No, I didn’t actually buy a super car, but I think that I should be able to. Allow me to elaborate.
I live in a rather affluent part of Southern California and nice (expensive) cars are not uncommon on our roads. I spent just a couple hours recently at Shoreline (some bluffs just over the beach) and watched as every 3rd car that drove by was a Porshe. Mostly boxters and cayman but none the less, where else in this world are porche’s more common than hondas? Here, you have to drive a Ferrari or Lamborghini to even begin to stand out.
It’s worse than that though. I know of no less than 3 Ford GT’s, 2 BMW M5’s, 4-5 Astin Martin Vanquish, 2-3 Ferrari F430’s, countless Bently GT’s and Mercedes AMG’s of all flavor, and last but not least one Maserati quattroporte which I see every day at work. If I recall, when I read a magazine review of the Maserati the author felt comfortable saying that you may never see one of these vehicles in person, and here I am fighting for a parking spot with one.
Now those are just the cars that I’ve observed on the road, god knows what is tucked away in garages and not driven but on the most holy of days to tootle on down to the country club. And here, by my reckoning, is the worst part. Most of the owners of the cars have NO CLUE how to drive, nor will they ever come close to exercising those cars to any where near the potential. The worst offenders are the trophy wives who are driving around in their various Mercedes Benz AMG’s. There isn’t one of them that drives more than 40 MPH at any time for any reason, very much including the freeway. Either that, or they think they’re an Andretti and drive dangerously fast in a straight line, and panic whenever they have to actually change trajectory. Why their sugar daddies thought it was necessary to spend 30% more for the same car, but with a ton more power they’ll never use, I can only guess.
Which brings me to the point of my rant. I know, about time eh?! I think that all manufacturers that make cars built for the enthusiast should have some sort of discount program. Here’s how it would work.
Perhaps only a couple weeks out of each year, you could walk in to your favorite uber car dealership, take a test drive, and chat with the salesperson. Then before you go to sign the paperwork for your shiny new cruise missile you are required to prove your enthusiasm for the car. How you ask? By proving your mettle on a series of driving tests.
Picture this, you get behind the wheel of the $360k car that you’d like to buy, and if you can wring it around the test track in less time than a certain predefined speed, demonstrate competence in controlling the car at, and beyond the limits of traction, and otherwise convince the manufacturer that you’re willing and able to drive the car in the way it was designed, why it’s yours for a mere fraction of the price!
Isn’t that what it’s really about anyway? These cars aren’t built so that only real estate moguls and CEO’s can own and drive them. No! They’re designed to be driven FAST, on a track by a talented and appreciative driver. So why not give your average Joe the ability to get into one of these vehicles, someone who would really cherish the privilege and (hopefully) have some respect for traffic laws and be able to control the vehicle on the street, someone like ME!
It might even cut down on the number of incompetent and unexperienced drivers that get behind the wheel of these monsters.
Just a thought. Manufacturers are you listening? I’ll take delivery of my Ford GT as soon as you realize how good this would be for business. ;–)
