1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Does Horsepower and Speed Corrupt?

Discussion in 'Fred's House of Pancakes' started by Mystery Squid, Jul 24, 2006.

  1. Mystery Squid

    Mystery Squid Junior Member

    Joined:
    May 18, 2005
    2
    3
    0
    ...as I was driving home from yet another sunset swim at the beach tonight ( :D ), I was passed by a bunch of trucks on the highway, and of course, one of them was a Hummer (which almost everyone seems to have one down here in FL... I swear, even up in New England, Obnoxious Soccer Mom capital of the US, I never saw as many Hummers...). The Hummer actually wasn't too impressive though, it's become pretty boring and commonplace these days, the "newness" factor is wearing off... Anyway, some dude in a super huge, seriously modified, GMC Dually pick up (Dually = the pick up with the doube rear wheels), with a super wide open exhaust, just PUNCHES it, and I swear, he went from 60-100 REAL quick, if that thing didn't have NOS, it was REALLY tweaked and tuned... I mean, you could hear the exhaust like a mile behind him...

    ...anyway, where was I going with this...

    ...oh yes, so here I am driving home, cruise set to 61mph, in a 65 :lol:, and every time people blew by me at some excessive speed, I immediately thought, "A-hole, does he REALLY have to go that fast ( :rolleyes: )..., why do people REALLY like to drive like this? What is it about speed that is soooo addictive, or considered "cool", such that people do it all the time?", when it occurred to me: Just earlier in the day, I was out on my bike, blasting down roads/through various highways, FAR faster than anyone who had blown by me, easy 130's/140's, the kind of speeds for which I'd simply get arrested (or killed) for...

    ...it's like Dr. Jekly/Mr. Hyde. On the bike, you think NOTHING of twisting it and blasting, yet in the Prius, I'm just as solemn and lame as most Prius drivers... :D

    It's like, just having IT, encourages you to use IT. I mean, you CAN'T ride a sportbike around at 65, you'd never leave 2nd.. :lol:

    It's not that you CAN'T control it, it's that you REALLY don't want to... I suspect lots of maniacs out there, are simply further encouraged by the vehicles they drive, particularly if the vehicle is capable... Speeding and oil consumption, aren't actual problems on their own, rather these issues are given life by some underlying psychology... :ph34r:

    Thoughts, comments, opinions, insults????
     
    #1 Mystery Squid, Jul 24, 2006
  2. Blackfang

    Blackfang New Member

    Joined:
    Jul 19, 2006
    50
    2
    0
    Location:
    Richmond, Va
    I don't drive like an nice person on the road. I take it to where it is fun and legal, the dragstrip.
     
    #2 Blackfang, Jul 25, 2006
  3. hyo silver

    hyo silver Awaaaaay

    Joined:
    Mar 2, 2005
    15,232
    1,563
    0
    Location:
    off into the sunset
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    I do not know. Gimme some and we'll find out. :D
    Funny, I haven't had as many speeding tickets since I gave up my motorcycle.
     
    #3 hyo silver, Jul 25, 2006
  4. tnthub

    tnthub Member

    Joined:
    Jun 12, 2006
    519
    8
    0
    Location:
    Brunswick, Maine
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    I agree. i wouldn't cal lit "corruption" per se, but since I began drag racing in 1997 I have not had a single speeding ticket, I buckle up every time, and I drive intelligently to try and get the most mpg out of whatever car I am in... My wife accuses me of driving "like an old lady" and she is the Prius salesperson where she works. :lol:

    It isn't the vehicle, in my opinion, although having the ability to go fst and corner would be a secondary motivating condition, it is the realization there are legal places to have fun and a right way to do it, combined with the realization of mortality as I age. When i was 16 i simply assumed I would live forever and my right foot was made to be plastered to the floorboard. Same deal with partying... I'm a teetotaler now but when I was young I was a party animal... Now I'm the designated driver, however beware of me because I can still be crazy and decide to have my fun loving buddies wake up a few hundred miles away on a deserted dock in their boxers. :blink:
     
