jamesdem1123

I'm only one month shy of 21 but I think I'm maturing. All of my sergeants always say they thought I am older than what I actually am.

My first car was 91 Toyota Celica. It was a great car. It only had 67k miles on the odometer when I got it. I was really rough on the car, received about 5 speeding tickets in it, got rear ended in it once at a stop, t boned someone who crossed my right of way, and finally totaled it when someone pulled in front of me and swerved into a wall. No injuries through all of that...

My next car was an 89 supra turbo. I loved that car. No accidents, no tickets. Having a faster car with a lot more power I no longer need to floor it everywhere, I would just go really fast for a quick sprint and then return to maybe 5 over the speed limit.

The car I own now (or will own after I take delivery) is a 2009 Mustang GT/CS. I went to the dealership the other day to pick it up but it wasn’t there. They let me test drive a black convertible CS just for kicks. I didn’t speed at all. I would floor it once in awhile on onramps but other than that I would drive as a middle aged woman would, maybe even calmer, shifting at lower RPMS and coasting a goo ways before braking. I know when I do get mine I will go to road racing classes and the drag strip and the occasional bit of speed on the street providing its clear, but other than that my driving will be sane.

I was riding with my friend in a rental car, he would always floor it off the light, brake late and always try to go faster than the car next to him and keep an eye out for cars in the mirror. I told him he drives like a 16 year old with a Honda civic. Today I was watching cars drive by as I was walking to the autocraft shop (garage) and saw an accord with an exhaust. He floored it off the light, shifted at about 4000 RPMS and braked late.

Why is it that drivers of Japanese cars have to do this? Why do they have to try to look cool and draw attention to themselves by driving like this? Why, after being utterly annihilated in a race, is it that they have to keep going and fly by you after you clearly are braking and ended the race? Should I be driving like this as my peers are or Am I just getting old?

jedikd

You're just not as dumb as your peers, simple.

It has nothing to do with the make/model of the car, kids are just more likely to drive stupidly. Hopefully they don't learn their lesson the hard way.

69_gt500

Im guilty of part of that. Lets say, I show off in the stang often. But, I know when ive lost a race, no sense in immpressing anyone after youve lost.....

Antigini-GT/CS

Its not just import drivers. If you used to do it, why ask?

Jayhawk

Maturity is a wonderful thing. Also helps your insurance rates and helps you avoid un-needed tickets.

Starfire

I drive like that too most of the time (I floor it sometimes but not very often) when I'm on the freeway I'd say 2/3s of the people are passing me, why? I have a white mustang with black stripes I attract enough attention already I don't need speeding to attract a cop too!

jamesdem1123

your right its not just import drivers, its "sport compact" drivers.

The lower insurance rates are great, tickets go away after three years, accidents after five. my insurance cost was cut in half

avoid un-needed tickets? is there such thing as a "needed" ticket?

krnpimpsta

You know, just because you may have driven fast "to show off" or driven aggressively "to look cool," does not mean everyone in a sporty compact is thinking the same.

I drove a 95 Hyundai Sonata and a 00 Volvo S70 before this car (from ages 17 to 24), and now drive a stang at 25. In the first two cars, I constantly drove with the pedal to the floor and allowed my automatic tranny to shift near redline constantly. I never thought I "looked cool." I just enjoy driving fast. I enjoy the feeling of accelleration.

Now that I have the stang, I drive WOT alot less, because the car is too loud and too fast. I do it 100% of the time when nobody is watching, but now I'm self-conscious when there's other cars around. I won't lie - I care about how strangers perceive me. And I worry that people will think I'm trying to show off how fast my car is - or show off the sound of my engine - when all I really want to do is go fast and feel myself get buried into my seat.

Sucks that I can't enjoy my car without attracting attention. Some people just don't understand that it's not about the attention.

Rant over. My battery is dying and I'm upset about it, so sue me.

Shotokan1509

Just because your car has the potential to be fast, does not mean you should drive it like that all the time. You can enjoy your car just cruising. I come out of lights slowly, don't blast around most of the time.. but I will lay into it on on-ramps, and toss it through the corners late at night on backroads. My car is too loud to blast around all the time. Honestly, are multiple tickets worth it? Or braking late, and bumping someone?

Keystone

Yeah ironic isn't it? When you have a not so fast car you drive it as fast as you can. But when you get a fast car you learn it can be cool just cruising down the road, listening to the V8, and knowing the power is there whenever you want it.

shwaco1967

DITTO!!!

yur1279

I notice a lot more recently that almost everyone in your average car/van seems to floor is from a stop. At my job I usually eat lunch outside bya stop sign and me and the security car laugh at how many poeple 1. run through the stop sign and 2 feel the need to floor the car.

spike

Wierd thread. FWIW, I'm with krnpimpsta (post #8) completely. Otherwise I wouldn't have bought a 300hp car.

jamesdem1123

exactly my point.

karman

I find myself really using the car's power only when I think nobody is around.
I don't want to show off, but I do like to enjoy the power.
I will often gas it off a red light (with no tire spin) up to the speed limit though.

Poco

I've had a couple of HEMI cars that would shake the earth.I was always being tempted by other would-be racers.My concern was 'were their brakes any good,would their tires hold up,things like that. I still consider those things and I'm 52 now.

Jayhawk

Quote Theodore Roosevelt... "Walk softly and carry a big stick." In other words, drive a powerful car, but just knowing it can overpower many challengers is enough for me to just take it easy and cruise. Daily I pull up to any given stoplight and some young tool thinks he's at Pomona when lining up next to the GT. It is quite annoying and getting old fast.

SINBUSTER007

knowing i have power under me when i drive mine is enough to make you feel powerful. i do get into trouble when i get behind someone who doesnt know how to drive at a decent speed. so i end up dropping down a gear and blowing past them when allowable....sometimes i just take it and stay behind because of the ticket thing...i have the privilege of driving my uncle's 1966 mustang and when i go places in that, i dont want to go fast, i want to cruise so everyone can see it! rather see a nice looking car going slower than a blur passing me and not knowing what it is... i guess you ask yourself "do you want show or go?"

krnpimpsta

Go!

Rebel73

On my drive to work this morning, some dude in a TOYOTA TUNDRA today pulled up next to me at a light. Light goes green and he takes off like a bat outta hell. Totally caught me off guard and I thought "Was that guy seriously trying to race me?". Or maybe he was just trying to show up the racy red Mustang? Beats me, but his behavior perplexed me. I mean, aren't those things close to 5000 lbs?

It's funny though, I don't get too many challengers nowadays. I have a flashy red mustang with black racing stripes and hood scoop and for the most part, I'm left alone.

However, I am amused at the way some of these "ricers" behave when I'm in the vicinity. They are especially "brave" when I'm going in the opposite direction. Ha ha.