Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Now that's a relief!

I must admit, I got scared a minute when my cousin asked me to drive his Mustang while he rode with our grandmother to make sure nothing was wrong with her car.  (scared that I might like it, of course)  It was even worse when I realized that--at least after someone had sat in it for a few years and compressed the seat--there was actually some head and leg room in it.

I can thank the good engineers at Ford, however, for making it a completely impractical car for me, and not just because you can't put five six children in there along with the wife.  How so?

Well, to squeeze more miles per gallon out of the engine, the gas pedal is unresponsive until one really pushes it HARD, making it a more sedate vehicle in ordinary driving than my minivan.  Add to that the fact that the steering wheel blocked my view of the speedometer, and the super-tight suspension (just what one needs on Illinois roads filled with potholes!) combined with a very heavy vehicle (it's only 300 lbs lighter than my minivan) made it.....less than a pleasure to drive.

OK, put in a real tilt-wheel and a manual transmission, and then we might be talking about a fun ride.  Not without a clutch or tilt-wheel, though.

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