    #4 tnthub, Jul 25, 2006
  5. nerfer

    nerfer A young senior member

    Joined:
    Mar 1, 2006
    2,507
    236
    28
    Location:
    Chicagoland, IL, USA, Earth
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Mystery Squid @ Jul 23 2006, 11:20 PM) [snapback]291273[/snapback]</div>
    Sorry, no insults today. :lol:
    The maniacs are attracted to those kinds of vehicles that support their 'addiction', no doubt. And manufacturers know people will buy something just because it has more horsepower in it, no other reason. Then other people need more horsepower so they don't get blown off the road, but the maniacs want more passing power, so it keeps on spiraling.

    But it doesn't really matter on the technology. People race on foot, on bicycle, downhill skiing, etc. I know a guy who visits an Amish community occasionally, and he's seen young males "drag-racing" in their buggies (the original definition of 'horsepower'). Of course, that's a rare event, and probably chastised by the elders, but the urge is certainly prevalent.

    How's that saying go - "horsepower corrupts...absolute horsepower corrupts absolutely"?
     
    #5 nerfer, Jul 25, 2006
  6. burritos

    burritos Senior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 13, 2006
    4,946
    252
    0
    Location:
    California
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    If a loved one like a spouse or child were killed due to unnecessary speed, would the need for speed persist?
     
    #6 burritos, Jul 25, 2006
  7. Mystery Squid

    Mystery Squid Junior Member

    Joined:
    May 18, 2005
    2
    3
    0
    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(tnthub @ Jul 25 2006, 04:21 PM) [snapback]292155[/snapback]</div>
    I think that really sums it up best. I don't have the time, effort, or bother to go to the track (although I have on occasion), so most of my hooliganism is confined to public roads ( :lol: ), at the right place, right time.


    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(burritos @ Jul 25 2006, 05:00 PM) [snapback]292182[/snapback]</div>
    You're making an underlying assumption "speed" kills. Like guns, irresponsible operators kill... Contrary to the public's conditioned belief, there is a responsible way to speed, and a not-so-responsible way. ...and yes, I make that judgment call on my own.


    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(nerfer @ Jul 25 2006, 04:59 PM) [snapback]292181[/snapback]</div>
    Wth then??? As the great Kid Rock once sang, "GET IN THE PIT AND TRY AND LOVE SOMEONE!"


    EXCELLENT perspective! Then what does this really mean? Do we have some sort of competitive/speed "genes" in us???
     
    #7 Mystery Squid, Jul 25, 2006
  8. hycamguy07

    hycamguy07 New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 18, 2006
    2,707
    3
    0
    Location:
    Central Florida
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    It must be a conspiriscy going on because the state is mostly democrats, they must be pretending to be republicans to live the good life and drive hummers then return to the north and drive their hondas... ;)
     
    #8 hycamguy07, Jul 30, 2006
  9. barbaram

    barbaram Active Member

    Joined:
    Jan 24, 2006
    911
    70
    9
    Location:
    Trenton, NJ
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    I had not 1, but 2 people comment to me how they were passed on the highway by prius doing at least 80!!!!!!!!!!!!!
     
    #9 barbaram, Jul 30, 2006
  10. Schmika

    Schmika New Member

    Joined:
    May 27, 2005
    1,617
    2
    0
    Location:
    Xenia, OH
    Speaking for myself...if I am in a car with "power"...I want to use that power, otherwise, what's the point.

    test drove a new Charger w/ the hemi...not because I wanted to buy it...because i wanted to "punch it" and see what it would do.

    yes, HP and speed has a corrupting influence, and few can resist it.

    One of my favorite sayings is "I became a policeman to drive someone else's cars real fast".
     
    #10 Schmika, Jul 30, 2006
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)