I had to post this, feel free to post some good stories.

[pose_442]

It was funnier if you were there, but.......

Today I was coming home from Indy in my '87 442 and got off on my exit. This exit is a divided highway that runs about 4 miles into Anderson, IN.

In the mirror I noticed a very loud Mitsubishi Lancer (Not an Evo 8) darting thru traffic. Then, the Lancer and I were side by side at a stoplight. I take off as I normally do. All the sudden I heard what sounded like hamsters being sacrified to my left and found the Lancer at full throttle going around 50 with tires squealing. I was at about 1/3-1/2 throttle and not even racing him.

The tuner crowd talks highly of HP per Liter, but I truly enjoy the 1 ft/lb. per cubic inch of a well tuned Olds motor.

 

[whitey]

back in the fall when the roads were still dry , i'm sitting at a light and a smart car rolls up behind me , so while i'm lookin at them in the rear mirror I start to think that they are ridiculing my gas guzzler and laughing so as the cross traffic gets a yellow light I start to light em up and within a few seconds that smart car disappeared in a cloud of tire smoke..... try that in your smart car .....

 

[fryer1979]

wtf, smart car? guess I dont get it. Once they start getting computers in them, I seldom pay any attention.

I was sitting at a stoplight waiting to cross a major highway on my way home one night in my 79 Camaro (sorry, the Regal doesn't run yet). As I started to cross with a green light, a black STI cuts me off with his right turn into my path. Samming on my brakes to avoid hitting him I was not happy. This guy is known in my small town for having money and his car is said to have some serious cash put into it. In my anger I decided to put his car to the test, ( keep in mind I only have lass than five grand in mine, car included). I punched it leaving a small cloud of smoke as my tires broke traction then grabbed again. He noticed and follow suit. I will give him some credit, he is the first import I have come across in this area that I have not blown away at the first tap of my throttle, he was fast. I did not quite have enought power to get around him on a one lane road, but he could not get away, and I had to watch the throttle as I was creaping. Then it happened, he hit his speed governer. His nose nearly hit the ground as his motor nearly quit, and I almost hit him as I whipped around trying hard to keep straight at 115mph. Put the hammer down, let my car pull to around 140 and watched him get very small in my rearview.

I did get time to steal a glance as I flew by him and he was not happy. Stupid children, fast and the furious was just a movie! Just because you have money in it does not make it fast.

 

[Uncletruck]

Smart= Little sh*t-box from Mercedes, sold in Canada. Even more of a death trap than an Aveo.

-UT-

 

[clean8485]

The Smart should be available in the U.S. within the next year. In terms of crash protection, its probably safer than the Aveo. I saw a video of a crash test of a Smart car head on into a concrete barrier at 60 MPH, and it survived the impact with the passenger compartment pretty much intact. Keep in mind than its a subsidiary of Mercedes-Benz, so they're not going to sell something that's not safe.

 

[Uncletruck]

I think the mainstream buyers of Mercedes cars are up in arms with them building and selling something like that, much in the way most loyal Cadillac owners were appalled with the Cimarron (upscale Chevy Cavalier) back in the '80's. USA Mercedes dealers responded so harshly when Daimler brought the Sprinter van over that they had to sell it through Freightliner truck dealers because Mercedes dealers did not want cargo van buyers at their showrooms. Daimler might have had luck selling the Smart at Dodge dealers before they unloded their infamous Chrysler mistake, now I just can't see an entry level weenie-car like the Smart sitting in the same showroom with $200k+ high end Mercedes in USA dealerships. With the Dodge name no longer at their disposal, the Smart will not likely be a marketable car in the USA. Along with that, there are so many hybrids hitting the market now that can easily out perform the Smart and have comparable fuel economy.

Maybe I'm wrong, but even if that thing does hit the streets in the USA, I can't see it being anything more than a novelty for girls in college. :lol:

-UT-

 

[clean8485]

Here in Canada, the Smart is sold through a separate dealer network. Kind of similiar to GM starting up a separate dealer network for Saturn when they were getting started. I realize that Saturn is more mainstream now, and is selling vehicles which are mainly rebadged or rebodied GM products, but in the beginning, Saturn had its own product. Anyway, while I can't say how well the Smart will sell in the States, here in southern Ontario, its sold pretty well, and not just to college girls. They started out with a 3 cylinder turbo-diesel, but for 2008, they've gone to a gasoline engine, which I think is part of the reason why they've decided to test the U.S. market. Probably a bit too quirky with the diesel. Hope I haven't taken this thread too far off topic.

 

[Derision]

I think the mainstream buyers of Mercedes cars are up in arms with them building and selling something like that, much in the way most loyal Cadillac owners were appalled with the Cimarron (upscale Chevy Cavalier) back in the '80's.

Hey hey now... I used to have a Cimarron. That was a nice little car! Looked like a Cavalier, but that's where the similarity ended.

It's funny... as far as getting into it with the "ricers" or whatever... almost never used to happen to me. I was never really a racing guy, y'know? Then I pulled the vinyl roof off the car, and immediately every idiot driving a Civic in the tri-state area is pulling up next to me and revving their engines.

My favorite, so far, was one night when I was coming home. I was sitting at a stop light, and next to me comes some guy in a beat-up, 1987 Toyota Tercel. The car looked like it had been through hell and back, and the only modification I could see was a four-inch diameter tailpipe. He starts revving it up... the light turns green... and before I even hit the gas, he stalls out. I hit the brakes, waited for him to start his car up again, and then destroyed him at one-third throttle.

 

[pose_442]

I have another tale. Before I bought my 442, I had a '96 WS6 T/A with the LT1/T-56, billet wheels and a 3" Borla adjustable exhaust system. Bad *ss car indeed!!

Anyway I was driving down a 4 lane road with the t-tops out, and this kid in a crappy looking Eclipse says, "Hey, lets run 'em light to light." Keep in ming we were doing around 40mph having this conversation. I politely said no, but he kept insisting. Finally, I said to hang on a second. Still going around 40, I hit the clutch, put her in 2nd, revved the motor to 5000rpm, and dumped the clutch.

After my 40mph smoky burnout was done, I asked if he still wanted to run 'em, he's like, "No man!!! No way man!!!! You'll kick my @$$!!!"

 

[fryer1979]

nice. 40mph burnouts are so sexy!