American Truckers, a word of "warning"

I saw a cute little new Fiat 500 and guess who the target market is? 16 to 25 females and probably the gay crowd (just demographics people). So, we could wipe out good fashion and the cast of GLEE in one delayed brake scenario.........Be careful drivers......

 

The Chrysler dealers in Minneapolis have been getting these... saw 9 of them on a 6-car quickloader. They are far more of a car than the enclosed go-cart known as a Smart car; there really is no comparision. And y'all do realize that Chrysler is soon to be owned by Fiat, don't you?

 

Thought they already were owned by Fiat.

I found a new vehicle I want. I saw a mid 80's Chevy 1 ton pickup on the way home. Black and chrome with red pinstripes. Get's maybe 9mpg and looks #### good doin it. Somebody better buy it before I scrape together $3500.

 

Yeah, except guys on bikes are generally good ol boy types who I dont want to harm.

Smart cars folks are exactly what we need less of in this country. Let the carnage begin.

 

I figure it this way, if people want to drive tiny little cars that do less damage to my truck when I run them over, I'm all for it.

 

Bah you gotta catch me before you can run over me.

On the job I'm all about the big truck

Off duty, I'll take my lightweight 2 seat mid-engine runabout.

 

I think the hood on my 1985 Buick Le Sabre has more quality sheetmetal than most modern cars.

My daily driver Hyundai Sonata gets 35 MPG highway, and tops out # 130MPH (I think?) Though it is just like like every other Asian plastic blob out there it is not small by todays standards. It has nifty things like heat, A/C, seat belts, air bags, and a roof that a scooter does not.

Ill sacrifice filling up the tank on a car that still looks somewhat like a car vs. being a bug on the windshield.

 

I like the look of some modern cars, but it's so terrible when you realize those sweet curve are rendered in plastic.

Ever see a modern car with minor bumper damage that the owner is to poor/cheap to fix? Or driving along with the whole rear bumper skin off?

How the hell is that safer than the big I-beams they used to mount on cars in the 70's?

I swear my mom's old Dodge Omni (that had bar bumpers) could wreck just about any modern car in a Demo-derby! That includes a lot of Posure SUV's too.

 

Dang front of my ProStar would get boogered up by even a smart car.
Gotta avoid 'em!

 

You do know that all that damage to these new cars during a crash is saving your bacon, right? All the energy that goes into bending sheet metal allows the max g's to be much lower than if you crash one of the 70's tanks. Yes, it costs a lot to fix damage from what seemed to be a minor crash, but people are surviving crashes that would have left their brains scrambled or their necks snapped like Earnhart's had they been driving an older car. They key to survivability is to increase the deceleration dwell time which lowers peak g's. Helmets work on the same principle; and trust me, if your helmet does it's job, it will be trashed too. Better it than your noggin!