There’s nothing wrong with wanting to add a personal touch to your vehicle, giving it a little something extra to stand out from the crowd. However, this is best done when kept to a tasteful minimum. Otherwise it just becomes tacky.
Whether it be adding aftermarket rims/wheel covers, numerous bumper stickers, vinyl/canvas roofs, various trim add-ons, paint jobs or pin striping, more often than not, people get carried away with it. Though most of these aren’t to my personal preference, this Camry I recently spotted features a rather popular modification that disgusts me to the core: peel-n-stick fake chrome B-pillar trim. Which form of aftermarket modification irks you the most?
I thought this “Special Edition” Avalon spotted curbside was pretty bad but that “chromed-up” Camry is even worse.
Given the size and nature of the automobile population in SoCal, you see pretty much everything, including the headlight “eyelashes” – and 5festivas is right, they are truly grotesque.
Fart can exhausts make me crazy, and deaf. Some kid gets an old grocery getter Honda or Toyota, puts a fart can on it and imagines he’s going into turn 1 of the Japanese GP. They’re so common as to be a scourge here in Portland.
Right up there with the fart cans are the kilowatt subwoofers. You can hear them blocks away, even indoors. Intolerable to be next to or behind one at a light.
Like you, am no fan of the “fart can” exhausts. But the subwoofers so loud that you can hear them a block or two away, or at minimum rattles windows far enough away that you can’t even see the offending vehicle, are probably in my Top 5 Worst Ever Mods. Pretty sure that in many if not most cities that cops can issue a citation for the offending vehicle. That’s the only solution for that. And, I have no desire to even hear that when parked at a car show.
I agree with most of the other stuff listed here and will add a personal pet peeve from the past: those sun shade louver things often applied to glassy hatchbacks, such as the Camaro/Firebird.
I’m sure there was some shading/cooling benefit, but they looked so awful and from the inside it felt like you were behind prison bars.
All of these are pretty bad so it’s hard to declare just one as the worst.
Mock convertible tops are pretty bad but I hereby give them a pass on certain large American cars from the 1970’s until 1992–the 1992 Cadillac Sedan DeVille and Coupe DeVille are the newest cars to get this exemption. A white fake convertible top on a pale yellow 1984 Cadillac Seville looks much less silly than one on a 2007 Toyota Camry.
I don’t give two craps about ugly or pointless cosmetic modifications. Not my car, not my money, not my problem.
I have major issues with mods that make other people less safe. Excessively raised trucks are the major offenders here, with both bumpers and lights becoming weapons.
“Spinner” wheels are a fad that seems to have completely passed, but if they had stuck around it would have called for an explicit ban.
Steve, I’m with you on the ugly and/or pointless cosmetic mods. Doesn’t really bother me. Much more concerned about the unsafe or potentially hazardous kind of mods.
Nearly anything, especially items from a different era than the car (ie: wire wheels on a Camry or plastic wheel covers on an LTD Crown Victoria)
Destructive Reese hitches that the owners are too lazy to pull the pin to remove.
I’m not lazy, just getting tailgating cars to back off!
My biggest peeve against them is the destruction to my shins after walking into them when parked.
+1.
I figured this group would take my joke too seriously.
But, I am still peeved by drivers of low cars following that completely disappear behind the tailgate. My truck is not one of those modern monsters. If you cant see my mirrors, I cant see you.
Ah, yes. I have personally barked my shin on one I didn’t see in a parking lot a few times.
Diesel pickup trucks modified to “roll coal”.
+10
It doesn’t grind my gears, but I’ve always found it strange to see those huge vinyl stickers in the rear windows of vehicles, proclaiming “In Memory of” some deceased person.
When my time comes, I hope to be memorialized by recollections of my good deeds, or perhaps an engraved brick set into a sidewalk at my alma mater – not in peel-off vinyl on the back of an SUV. But then again, who am I to judge others’ expressions of grief?
Always found those to be kind of weird and tacky. And, yes, I see most of them on SUVs.
The closest I got to that was trying to get my late dad’s old license plate number. But ILSOS doesn’t allow that pattern anymore, even as a vanity plate. I would have liked that though, as a tribute that didn’t shout to anybody and only I would have noticed.
Like you guys say, I likewise don’t get that memorial for a loved one on a back window. And, agreed that it is usually an SUV or a minivan. The #1 reason I would never do it is that it seems to potentially reduce rearward visibility. So, any other decals or stickers on the back also interferes with good visibility.
Now, the only other one I don’t yet see mentioned is the “stick figure family” stickers on the back of so many vehicles. So many people also have the stick figures for cats and dogs. And, most recently, have seen three rows of people, presumably for someone twice divorced with some of the kids being raised by the ex. Can anybody explain how the stick figure fad got started?
I would like to hear that as well. There’s one in the hood that is actually kind of funny- the mom and dad are darth Vader and leia, and the kids are all tiny stormtroopers.
Donk. Pimp mobiles. I don’t own hookers and I don’t own donks. I feel badly for women caught up in a lifestyle they rather never would have gotten into. But as for pimps there is no hell hot enough. And my first sighting ever of a donk was a pimp on a tv show.
