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- Controls set for heart of sun
- GTP_RogerTheHors
I was talking about what is increasingly becoming the general view around where I live. Most people only really think about fuel economy around here when it comes to getting a car, and will start looking at anyone who drives a car which isn't fuel efficient as a bit of a rich snob, to be honest.
I'm not saying that getting 500HP and that sort of fuel economy isn't technically impressive, what I'm saying is that in the grand scheme of things, fuel economy like that just isn't very good, and cars which get that sort of fuel economy are also generally rather polluting, and I've spent enough of my life living next to a busy main road to be just about sick of not being able to open my bedroom window because of the exhaust fumes.
However desirable I may find an Aston Martin, a Ford Mustang, or a McLaren F1, factors like that simply leave me with a preference for small cars which don't drink petrol like there's no tomorrow. Also, I like cute things, like this:
or this:
or this:
And, the thing is, I acknowledge that in the US, muscle cars and huge pick up trucks are far more suited to their environment. They actually fit on the roads over there, for starters, and the fuel is, of course, less than half the price. But some american members of this community seem to forget that in other parts of the world, those sorts of vehicles are effectively useless. Why would an already cash strapped European farmer buy a big american off-roader when she could buy a far more fuel efficient Panda 4x4 which is less likely to get stuck and also less likely to break down? Oh, and when I say less likely to get stuck, I'm including the possibility of it getting stuck in the lane outside her house.
The other thing that I'm sick of as well, to be quite honest, is the whole view that car enthusiasts need to like manly cars, and be manly, and be male. It's bloomin' misogynistic, to say how I see it, and some of the statements certain people make really would not sit well with an awful lot of people I know if they heard them in real life...
Think about that last part for a moment. Do you want to exclude half the worlds population from our little hobby?
I'm not saying that getting 500HP and that sort of fuel economy isn't technically impressive, what I'm saying is that in the grand scheme of things, fuel economy like that just isn't very good, and cars which get that sort of fuel economy are also generally rather polluting, and I've spent enough of my life living next to a busy main road to be just about sick of not being able to open my bedroom window because of the exhaust fumes.
However desirable I may find an Aston Martin, a Ford Mustang, or a McLaren F1, factors like that simply leave me with a preference for small cars which don't drink petrol like there's no tomorrow. Also, I like cute things, like this:
or this:
or this:
And, the thing is, I acknowledge that in the US, muscle cars and huge pick up trucks are far more suited to their environment. They actually fit on the roads over there, for starters, and the fuel is, of course, less than half the price. But some american members of this community seem to forget that in other parts of the world, those sorts of vehicles are effectively useless. Why would an already cash strapped European farmer buy a big american off-roader when she could buy a far more fuel efficient Panda 4x4 which is less likely to get stuck and also less likely to break down? Oh, and when I say less likely to get stuck, I'm including the possibility of it getting stuck in the lane outside her house.
The other thing that I'm sick of as well, to be quite honest, is the whole view that car enthusiasts need to like manly cars, and be manly, and be male. It's bloomin' misogynistic, to say how I see it, and some of the statements certain people make really would not sit well with an awful lot of people I know if they heard them in real life...
Think about that last part for a moment. Do you want to exclude half the worlds population from our little hobby?
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