[GlacierBobby]

A few hours after parking our lovely new Prius in front of the hotel, where we would spend the first night of our holiday in France, I couldn’t believe my eyes when I returned to the car to find both wing mirrors snapped off (dangling by their wires), all the door panels and bonnet scratched down to the metal and the wipers bent into abstract shapes. How anyone can do that to such a fantastic car makes me sad for the human race. I got an estimate for the damage today - £2000, minimum!
I suppose they could have broken into the car and stolen all our holiday gear, or made the car un-driveable.

 

[hyperion]

We share your anguish and will boycott French goods. (except maybe those Michelins! Some folks think their great!) Those "Brit Plates" on that Japanese car were just too much for somebody. I'm afraid you must have got caught up in a nationalism kind of thingy.
If you had been driving an Astin Martin it would be grounds for war!
To maybe embarass other civil Frenchmen, I would continue the trip with the car "just as it is!"
"ONWARD" ... With our best wishes. ...

 

[KTPhil]

Maybe it was that "Bush-Blair" bumpersnicker?
;-)

 

[Godiva]

Since the car is still driveable, why not hang a placard for the remainder of your trip saying 'Customization by France.'

 

[ymmv]

I've had my Prius for just a couple of weeks, but someone went out of their (I've been parking away from other cars ...) to walk over to the car and put a four inch cut in the paint -- right through to the metal in the passenger front door. Sick. Pathetic.

The bottom line for me was the reality that I have other, relatively expensive cars that I have to conclude I just can't leave unattended.

And exactly who the hell has any reason to "key" (and this was a knife cut, not "just" a key scratch) a freaking Prius of all cars?

I can see their motive but I can't see their reason. Seriously -- I can see the reasoning behind jacking up a BMW and stealing the wheels for profit despite the damage done costing many times as much as the potential profit of selling stolen wheels, but where's the use in vandalism against a vehicle that doesn't represent anything against which vandals tend to rebel? Are there really vandals out there rebelling against conscientious consumers with average means?

I just don't get the message other than maybe "you have something nice and I don't ... so here's my senseless attempt to share and communicate my suffering and anguish ... for just a tiny moment, I forget my sorry existence and take out my frustrations on a random stranger to illustrate my desire for possessions but my lack of effort to work to earn those material things ..."

 

[markincolorado]

Geez, how would the US look if folks attributed random vandalism to the whole country?? France is a beautiful country, with an independent leadership. Besides, I love my french fries!

 

[Cully]

I agree Mark, it probably has less to do with the car or the nationality and more to do with the age (15-16) of the vandal.
Matt in Colorado

 

[GlacierBobby]

Thanks for your kind thoughts; it was great when we reported the damage to the gendarmerie, where it took a whole morning to fill in the accident report, apparently they had just got a new computer program and none of the five officers had ever used it, so there was much scrutinising the large manual and four offering conflicting advice while the most junior member typed slowly with two fingers. Before all this the whole station had trooped out to look at the car, they had never seen a Prius before, so I had to explain (try to) how it worked. One was very sceptical when I assured him that it didn’t have to be plugged into the mains to charge the battery. Being French a shapely car is to be admired (like a women) so they were very sympathetic.
The rest of the holiday was very good and I managed to get 25 consecutive minutes of 100%mpg on a downhill stretch of the A75 into the Gorges du Tarn, would have loved to have seen a complete yellow display!

 

[dgstan]

Before all this the whole station had trooped out to look at the car, they had never seen a Prius before, so I had to explain (try to) how it worked. One was very sceptical when I assured him that it didn’t have to be plugged into the mains to charge the battery.

Whadyamean? I thought the French loved the Prius???

http://www.priusonline.com/viewtopic.php?t=5156

Seriously, I'm sorry to hear about the damage. I hate to say it, but that kind of stuff happens here in Southern California all the time.


DGStan

 

[hyperion]

People get very emotional about cars and causes. I'll bet the Hummer owners take the worst beating, but then they probably can most afford it!

 

[mrv]

Geez, how would the US look if folks attributed random vandalism to the whole country?? France is a beautiful country, with an independent leadership. Besides, I love my french fries!

French Fries has nothing to do with the country of France, but instead refers to the type of cut called "frenching."
http://web.foodnetwork.com/food/web/enc ... 75,00.html
http://web.foodnetwork.com/food/web/enc ... 82,00.html

 

[DanMan32]

Ah good, then we don't have to call them freedom fries anymore.

 

[BIF]

Didn't we use to hang horse thieves? Don't some countries still have very very harsh penalties for theives and vandals?

I still think punishment for theft and vandalism is far far too lax in many parts of the world.

But I think it will change eventually. Oil touched $60.05 per barrel yesterday. Everything we do needs oil. Manufacturing ANYTHING will only become more expensive as the world's oil supplies continue to dwindle.

Sooner or later, I think we will begin to demand harsher penalties for thieves and vandals, because we simply cannot afford to allow this type of activity to continue unpenalized.

Now somebody tell me how I'm wrong about this prediction.

 

[FarNorth]

Another experience

Our experience with a rental in Edinburgh was loss of the sidewalk side mirror as you described. I suspected that the "vandal" was a local who was upset that we had taken "his" parking space which are in very short supply in the area.

Glad it wasn't RPRIUS then.

Raymond

 

[GlacierBobby]

I agree with bif. Vandalism comes in many forms, driving around France one sees billboards on many roads telling car occupants not to throw their rubbish out of the windows, should normal people have to be told this? We spend a fortune cleaning ‘gum’ from public precincts, they freeze it, steam it, all expending unnecessary energy. Then there’s graffiti, again steamed off. Perhaps we should sell cars already defaced and let the country-side become a rubbish tip!

 

[Victor]

Sorry to hear about the damage. I have had 2 cars broken into in France, in the space of 12 months. Both at F1 Hotels. We now use other chains with secure parking in France. Car crime is very high. Car jacking in Paris can sometimes be brutal.

I like France, my wife is French, but when we go to my wife family we drive the whole way in a day and only park the car where we can see it. At her parents place the car is put in a garage and it stays there till we drive home. We use her dads car to go to the local towns.

Its just not worth the risk.

 

[hyperion]

What a way for a whole country to live! France has several very big problems

 

[BIF]

Damned horse thieves!