Against the Law: Car Edition

This morning I passed a complete douche on the NJ Turnpike. The NJ Turnpike is full of douches, so the fact that this guy stood out in a crowd of douches warrants blogging. The guy was a contemporary of mine - in his late 20's to early 30's. Given his perceived age, he committed two automotive atrocities. First, he was driving a crimson Chrysler Sebring convertible. With all due respect to Big Swinging D, who used to drive one of these things, the Chrysler Sebring convertible is a car for a housewife from a fly-over state who wants to "let her hair down a little" but not still drive a practical car with ample seating for 4 and a spacious trunk (In fairness to Chrysler, the 2008 Sebring convertible is much better looking than previous models). In the future under Dave's Law, Chryler Sebrings will all have electronic devices which prevent ignition if the car detects a penis in the driver's seat. The douche's second infraction was that he had a vanity plate (from NY, but I'll let that slide today) which read "DAPRDAV". Vanity plates are the "puns" of the "vehicle personalization world". They're the refuge of the witless but occassionally you'll come across a funny pun/vanity plate. "DAPRDAV" is not funny.

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Nissan Altima Coupe

Once again the car industry has earned my contempt. Nissan has introduced an Altima Coupe that is clearly a rebadged Infiniti G35 (the car I drive). Here are some pictures of both cars.

First the Altima

And the G35 Coupe

My car is almost 5, which is old for a car model, but it has been able to retain a lot of the cachet that accompanied it off the lot. I still get compliments at gas stations and lingering stares on highways. Nissan is destroying a beautiful car's legacy among luxury cars by rebadging it (and repricing it) as a MUCH CHEAPER Nissan. BMW's and Mercedes' designs from past decades still look like luxury cars, and in some cases they've aged into classics, because they were never rebadged. The G35 coupe could have been a classic too.

This month Nissan will replace the G35 with a G37 on Infiniti lots. The jury is still out on whether the design is a hit. So far the reviews of the G37 have been positive. Personally, I like the look of the new G sedan and expect I'll like the G37 coupe. Regardless, Nissan has broken "The Law" for rebadging the most innovative and beautifully designed Infiniti of the past 20 years. A car that reinvigorated the Infiniti name and heralded a new age of success for Nissan motors has now been forever cheapened. The next time I spend $30k+ on a luxury car, I will only buy from a manufacturer who does not engage in such blatant re-badging.

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Legal Briefs

• This "dude" summering in Belmar got acquainted with draconian municipal ordinances down there. The local politicians are just tilting at windmills. They'll never reverse the beach/party culture that is so firmly entrenched in NJ's collective consciousness that it's become a rite of passage for NJ youth (and NY and PA youth unfortunately). See NJGuido.com, the Miss NJ scandal and Antonella Barba pics for evidence of the shore culture's influence on NJ. These kids have plenty of money to pay trivial fines which can be viewed alternatively as the cost of a license to party.

• NJ.com has added a page entitled Hoboken Now, which despite the weak name, is an excellent resource for both Hoboken residents and fans of the Mile Square City alike.