After that, fake stitching, fake hood pins and scoops and cheap knockoff add ons.
Well I guess I don’t have to look at them but sometimes they just up and bitchslap me. Ugly can do that.
So far in this thread today I have been remiss. Allow me to make amends:
See here, and here, and here, and here, and here, and here.
These are amazing.
The first one nearly made me spit my drink all over my monitor!!!!! ROTFL!!!!!!!
I shudder to think what else lies ahead, so let me finish my drink first!! 🙂
Don’t care from what decade or what manufacturer
there has NEVER been a car that looks good with a Continental kit on it!
I have to go with the fart pipe, rear wing on front drive cars, blinding headlights by raised trucks and/or second rate aftermarket crap. Around here you get the lowriders with no suspension give, horrid suspension geometry, and severely undersized tires for the load. More than once I have run across one of these automotive assholes with a broken ball joint of other damage from bouncing or jumping one end or the other. Unsafe crap that should be taken off the road.
I have a couple of pet peeves. First I can’t stand those Continental kits on any car. I like to watch those car auctions on TV. It seems that every ’58 Chevy Impala or Ford retractable that goes through there has a Continental kit stuck on the back making them really look like a barge.
Another thing that I don’t get when I go to car shows is when someone ” mixes their metaphors” as I call it. That’s when they mix eras. The most common way this seems to be done is to install mag type wheels on blackwall or raised white letter tires when the car also has fender skirts and lakes pipes. Two very different eras and looks are competing with each other. Throw in a Continental kit and a hood scoop and it really gets confusing.
Also, even though I like vinyl tops on most ’60’s and ’70’s cars, I don’t like those carriage cloth tops on modern cars either.
Don’t think I’ve seen it here yet but mine is people that cut holes in the bed of their pickup for big 6 or 8″ stacks, see them all over here in north central Illinois. It’s the same guys that changed the tune on their diesel so it’s over fueled and blows big clouds of smoke when they get on it. I’ve even seen a couple 2wd gas powered trucks with stacks sticking out of the bed.
All these comments remind me of the gray and white ’93 Grand Marquis that my dad bought new and traded in after about 5 years. Some young kid bought it (very strange choice in cars) and within a few weeks it had a big spoiler on the trunk, those low profile tires that stick out of the wheel wells 4 inches, and jacked up in the back with air shocks. He kept it for quite a long time and then it went through several more owners, back on the stock rims and tires but still sporting the wing and air shocks and getting pretty beat up and rusty. The last time I saw it about 2 years ago, an older gentleman was driving it and it was blowing some pretty impressive clouds of blue smoke. It had 75,000 miles on it when my dad traded it in ’98 so it had to be approaching 200k by then.
I haven’t seen these guys up north here in Chicago but that trend really pisses me off. Detuning an engine and increasing vehicle pollutants on purpose is nothing but a completely juvenile, short-sighted, and asshole move. I wish I could banish those people for a time to, say, 1970s LA and let them breathe the air until they either understood why we have emissions requirements or they simply just choked on it.
Yeah it’s pretty stupid. I’m down in LaSalle County, no emissions testing here so I guess that’s how they get away with it. Do they even do emission testing on diesel trucks?
Ron J- I did some poking around on the IL EPA site. When I was a kid, I know that Air Team testing was only for Cook and the collar counties. Guess it’s still the same now. The site says Diesels and cars newer than four years old are exempt, so I guess anyone with a diesel pickup and a Sawzall can roll coal all day long. Seems like a bit of a loophole.
Yeah it sure does.
CJC: I was in LA in the 70s. And for all the grousing about LA smog, it was infinitely better when I left in 2010.
And a lot more cars on the road as well.
Same here in Chicago. There’s a part of the interstate that when it goes up a bit you can see the whole downtown skyline. As a kid, rarely could you even see the largest buildings like the Sears Tower. 40 years later unless it’s really foggy out you can see everything. Clean air laws are around for a reason.
yes, this summer, noticed late model compacts that had exhaust smell like a 1950’s car. “Got to have extra .5 second 0-60, who cares about clean air!”
Lifted trucks just for show. Unpractical and dangerous… get a Vette.
More than 3 political stickers in the back of any car… specially in a Subaru or a Honda CRV, they seem to be the worst offenders in Houston.
Ugly wheels from Discount Tire or similar places.
Any exhaust modification made to a Civic/Eclipse/Probe…is almost impossible to find one which has not been badly beaten or modified.
Any vehicle that looks like it belongs in the crushers & has expensive wheels & tires on it !!!!!
I know what you are saying. Why does anybody spend good money to mod a junky, old klunker? Makes more sense to save up your money for a better ride. And, in the mean time, have a little money set aside in case the hooptie breaks down and needs some repairs.
Aftermarket headlamp and taillamp retrofitting kits that look so dang kewl but assault our eyes with obnoxious glares.
Please. Don’t. Get. Me. Started. On. Those. Altezza. Taillamps!
