At 06:29 PM 7/12/02, you wrote:
>Ronn wrote:
>- ... when I saw "disk or drum" was that it was a reference to data
>storage, whereas my knowledge of automobiles is about at the "you put gas
>in it, turn the key, and go" level. ...
>
>If you live in America with all those powerful 5.7 litre-2 tonnes-main
>battle tanks with wheels-cars that sentence should have said "disk or disk".
>Wouldn't you like to be able to stop those everyday muscle cars once they
>pick up speed? C:
Actually, the last time I had what could have been classed as a "muscle
car" (a '67 Chevy with the 327-c.i. engine and a 4-bbl. carb, though it
could go 95 mph uphill with the A.C. running on only 2 barrels), it had
very good brakes that stopped me quickly enough to prevent an accident
numerous times, even on roads slick with rain or snow. I wish I currently
had another "muscle car" like it: as Julia has also mentioned, the problem
is all too often that someone comes bearing down on you out of nowhere and
the only way to avoid an accident is to be able to punch the gas and have
the car respond immediately . . .
Of course, neither brakes nor gas could have prevented most of the (mostly
minor) accidents I had while I had that car, such as the time I was leaving
Tyndall AFB in Florida and a boat hit me, or the time I stopped at Burger
King and as I came out I saw a driver in a much smaller car gun it in
reverse, right into my car. I replaced the cracked taillight lens on my
car with one from a junk yard and was just about as good as new, while I am
sure it cost him at least $1000 to fix the caved-in corner of his car . . .
And when I finally did have the accident in which it was totalled, I walked
away with a bloody nose from where it hit the steering wheel (when it was
built, shoulder belts were not required, so all I was wearing was a lap
belt). Yes, given the way other people drive, I would much rather be in a
"main battle tank" or a "land yacht" with an engine that gives me the
ability to get out of the way of an accident or with some solid iron around
me (and my family--though I was alone in the car all these times) in case
there is no way out. Unfortunately, at the moment at least, I can't afford
to buy a SUV, much less put gas in one . . .
--Ronn! :)
"Since I was a small boy, two states have been added to our country and two
words have been added to the pledge of Allegiance... UNDER GOD. Wouldn't
it be a pity if someone said that is a prayer and that would be eliminated
from schools too?"
-- Red Skelton
