Would it influence the kind of car you buy?

What would happen to exotic cars? I mean what's the point in owning a car that can go 200 if when you go over 70 on the interstate you get an instant ticket?

 

I'll keep my IS, lol


But that would really really suck...

 

Guess more track days.

 

Thanks, bit.

That's exactly the point I have been trying to make about the horsepower craze for years.

And, in fact, many of those exotic cars end up wrecked from excessive speed and loss of control. Our own CL forums, right here, are full of threads about wrecked Ferrari Enzos, Lamborghini Diablos, Porsche Turbos, etc.....

A noted Swede (I forgot his name) has personally wrecked several of them in CA, and there was a recent, rather gruesome case posted of an 18-year-old girl that stole her father's brand new Porsche and slammed it into a toll booth at triple-digit-speed. The wreckage was unbelievable. These are only two noted cases of many.

Lindsay Lohan has also, recently, wrecked two very expensive Mercedes AMGs (I wonder how she keeps her insurance? ), but, in those cases, alcohol seems to have been more of a factor than speed.

 

Add to that list the incident with Hulk Hogan's son Nick. He races on tracks and drifting events but still has to speed on public streets.

One of the reasons I don't mod engines in my cars is it doesn't make a lot of sense to me. I'm not knocking those who do.....not at all. Really, it's cool if that's what you're into. I just think it's a wate of money past a certain point. Certainly, building a car from a puny 150 hp makes some sense. I feel that too little hp can be dangerous as well. But 400, 500 or more...what are you gonna do with it? It's all about bragging rights. Like when we were little kids. Comparing who's got the biggest muscle, the biggest you know what. I drove the G35 for a year. I began to take unneccary chaces bcause I could get away with it. Finally, I got caught and wrecked the car. Because of a stupid move. Yes it was fun but dangerous. Knowing you have power makes you want to use it.

Now that I've said all that....let me see...what do I really think.

I like power as much as anyone. I just don't think it makes sense to go crazy spending so much for insane power you can never use. I guess it doesn't have to make sense to me.

 

I would still get a Lexus. I think track days would be much more popular here. I would be more interested in hybrids and maybe other higher MPG cars.

A lot of it isn't that you "did" it but you "could" do it (Exotics).

 

Well, even some hybrids now seem to be joining the HP/Torque and 0-60 races.

 

True. They still run tons cleaner than any non hybrid car (emissions). I drove a girlfriends 2002 Celica and the difference in build betwen my 2001 GS and that car was obvious.

It just would be very hard to go back and drive a non Lexus.

 

Not sure my point is totally sinking in so I'll give it another go.

Imagine this...

You've got some errands to do...

You slow down into the school zone with the flashing light and you were doing 27 when you entered the 25 zone.

As you continue you're nearing a traffic light and it goes orange so you put the foot down because you're in a bit of a hurry and go 52 through the intersection.

Now you're on the highway, most are doing the speed limit but someone in front of you is going unusually slow. You get a bit annoyed, put your foot down and now you're going 70 around him, but it's a 65 limit.

At the end of the month, your credit card has 3 charges on it for $100, $150, and $100, a total of $350. Now you're really annoyed. But you know you can't fight it, or it would cost you more to fight than the tickets. And you don't have to fight it because tickets no longer give 'points' so you can't lose your license except for really outrageous tickets. Your local govt appreciates the revenue.

Now does THIS scenario make you think you might drive a different car?

Naturally, if such a world were true, manufacturers would offer very different vehicles, realizing that producing cars a majority of their cars to go 100 or more is completely pointless because few people want them.

In such a world I also think the market for new exotics would all but vanish.

 

there will always be a market for high hp car.. people will always find way to go around the law.. i talk to a lot of people in the past most of them said they will be happy with a 500 hp car and when they have a 500 they want 600 and when they got 600 they want 800 and it just go higher and higher.. once your car is at certain level it is kinda hard to go back and drive something slower... I live in LA and I'm OK drving a slow car here and I bought a Scion XB to drive but If I live in place like TEXAS I think I'll only buy hp cars....

 

Nope......not at all.

Almost 40 years of personal and buisness driving, and in reviewing cars, in many different driving conditions........including the ones you just mentioned, if they actually existed, has shown me what vehicles are sensible purchases and which ones are not. I won't go down the whole laundry lists again..............you petty much know from my posting history what those vehicles are.

And you are probably correct that sales of exotics would all but dry up, except for occasional track driving.

 

I bet she has an umbrella insurance just for liability and the collision is out of pocket. When you're that rich, the actual car price is trivial.

 

I would most likely move to Germany.

 

How about automakers having to govern all cars to the national speed limit.

Imagine only being able to go 65 or 75 mph on the highway and your foot is to the metal??

OR, if the government really got F'd up and reguired electronics in all cars that would connect to the owners info. This system would know exactly where you are and what the speed limit is. Then you would automatically get billed everytime you went over with no need of police intervention.

Fortunately, that breaks constitutional rights in some way and won't happen.

 

Time to buy some exotic bicycles