The Yugo Owners Club and Religious Intolerance

[IROC]

In more than one recent religiously-oriented thread, some have questioned why Christians can't discuss something among themselves without being criticized or called "idiots". I thought about this a bit and came up with an analogy:

Say there was a large group of guys that were really into Yugos and formed the Yugo Owners Club(YOC). These guys not only cherished these cars but also used them very frequently at their own autocrosses and track events. The majority of the rest of the automotive enthusiast world basically said "hey, whatever floats your boat". YOC members would meet regularly and discuss performance mods, etc. and take an active role in recruiting new members because these guys were convinced that everyone should see the virtues of the Yugo and enjoy them like they do.

Proud of their cars, the YOC always talked about the proficiency of their Yugos and how great they were on the autocross course and track. They spoke of how their Yugos could easily turn 1:35 lap times at Road Atlanta (an extremely difficult time for a Yugo to run there, for those unfamiliar with RA) and how 5 second 0-60 times and > 1g lateral acceleration were easily achievable in their cars. Most people who aren't really into cars didn't challenge these numbers and even openly accepted them because it really doesn't affect them in their daily lives, but other auto enthusiasts would openly debate these folks and the accuracy of their claims.

Just to see what all the fuss was about, one enthusiast showed up at a Road Atlanta YOC track event with a stopwatch. After watching the Yugos lap after lap, he approached one of the YOC members and said, "My stopwatch is showing that the quickest guy out there is lapping around 2:25 - where are these 1:35 lap times?". The YOC member says that his blind hatred of Yugos has lead him to fabricate the higher lap time and that his method of measuring lap times is very suspect. The enthusiast then asks why Road & Track, Car and Driver, etc., agree with his findings during their tests here. The YOC member replies that the mainstream media is biased against Yugos and so they slant their tests accordingly.

YOC members are also very active in trying to get other enthusiasts to join their club. Why, one day while I was in my garage working on my 911, a YOC member came in and asked me if I had a Yugo and was aware of the phenomenal performance capabilities. I replied that not only did I not have one, but I was very skeptical of the extraordinary performance claims as I didn't see any evidence to support them. At this point the YOC member became visibly upset and said, "You suck and I hope you're in accident!". YOC members sometimes react emotionally when you don't believe what they believe.

YOC members also hold regular autocrosses on Sunday mornings. I've actually been to some of these autocrosses and have studied their alignment settings and exhaust configurations, but I just don't get it. Many YOC members (and most of them are very nice guys) implore me to shed my prejudices and open my mind to possibilities of a Yugo. They tell me that if I loved the Yugo like they do, then it will all make sense. I've read about the Yugo in the mainstream media and even read the YOC club newsletter and Yugo Performance Handbook (known as the "bible" among YOC members), but I just can't understand their faith in the car and reconcile the vast differences between the performance numbers they claim and what all of the evidence seems to point to.

The internet is also filled with stories of people who have become YOC members and bought a Yugo and performed the secret camber mod and attended all of the autocrosses and even went to other people's garages extolling virtues of Yugos, but finally realized that the car just wasn't that great and sold it.

So...when a YOC member starts a thread entitled, "Sub-5 second 0-60 times for Yugos" or "Why does my Yugo so easily outrun far more expensive cars", you might understand why some enthusiasts might have to chime in and challenge some of the claims made in the posts. The YOC member might feel persecuted, but they need to understand that their devotion to the Yugo doesn't make alot of sense to rest of the automotive world.

Now if those crazy Trabant Owners Club guys would stop slashing everyone's tires because the owners of all other cars are supposedly "infidels" then maybe this world would be a nicer place to live.

Mike

[billwagnon]

bravo!

[skipdup]

So...when a YOC member starts a thread entitled, "Sub-5 second 0-60 times for Yugos" or "Why does my Yugo so easily outrun far more expensive cars", you might understand why some enthusiasts might have to chime in and challenge some of the claims made in the posts.

Mike- Please go back and look at the recent threads and determine for yourself who started them! The YOC members didn't start these threads. The YOC members were asked specific questions about their Yugos. When they answer, they are ridiculed.

Challenging is fine, and no one complained about that, despite your claim here. The complaints were about the ridicule.

You analogy misrepresents what goes on here. It's dishonest and not fair!

Also, can you point to one YOC member on this board that has wished you ill will (i.e. "You suck and I hope you're in accident!.")

What about the YOC members being called racists? You left little piece out of your story.

- Skip

[IROC]

Skip,

This whole analogy isn't meant to specifically address any particular issue in any recent thread, merely your statement that Christians were being ridiculed and Dan's (djmcmath) statement that he felt people were calling Christians idiots. I'll go back and find the posts if you like.

No one in any threads have wished me ill will (I said above that most YOC guys are really nice), but I did have someone come to my house one time to inquire about me joining their church and when I told them I didn't attend church (and the subsequent conversation that ensued), they told me that I "was an evil person and was going to go to hell", hence the analogous statement above.

I do not feel that I was being dishonest and unfair at all.

Mike

[legion]

Originally posted by 350HP930
Religion is a crutch for the mentally weak.

Are you a right wing Christian conservative

[cantdrv55]

I hope you guys are as productive at work as you are here . Btw, I saw a Yugo once with a "Dog is my copilot sticker".

