> From: Trevor Boicey <tboicey@brit.ca>
> You have hit a nerve with me that I will freely admit to being
> oversensitive about. I have too many friends who drive normal
> boring cars that they bought from their grandad, but love to
> tell stories about "toasting" corvettes and 5.0s at stoplight
> drags.
I believe it. The average Corvette, Trans AM, & Camaro drivers in the
'70's & early '80's had reaction times slower than turtles, & just about as
much brains. Most spent THREE seconds just spinning their wheels! You
could leave them behind with a Chrysler Newport.
And if the road wasn't straight, those folks slowed, stopped, or
fishtailed. Even a squirrelly GT6 could get past them, because they
couldn't go around a curve faster than 50 mph. Driver or machine? Who
cares.
Cars do handle better now on average, but I think the drivers' brains are
getting even slower & mushier. Must be something like the way people are
dopey after sensory deprivation. They should get a "real" sports car.
On the serious side, there seems to really be something in this. There was
a story on CNN or something about a study which suggested that people who
buy cars they consider to be "safe" or "fortress" cars tend to become more
inattentive & careless in their driving. Does anyone else have a list of
cars that that they identify as "danger cars" which may do just anything,
and are a threat to the personal sheet metal? Here's my list:
1. Volvos (those people tend to be just oblivious)
2. Family vans (almost as bad as number one)
3. Conversion Vans
4. Broncos & those kind of "sport trucks"
5 Big Old Station Wagon (well, yes, I own a '64 Dodge 440 Wagon support
vehicle)
Caddies, Caprices, LTD's, etc. with little old ladies are way down the
list. With little old men in them, they move up several spots.
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