Today is the Super Bowl and readership will most likely be down for most people will be spending the day reliving every game since Christ was a corporeal…….ergo I have chosen a topic that will not be that important to anyone but me……..
I have been accused, mostly by my daughter, as being a hermit or a vampire because I spend many hours reading news and analyzing the stuff I read….she thinks that I spend way too much time locked in my “war room” and that I need to get out more or find a hobby that will give me a break from my passion.
All this is well and good……but the only other passion I have is auto racing……formula one and sports cars and a little rallye…..NASCAR is just too boring for words….it consist of driving fast and turning left….so I have decided to write about my other passion……..auto racing.
Since the 1960’s I have been a Ferrari fan…..mostly from my fave driver in those days….Wolfgang “Taffy” von Trips who drove the red machine in formula one….he was killed in 1961 at the Italian Gran Prix in Monza…..
This first post is about today’s sports cars….all 800+ HP and speeds of 200+ mph…..why? Just where would one drive this car to push it to these limits? The emphasis is on a computer to all the work for the driver…..where is that enjoyable?
Back in the day I enjoyed driving so much….the power, the sliding, the shifting, the whole ball of fun….but today’s cars do all the thinking for the driver with traction control,the paddle shifting, etc…….the driver basically has to steer the car and the computer will do all the other thinking….that is NOT fun or fulfilling…..at least to me.
Then there are the cars themselves….today most of them have similar appearances in the body…….back when I was trying it you could look at the field and know who made the car and the model that went by…..today you need a program to explain the cars to you…..where is that enjoyable?
Back then cars were cars…….like the Lotus, Ferrari, Maserati, Triumph, TVR, Fiat, even the US has some cool cars like the Cheetah, Ford GT40……….. that had their own development teams…..now the cars are a mongrel vehicle……with a Mercedes engine and a body by Abarth and the chassis from a Renault Clio……on and on……
Today it is all about the technology and less about the art of driving and for that I have lost my passion for today’s cars…..I will remain a vintage sports car person…….I am too damn old to enjoy participating in races but I will watch it whenever the chance arrives….there is always thePS3 and a racing game to lull away the hours…….but it is just not the same as feeling the car respond to your every move………(HEAVY SIGH)………
Have a great weekend……I will return to form on Monday!
I totally agree. You might like this post of mine on the subject – sort of.
https://matteringsofmind.wordpress.com/2013/01/23/fangio-fidel-and-fred/
Thanx for the comment and a link…I will visit…..chuq
Have a Super Sunday…driving around in your car.
Oh yeah….better than a TV set…..have a great day….
I save your stuff to savor your stuff and finally read this piece which hit home. My first car was a mustang, second a vette and third an AMX. I didn’t race but I went fast and corners were just plain exciting to me. My first intro to race cars was the CAN/AM series and the McClaren CANAM at RIR was my ideal car for over 20 years. I miss ’em too, watching as well as driving. I was a worker in the pit area of the first Forumla 1 at Long Beach, gawd what a sound, it shook me to my core and the competition gave me chills. Not to mention the drivers themselves. Of course mechanics party harder, so that was who I usually was with. dru
I appreciate your reading my stuff….I still do not understand how people get excited over today’s car with all the fun run by computers….I first driving experience was in a Ferrari 250 GTO next was a Delorean, next a Lotus Espirit…I got race a Lotus 7 once…..I cannot get the experience out of my soul…..thanx for sharing….chuq
I know what you mean about today’s cars ~ in general ~ and sports cars specifically. My interest died a slow death just like CANAM, but today I’m driving a Fiat 500 Pop (automatic because of my hip) but none the less zippy. And you can shift without a clutch, like F1. My biggest problem with this car is mt big behind will hardly let me get in the back but I’m working on range of motion and this car may actually improve my health. Never thought of that with muscle cars! Contratz to you about the Lotus. WoW! dru
I drove a 500 many years ago and it was as you say zippy…..I had a ’68 Alfa Romeo and it was a dream to drive…..but parts were a problem and I had to sell it to a guy in California….the Delorean was a piece of crap to drive….it was more fun to drive a Big Wheel than the Delorean…..I know what you mean about range of motion…I broke my leg curing Katrina and it was so bad that I cannot manage to get into a low car….that sucks….I did drive Scion FR-S awhile back and was duly surprised at the handling….wish I was a bit young and had two good legs…..yea the Lotus was a dream and quick…..chuq