Reply #15: They're useful here in Egypt [View All]

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I'm a System Field Engineer, so I occasionally have to go places where the roads range from abysmal to non-existent. My "normal" daily commute is about 90 minutes, thru some rural farm villages with traffic that ranges from huge semi-trucks to farm tractors to lunatics driving mini-van taxis and donkey carts. And this time of year, the occasional big herd of sheep in the middle of the road.

For vehicles, I am at the mercy of (a) our driving contractor and (b) my cheap-ass boss. I don't drive myself, since I would like for my organ-donor card to remain unused in my wallet. Traffic here is insane.

Because of that, Size Matters. When I was first here, I rode in some small sedans like the Hyundai Elantra and Daewoo Lanos--which I will always affectionately remember as the Daewoo Anus. Those cars are just TOO small, and the seats seem to be made out of recycled kimchi. Once I thought I was developing either kidney or prostate problems, but the doctor said it was just the killer kommute.

For a while I had a 2-yr-old Jeep Cherokee, a POS that kept breaking down. Then a 2007 Mitsubishi Pajero, which was comfortable but a little too flashy for my taste. For fairly obvious reasons, I don't like drawing attention to myself over here.

Jeeps, BTW, are one of the few cars that escape the crushing Egyptian Customs duties. I was told that any imported car with an engine bigger than 1.5 liters is hit with a 100% import duty. Jeeps are exempt because they are assembled in Cairo. In an old Russian factory that once built either Ural trucks or SAM missiles, depending on who tells the story.

Now I'm using a Shitroen C8 van, which is at least non-flashy and blends right in. Out in the villages, some of the residents occasionally mistake it for a mini-van taxi and try to climb in with me.

Long as the car gets me where I'm going, I really don't care. In the van I can happily sprawl slug-like in the back, with a book, my MP3 player and a cup of coffee for the commute. I can also stretch my legs, which is nice.