Am I the only one...

...who really hates the stupid passenger mirrors with the odd - ball optics?

I know they've been around forever and a day, but I hated them when they came out and I hate them now.

It's hard for me to gauge where the car on my right is really at with those things.

Who's with me!?

I thought they were stupid when they came out. Now when I drive a car without one, regular mirrors seem useless.

Don't like them on trucks when I'm towing. Cars, I've gotten used to them.

My rule on passenger side mirrors is objects are always farther away than they appear. Those things lie like a mofo.

I turn my head and look.

Things seem almost backwards in my mirrors. Anyone else notice this in your mirrors?

I love as much mirror as I can get.
Here is some recent chatter on the similar topic.
http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/side-view-mirrors/51888/page1/

PS: good mirrors are not a substitute for turning head and looking but rather in addition to.

In summary, the like above will show you that you are in fact not the only one.

z31maniac wrote: I turn my head and look.

This. Only the focus has a blind spot large enough to necessitate using the mirrors. If it's on the track, I don't look, I just ram.

z31maniac wrote: I turn my head and look.

OMG, that's crazy talk man

Considdering that the mirrors in my cars get rearanged by my wife and daughter for "other" more "important" things. I just turn and look.

I turn and look, habit I recieved by driving an s10 around for years without side or rearview mirrors....

I drove commercial for years.. with that HUGE blindspot behind you. I agree that there is no excuse for not having the proper mirrors. On the one truck I drove extensivly.. I had two mirrors on the driver's side and 4 on the passenger.

Driver's side had the regular mirror and a convext blindspot mirror hanging below it.. Passenger side had the same with another convex mirror above the regular one and another mounted on the door to allow me to look straight down at the kerb next to the truck

Once I started driving fire trucks, I really started to appreciate those right side mirrors, since there's no back window to look through. Back in to a firehouse a dozen or so times a day for a few years and you get the hang of it. Especially if there are a bunch of guys waiting to bust your ass if it's not absolutely perfect on the first try every single time.

I don't mind the convex lenses, never have.

But some of the weird shapes and mounting locations, on either side sometimes. Just render them useless.

Woody wrote: Once I started driving fire trucks, I really started to appreciate those right side mirrors, since there's no back window to look through. Back in to a firehouse a dozen or so times a day for a few years and you get the hang of it. Especially if there are a bunch of guys waiting to bust your ass if it's not absolutely perfect on the first try every single time.

For me, it was driving a lifted pick-up where a large sedan could easily hide behind the passenger side of the bed and anything visible through the windshield mirror was a 1/4 mile away and then a conversion van where the window shades were always closed.

I'm so used to it now that even in a car, I have to use my mirrors when backing up.

Same here. I give a quick glance over my shoulder but then just use mirrors, even with a trailer. Sometimes it freaks out your passenger.

People back into spaces without using their mirrors?!

I used to daily-drive a massive Dodge Ram with a cap. It had those round convex mirrors, which allowed me to see the rear wheels. It made backing into spaces and parallel parking stupid-easy. I've since put those little mirrors on all my vehicles, even my tiny little Corolla wagon, which has amazing visibility.

I don't even use the passenger mirror on cars, even if it has one.

Passenger mirrors have been that way for 40 years, haven't they? Seems kind of late to be complaining about them.

stuart in mn wrote: Passenger mirrors have been that way for 40 years, haven't they? Seems kind of late to be complaining about them.

Depends on the car, the Yugo never had one, nor did my 98 Mitsubishi Mirage.

+1 hate parabolic main mirrors, they make it impossible to judge distance. I'd rather have flat mirrors with the little parabolic stick-ons in a corner.

Driving a cargo van every day makes you appreciate good mirrors and use them all the time. It makes it damn hard to drive a car with those tiny useless things they call mirrors. Look at the mirror...crap...turn head and look.

No matter what it is or how innocuous, you can count on someone on the GRM forum to hate it, especially when compared to how good things used to be.

I put convex bubbles on a few of my vehicles, makes all the difference. The Vanagon, for example. And I love the way my Dodge truck mirrors work when they're in tow mode, the horizontal convex section is great for revealing people with a death wish.

Keith Tanner wrote: No matter what it is or how innocuous, you can count on someone on the GRM forum to hate it, especially when compared to how good things used to be. I put convex bubbles on a few of my vehicles, makes all the difference. The Vanagon, for example. And I love the way my Dodge truck mirrors work when they're in tow mode, the horizontal convex section is great for revealing people with a death wish.

+1 on the convex bubbles. Ford has the horizontal section on the newer van mirrors. Unfortunately they won't bolt up to the older vans, otherwise I would have already changed them.