University of Beautiful Cars blog chronicles UBC's luxury autos

    1 of 1 2 of 1

      While a large number of UBC students, staff, and faculty ride the proletariat chariot to campus, there are quite a few luxury automobiles hanging out in the parking lots at UBC.

      And a new blog is posting pictures of them.

      Called University of Beautiful Cars—"where some students drive Maseratis to school while others commute for hours"—an anonymous blogger called Campus Squirrel has taken it upon themselves to chronicling shots of fancy cars found on UBC's Vancouver campus. Posts go up once a day.

      According to the FAQ, "The purpose of this blog is to showcase beautiful cars driven by the students and faculty of the University of British Columbia, Vancouver." It also notes that, "Some of the cars may not belong to UBC members but could still be on this website if they were just spotted on campus."

      In nine posts over five days, the blog has posted over a million dollars worth of vehicles, including a Bugatti Veyron Vitesse, a Ferrari 458 Spider, and a couple of Porsche 911s. 

      High-end luxury cars are a frequent sight all over the Lower Mainland, and a surprising number are piloted by young drivers.

      In 2011, 13 drivers—most around 20 years old and in possession of "N" licences—were arrested for street racing and the RCMP impounded over $2 million worth of cars.

      In addition to its pricey vehicles, Vancouver is also world’s second least affordable housing market.

      C'mon... you know you want to submit a pic.

      Comments

      15 Comments

      CantAffordaName

      Feb 27, 2014 at 1:32pm

      Just saw a $300K Mercedes with an 'N'. Betcha by next week I'll see it wrapped around a pole. But that's what affluent parents want for their kids, right?

      Yeah right

      Feb 27, 2014 at 2:49pm

      I used to work at UBC and can remember when the parking lots used to be filled with $500 beaters and then within a few years it was overrun with BMW's and Mercedes. I think most of the cars belong to students in the Faculty of Medicine.

      Mike

      Feb 27, 2014 at 8:45pm

      I think alot of them belong to children whose buy 2 to 10 million dollar homes. Maseratis are beyond even Doctors salaries.

      Money Laundering?

      Feb 27, 2014 at 8:51pm

      At least a few belong to wealthy families with questionable income and very nice houses.

      Save Vancouver

      Feb 27, 2014 at 10:08pm

      But of course we mustn't say what we all know about the drivers, right?

      Guilt

      Feb 27, 2014 at 10:10pm

      The drivers are not the problem I don't think. The parents who are overseas trying to run a business are guilt ridden and believe spending money for their one child is an indication of love. Can you fault the mother? No, because she believes (this is in most cases) that being with her husband and saving her marriage is of higher priority than being with her child. The child is not going anyway. But her husband (as most business husbands overseas) has a high chance of engaging in affairs. The reality of the globalization, materialism, and the reinvention of the American Dream.

      458

      Feb 27, 2014 at 10:20pm

      Vancouver has become a fairly affluent city with a lot of wealthy people so the presence of beautiful expensive cars at UBC, SFU, and BCIT is no surprise. Wealthy families means wealthy students.

      Man

      Feb 27, 2014 at 11:30pm

      The War on Cars: Rich get to drive, everyone else ride the poverty limo.

      Sunny Day Real Estate

      Feb 28, 2014 at 11:21am

      Today is 5 degrees & sunny in Vancouver; perfect day to cruise around in a convertible Porsche 911 Turbo S or a Carrera 4S!

      Orson B. Jective

      Feb 28, 2014 at 3:00pm

      This Tumblr - or at least what most people are making of it - encapsulates everything that has always been wrong with anticapitalist critique in Vancouver in general and at UBC in particular. The old adage "Peace to the cottages, war on the palaces" is always regressive at its core. If you're really interested in a progressive society, then "War on the cottages, palaces for all" is the only reasonable maxim to adopt. Everything else is really just penis envy disguised as political opinion.