mmarshall

Some good responses here.

Mustang V8s, for many of the reasons outlined above, do seem to have an almost hypnotic effect on some kids. But that doesn't mean that kids have to fall for it....I, for one, didn't, and neither did several of my closest friends. I went to high school (and learned to drive), in the late 1960s, when the Muscle Car Age was arguably at its peak. Me and my friends were surrounded daily by GTOs, Road Runners, Barracudas, Chevelle SSes, etc..... and yes, Mustangs every day (I owned a used Barracuda myself for awhile). Yes, I liked a little fun myself behind the wheel, and could punch it once in a while....but ONLY under safe conditions (much lighter traffic, back then, also made the road conditions somewhat safer). But, while chirping the rear tires once in a while, I did not do extreme burnouts (for the obvious reason they could tear up drivetrains). And I never, ever, did a true all-out drag race with someone on a public road. I had respect for those powerful muscle-cars (and any car, of course, if misused).......they could, and did, bite if abused or mishandled.

mmarshall

BTW, just so my position is clear, and I'm not misunderstood, I know that some of you, both in and out of CL, own Mustangs and drive them with common sense. Those of you who do have my respect.

superchan7

I had a V6 throughout college, and that was too much car for me. I always drove safely, but "seeing what it can do" on a long, straight and empty highway, even once in a while, is asking for tickets. Both of my speeding tickets were acquired in this manner.

I disagree on performance being unrelated to reckless driving. Give a kid a car that feels absolutely miserable to push, and the kid will be much less likely to want to push it. If I were to choose a new car for a teenager right now, it would be something like a base Civic, Fit or Cruze or Dart with a manual transmission.

Cars are, first and foremost, transportation appliances. That is how they should be introduced to new drivers.

RIP to the kid. He didn't belong in that car.

Harbinger

Easy solution - REAL driver training. Not this BS they call driver's Ed. Go from the basics all the way to semi-advanced vehicle control, and require a field retest every time your license renews. Too expensive? Really? Your life/the life of your kid/the fact that you bi**h about all the *******y drivers around you isn't worth a few grand? Driving is a privilege, that people treat like an inherent right. Will it stop all blatant stupudity? Of course not. Will it make us as a society better drivers as a whole? You bet your ***.

1sWt2GS

iTrader: (6)

mustangs too powerful for kids to be driving,

joshthorsc

When it comes down to sport cars, I've personally seen more mustangs in ditch holes and wrapped around trees and telephone poles more than any other cars. Definitely not the cars fault, but judging from the scene of the accidents, it looks like irresponsible drivers. Still, I'd love to own a nice muscle car some day.

mikeva

It is amazing to me to vilify a car for being in an accident -- short of a mechanical failure.

If the driver is a teenager and living at home then it is up to the parent (s) to understand the capabilities and temperament of the teenager and control the situation accordingly. If the teenager can't control those impulses to act irresponsibly then they should not be allowed to have any car that will get them into trouble - whether paid for by the parent or the teenager.

Now if the teenager is living on their own and making their own purchases ... and can afford a new high performance car ... then I guess that is a different story and the teenager is going to continue to exist, or not exist, according to the principles of Darwin.

I've been driving for over 50 years now and I would have to say that most of the accidents that I have seen involving younger drivers have been of the motorcycle variety. I can't honestly say that I've seen a unusual percentage of any specific muscle car ... and would guess that there were probably more accidents of mom or dad's car (sedan) than anything else.

And, I would agree with Harbinger that real driver training would be on my agenda if I had kids that were starting to drive now. I've certainly encouraged my kids to have their kids go through it.

Haitwun

If that is the case, the title of the thread should have been "Another young life bites the dust in a CAR"

mmarshall

Sometimes, though, it is a fact, whether one agrees or not. Although you really couldn't call him a kid (except maybe in lack of maturity) a friend of mine racked up more spedng tickets in a base-mpdel Toyota Tercel (with some 68 HP) than anyone else I know. The only reason he didn't lose his license here is his dual U.S./Canadian -citizenship....most of the infractions went on his Canadian license, which Maryland authorities couldn't revoke.

mmarshall

Maybe. But many times, though, those cars are Mustangs. Way too many.

mmarshall

Yep....me, too. That's why I opened this thread.

I almost got hit and run off the road in my Outback when some idiot in a Mustang GT swerved at the last second and floored it to make an exit in front of me....missed me by inches. He also missed the pole for the exit sign by inches...partly off the road.

KevinGS

No way would any child of mine (especially not a teenage BOY) be owning/driving a Mustang or ANY RWD sports car, not even the new BRZ/FRS.

They're going to drive an ol' 15-year-old FWD clunker with no more than 100 or so hp.....and if the kid is a great kid, then sure, I'll but them a new car: a Honda Fit. That's as much as they're going to get.

So yes, more than anything, I blame the parents.

mmarshall

I understand your concern for keeping them out of overpowered cars, but why send them out in an old clunker? The last thing you want is them calling you late at night telling you that they are broken down on a lonely road somewhere.

FordGT08

iTrader: (1)

I could agree with that. My senior year in high school I wrapped my GT around a pole. Was in a coma, punctured holes in both lungs. I ruptured I spleen and had severe head trauma. Can only imagine what I put my family through. I'm still a mustang enthusiast but definitely appreciate my life more lol

ABC

QFT! I had an altima with 150hp and i did quite a few dumb things with that car between ages 18-20...