Tuesday, November 18, 2003
Mo' Power
I'm living here in Michigan so the news is often filled to overflowing with automotive information. Lately there's been quite a bit of talk by columnists about horsepower and automobiles. Both that the big 3 are offering more of it and that what they do offer isn't enough.
Now, if I was a teenager again, I'd probably agree whole-heartedly. Back in the olden days, I had a Chevy Nova all jacked up with glasspacks and 3 on floor and the inevitable STP stickers in the back side windows. Did I mention the Amoco 8-track? My idea of a good time was seeing how much I could light up my tires and how low my quarter mile time was. However, the growing out of that didn't take long. My next car was a 1900CC Opel GT followed by a bunch of VWs and another small Chevy or two. BTW, I'm back with the VW New Beetle nowadays.
These days, I just can't see the attraction in all the big, massive, expensive, gas guzzling behemoths. SUVs and pickup trucks. Complaints that 300 horses just ain't enough. Now I'm not saying there shouldn't be any around. After all there are folks who do use their pickup to actually haul more than a stereo and whose four wheel drives are really and honestly driving in the muck and mud. But let's face it - they are definitely the minority.
I think most SUV owners would have a heart attack if someone splashed mud all over their new Escalade. And during my one short experience of owning a Chevy S-10, my friends were horrified when I dumped a bunch of lumber in the bed for fear that I'd ruin it. I bought a pickup to haul stuff not parade around at the mall. And just how often has Fred and Myrtle used the 300+ horses being bored to death under their hood.
Honestly, the 150hp in my turbocharged bug is more than I really need. However, I still get 30 mpg tooling around town or over the highway. There's more than enough room for me and three friends (if I had three friends that is). And when there aren't three extra in the car, I've been able to haul a 200 pound drill press, several bags of Sackrette cement and do it all with only stopping for gas every ten days or so.
Granted, if my neighbor buys a HUMVEE the polar caps probably won't melt tomorrow and we won't run out of gas next week -- but we will run out of gas. It seems pretty likely things are warming up. The air over many cities is a pretty tan instead of an ugly blue. And idiots with more credit than common sense roar by my bedroom window at 2am with stereos and exhaust blaring...
Detroit News and Detroit Free Press
