Quote:
Originally Posted by suspectnumber961
2 million sales per yr of a light-weight fuel efficient and inexpensive car lost?
China or India will step up to the plate?
|
So, tell me; if some vehicles are to be culled off, why would they be the fuel efficient ones? Wouldn't natural selection kill the big, energy hogging SUV's and sports cars? I imagine the automotive landscape will start moving toward the small and efficient, which is not to say they can't still be fun. Small, light cars don't need much in the power department to elicit a smile!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ryland
I think SUV's are doing more to take that away then anything else but that adrenaline rush is being replaced with the rush that you get from ridding a bicycle...
In reading about electric cars a lot of people seem to be pushing for electric cars being so cheap that everyone can have one and to me the decline in car ownership is a good thing.
|
I ride bikes too and can tell you I've never gotten a thrill as I have with motor racing. It's been said that it is "the most fun you can have with your pants on". On a bike you may be more involved with it and be exerting yourself more but you don't get the outright speed or the vehicle dynamics. It's so great to let off the gas a bit and feel the balance shift forward, slipping the tail out a little as you pull around a tight corner on a gravel road.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rokeby
I'm not at all surprised that the traditional "car" with what can now be seen as time-based deeep emotional attachments it is being replaced in these communicatiions by electronic devices. Today, direct person-to-person/selected group comms:
* are much less expensive (think current high teen age unemployment)
* can involve other like-interested folks from around the globe
* doesn't require licensing
* can occur 'round the clock
* are instantaneous
If you're so inclined, what's not to like?
As for racing...
There are folks who are still fascinated by horse-related activities. Some even race horses, "The Sport of Kings," presumably due its expense. Its anacronistic, way out of the main stream, has little or no significance beyond racetrack centerfield shenanigans for almost everyone.
|
You can't, ahem,
kiss in a cell phone.
When you want to both be alone with someone special and get away from your house/parents/siblings there are few things better than a good cruise.
Horse people are still around and not many race them. Dressage, driving and trail riding are all very much alive and don't take the huge investment of keeping racing horses in order. Yes, they're still very expensive, but as I tell my horse owning mother, you don't need to feed a car every day! You also don't need to go to an actual track to have fun with a car, especially a classic. The smaller and more nimble your car is, the more fun it usually is on the road. Think old British and Italian roadsters- they're tiny and cramped and unreliable, but they've got a huge following for good reason.
Anyway, that's enough of my moaning and groaning about how cars are awesome. Carry on with your regularly scheduled thread.