We don’t. I’ve easily topped 100 more than once in my 4-banger Scion tC…before I got control of my impulses. If I had a Lotus Elise (4-banger) or a Mazda 350Z (V6) I’d have gotten arrested by now!
Fast ?
I don’t have my V8 to go fast ( and without overdrive it won’t go much more than 65 safely ). And I certainly don’t have my Ford Escape hybrid to tow a 27’ trailer, 18 4x4x8 posts, 360 1x4 cedar slats, 60 2x4x8, 10 bags of quikrete, Bath tub/shower stall, 100 sq.ft floor tiles, etc. etc.
There are three DIFFERENT trucks in my driveway…for a reason.
Fast ? nothing more than 85 or so.
How Come You Brits Call A Roof - A Hood, A Trunk - A Boot, And A Hood - A Bonnet?
You have to taking me 'round the bend! I drive a big gas guzzling American Clsssic because I can! I am an American. We broke away from the King’s rule because we didn’t like the way you guys did things. When it comes to cars, I’m personally not interested in some little clown car.
I have driven those little cars. I am not surprised at what they can do. I’m just not interested.
America, What A Country!
Mazda 350Z?
Yeah, my wife drives a small engined Honda, and my work vehicle is a V6 minivan. But, you know what, there’s nothing quite like going out in for a week-end drive in my all American built 6 liter V12 Jaguar.
Oh, wait …
Video in question
I have a question about the pollution thing that I am not sure anyone here can answer but I am putting it out there:
Are environmental regulations in the US stricter or different than in the US?
I seem to remember a discussion in Europe (and legislation in place) that bans vehicles that emit more than a certian number of grams of CO2 per kilometer. So even if the exhaust emissions are proportionally cleaner in a gas guzzling vehicle they wold be higher than the ones in a gas saving turbo diesel.
If a car gets 20 MPG, the proportional amount of CO2 in the emissions can only be half as high as that of a car that gets 40 MPG in order to meet the standard. I have read that the German manufacturers are very opposed to that because they sell big cars that have a harder time to meet these standards.
Is there an source that compares EU vs. US legislation?
CO2 is not one of the gasses that automobiles in the US are tested for.CA and about 15 or so other States want to add CO2 to the mix of gasses to be tested for,this issue is in our court system now,if I have the story straight.
The US has not yet ratified the Koyoto protocol,most other nations have,these are limits to greenhouse gasses,even though we have not ratified the protocol we still acknowledge the situation,in addition to requlating CO2 the protocol set a date for R134a phase out.
c02 emissions are directly related to fuel economy,regardless of wether a car has a petrol or diesel engine.so,for example, if a diesel did 30 mpg,and a petrol did 30mpg,their co2 output is the same.but diesels do more mpg,so their c02 is lower than petrol. diesels do put out more particulates though,but most have a particulate filter on the exhaust to solve that problem.in the uk,there is no ban on higher polluting cars,but,the higher the c02 output,the more road tax you pay.
Which effectively limits the bigger, more powerful cars to the wealthy, and artificially limits what vehicles the average citizen has to choose from. I’m not a fan.
Why this obsession with the Crown Vic and its small V8? My wife’s Sienna minivan would mop up the floor with one. A few taxi rides in New York doesn’t really give you the full picture. No more than a taxi ride in London gave me the full picture, although it was the most polite traffic jam I’ve ever been in. Most families get by with a minivan which has replaced the station wagon (estate) as the family hauler. Crown Vics usually end up as police cars, then taxis. Private owners tend to be older like my late Father-in-Law who had three basic requirements for a car, GM, 4 doors, and a V8. It’s his 1993 Caprice that I’m currently driving. One exception is a friend who picked up a 2 year old 2004 Crown Vic in mint condition for about 7000 pounds or so. He, like myself, is old enough to have started driving when most America cars were big sedans with V8s.
Ed B.
If they build it, we will buy it. Our culture seems to include three children per family and all the sports equipment you can buy. You can also change a diaper in a minivan with less trouble. I’m part of the problem. We have a Yaris for fuel economy and a GMC Sierra 4WD because I have trouble getting out of the Yaris and can’t walk in snow or uphill. My E-150 Econoline could accelerate a lot faster than an econobox. It made for a lot of fun when I entered the highway. It was so easy to hold back and then have plenty of power. Not necessary but easier. Our highways around here are designed so you can’t see well as you get on the highway.
