Is driving fun anymore?

[Fly2High]

All,
Please define for me what you mean by 'a pleasure to drive' or 'is it fun to drive'?

I live on Long Island and we have plenty of hours when the traffic is crazy but there are times when it is lighter.

To me there is more to a Mustang than just how fast it goes. When I pulled it off the dealer lot that first day I purchased it, I was immediately met by someone wanting to race. The car has 40 miles on it (I put 28 of those on a test drive). I did not race but we met again at the next stop light. He rolled down his window to chat about the car. I loved the complements he gave me on the car. I have a Ruby red PP2 and he loved the stance, wide tires and overall great looks of the car. I love the looks I get at the car and the complements about it. It is more than just a tool in which to go fast. I enjoy the theater and experience of owning one. My old TC used to get cut off daily and treated like a second class citizen. In the Mustang, people slow down and get behind me, they make way for the car, they drive up just to ride alongside.

I love that there is a Mustang and Shelby club where guys of similar likes can get together.

I love driving a manual, yes, even on Long Island. It is so much more engaging. Some days I try just to keep moving in traffic and others I play the fuel efficiency game. Other days I just try to have fluid and effortless shifts. This is all fun to me.

The car can really corner. I enjoy taking a corner at more than my personal limits and the thrill of knowing the car still has more to give.

I enjoy just washing and waxing it and keeping it clean. Working on a car is so much more fun when you love the car you drive.

As for why there are fewer cars, especially sporty car, I'l gamble these could come into play:
1. Most cars already accelerate such that 0-60 is over in less than 6 seconds, especially in the Mustang price point. Few can handle going faster.
2. With all the electronic assistance, many car are already at the limits most care to drive. Why buy a car whose handling exceeds your desires and capabilities.
3. Most are overweight or older or both and it is easier getting in and out of a big truck (Yes, SUVs are listed by DMV as light TRUCKS).
4. Few have discretionary spending for anything other than a daily driver.
5. Most tend to go to places to have fun and do activities and cargo space is needed to haul their stuff to get there. Most sports cars just do not accommodate carrying stuff.
6. Few find driving the destination and instead use their vehicle to get to their pastimes. For many here, driving is the pastime.




In the end, there is much more to me that is fun about the Mustang than just driving fast.

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[Rover]

Good to hear lots of old guys driving their life away
I love my back road drives... I like to end up at a mountaintop cafe for breakfast. The food sucks but the roads are great!

 

[Ebm]

The world (more specifically, places like the US, India, China, etc) is becoming overpopulated. That means more people getting their license to drive which means more cars out on the road which means more traffic.

If you want more free range roads, you need to put your Mustang in its natural habitat... where a crowd of cars(or people) are...

 

[Hack]

Yes, driving is fun. You have to pick your spots. The GT350 was a lot more fun than what I have now (just listening to the exhaust at any speed was great in my opinion), but I still like driving. Don't like traffic, but I like driving.

 

[Ebm]

Yes, driving is fun. You have to pick your spots. The GT350 was a lot more fun than what I have now (just listening to the exhaust at any speed was great in my opinion), but I still like driving. Don't like traffic, but I like driving.

You went from a GT350 to a Fiesta ST? Yeah... I could see how the GT350 would be more fun.

 

[JiminVirginia]

This is so general it might be considered OT...but it's frustrating that we're in a time when we have cars with such high performance levels, but almost no opportunity on the streets to really enjoy them. At least where I live (central Texas) all the roads I regularly drive on have become so congested and so policed, that it's rare for me to get a chance to get the pedal all the way to the floor, or take a curve at anything above the speed limit. Most of the time I'm stuck in traffic on 35 or one of Austin's many other gridlocked streets, crawling along no faster than an economy car. I guess I could go out of my way to get up early (or go out late at night) and drive way out of town, but I'm not that motivated.When I retire maybe I'll move somewhere with less traffic.

My theory is that this is a big part of the reason that performance cars are dying out--if you can't take advantage of their capabilities, what's the point? Do you feel like you have a chance to really enjoy your car on the street?

Amen, brother.

I live in Northern Virginia.

