Ok guys here is the #1 biggest thing I've noticed since on 40s:Bros in full size vehicles have began treating me like CRAP. I am serious. I get lifted full size Fords, Chevys, and Rams flooring it just to block me at freeway on-ramps, intentionally trying to out accelerate me at green lights, coal rollers spooling their turbos even when the next intersection is a red light, braking hard and cutting me off, turning their radio up when they roll next to me, changing lanes at the last second right before a red light intersection just so that I am behind them, and so on.
Yet always when I look over directly at them, they never make eye contact with me. These lifted chrome pavement pounders never did this to me when I was on 37s.
And trust me, it's not my driving: (1) I respect that this is a lifted Rock Crawler doubling as a daily driver so I drive extra defensively, (2) I've got horrible steering/handling at the moment so I couldn't drive aggressive if someone paid me, and (3) my Supercharged 6-speed MR2 is the vehicle I use to get my thrills on the pavement---certainly not a 4WD truck.
Moreover, I'm building this Tacoma under the brand that
literally invented the sport of Rock Crawling so in my mind I represent the Rock Crawling industry as a whole which doesn't have any place for my ego at some random street corner: I save that for the trail!! The last thing I need is a photo going viral of me mall crawling up lamp posts (seen people get tickets for this), or rolling the truck doing doughnuts in a McDonalds parking lot (seen this happen), or being pulled over by the police for speeding. I've always accepted the responsibility and never do something stupid in a truck used for marketing and research purposes. (My point is, for example: Try to find a picture of me and my 1981 Triple Cased Hilux driving in meadows and using trees as RTI ramps. Being respectful on and off road is a day in & day out natural responsibility for everyone at Marlin Crawler.)
But man oh man, American truck owners sure seem to dislike whatever it is my Tacoma represents. It's true; I haven't had any of the experiences with lifted Tundras or Titans. They don't seem to mind!
Finally, check this out and sorry in advance for the foul language: One day after doing some shopping I get home to find this...
No clue who did it or where it occurred. Fortunately it came off with my fingers. It was a type of dry erase marker. I immediately thought about one of my favorite
Alux videos about Haters. Two quotes popped into my mind:
-- "One indicator that you're on the path to success and doing something right are the haters."
and
-- "Being hated is better than being ignored, because that means whatever you're doing isn't worth noticing."