Matte black paint on late model cars.
They look like “SEs”: Salvage Editions
You are so right. Seems so very stupid to intentionally, greatly devalue an otherwise decent car.
I cant wait for the matte black fad to end. We see it on very expensive cars here in LALA land.
Self inflicted OEM dealer accessory roof rails.
My own car. Purchased the kit [came with interior trim pieces offered on 03 IONs but fits an 04-07 as well] on eBay for the absurdity of it
Go ahead and laugh. The whole idea cracks me up.
Saw this one yesterday: Those dealer-installed devices that cause the CHMSL to flash at first, then illuminate steadily. I think it’s called a “Pulse” (www.pulseprotects.com), although there might be others.
One of the mega-dealers in this state (McLarty) seems to do it to every vehicle as a “safety enhancement” (and charges for it, of course). I’m not even sure that this is legal under FMVSS 108, although I’m sure that’s not stopping any dealership from “selling” this silly add-on. As I recall, Mercedes-Benz had to have a temporary waiver to even test such a system, about 10 years ago.
I’ve been thinking about it and pretty well decided that there aren’t any modifications that bug me – to each his own. But then I hit on one…
It’s the wanna-be cop who equips her aged ex police car with accessories strategically placed to simulate an actual patrol car; particularly if she then tries to intimidate with the disguise, such as hanging out in the left lane clogging traffic flow because the less observant might think it’s actually a cop car. The way I grind gears and nail it as I find a safe way around and into the wide open clearing that her technique inevitably creates, she must dream of having a real ticket book. LoL
This Camry has two of them – the ‘vinyl’ roof and those aftermarket hubcaps which always look cheaper than the OEM ones. “Donks” with their ridiculously large wheels also look awful, huge rear spoilers, especially on a simple family sedan that’s 35 years old and otherwise stock, and any over-abundance of chrome.
“Swangas”, AKA “What the hell did you do to the side of my car”? They seem to be popular in Texas…
Without question, That is the stupidest thing I have EVER seen! What are they, Ben Hur wannabe’s? How would you park in a parking lot?
Don’t know if anyone mentioned this, but years back, one of my automotive pet peeves were those awful Fingerhut plastic seat covers. Never could imagine why you would want to sit on those ugly sweaty things, then when you went to sell or trade in your car you were giving up brand new upholstery.
We had those exact seat covers on our 1971 LTD for the first 20 years. It kept the seats safe from spilled food and drinks on long trips, but being clear, it did not keep the sun from badly fading the tops of the seats.
I used to make fun of those clear vinyl seat covers on cars AND home furniture! Who in the hell are they saving it for?
Saving ’em for ME!
I used to love buying an old car that after “unwrapping” with a utility knife would have a brand new interior.
My grandmother had those clear plastic seat covers with a raised bump sort of pattern on her 64 Bel Air. The seats were preserved forever. The car stunk to heaven of stale cigarette smoke from her 3 pack a day habit but the seats always looked nice. After she died my uncle totalled it driving drunk. Brand new seats gone to the crusher.
Even more than the dealer installed fake convertible tops (who, exactly are they fooling?) The current trend is millennials painting their bright alloy wheels black with a can of FLAT black Rustoleum! It looks like somebody stole their hubcaps!
Is there a box where we can check “All of the above”?
I just thought of another pet peeve of mine. That would be the all black after market and some OEM wheels. To me they make the car look either dirty or just beat up.
I hate black wheels! They 100% ruin the looks of the car they’re mounted on.
I agree with Mustang Rick on the blacked out look. I guess I am just not into the Darth Vader funeral car bit.
I thought about the sticked on chrome on the pillars comment and I initially thought, it actually doesn’t look that bad. But, after a quick introspect I realized I was squinting a little when I noticed it. Maybe squinting and some pre-baked denial is what it takes to slap a carriage roof on a car with mass chrome accenting and think it’s ok. I bet you, some people live their whole lives like this.
Broadly speaking, not everybody is squinting when they see your car. Not everyone is in denial about financial situations either and will see things for how they are, also: chrome stickers = cheap, tacky, and trying-too-hard to add “class.”
I like to stick with what auto manufacturers dole out from the factory in terms of glitz and glam. Notice how most (looking at you boy-racer Pontiac, sorry you’re dead, but there’s no wonder why in my eyes) manufacturers tone down the chintzy bits — and not one has designed spinners for their vehicles. Millions and billions of dollars spent on design R & D has to be worth something for the end consumer to see.
Rolls Royce has offered the conceptual opposite of spinner – rotating wheel covers that are weighted at the bottom. The logo always stays upright and legible.
“Angry” headlamps. Nearly every Tigra had to bear them before being finally beaten to death. Many mk4 Golfs and E36 3-series had to suffer similar fates. You can just *see* the sadness in their tired eyes.
So great you old car – Though most of these aren’t to my personal preference, this Camry I recently spotted features a rather popular modification that disgusts me to the core: peel-n-stick fake chrome B-pillar trim. Which form of aftermarket modification irks you the most?