 

[StangTime]

This post reminds me of one of my favorite songs:

 

[JohnDoe]

What it really sounds like is you should have gotten a convertible. Even in traffic I'm having a good time enjoying the weather.

 

[Bluelightning]

This is so general it might be considered OT...but it's frustrating that we're in a time when we have cars with such high performance levels, but almost no opportunity on the streets to really enjoy them. At least where I live (central Texas) all the roads I regularly drive on have become so congested and so policed, that it's rare for me to get a chance to get the pedal all the way to the floor, or take a curve at anything above the speed limit. Most of the time I'm stuck in traffic on 35 or one of Austin's many other gridlocked streets, crawling along no faster than an economy car. I guess I could go out of my way to get up early (or go out late at night) and drive way out of town, but I'm not that motivated.When I retire maybe I'll move somewhere with less traffic.

My theory is that this is a big part of the reason that performance cars are dying out--if you can't take advantage of their capabilities, what's the point? Do you feel like you have a chance to really enjoy your car on the street?

Toll Road 130..... Should make it fun for you again.

 

[Norm Peterson]

My theory is that this is a big part of the reason that performance cars are dying out--if you can't take advantage of their capabilities, what's the point? Do you feel like you have a chance to really enjoy your car on the street?

Yes. Every time in every car actually, and yes I notice this. If I didn't, that would amount to finding out that I'd bought the wrong car . . . something that hasn't happened yet in a little over 50 years of buying cars.

Enjoying one's car(s) doesn't have to be about extracting max performance every time you get in it to go somewhere (or for that matter, nowhere in particular). Maybe it's about being able to enjoy more moderate amounts of the available performance potential. Hell, it might even be better if you save your all-out max-performance driving for just once in a while . . . so that you'll enjoy it more on those fewer times when you do go 10/10ths.

Maybe focus on driving more smoothly than on driving harder, which does take time and a certain amount of conscious thought. It's a good skill to develop, and has a side benefit in that you may end up actually being able to drive a little harder (or maybe a lot harder for those less frequent occasions) without generating passenger complaint.

Try looking at heavy traffic as an opportunity for practicing smooth shifting among the lower gears (this can keep you busy enough to at least start forgetting that you aren't making very good time).

Today is our "errand day" (we're both retired), and I'm actively looking forward to the drives to the various stops. Probably won't ever hit redline or much more than 60 mph, will most likely manage a couple of curves at half a g or a bit more, making the fun part being more in using that much performance smoothly and consistently.

Basically, fun and enjoyment in driving is what you make it out to be. Make the choice to find a little fun.


Norm

 

[Birddog 29]

Fun? Hell yes it's fun. I live in Oklahoma. 5 o'clock traffic is from 5 to 6. Lol. I lived in Dallas so I know traffic. There are plenty of back roads to choose from. I find I am taking more road trips now that I have my GT. Had a blast driving to Silom Springs Ak. Put her in Sport+ and let her have her head. I say take a road trip and enjoy the thrill of the ride.

 

[Schwerin]

I still enjoy driving, but there is indeed MUCH more traffic now than there was even 5-6yrs ago in my area. It sucks.

 

[Hack]

You went from a GT350 to a Fiesta ST? Yeah... I could see how the GT350 would be more fun.

Well, the Fiesta ST is the "winter beater". I had a very cheap winter beater before, and I felt like driving that thing daily for 4-5 months of the year was killing my soul. And I actually think the ST is pretty fun to drive. I like it quite a bit for a little S box.

The Z06 is fun to drive, but not as good as the GT350 in my opinion. It's definitely faster on the street, but it really sucks on the road course compared to the Mustang. That LS engine. It's a chassis car, and I'm an engine guy.

 

[Hack]

I still enjoy driving, but there is indeed MUCH more traffic now than there was even 5-6yrs ago in my area. It sucks.

I swear that most of the difference for me is people on their phones in traffic and leaving big gaps around them. They really slow everything down.

 

[WhiteyDog]

I find the back country roads with all the twists and turns and give my suspension mods all that I can throw at it. Then I do a little highway run to get my higher speed fix. Handles exceptionally well (as it should) and plenty of power. So is driving fun anymore? . . . . . The Fun-O-Meter is pegged every single time I get in it.

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