[pic-Saleen, modernracer.com]
[mclaren F1, modernracer.com]
[pic- koenigsegg , modernracer.com]
[pic- Ferrari Enzo. modernracer.com]
[pic bugatti Veyron, autodata]I'm so enamoured of cars that I could be convinced that the Lord sent them unto us as a present for just being so righteous!
So, we've had them for a century now and we've managed to take this most liberating of products and make it into a boring tool like any iron or tea kettle. Except its as dangerous as an illegal appliance that may save you two bucks and then take your life.
We hate driving because of the gridlock, sh*tty drivers, parking fees, wheel-clampers, fuel prices, speed limits, speed cameras and the list goes on.
We are, of course, to blame for all this.
What used to represent manhood and freedom, now represents car loans and rising insurance costs and running costs.
Here in the UK, when cars were slow but had anchors for brakes, there was no speed limit.
So, what did drivers do. They drove like idiots, killing people.
When I was growing up, we used to say, if you can't walk (cuz you're drunk) you can always drive.
How many times have you heard this "I don't remember how I got my car home last night".
Too much joy leads to stupidity.
Why do we have gridlock?
We think that since governments have bottomless bank accounts, they'll keep building roads for us to get to work. It is amazing, seeing as governments love to screw the little guy, that they do build roads at all. But, in my hometown, we discovered that, the more lanes and roads you build, the more people will use their cars.
I lived through to the end of the post-war growth period, where a new highway lane always made the nightly news. Then, we kept seeing the following:
"The new highway XYZ just opened yesterday, and today they're having tail-gate parties because the road is gridlocked."
Too much joy leads to stupidity.
We think we have the right to use our cars to get to work.
to buy smokes at the corner store.
to go to the gym to exercise our lazy arses.
to pick up hookers. xD
to buy smokes at the corner store.
to go to the gym to exercise our lazy arses.
to pick up hookers. xD
What are we gonna do?
the great solution-finder
click here
Anyway, I've long since decided that, if you want to enjoy cars, you go to a race track.
I know it's stupid because you don't go anywhere, but it's the only place you can test your car's limits and your driving skill without killing scores of people.
Just look at my other blog to see the increasing number of stories of my exploits.
I'm actually an environmentally-sensitive guy, who loves wringing the sh*t out of a race car on the weekend.
I went to Brands Hatch a couple of weeks ago. I was a passenger in a JP2 Le-mans style car. The driver was going about 90%, but instead of being freaked and out of control, I was laughing and yelling 'yee-haws' all over the place.
Life was making sense again.
But, back on the public road, I still believe in fuel tax, speed cameras, congestion charges, speed limits, etc. largely because the world is full of driving idiots. The Dukes of Hazard is a tv show. Nobody should drive like that, except on the car chase police shows.Have you looked at the car-death statistics lately?
40 000 in the US annually
The BBC said that each deadly car accident costs the economy1 million pounds.
Even if he's exaggerating, it's still a cash hemorrhage.9 people die on British roads on average, every day.
Their families are always devastated.One race driver once said it's like bloody warfare out there.
Another race driver said he's more scared of driving on the highway than on a race track.
Too much joy leads to stupidity.
I also learned what a public menace on wheels I had been only once I got on a race track and was shown how to drive properly. I learned that road safety is priority #1.
I've loved driving ever since. I've done millions of miles, but it's still scary, if you think about it. Even I get carried away by the enjoyment of it all. But, I'm still alive. Thank thee, Lord.
I'll bet that if the Old Testament were being written today, the forbidden fruit would instead be a Ferrari and a driver's license.
The car is supposed to
get us from point A to point B,
alive,
without killing anyone and
without bankrupting the government.
alive,
without killing anyone and
without bankrupting the government.
End of story.
the stats
I don't mind the companies mentioning the cost, the horsepower and torque, or the 0-60 times.
I do dislike the 0-100 times and the top speed. Anything over 70mph is illegal in the UK.
Top speed stats are like phallus size. Everyone brags about it, but nobody's gonna see it.
Can you imagine measuring a phallus at 270mph?
If you crash, they'll be scooping you up with a shovel.
The conscientious Germans limit their cars to 155mph.
That's still mash-potato-land for your head.
Nice way to die, though, especially if you record it.
Death-by-supercar
[the guy filmed his own last, stupid moments.]
enjoy the numbers:
Barabus
the stats
I don't mind the companies mentioning the cost, the horsepower and torque, or the 0-60 times.
I do dislike the 0-100 times and the top speed. Anything over 70mph is illegal in the UK.
Top speed stats are like phallus size. Everyone brags about it, but nobody's gonna see it.
Can you imagine measuring a phallus at 270mph?
If you crash, they'll be scooping you up with a shovel.
The conscientious Germans limit their cars to 155mph.
That's still mash-potato-land for your head.
Nice way to die, though, especially if you record it.
Death-by-supercar
[the guy filmed his own last, stupid moments.]
enjoy the numbers:
Barabus
£360,000.
0-60 mph: 1.67 sec
1005 bhp
Top speed 270 mph.Bugatti Veyron
$1,400,000 - $1,400,000
1,001 BHP
Mclaren f1
$1 million
627 bhp/ 479 lb/ft
0-60 3.2 sec
241 mph
Saleen S7
550 BHP/ 525 lb/ft
3.3 sec
220 mph
Ferrari Enzo
650 BHP/ 485 lb/ft
3.3 sec
218 mph
Koenigsegg cc
655 BHP/ 553lb/ft
3.2 sec
245 mph
checkitout:
1
http://www.car-accidents.com/pages/stats.html [lots of bloody crashes.]
2
BBC's The_Joy_of_Motoring/">http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00hq385/The_Joy_of_Motoring [it's gonna disappear soon, so hurry up]
