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 Forgive
me for I have sinned might be overstating my transgression this past weekend.
I’m as much a motorsport fan as anyone, willing to watch just about any
motor driven sport on television. This past weekend, however, I opted to
watch the baseball playoffs over the Saturday night NASCAR race at Lowe’s
Motor Speedway. The tension and drama associated with the baseball games
was significantly greater than what was occurring in North Carolina on
that Saturday evening. Apparently even the drivers in the race were bored,
as Dale Earnhardt Jr was heard over his in car radio saying he was bored
and was daydreaming about the condos surrounding the track. Few people
are bored with the baseball playoffs this year, since the games have all
been very entertaining, and since the Cubs and Red Sox are involved.
I happened across a short editorial in the Wall Street Journal the other day. Titled the “Scapegoat Utility Vehicle”, the column reported on comments made by the head of the National Highway Safety Administration. Jeffrey Runge’s comments focused on the dangers of “rollover” for SUVs, blaming them for the increase in “overall” highway deaths. What Mr. Runge failed to mention is that while total traffic fatalities were up (more people driving more miles), deaths per vehicle mile traveled were down, continuing a three-decade trend. Light trucks/SUVs death rates remained unchanged from 2001. The editorial went on to point out that the data indicates that in terms of overall safety big SUVs are the most safe. The statistics are as follows: average death rate for cars 138, for all SUVs 140, for the biggest SUVs (5000 lbs plus) 92. Then the bombshell, “Politically correct mini-cars were the most dangerous with a rate of 249 deaths per million vehicles.” So in the battle of fuel mileage versus safety, which would you rather own, a fuel-efficient potentially dangerous small vehicle, or a less fuel efficient very safe large SUV? When I’m driving my Ford F350 truck I feel very safe! We just returned from a business trip to car-crazy southern California. While I’m envious of the weather they enjoy, I’m not at all envious of the density of the population and the associated traffic. I did note that most every vehicle we encountered appeared to have been washed in the previous hour. If I’m lucky I get through a day or two with a clean car. After awhile keeping a clean car in New England becomes hugely frustrating and a waste of valuable weekend play time. Another observation we made was that aftermarket wheels are a booming business in California. Susana and I noted all manner of gaudy and complicated wheel designs, including one style that featured a multi-layer design that continued spinning after the car came to a halt. We happened to note a new BMW Z4 painted a flat looking military green, a very unattractive choice on that car. I didn’t notice any environmentally correct electric vehicles roaming around; guess no one out there wants to put substance behind all their “talk.” Cayenne sales must not be doing as well as Porsche had forecast. Today they’ve announced favorable financing rates to help clear out 2004 models that must be sitting on dealer lots. I don’t remember Porsche ever offering financing incentives to move inventory in general, and certainly not for a new model. There’s more bad news of sorts for Porsche’s Cayenne. The latest issue of Car & Driver features an article focused on comparing several new SUV models. Surprisingly, Cadillac’s newest entry was rated higher (1st ) over the Cayenne( 2nd). The Cadillac was “quicker”, stopped almost as well, had more standard features, and was much less expensive. Porsche has also announced that they’ll build a less expensive version of the Cayenne with a lower performance engine (provided by VW). Maybe Porsche is finding that the price points of the “S” and the “Turbo” are too high for most potential buyers. While we’re thinking about winter Porsche storage in the Northeast, the track season continues in warmer climes. We’ll have just returned from Road Atlanta by the time you read this column, where hopefully the weather will have cooperated. It’s a long drive for two days of track time, and even a worse equation if the weather is problematic. We’ll end our driving season where it started this year, at Virginia International Raceway. Maybe we’ll get to experience the fall colors a second time! |
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