There are people who truly believe the Vehicross is an unsightly vehicle. Some may be assinine enough to tell you so. But in general I think it is jealousy and not simple dislike that motivates these people.

I think ignoring these folks is the best tactic. Know that they are petty and probably jealous of your ride, and secure in that knowledge, you can let it go in one ear and right out the other. No silly match of insults is necessary that may end up in your Vehicross being vandalized. Smile back and let it go. That will probably eat away at them worse than anything you could possibly say, because then your self-assuredness and your couldn't care less what they think attitude, for them, reaffirms their feelings of inadequacy and makes them feel real small. You don't have to tell these people they're lame - the truth being told, they already know it.

I have experienced some of this at my workplace. People were definitely jealous of my new ride, particularly since a few of them had just gotten new ones and then here comes mine getting more attention and trumping theirs. And then there are just people who earn more or occupy a higher position in the company whom I am convinced are upset that I have something better than they do when they consider me beneath them. It threatens their feelings of superiority. Plus everyone knows my parents just bought the office manager's RV and it was a good sum of money, which compounds the whole haves vs. have-nots thing further.

I was off-roading at the Florida meet a few weeks ago and experienced the alternator (voltage regulator short) problem, and I swear several people took some real pleasure out of that. They could tell themselves my truck was a POS and that made them feel better. To one, it meant his Nissan pick-up could off-road better than mine. His truck has cardboard under it some days because of leaks and often he doesn't drive it to work because it has this or that problem. For another it meant his new SUV was just better because it was at least running. His is nowhere near as capable and he knows he has a lot less power under the hood. Another saw the Porsche license frame (I got it from a dealer who took it as a trade-in towards a Porsche) and said I should have gotten a Porsche (he used to drive an old one that didn't start half the time), like that's so much better than a Vehicross. Hey, not to me - I have never understood what anyone sees in a Porsche, sorry. I happen to think THOSE are truly ugly.

It is the same as with any expensive sports car or what have you - certain people who refuse to accept any responsibility for their own lives will hate you for it because they don't have it and they think the world has cheated them and life isn't fair and why don't they have that, blah, blah, blah. This vehicle of ours taps into peoples' jealousy that someone may have something better, more unique, more attention-getting than they have. So really, you should consider the envy a compliment. I suspect the vast majority of people don't think our Vehicrosses are that ugly - it's just something they say to try to take you down a peg or two. Meaning they think you're a peg or two higher than they are. So don't let it bother you one little bit. :-)