At 16:41 04-03-01 -0600, Julia wrote:
>On Sun, 4 Mar 2001, Charlie Bell wrote:
>
> > > On Sun, 4 Mar 2001, Charlie Bell wrote:
> > > > "It's too light"... Um??? As the great Colin Chapman (designer of the
> > > > Lotus 7 and Elan...) said: "Just add lightness...". "Made of foam"?
> > > > Pardon. Sorry, not everyone needs to drive a mobile steel bunker with
> > > > a 12 litre engine... :o)
> > >
> > > Lightness can be a problem if your cross-section is too big and you cross
> > > a lot of bridges that get crosswinds.
> >
> > Yes, box-vans have that problem, but a saloon car generally won't.
> >
> > And a Honda Insight is not much lighter than your average (in Europe...)
> > small car, at 900kgs.
>
>I've been in a light compact station wagon that did. Not fun to be the
>driver.
>
> > > As for a mobile steel bunker with a 12-liter engine, the biggest engine I
> > > know of that they've put in normal road vehicles in the US is a mere 5.7
> > > liters. ;) (That's 350 cu. in. for those of you trained to think in
> > > those terms.)
> >
> > Hyperbole for comic effect. :o)
>
>It *was* amusing. (So is telling someone who's bragging about the size of
>the engine in his pickup truck that the engine in your sedan is bigger.
>But is that fair for a gal to do to a guy? How much of a guy's
>masculinity is tied up with his vehicle, anyway?)
A serious question to consider before buying one, though, is how well a
low-weight, low-emission vehicle will stand up in a collision with a
massive SUV. (I'm tempted to make an attempt at humor by asking if they
will be able to tell which parts were you and which parts were the dog
without DNA analysis . . . OK, I did. ;-) )
-- Ronn! :)
