"N8N" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Handling well is not a problem. It's easier to make a light car handle
> than it is a heavy one (it's fairly easy to make a heavy car generate
> good skidpad numbers, but transitional maneuvers like a slalom or
> autocross course become more and more difficult as weight goes up.) ....
If by "safety"
> you mean good handling, acceleration, and braking that allows you to
> avoid an incident, then the light car wins hands down.

One thing I like about the European cars is the handling. Not the
softest ride but you feel in control. My brother's mid-80's Volvo is the
same way (I only wish he didn't treat it like crap, it's a nice car).

OTOH, I was learning to drive with my dad's Ford Ranger and the thing
feels like a nightmare with its springy, loose handling and high ride. I
guess if you put alot of crap in the back, it rides better. But personally,
I think it's a crap vehicle in general- I wish my dad would just dump it, he
almost never uses it for anything practical and my brother ends up using it
mostly to haul stuff for his deadbeat friends (no truck, no mooching). My
dad used to have a little Mazda pickup (manual, the first manual car I ever
remember) that, in practical terms, hauled as much stuff, and it also seemed
to hug the ground a bit better. That's why I don't understand why people
actually like to drive SUV's and trucks, the handling is miserable. It's
only "safe" if you plan on crashing all the time.

I recently took the road test and got my license (and I was disappointed
in how patheticly easy it was, no wonder Florida drivers suck... I spent
months practicing). What was scary was the number of teens taking the test
driving old Chevy Tahoe's and Ford Explorers. I don't know what makes
parents think that's a good car for a new driver. It's as stupid as giving
your kid a Viper and hoping he doesn't wrap it around a tree.

Car Talk on NPR had a joke a while back about Jetta drivers being the
biggest maniacs on the road, the worst drivers, etc. I think it's jealousy.