What is it with men in minivans and 4-cylinder cars? (1 Viewer)

[Scott L]

Well if Charles has one of those enthusiast cars we should smack him for not knowing what "punching juice" means. But Jared's right, only those 4 bangers he listed should be able to compete with w/a Mustang GT. If he's driving a Carolla the GTs he's talking about aren't even trying.

 

[Jason_H]

Good to see some fellow s2000 drivers on the forum. I love my S! Do any of you frequent s2ki.com at all?

 

[Jared_B]

we should smack him for not knowing what "punching juice" means.

A true enthusiast doesn't want or need juice!

To add to Roberts original post - Lately I've been seeing a lot of beaters weaving through traffic like they're driving Ferraris. I don't mind so much when I see a newer, perfectly capable sports car driving moderately fast. What is annoying is when these 15 year old CRXs with bicycle tires are going 15mph over the limit. Those kinds of cars are just not meant to go fast.

 

[Francois Caron]

I wonder how well a Mini Cooper will perform under such circumstances?...

 

[Ryan Wright]

I don't think we have enough information to make such a statement. Charles hasn't said yet which 4 cylinder import he has. I can name 5 off the top of my head that will embarass a Mustang GT.
WRX
S2000
SRT-4 (OK, so not an import)
EVO VIII
Integra Type R

Oh, come off it. The S2000 is a sweet car, and I'd take one any day over a Mustang, but "embarass a Mustang GT"? Doubt that. 0-60 acceleration for the S2000 is 0.3 seconds slower than the GT (according to http://www.carsdirect.com/research/n...ports/rankings). You'll give the Mustang a good run but will hardly "embarass" him.

Oh, and the base MSRP for the cars you listed is at least twice what a Mustang goes for. I could plop $90k down on a 4 cyl Lotus Esprit and whoop all of these cars, but that wouldn't hardly be a fair comparison, now would it?

 

[Dan Joy]

They drive like Bone-heads because they're stuck in a piece of crap. I don't think I've seen a guy that didn't drive like an ass in a minivan...hell I would too if I was stuck driving one. (Shivers) YUCK! no thanks!

Chill Out Dean! Maybe some anger management classes are in your future.

 

[Zen Butler]

I don't think we have enough information to make such a statement

This is true. I was directing my comment to the guys with the 4 door Civics and Accords who put huge aluminum wings, a K and N filter and a flowmaster (just to give it that full high powered lawnmower sound) and think they are ready to rock. Sorry to say but my 454 Nova has no problem making them specks in my rear-view.
There are some fast 4 cyl. out there, but it takes some cash and work like any race car. The ones (Hondas, Suburu etc.) even contending are far from stock. They aren't running that bolt-on crap from a catalogue either.
Oh yeah what does that 4 ft. aluminum wing do?

 

[John Tillman]

Well it sounds like everyone drives like New Yorkers . Watch out for what's next though, I've been with State Farm since 81', no tickets or accidents but yesterdays mail delivered a 25% hike. Ouch.

 

[Jared_B]

First of all Ryan, read the fine print on that website:

Compiled from various sources: 0-60 mph...

It's a pretty well-known fact that different sources can come up with wildly different performance numbers for the same vehicle. I've seen 0-60 times of 6.0 and above for the Mustang, and 5.5 for the S2000. I'll give you that the two will run neck and neck to 60 MPH, but at that point the S2000's better aerodynamics will take over. This all is hypothetical, of course. A real-life road is bound to have some corners, which is where the Mustang will truely be embarassed by any of the cars I mentioned.

As for price, the Mustang GT starts at $24,305 (www.edmunds.com). That's $1000 more than what I paid for my WRX. Evolution VIIIs are starting around $29,995, which is exactly what the Mustang Mach 1 is going for. The Neon SRT-4 has an MSRP of $19,999 (!!!). Integra Type Rs are not in production anymore, but can be found for under $20k. An S2000 will sticker at about $35k. Not exactly "at least twice what a Mustang goes for".

