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You Tube Channel: Your New Zealand Family

phaedrus said:
Speaking of precision. Do all y'all Kiwis say down to reference going south like we do? San Diego is down from LA. San Francisco... not so much. LOL. Then again, why should we be the top of the world. I think if I lived in the southern hemisphere I'd call south up.
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Yes, we say down for south - which is why I said down in my first post. Our maps are all the same way up as your own. Although a friend of mine was a leader at summer camp in the USA once, and managed to find an upside down world map with south at the top, which he put on his door there as a joke.
 
julieb said:
I am so with you; I am not a coffee drinker so I can never use the tea bags in the hotel/motel room because of the transfer of coffee taste just heating up water. Yuck! I rarely use milk in my tea, so that problem evaded me.
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I am very much a coffee drinker, but I like real milk or cream in my coffee (or tea when drinking that). Powdered creamer is an abomination. I'd much prefer my coffee or tea black than use that powdered stuff.
 
Bartato said:
I've spent a lot of time in Japan where they also don't tip and drive on the wrong side of the road. 😉

When there, I always feel like getting into the wrong side of the car. One thing really confusing was that my brother in law once had an American Chevrolet minivan with the steering wheel on the left side (that is really rare in Japan).

I've never driven there. With the public transit, and family to drive me I haven't needed to (plus I was scared).

I'll probably drive when I go to the UK someday. At least I can speak English if I have an accident. 😁
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The video talks about the different vehicles in the US compared to NZ. The major reason for this is that most vehicles in NZ are Japanese or Korean - and the major reason for THAT is that NZ imports a large number of second-hand vehicles from Japan. Japanese laws - either tax or road safety, I'm not sure which - incentivise people to sell vehicles after 3-5 years and upgrade to a new one. Those young second-hand vehicles must be exported somewhere that drives on the left, and there aren't that many options, so a large number end up here. So most vehicles here are Toyota, Nissan, Mazda, Honda etc. There are some American makes - Ford is quite common - but only the smaller models. Lots of Ford Rangers for instance, but virtually no F150s (if you see one you look and wonder about who owns that).
 
FollowingHim said:
The video talks about the different vehicles in the US compared to NZ. The major reason for this is that most vehicles in NZ are Japanese or Korean - and the major reason for THAT is that NZ imports a large number of second-hand vehicles from Japan. Japanese laws - either tax or road safety, I'm not sure which - incentivise people to sell vehicles after 3-5 years and upgrade to a new one. Those young second-hand vehicles must be exported somewhere that drives on the left, and there aren't that many options, so a large number end up here. So most vehicles here are Toyota, Nissan, Mazda, Honda etc. There are some American makes - Ford is quite common - but only the smaller models. Lots of Ford Rangers for instance, but virtually no F150s (if you see one you look and wonder about who owns that).
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I knew they did that, and always thought it was a crazy emissions/pollution related thing. Whatever the case, it is kinda nice for you guys. Those are generally very good vehicles, and you probably get them at a pretty good discount. They also sell a lot of lightly used vehicle engines abroad.

Do people in New Zealand ever buy the tiny "Kei" class Japanese micro vehicles (pickups, cars, and vans)? These are the ones that have engines restricted to 660cc or less. I've always thought those were pretty cool, though at 6'4" (192cm) I feel pretty cramped when riding in one.
 
You don't see those tiny vehicles here much if at all. I wonder if they don't meet our road safety standards - airbags, side intrusion, that sort of thing. I have seen tiny 4wd trucks imported for on-farm use, may not be road legal - just put some knobbly tires on them and they're a handy wee vehicle.
 
theleastofthese said:
Thank you. I love learning about other cultures and how they see us.
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That is always fun to see.
Not that fond of how often we are seen as fat bombastic know it all types though.
I have enjoyed taking people new to the States around and watching the reactions. Here in Texas so much of it seems related to getting used to the scale. Less about the size of the state but just how spread out our cites are and how the notion of public transportation is not a realistic option for so much of the area.
theleastofthese said:
She's so right about the horns, i'm convinced that most americans drive with one hand on the horn and the other on their cell phone.
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That has to be a regional thing.
Around here, till 7-8 years ago when everyone and their dog started moving to my state, the use of the horn was for more extreme circumstances and if over used then a good way start a roadside set-to.
 
Bartato said:
Our State government has gone totally insane over the last decade. We now have one party (Democrat/Communist) rule. Seattle is full of crazies, and is very expensive.

Here in Eastern Washington (Yakima, Kennewick, Walla Walla, Wenatchee, etc maybe Spokane) people are much more reasonable.

Even though I've spent most of my life in Eastern WA, I am seriously thinking about moving to a more conservative state.
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It's why I want out of Seattle area.
 
FollowingHim said:
The video talks about the different vehicles in the US compared to NZ. The major reason for this is that most vehicles in NZ are Japanese or Korean - and the major reason for THAT is that NZ imports a large number of second-hand vehicles from Japan. Japanese laws - either tax or road safety, I'm not sure which - incentivise people to sell vehicles after 3-5 years and upgrade to a new one. Those young second-hand vehicles must be exported somewhere that drives on the left, and there aren't that many options, so a large number end up here. So most vehicles here are Toyota, Nissan, Mazda, Honda etc. There are some American makes - Ford is quite common - but only the smaller models. Lots of Ford Rangers for instance, but virtually no F150s (if you see one you look and wonder about who owns that).
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It's not a real truck unless it is an F350 turbodiesel 4X4. All others I say, "Ain't that so cute..."
 
My dream vehicle is a Toyota Landcruiser 70 troop carrier, older 11-seat model with sideways seats. I doubt I'll ever get one, even secondhand they are very expensive as they're rare. But they are the toughest and most multipurpose vehicle available these days, for people or equipment. It would leave that heavy F350 stuck in a hole and disappear into the wilderness, carrying almost as much stuff. There's a reason so many militaries use them.
 
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Speaking of trucks, I've never owned one until recently. I've commuted long distance to work for many years and prefer more fuel efficient cars.

Last fall we bought a camping trailer from some friends and needed something capable of towing.
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We found a nice older Chevy Silverado to tow it. She is a bit of a grandpa truck, which helps explain the good condition and low miles. Sorry Maddog though she is a 4x4, she is also a lowly gas half ton.1711316566151.png
 
I'd second that recommendation, if it's automatic. I've got an automatic Nissan Mistral which was not cared for well enough by previous owners, the gears slip and if I try working it hard eventually the transmission overheats and the whole vehicle just stops moving until you let it cool down. I'd fit a transmission cooler to it, but the transmission's already stuffed so there's no point. I hate automatics, but I'm stuck owning a couple of them.
 
FollowingHim said:
I'd second that recommendation, if it's automatic. I've got an automatic Nissan Mistral which was not cared for well enough by previous owners, the gears slip and if I try working it hard eventually the transmission overheats and the whole vehicle just stops moving until you let it cool down. I'd fit a transmission cooler to it, but the transmission's already stuffed so there's no point. I hate automatics, but I'm stuck owning a couple of them.
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It is an automatic. For some reason Americans love their automatics, and manual vehicles are relatively rare. Out of the nine vehicles I've owned so far, only two have had manual transmissions.
 
Love my automatic transmissions. I commute to the big city and am always in stop-n-go traffic for at least an hour. That's a lot of clutch work!
 
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