It Sounds Like Grounds For Revolutionary War #2, From Where I Sit!
Come join us.
Sure, except I want to drive an Ariel Atom, not a Miata. If you don’t know what that is, take a look at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaWoo82zNUA
The Atom uses a four cylinder Honda Civic V-Tech engine and will leave your Vette sucking dust.
The kids have definitely gotten bigger (look at all the media coverage of The Childhood Obesity Epidemic!) since that era, as have many adults! Sometimes this coverage is couched in supposedly postive terms like the articles marveling on the number of 300 lb. high school football players in Texas.
As evidence of this trend, take a look at family photos from the '60s & '70s, and I guarantee that you will think that almost everyone looks very skinny by “modern” standards. Look at movies from any time earlier than the '80s, and almost everyone looks emaciated as compared to most of us today.
Watch an old Honeymooners episode, and observe how “fat” Jackie Gleason was supposed to be. Compared to the average man on the street (and even compared to many teens) today, he does not look especially fat! Sit in a theater seat from 40 years ago, and it will probably seem very narrow.
The bottom line is that most Americans (and, by now, many Europeans and some Asians) have become grossly overweight. As Pogo the Possum said, “We have met the enemy, and he is us”!
(Note: I am not excluding myself from this criticism, as I could stand to lose about 35 lbs.)
SUV and Truck owners come in 2 kinds. The ones who really need them for towing, hauling large loads… and the ones who want a status symbol. In my town Large 4wd vehicles are the “in” thing and almost completely owned by “city” people who drive max 3 miles from one side of town to the other rarely going over 40 mph. One person has a Hummer to drive 1/2 mile to work and back. This kind of owner is usually the one terrified of getting a scratch or nick in it. This type of buyer will usually also own several vehicles of large size. This is called compensating for a lack in other areas.
The ranchers/farmers own old full size trucks. These are the ones towing trailers loaded down, moving cattle, hauling a couple of tons of hay etc. Easy to repair, easy for parts - and not 100’s of electronics to have go wrong if you’re isolated in the middle of nowhere. A few months of Real use and the pretty new truck looks pretty similar to the old truck. They own small cars for regular trips to grocery store etc as fuel economy is a big consideration.
Americans (yes I’m one :P) approach vehicles differently. They use them as an outward extension to show the world who they are or to show status - a part of their ego. They don’t see it as just a mode of transportation - a way to get from here to there, Ergo - there is much emotional involvement.
I am well aware of the Atom. I also forgot to mention, that this race is 600 miles in length, on a 2 mile oval track in Michigan, in December 
You may want to wear a coat.
Hey, that’s a good one Whitey.
I like to go one million miles per hour. My car runs on rich people farts and orphan tears. The exhaust is loud enough to break other cars’ windows and smells like a mixture of a garbage dump fire and a hog rendering plant. Periodically I drive through the forest, shearing off as many old-growth trees as possible.
There. Does that work for you?
The funny thing is, Americans are so often accused of being ignorant and intolerant of other people, other cultures, and other beliefs. Yet so often, the accusers seem unaware that Americans are, in fact, divided in to many, many cultures, not just one big doughnut-swallowing, Excursion-jockeying slob-fest. Just because one group of people gets the most attention by world media, so many people from other countries can’t come to terms with the idea that not everyone from that country fits the mold.
Going fast is the nature of the beast for Americans…
When you referee 6 nights a week at games that were often more than 100 miles from home…you drive fast if you have to go to work the next day.
The Monroe Doctrine has created a great land mass for us to negotiate. It saved us through two world wars and has led us to being one of the worlds leading producer of food. Soon that land mass will become a natural resource
with a vast mid western corridor to erect wind mills.
We depend upon speed and fast cars with our commitment to the highway system. (the Big Dig is a testimony to that) What other country would commit billions to a freeway just to drive through one city faster, when for the same money they could have eased the burden of much of the traffic with improved mass transit in many cities ?
LONG LIVE the fast car…if represents our freedom. I just want mine to be an electric before I die.