Rix6
New member
- Dec 18, 2011
- 464
- 0
Laura,
The answer to your title question is because they don't know any better.
Bad behavior in maintaining vehicular cleanliness is not unique to either men or women, but I have observed the following behavior in this man and this man's wife: When I drove a beater, having no pride in the appearance of the vehicle, I would allow quite a bit of garbage to accumulate in the passenger footwell and other areas. More so than my wife would allow in her car. Whereas she would frequent the gas station car wash (company car, company dime), I could never be bothered to wash my car at all. The car, in all fairness, looks like a garbage scow, what with its 16 years of clearcoat failure and all. The work to benefit ratio of washing it is poor. When washed, it looks like a washed garbage scow.
Currently, I now drive a 2.5 year old 2009 G37, my first new car after more than 20 years of driving, certainly a nice car worthy of taking pride in. My wife, as a result of the elimination of the corporate vehicle perk, now drives a 6 month old 2011 G25, her first new car after about 20 years of driving, and also a nice car worth her taking pride in. Guess which interior looks new? Yep, mine.
I can't really say I've spent much time cleaning the interior of my car in its 36,000 miles. A few swipes with megs QID with a cheap microfiber cloth. And even that practice went on hiatus about 10 months ago. Rules in my car: No eating in the car. No drinking except water to avoid dehydration. I don't leave stuff in my car. I don't transport stuff in the passenger compartment. Stuff goes in the trunk, preferably in the cargo net when possible. I don't transport trash, period. I don't use my car for storage.
My wife, bless her heart, in spite of my urging to the contrary, pretty much ignores all those rules in her car. Crumbs on both leather seats and everywhere in between. Evidence of coffee and soda spills in the cupholders and even, gasp, on the seats. Stuff, junk in my eyes, accumulates in the door map holders. Bottles, seemingly left for me to recycle, left in the cupholders and even on the floor, even on the seat! Traces of makeup, compact discs strewn about. Charger cords, baby wipes in the package, baby wipes out of the package, complete with lipstick and/or makeup residue, often stuffed in the little 2x4" cubbies in the door arm rests that I don't even remember the proper name for because I don't use them! Even the little velcro attached collapsable hanging garbage bag that adorned the back of the passenger seat of her company car of yore managed to find it's way over to to her new car. It is not collapsed, no sir, it is constantly full, in spite of my best efforts to empty it for her on trash day. In a mere 7000 miles and 6 months, the interior of my wife's car exists in stark contrast to that of my own. Now I can understand why my dear wife does not clean the interior of her car. I will even allow that there is justification for her to avoid doing so. However, it gives me no pleasure to say that the proactive effort to keep it from getting that way in the first place just doesn't seem to exist on her day to day list of priorities. I suspect that having observed how clean my interior has remained for 2.5 years, my wife, in her substantial wisdom, reasons that her interior will somehow magically follow suit.
The answer to your title question is because they don't know any better.
Bad behavior in maintaining vehicular cleanliness is not unique to either men or women, but I have observed the following behavior in this man and this man's wife: When I drove a beater, having no pride in the appearance of the vehicle, I would allow quite a bit of garbage to accumulate in the passenger footwell and other areas. More so than my wife would allow in her car. Whereas she would frequent the gas station car wash (company car, company dime), I could never be bothered to wash my car at all. The car, in all fairness, looks like a garbage scow, what with its 16 years of clearcoat failure and all. The work to benefit ratio of washing it is poor. When washed, it looks like a washed garbage scow.
Currently, I now drive a 2.5 year old 2009 G37, my first new car after more than 20 years of driving, certainly a nice car worthy of taking pride in. My wife, as a result of the elimination of the corporate vehicle perk, now drives a 6 month old 2011 G25, her first new car after about 20 years of driving, and also a nice car worth her taking pride in. Guess which interior looks new? Yep, mine.
I can't really say I've spent much time cleaning the interior of my car in its 36,000 miles. A few swipes with megs QID with a cheap microfiber cloth. And even that practice went on hiatus about 10 months ago. Rules in my car: No eating in the car. No drinking except water to avoid dehydration. I don't leave stuff in my car. I don't transport stuff in the passenger compartment. Stuff goes in the trunk, preferably in the cargo net when possible. I don't transport trash, period. I don't use my car for storage.
My wife, bless her heart, in spite of my urging to the contrary, pretty much ignores all those rules in her car. Crumbs on both leather seats and everywhere in between. Evidence of coffee and soda spills in the cupholders and even, gasp, on the seats. Stuff, junk in my eyes, accumulates in the door map holders. Bottles, seemingly left for me to recycle, left in the cupholders and even on the floor, even on the seat! Traces of makeup, compact discs strewn about. Charger cords, baby wipes in the package, baby wipes out of the package, complete with lipstick and/or makeup residue, often stuffed in the little 2x4" cubbies in the door arm rests that I don't even remember the proper name for because I don't use them! Even the little velcro attached collapsable hanging garbage bag that adorned the back of the passenger seat of her company car of yore managed to find it's way over to to her new car. It is not collapsed, no sir, it is constantly full, in spite of my best efforts to empty it for her on trash day. In a mere 7000 miles and 6 months, the interior of my wife's car exists in stark contrast to that of my own. Now I can understand why my dear wife does not clean the interior of her car. I will even allow that there is justification for her to avoid doing so. However, it gives me no pleasure to say that the proactive effort to keep it from getting that way in the first place just doesn't seem to exist on her day to day list of priorities. I suspect that having observed how clean my interior has remained for 2.5 years, my wife, in her substantial wisdom, reasons that her interior will somehow magically follow suit.
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