 

[Jeremy Stockwell]

Could it be that the guys in the minivans that have two or three kids in school, sports, band, boy/girl scouts, etc. that keep them running around town like crazy and, thus, are simply in a bigger hurry than the guys in the sportscars headed home from the tennis club, golf, etc.?

No, I don't drive a minivan or have kids in school.


JKS

 

[Todd Hochard]

You know, I've been playing with cars for lots of years, and I've never heard the phrase "punching juice." Is that a West Coast thing?

I'll tell you what I hate- the "Ricer Buzz-By." The "Ricer Buzz-By" is executed by some teen in a lowered Honda (so low as to render the suspension moot), complete with 5" fart can, repeatedly speeding up, then slowing down, right next to me, in a gear too low for driving conditions. I can't tell you how many times I've had this happen, when I'm driving my Camaro. VERY annoying.

I've run a few Rex's at the track, and, as expected, they get me off the line every time. By the top of 1st (45mph or so), I'm back even, and by the top of 2nd (70mph), it's all done. They usually have the chip and intake, from what I can see, and what they tell me. Nice little engine, but the styling...

Todd

P.S. I also own a Honda and an Acura, so the term "ricer" applies to a specific subset of said car owners. You know what I'm talking about.

 

[Jared_B]

Agreed, Zen. The true performance imports I listed are a vast minority compared to the "wannabees".

Have any pics of your Nova? I friend of mine in HS had a Nova with a 427 in it. I don't recall the year (had disc front brakes though). Unfortunately, he never really got it running well. It was a dog, but it sounded great!

 

[Jared_B]

"Ricer Buzz-By."

I've heard "Ricer Fly By", but I like "Buzz-By" better!

 

[Brian Kleinke]

This is why I love Sports Sedans It's funny when people try and zoom by me, my little old 3.0 V6 puts out a decent amount of power, and an A4 doesn't look like just another sports car.

 

[Robert_Z]

Could it be that the guys in the minivans that have two or three kids in school, sports, band, boy/girl scouts, etc. that keep them running around town like crazy and, thus, are simply in a bigger hurry than the guys in the sportscars headed home from the tennis club, golf, etc.?

Nah, that's not it. Sounds too logical.

I just got back from town and guess what vehicle was next to me when I came to a stop light??? I laughed. But it is slick and rainy in Austin today so all was civil.

 

[CharlesD]

I've just got a humble little 4-door 4-banger. Just ignore that high-pitched whirring sound, nothing to see here, move along, move along.

 

[Zen Butler]

You know, I've been playing with cars for lots of years, and I've never heard the phrase "punching juice." Is that a West Coast thing?

Yeah, it's just another way of saying that gentleman is using NOS, more guys use the term squeezing though.

sorry next time I'll bust out the periodic table, just to make things more clear.

 

[Ryan Wright]

As for price, the Mustang GT starts at $24,305 (www.edmunds.com). That's $1000 more than what I paid for my WRX. Evolution VIIIs are starting around $29,995, which is exactly what the Mustang Mach 1 is going for.

*grumble* .. You're comparing high end models with base models. The Ford Mustang starts at $17.5k. Yeah, if you get the high end model with all of the extras you'll pay much more, but you can't then compare it to a base model of another vehicle.

 

[Jared_B]

You're comparing high end models with base models.

I did no such thing. A BASE Mustang GT is $24k. Now I know[/i} you don't want to talk about the V6 Mustang, because it isn't even remotely close to being a sports/performance car. You wanna talk about $17k Mustangs, and you'll get 0-60 times of 7-8 seconds. No contest.

In fact, I used the performance versions of each of those cars, not the base models. The WRX is really just an Impreza with $5k in options. The Evo is just a Lancer with $10k in options. The Mustang GT is just a regular Mustang with a V8. So using your logic, I didn't use the base models at all.

 

[MickeS]

About the traffic light racing: I ALWAYS try and drive as fast as I can when it turnes green, not to beat anybody else (I could really not care less), but to make sure that as many cars as possible make it through before the light turns red again. I HATE those slowpokes who just sit there and lalala and then slowly accelerate, even if it's rush hour. ESPECIALLY if they have a car that could accelerate much faster.

/Mike