Peters mourns the passing of the late, lamented passing gear.
The average new family car has more power and potential performance capability than the average performance car of the ’90s. A 1995 Mustang GT’s 5.0 liter V8 made 215 horsepower; the car could do zero to 60 in about 7 seconds. A 2021 Camry with the standard 2.5 liter four cylinder engine has 203 horsepower and gets to 60 in just over 7 seconds. With its optional 301 horsepower 3.5 liter V6, the Camry can make that run 5.6 seconds, easily blowing the doors off the ’90s V8 GT. Which was one of the top three fastest American cars available back in the mid-’90s.
But back in the ’90s, people who drove Mustang GTs used the performance they were capable of. In the today, people who drive family cars like the Camry with more performance capability seem afraid to use it. The new Camry looks really angry, though – much more so than the ’90s Mustang. Probably because it is so frustrated by its driver.
Anyone who still drives will affirm this observation.
One can be driving a vehicle with very little performance capability; for example, my Old Steady pick-up, a nearly twenty-year-old truck with a four cylinder engine that does not get to 60 in either 5.6 or 7.9 seconds, regardless of my best efforts. In fact,my ’02 Nissan Frontier has about the same performance potential as a new Prius. But I use every bit of potential it does have and that makes me faster than most new car “drivers” who are behind the wheel (sort of) of vehicles with twice the performance potential.
It’s like a guy in a wheelchair winning the Boston Marathon.
A natural consequence of the Risk-Averse Society they’ve foisted off on an effeminized, no-ball nation. Eric is way off with the next part, though.
When these gimps-behind-the-wheel “pass” another car – if they even make the attempt to pass another car – it is done with excruciating lethargy, kind of slow-motion Safety Dance on four wheels.
First, the wait. These non-driving people have to think about it a bit before they initiate any action.
Then they signal. Always the signal. This having been bored into their minds as the Most Important Thing to do when passing, rather than competently executing the actual maneuver.
Waitaminnitwaitaminnitwaitaminnit. They DO? You mean to say you’ve seen drivers actually bothering to activate a turn signal, not just before passing somebody, but EVER? At ALL?!? Things must be quite different up Roanoke way than they are ’round these parts, because I can assure you that signaling a turn, lane change, or pass is something that just doesn’t happen here, unless I’m the one doing it. In fact, I’ve been wondering if they’d made moving the turn-stick illegal in NC or something.
Then again, just about the only people you see slingshotting around Ma and Pa Kettle on a two-lane road these days are teenagers in Charger Hellcats or 5.0 Mustangs, so there’s that. Most everyone else limits the indulgence of their more adventurous sides to constant tailgating, posting selfies on Facebook the whole time.
1995?!? Pshaw! Whippersnapper.
Last real Mustang was the 1967 Ford Mustang GT.
Flame bait delivered. Y’all have at now. 🙂
Okay… the fuck happened to my typesetting?
You were making a statement…
True, ‘cuz the Mustang whooping Camaro debuted in ’67…
I like the ’69 or so Mach Mustangs myself.
Or the 67-69 Camaro and the Chevy Chevelle 1970 SS LS-7 with a 454 V8. I think they claimed 475hp driven right off the lot.
The Mach 1s were pretty nice. I knew a few ‘rodders that had some fairly hot ones. But I’ve always been partial to the Bullitt car.
Listen, we are comparing Rembrandts to DaVincis. There is no right or wrong.
Recall though that the Bullitt was a 68 and a fastback.
So I guess what I will say is I prefer the Fastback Mustangs over the earlier ones.
The Green of the Bullitt was awesome too.
Was it a ’68? I knew it was a fastback. Been a long time since I saw that movie, and I didn’t look it up for a throwaway blog comment.
Either way, ’67 or ’68, nice damned car. 🙂
Only the fastbacks look good IMO. The rest just look like grocery carts.
🙂
And yes, Bulitt was a 68 Fastback.
One of the few Mustangs I ever liked, Bulitt.
https://bullitt.mecum.com/
Y’all DO know my first car was a 66 Mustang, right? It had previously belonged to the auto-shop teacher at my high school, so it was in fine tune and trim. Back then, a bunch of us hot-rodders used to drag race up and down Franklin Blvd in Gastonia every night. I shocked and embarrassed many a 350 Chevy with that little 289 out there.
I saw my first Mustang at the Greensboro McDonald’s in 1964. I was 11. The first Mustangs were 1964 & 1/2’s. An early experience in drooling at something as a young man…
Yeah, I seem to recall you saying that at one point or another.
I never had a Pony. I had a couple of friends who did, and they were nice, quick little cars.
Millennials and Zoomers (ironic naming) are all using apps from their insurance company that tells them to slow below the speed limit and drive real timidly and they’ll save money on their car insurance.
There should be more rebellion but most are now Compliant.
They follow orders well and even seek out restrictions by using apps that penalize anything but Compliance.
I have this terrible feeling that, a la 1984, we’re all going to be surveilled by the phone. If we’re not already.
And the license plate readers. And the Bluetooth readers. And the out-of-car readers of in-car wifi.
IOW’s, we’re fucked.
People had seen the upside to the tech revolution but there were people warning of the downsides as well way back when.
I myself had worried that the downside would triumph and prevent the upside from ever becoming reality, at least for the regular people. That’s looking more and more likely now.
My phone was made in Hong Kong. If the PRC wants to surveil me, man… I hope whatever functionary they put on that isn’t bored easily. 🙂
I dunno about that. If they were listening in China, they are not being bored. Pissed off maybe.
I’ve already made the decision never to go back to china. Too risky IMO.