Hi All, Mark,
News flash, Europeans do not tow long distances in strong winds and 40+ degree temps often. Different location=different requirements. I was born in the UK and lived there for years, in fact my first school camp was in Switzerland, and I have returned for holidays twice, so I am well aware of how small cars are used to tow trailers. The Europeans do not have 1000's of km to travel. I have travelled around Europe in a small car and it was cramped and uncomfortable. Not the sort of setup I would want to spend a long time in with young children. I do not deny small cars can be effectively used for towing in this country, Just they are not the best option. Medium to large cars are. The thread did cover the issue, and this was the pertinent post. "Whatever you get - and there has been plenty of advice so far - look for a vehicle with sufficient weight (and this probably means size) to able to remain the dominant influence in the towing combination. I know of several road dramas with gliding trailers where the towing car had the horsepower - but not the weight - to allow the driver to be in totally charge of what was happening all of the time, and things went badly wrong when the trailer took over. There were probably other factors in the instances I recall, but the common question in those mentioned was a towing vehicle which on reflection, was probably on the smaller (lighter) side of what perhaps should have been used." Such cars as the Outback and Forresters as I recommended are NOT big cars, they just are not deliberately built light weight small cars. Perhaps being a boy racer has clouded your assessment of cars for this purpose. The other factor that families with children would take into consideration is safety. It is well established and simple physics, in an accident the heavier car comes off best, as evidenced by a radio interview I heard, the guests were, Head of the traffic police, Chair of the Road safety council, and the President of the Crash repair assoc. ALL of them had 2 ton + Mercedes, and they categorically stated that they had them because of their crash rsults experience, the heaviest car is the safest, and the crumple-ability of modern small cars simply meant they were even better off. Which car would you rather be driving in a head collision on between a V8 commo and a WRX? You may feel different when it is your own children whose safety is a concern. Is "yeh whatever" as your way of saying of yes you're right? I knew this was a worms.... Dave al Message----- From: Mark Newton [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, 10 September 2007 3:39 PM To: Dave Cc: 'Discussion of issues relating to Soaring in Australia.' Subject: Re: [Aus-soaring] Family Tow Car Dave wrote: > <sigh> Spot the boy racer huh. I gave up worrying about dragging people 20+ > years ago. > Thing is Mark, the more weight is a good thing for towing bringing a > definite improvement in stability. Thing is, Dave, this thread has already covered a bit where it was pointed out that the Europeans tow their gliders around behind 1.6L hatchbacks without problems, so maybe the extra weight thing is overrated. I have some video from some World Championships in Poland in the 1970's showing an outlanding retrieve behind a VW Beetle. Were they doing something wrong? > Not to mention for a family with children > as the poster stated, a WRX might lack a little room. Again, the Europeans don't seem to have a problem with that. A Commodore- sized vehicle is viewed as an ostentatious luxury over there, and the French regularly cram four people and all of their luggage into microscopic Peugeots for their summer holidays. Perhaps you're following ideal gas laws, and your requirements have expanded to fill their container. I remember having a conversation with an American farmer who vowed and declared that he couldn't do his job with anything smaller than his 8 litre, four ton pickup truck. Showing him the utes that aussie farmers use in way more rugged conditions was an eye opener for him, and he realized that perhaps his huge-vehicle upbringing and his view of what everyone else around him was doing had clouded his assessment of his requirements. Maybe the same is happening for you. > I am guessing your previous [ blah blah blah ] Yeah, whatever. - mark -------------------------------------------------------------------- I tried an internal modem, [EMAIL PROTECTED] but it hurt when I walked. Mark Newton ----- Voice: +61-4-1620-2223 ------------- Fax: +61-8-82356937 ----- _______________________________________________ Aus-soaring mailing list [email protected] To check or change subscription details, visit: http://lists.internode.on.net/mailman/listinfo/aus-soaring
