Call them whatever you want to: mullet mobiles, American iron or pony cars. The Ford Mustang and also Chevrolet Camaro have an image about them. The stereotype of a Mustang or Camaro driver is one of someone who likes their large gold necklaces and still sports a mullet for an haircut.
I have never been a huge fan of the American muscle car. Yes I completely understand their raw appeal but have never been able to wrap my head around the appeal of wanting to drive one everyday or in anger on a race track besides the great big engine. The Chevy Corvette always seemed like the much better choice for either of those uses.
The cars I grew up on are commonly referred to as rice burners as they generally have 4 cylinder engines and hail from the land of the rising sun. This did not stop me from taking the opportunity to race my friend’s 2007 Ford Mustang GT a couple months ago.
I was searching for a ride for the next local race as I was short on race rubber for my Honda and wanted to participate. My friend generously stepped up and allowed me to run his car at our club’s annual Jimmy V Never Give Up event.
The most experience I have had with any vehicle like this was driving my 1974 Dodge Challenger around my neighborhood during my phase of wanting to restore an American classic. So in short I had no idea of what to expect from this behemoth of a car. My normal race car weighs under 2700 lbs and has a fully independent rear suspension. This monster weighed a solid 600 lbs more and had a huge hunk of iron out back, also known as a live rear axle. You know the suspension design that most car manufacturers ditched back in the 70s and 80s.
I took the car for a spin around the paddock to get a feeling for the steering along with throttle and brakes felt before taking her out on course. I would get 5 runs on this day against the clock to pull every bit of performance out of a car that I have never driven before.
To put it lightly my first run was an eye opening experience. The car accelerated with the ferocity that I expected from a decently tuned V8. What I didn’t expect was how she felt as docile as a pussy cat as I flung her about the course in a slight tail out drift. This behavior kept up all day with the car only getting away from me once when I led her to close to the edge and didn’t rein her in when I needed to.
By the end of the day I had a new found respect for the genre of vehicle known as the mullet mobile.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
The Green Car Nut(job)?
Let me start out by saying one thing. I am a certifiable car nut or in a better word an autophile. I grew up around my family’s auto repair business and started turning wrenches when I turned twelve. I got my driver’s permit the day I turned sixteen and had my license 3 months later. I began racing about that same time and have not slowed down since. It is not just a passion, it borders on obsession.
Now to clear things up I am also somewhat of an environmentalist. I am not a die hard do anything to save the planet type but I am aware of how my actions could affect the planet. I know you are now thinking an environmentalist that is also car crazy, isn’t that a bit like being a kosher pig farmer? I will respectfully disagree. It is completely possible to eat, sleep and breathe petrol powered vehicles while still taking care of the environment.
This brings me to my current quandary. What is with the hybrid car? Yes it appears clean and they get very nice mpg’s but they also cost more than their typical petrol powered counter parts and are quite a bit worse for the environment to boot. Now all you Prius owners are going to stand up in revolt over this but it is simply true. I have had many spirited debates with hybrid owners about this very topic. I am going to pick on the Prius because it is the poster child of the hybrid vehicle movement.
You see a Prius’ batteries have to come from somewhere and that place happens to be the one and only nickel mine in the world located in Canada. This goes for any hybrid vehicle that contains Nickel Metal Hydride batteries. This mine is essentially a strip mine that has laid waste to the surrounding landscape to the point that nothing can survive. If this was the only problem with a hybrid vehicle than I would be quick to say it is no worse for the world than say the average sport utility vehicle that the local soccer mom drives around. Unfortunately the problems continue to mount against the current batch of hybrid vehicles. From the mines the Nickel is transported to Europe and then onto Asia where it finally gets turned into the batteries that are installed in your 60 mpg hybrid. In the case of the Prius the car is assembled in Japan and then shipped to its buyer somewhere in the world.
You end up with a car that gets great fuel economy but causes huge amounts of pollution to be emitted just so it can be built. In the end you get a vehicle where the batteries realistic life span is 100,000 miles. A Hummer for instance can realistically survive 300,000 miles if well cared for and it does not amass anywhere near the blood trail so to speak that the Prius does since the Hummer is assembled in the United States.
I am not telling you to go out and trade in your Prius for a Hummer. I am just saying please do some research and become a knowledgeable consumer before buying into the latest fad to save the planet. My personal daily driver only gets a paltry 30 mpg on the highway but you know what it is the most fun car I have ever owned and I don’t think I am raping the planet every time I start it up.
Now to clear things up I am also somewhat of an environmentalist. I am not a die hard do anything to save the planet type but I am aware of how my actions could affect the planet. I know you are now thinking an environmentalist that is also car crazy, isn’t that a bit like being a kosher pig farmer? I will respectfully disagree. It is completely possible to eat, sleep and breathe petrol powered vehicles while still taking care of the environment.
This brings me to my current quandary. What is with the hybrid car? Yes it appears clean and they get very nice mpg’s but they also cost more than their typical petrol powered counter parts and are quite a bit worse for the environment to boot. Now all you Prius owners are going to stand up in revolt over this but it is simply true. I have had many spirited debates with hybrid owners about this very topic. I am going to pick on the Prius because it is the poster child of the hybrid vehicle movement.
You see a Prius’ batteries have to come from somewhere and that place happens to be the one and only nickel mine in the world located in Canada. This goes for any hybrid vehicle that contains Nickel Metal Hydride batteries. This mine is essentially a strip mine that has laid waste to the surrounding landscape to the point that nothing can survive. If this was the only problem with a hybrid vehicle than I would be quick to say it is no worse for the world than say the average sport utility vehicle that the local soccer mom drives around. Unfortunately the problems continue to mount against the current batch of hybrid vehicles. From the mines the Nickel is transported to Europe and then onto Asia where it finally gets turned into the batteries that are installed in your 60 mpg hybrid. In the case of the Prius the car is assembled in Japan and then shipped to its buyer somewhere in the world.
You end up with a car that gets great fuel economy but causes huge amounts of pollution to be emitted just so it can be built. In the end you get a vehicle where the batteries realistic life span is 100,000 miles. A Hummer for instance can realistically survive 300,000 miles if well cared for and it does not amass anywhere near the blood trail so to speak that the Prius does since the Hummer is assembled in the United States.
I am not telling you to go out and trade in your Prius for a Hummer. I am just saying please do some research and become a knowledgeable consumer before buying into the latest fad to save the planet. My personal daily driver only gets a paltry 30 mpg on the highway but you know what it is the most fun car I have ever owned and I don’t think I am raping the planet every time I start it up.
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