I’m visiting a rural part of the southern US, and I have noticed that about 2/3 of the houses outside the town have yards full of cars and tractors in various states of disrepair, as well as tons of other miscellaneous stuff. Why is that? Is it kind of a culture of self-reliance and a supply of spare parts? Some other reason?

  • deafboy@lemmy.world
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    14 hours ago

    Can’t speak for the rural people of the US, but when you’re working on a bunch of projects, while the life keeps getting in your way, causing delays, stuff tends to… pile up. For example, I have a car in my living room at this very moment.

    Did it seem like a good idea at the time? Sure. 24x7 access regardless of the current weather means more time to work on it.

    Did I work on it? Nope.

    Was there a wasp nest embedded inside, releasing a steady flow of young wasps inside the house? Absolutely!

    • FiveMacs@lemmy.ca
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      8 hours ago

      That’s awesome. How wide is that and how wide are your doors? I couldn’t image other then maybe French doors

      • deafboy@lemmy.world
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        2 hours ago

        Yes, you can see the french doors in the background. The car itself is a little more than 1 meter wide, with rear-view mirrors sticking out even further. I got something like 5cm to spare on either side.

      • deafboy@lemmy.world
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        2 hours ago

        Nope, it’s a CityEL. Originally made in Denmark in 1987. The manufacturer went bankrupt several times. Each time someone else took over up until 2018. The design has never canged much. There has been something like 3 iterations of the top cover and 3 different motors throughout the years. Mine was made in 1995 and utilizes a motor originally intended for a forklift.

        When I’m done with it, it will hopefully get a proper registration and will be able to recharge either by connecting directly to the DC output of a solar panel, as well as the standard grid outlet, and a type 2 charging station.

        For anyone who’s interested in joining this low power EV cult, check out these videos by @bleeptrack