From: jimf@centerline.com (Jim Frost)
Subject: Re: Who gets to buy a sports car? (Wong)
Organization: CenterLine Software, Inc.
Date: Tue, 21 Jul 1992 19:47:05 GMT

loszewski_im@sage.hnrc.tufts.edu writes:
>> I don't think you have covered the bulk of the problem. I think the
>> problem nowadays is that there are too many _sporty affordable_ cars 
>> out there . I don't see the owners of Porsches or Ferraris drive as
>> crazy as those who owns a Suzuki Swift GT or a Geo Storm, thinking that
>> they are driving an expensive _sports car_. And these little cars have a
>> lot more kick to them than years ago.

>I agree!  I own an '85 Camaro Z28 and I worked hard to get it.  [...]
>As for the people in the "sporty little pocket rockets", I agree as well.  The 
>problem is that the jerks behind the wheels of these cars think they are driving
>an indy car, and their tires are the size of motorcycle wheels.

Well, I guess I'm one of those people you hate since I bought a Storm.
Having driven a couple model years of the Camaro (including the '85) I
can honestly say that a stock Camaro of that year will easily
out-accellerate the Storm (particularly the entry level model that I
bought), but it handles *badly* in comparison.  The Camaro doesn't
turn well at speed and it just doesn't want to stop once it's going.

While I agree that a lot of people in pocket-rockets behave immaturely
(although most of the time it's people in Escort GT's or those
subcompact Mustangs in my experience), I find that it's much more the
case in cars as impractical as the Camaro, probably because it's a
teenager's dream machine.  Most Camaro and Trans-Am drivers I've seen
and known have the "my engine is bigger than your engine" attitude and
will happily try to prove it to you; they don't consider that they may
have to stop in the near future.  It comes as no surprise to me that
Camaros and their ilk have very high insurance rates -- they're
commonly in high-speed accidents.

My attitude reasons for buying a little sporty car (which I
distinguish from a sports car in that it has a much smaller engine and
is usually front-wheel-drive) were that the car handles much better
than I need, gets very nice fuel economy, doesn't cost a whole hell of
a lot, and looks nice.  The itty bitty engine makes it fun to drive
because I have to actually work to get good accelleration out of it --
there's no way anyone in their right mind would believe that they
could win a race in this kind of car.

|And if you think your real cool leaving patches of rubber at every 
|corner in your sporty little Mazda Miata or Paseo, lets see how cool you are 
|when you accidentally hit someone!

Maybe I'm rather naive, but it's difficult to burn rubber in cars with
only about 100hp and front-wheel-drive.  It's just not that impressive
and it's murder on your gears -- you'd have to wind the engine up and
pop the clutch since there's no low-end torque.  I've never once seen
anyone in a Miata, Paseo, or Storm try to burn rubber (maybe I just
hang out in the wrong areas).  I cannot say the same thing for drivers
in American torque-mobiles.

Most people I know that own cars similar to the Storm bought them
because they look nice -- not because they're going to be able to
drive them like sports cars (even though some of them handle extremely
well).  They are fun to drive, particularly on twisty roads, and are
quite practical if you don't need lots of passenger space.  They won't
outrun much though.

My question to you is: do you think your Camaro is a sports car?  If
so, consider that according to Road & Track the '91 Camaro goes from
60-0 in about 160 feet.  In comparison my Storm does it in about 126,
a Mazda RX-7 in 124, and a Porshe 911 in just under 120.  The latter
two are *real* sports cars.  The Camaro can light 'em up and take off
like a rocket, but God help you if you have to stop it quickly.  IMHO
the responsible driver is more interested in how fast they can stop
than how fast they can go.

I guess my meaning comes out loud and clear: you may hate people in
those tiny little cars, but consider that they have reason to be
frightened of you.

jim frost
jimf@centerline.com
Newsgroups: rec.autos.driving