Internet usernames are a wonderful slice of what makes us human. Some people just choose whatever generic tag a system may spit out. Others may choose something close to them. The online name I’ve had since 2005 is Neonspinnazz. Why? Because when I was a kid, I really loved the idea of spinner wheels with neon lights in them. I love seeing what Autopian readers come up with.
Thomas wrote about how proximity keys killed the brilliance of BMW’s self-charging keys. Angry Bob shows some, uh, frustration with proximity keys:
The first time I drove a car with a proximity key, it took me about 10 minutes to figure out how to start the damn thing.
My ’98 BMW has the inductive charging key, and it still works! It’s probably the only original part that still does!
Cheap Bastard:
“The first time I drove a car with a proximity key, it took me about 10 minutes to figure out how to start the damn thing.”
And how did that make you feel Bob?
Jason wrote a Pit Stop wondering about who drove the Peugeot in the Dukes of Hazzard. Rob Stercraw has a fun twist on character names:
Beau and Luc Duc.
Matt Hardigree wrote a Morning Dump about the car deals you might get before Christmas. GhosnInABox got me to do one of those nervous chuckles:
The tariffs our government put on giant red bows really kills Lexus dealers around the holidays.
Finally, Jason wrote a funny Cold Start about the Renault Dauphine. Canopysaurus:
If Renault had established a factory in South Florida back then, would these cars have been called Miami Dauphines?
Have a great weekend, everyone.
My username came from a twofold burst of creativity.
First was that at the time (and still!) I was driving a boxy “brick” Volvo. It was not fast, so calling it a “rocket” was a bit tongue-in-cheek.
The second part was an an homage to the great Calvin & Hobbes comic strip by Bill Watterson, where a simple cardboard box and some imagination could transform said humble box into everything from a cloning device, to a transmogrifier, to a rocket-powered spaceship to explore distant celestial bodies and more.
ugh, my username sucks
Your profile pic makes up for it though.
Theo Bunny really is the photogenic one around here.
From the 84 240 DL I got in 94 and still have. (aka 245 if you are at the parts store, but badged 240, also built in Dec 83 and they changed from Bosch to Chrystler ignition mid 1984 so ask for 83 cap and rotor) I’d rather be Slow Brown Shooting Brake but for 40 years the price of an 1800ES has steadily kept up with wages and continues to be 4x what I can afford.
It’s the model of my first Jeep (ZJ) combined with the factory name for the paint (Bright Platinum).
From Colorado and have a Ranger FX4. Started using this username years ago on Car & Driver’s site, and I’m just not creative enough for something new.
I made this username after I had decided I’d never own another 4 door sedan again, since I was all in on coupes. Now that sedans are dying, I’m less against them and have had some since. So it’s more of a monument to my automotive tastes from a different era I suppose. I miss peak craigslist.
I wanted a vague non-descript anonymous username but unique, so I chose knowone. Then I needed another user name for the same place, so expanded to be even moreso, so I am knowonelse.
Frank Wrench was a bit character on Arrested Development but seemed like a good handle for a car site.
https://arresteddevelopment.fandom.com/wiki/Frank_Wrench
I’m one of those persons that uses a unique User Name for every account (as well as unique passwords). It’s a pain the butt. I have a booklet I created to keep track of them all. I estimate there are about 300+ ID’s.