Hummer Owner Gets Angry Message

Washington Post ^ | July 18, 2007 | Allison Klein

[3AngelaD]

Vandals Batter D.C. Man's SUV, Slash Its Tires and Scratch In an Eco Note

On a narrow, leafy street in Northwest Washington, where Prius hybrid cars and Volvos are the norm, one man bought a flashy gray Hummer that was too massive to fit in his garage. So he parked the seven-foot-tall behemoth on the street in front of his house and smiled politely when his eco-friendly neighbors looked on in disapproval at his "dream car."

It lasted five days on the street before two masked men took a bat to every window, a knife to each 38-inch tire and scratched into the body: "FOR THE ENVIRON."

"The thought of somebody vandalizing it never crossed my mind," said Gareth Groves...

Now, as Groves ponders what to do with the remains of his $38,000 SUV, he has been the target of a number of people who have driven by the crime scene in his upscale neighborhood and glared at him in smug satisfaction...

Neighbor Lucille Liem, 37, who owns a Prius hybrid, said that a common sentiment in the neighborhood is that large vehicles are impractical and a strain on the Earth -- and Hummers in particular are a symbol of consumer excess... Liem added quickly that she does not condone violence...

Investigators said they are searching for the vandals but don't have many leads. Witnesses saw two men about six feet tall with bandanas or masks over their faces smash up the car about 3:30 a.m. Monday and then run off...

He bought the used 2005 vehicle a month ago from a dentist in Fairfax County..."I'm worried about what I do now," he said. "If I get it fixed, do I put it back in the same spot three weeks from now?"

[Aznar5]

How about mind your own business?

[dfwgator]

Y’know, while I would never key someone’s car, I have on occasion made loud remarks about posers who drive an SUV that’s used neither for utility nor sport.

Why is it any of your damn business?

[battlegearboat]

They kill one of your Hummers...

You kill ten of their Prius's...

[Xenalyte]

Sticks and stones may break your bones, but my words can never harm you.

Unless you let them.

Or unless they’re true and you’re embarrassed that others can see it.

[OpusatFR]

Geez, this sounds like something Mao’s Red Guards would do during the cultural revolution.

This guy better watch his back.

[Tax-chick]

(I’ve also been known to cast aspersions on the manhood of middle-aged guys who drive Corvettes.)

And 17-year-old boys in loud Toyotas with leaky exhaust pipes. "Ooooooooh, honey! I can smell the testosterone from here!"

[Holicheese]

The guy does look like a tool. Love his Backstreet Boys beard.
No reason to trash a guys hooptie!

[Renkluaf]

Only group more intolerant than Islamofacists are liberals!

[Uncledave]

"They've got everything at their disposal in this city to make a statement in a legal way," Fremaux said of the bat-wielding men who struck out at the Hummer. "I consider this a hate crime."

So vandalizing is now a hate crime!

[Frapster]

It’s cold up there!

[Xenalyte]

That’s an odd question, to ask me why what I think is my business.

I like to mock posers. Who doesn’t?

I’m just up-front about it, partly because I don’t like to talk about people behind their backs, but mostly because it’s funny to watch them get pissed off.

[ItsOurTimeNow]

lol...they might *someday* go camping. Or maybe even out of town to buy groceries!

[Red Badger]

Fix it. Park it. Wait............

[Xenalyte]

Kids like that need shaming.

“How much did you pay for that after-market plastic spoiler? Less than for those huge pants you’re sorta wearing, I bet.”

[RightWhale]

Right. 75 today

[strange1]

Boy am I glad that wasn't me, I don't deal well with situations like that by @ssh0!$ neighbors. I tend to put them in a situation where its my turn to drive by with a smug look of satisfaction on my face...

Me too, I'd have to see just how well those Prious run on urine. I'd have to test the ventilation on how well it filters the smell of cat urine.

[Weeedley]

If the gray hairs have the nerve to drive a Viper, you know they got a load going on...

[Abathar]

Hehehe - Like Sean Connery in "The Untouchables":

"They send one of your Hummers to the bodyshop, you send on of their Prius's to the scrapyard."

[JamesP81]

I’ve also been known to cast aspersions on the manhood of middle-aged guys who drive Corvettes

You got to go easy on this one. Corvettes aren't cheap and many men can't afford one until middle age. I'd like to buy one, but I've been out of college for only 2 and a half years, and buying even a 10 year old Corvette for a second vehicle would be hard on my money.

[Xenalyte]

When I get an SUV, I’ll off-road that bad boy every chance I get, and to my husband’s chagrin I will likely never wash it.