Bumper cars or dodgems

[ciallkennett]

I don't particularly have an issue with either. I guess I'm naturally more likely to say dodgems though. At least these days anyway. I get the feeling I used to tend more towards bumper cars when I was younger.

Anyway, yeah, whatever, for once with one of these either or things, I actually don't have a massively strong opinion either way.

This. I know back when I was young I called them bumper cars and I end up mostly calling them dodgems now.

 

[nealbie]

I don't understand why the US term would be bumper cars as you guys have fenders not bumpers.

I used to call them bumper cars but everyone these days seems to call them dodgems and it's rubbed off

Americans should call them Fender Benders!

 

[madhjsp]

I don't understand why the US term would be bumper cars as you guys have fenders not bumpers.

I used to call them bumper cars but everyone these days seems to call them dodgems and it's rubbed off

Fenders? Every one I've been on has cars surrounded by thick rubber rings.. More bumper-like if you ask me

So yeah, they're bumper cars.

But what's up with people saying that some parks don't let you bump? Lamesauce

 

[Rachel]

Probably used to call them bumper cars when I was younger but now they are definitely Dodgems.

 

[rollermonkey]

Bumper cars.

Dodgems are a brand of bumper cars. Virtually nobody calls them Skooters, even though Lusse made the best bumper cars ever.

 

[furie]

I grew up calling them Autoscooter until I learned that they are bumper cars. Never heard of dodgems until I went to Cedar Point.

That's because you're OLD

I love the name Autoscooter actually - it's one of those things that always comes up when I'm looking at historical rides/parks. It takes me back to days when I wasn't born, and possibly neither were my folks

I tend to call them dodgems now, but not because...

Bumper cars.

Dodgems are a brand of bumper cars. Virtually nobody calls them Skooters, even though Lusse made the best bumper cars ever.

but because that's what the majority of UK "Bumper Cars" are actually named. I call Infusion, Jubilee Odyssey or Kumali "SLCs" because that's their ride type, but when naming individual rides, I call them by their individual names.

If all SLCs were named "B&M invert" on the actual ride, then I'd refer to them as either SLCs or B&M Inverts - which would be very confusing, but it wouldn't be wrong. It's just an easy way of describing which ride you mean using a common name.

However, I do think that it's a very "British" thing to name the rides Dodgems. They're eponyms or "generic descriptors" now over here, much like Hoover, etc.

When I'm talking to children or Americans, I use the term bumper cars - when talking to other adults, Dodgems If I'm talking about a specific ride and it's called "Dodgems", then I'll always try to use the name of the ride, so Dodgems in most cases in the UK.

I do think it's been a very determined move by somebody to avoid association between the rides and bumping into each other - nanny state, etc, etc, etc.

 

[Robbie]

I call them Dodgems because now I'm old I like to avoid as much interaction as possible.