that this could be all actors, and yeah the stuff around consent for recording is not as stringent here as it would be in the US - not inconceivable that they'd ask for consent after the ride, or maybe during, once the guys figure out wtf was going on.
posted by divabat at 10:18 PM on January 15, 2016
posted by divabat at 10:18 PM on January 15, 2016
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This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
There's a whole genre of race car drivers taking people on fake test drives, both as pranks and as ad campaigns, and I wonder if people might start expecting it to happen.
posted by Dip Flash at 9:08 PM on January 5, 2016