[David McLaughlin]

And people wonder why I wanted to start a new club? I don't believe in seclusion and wouldn't want any part of it but there are times when I want to discuss thing with like minded people without fear of ridicule.

Getting that Yugo to perform is really hard work. It's harder still to look at all of the fun and exciting cars while sitting in the Yugo. There are many times when the Yugo owner want's to abandon the Yugo for a Ferrari, even if it's just for one night. Most Yugo owners are just regular people. If someone askes them about the Yugo, they'll talk but won't go out and shout the benifites of YOC. As a recent thread as shown, there are many in the YOC. Most YOC members drive Porsche and Ferrari look-a-likes with a Yugo engine. That are so afraid of teh put downs and are afraid of being cast aside that they try to look and act like the others but inside are all Yugo. Finally, if you've never driven a Yugo, you really don't know what it's like. Most people comment on Yugos because their friends comment on them. It's cool to put down the Yugo in public. The YOC newsletter reminds it's members of this.

[targa911S]

I smell a hidden meaning in all this. If not well hell who cares these people drive Yugos!

[IROC]

David - you're seeing the merits of my analogy for sure. It works both ways. I agree. Some people put down Yugos without ever even driving one. That's not fair. Some people ridicule Yugo owners for sport. That's not fair, either.

There are *alot* of Yugo owners out there and vast majority are the nicest people in the world. No argument from me.

Mike

[skipdup]

Originally posted by IROC
...This whole analogy isn't meant to specifically address any particular issue in any recent thread, merely your statement that Christians were being ridiculed and Dan's (djmcmath) statement that he felt people were calling Christians idiots. I'll go back and find the posts if you like.

Really?

from your 1st post
In more than one recent religiously-oriented thread, some have questioned why Christians can't discuss something among themselves without being criticized or called "idiots".

Seems pretty darn specific to me.

from your analogy
you might understand why some enthusiasts might have to chime in and challenge some of the claims made in the posts. The YOC member might feel persecuted, but they need to understand that their devotion to the Yugo doesn't make alot of sense to rest of the automotive world.

You act (in your analogy) as though we're complaining about being challenged - that we're complaining about "persecution" when we're simply being challenged!!! Which is NOT the case! We're complaining about being ridiculed. We're asked a question, we answer, then we're ridiculed. Yet, you try to paint the picture we're complaining about being challenged AND that we're bad people that wish ill will to anyone that doesn't agree with us.

I know you've participated in nearly every "religious" thread on this board, at least every one that I've followed. I also know in each of those you were treated respectfully. Yet, you imply we wish all that disagree with us ill will? I don't get it.

And again, we didn't start the recent threads. We were asked the question. You analogy paints a vastly different picture than the reality that is PPOT.

- Skip

edit: Mike, I know you to be a gentleman. You and I have had many lengthy conversation on this topic. Please do not take my criticism of this thread as a criticism of you personally. Though, it has, obviously, touched a nerve.

[IROC]

Skip,

I think your misunderstanding is that I did not intend this analogy to paint a picture of religious discussions on PPOT, but more about the world in general. Christians (or Muslims, or Hindus or Scientologists) are often challenged to defend the beliefs of their faith. Sometimes these defenses fall short of convincing the challenger and sometimes ridicule takes place (not that ridicule is an appropriate response). If someone really tries to convince someone that the Earth is 6000 years old, for instance, they need to be prepared for the possibility of ridicule.

Again, what got me thinking about the analogy in the first place was some recent threads, but the analogy is not intended to single anyone out (except for the guy that told me I was going to hell). :>)

I don't agree with asking a question with the only intent of ridiculing the person who is trying to honestly answer. That's simply baiting someone.

Mike

[David McLaughlin]

The real problem with my analogy is that if this were about cars my opinions would be the oposite.

Reason:
I state that it's not bad to drive a Yugo powered Ferrari replica. Analogy is that People have really good Christian hearts but on the outside look worldly and will apear to go along with the crowd.


But if this were about car's, I'd drive a Porsche powered Yugo. Spin that back to this analogy it would seem like I'd want to look like a Christian but in reality not be one at all. Unfortunetly, there are a lot of these people around too. There are the people who are responsible for much of teh hardship Christians face.

[Hetmann]

Are there really any Yugos still running?

[skipdup]

Your analogy was derogatory and one-sided. It does not paint a fair picture. In fact, based on your experiences here on PPOT, we could say your analogy was blatantly false. I don't believe you were posting this to your jerk neighbor - you were posting to and about us.

You ignore the fact that, on this site, we're not forcing anything on anybody. You ignore the fact that we are consistently ridiculed based on our faith. You ignore the fact that you are always treated fairly and not ridiculed by us.

But, more important than all of that:

- You compare Christians to idiots that think Yugo's are the best cars in the world!!!???

- You compare our God to a freakin Yugo!!!???
(not a ferrari, lambo, corvette, honda civic, or even a camaro... but a Yugo!)

- You paint us as vile creatures that wish ill on anyone that doesn't also believe as we do!!!???

Mike, it's scary to me that this needs to be pointed out to you.

I'll leave you alone now.

- Skip