Clio Williams & 182
Now I realise that some of you may not understand what the subject line may be asking, so I’ll say it straight: Are more modern cars like your 197’s and newer Clio models with safety crap actually hampering your ability to learn how to drive in conditions like snow? I would say yes, probably.
Most of the oldschool drivers I know, and a lot of the cars I drove back in day when we saw REAL (and not the media hyped crybaby stuff we’ve had recently)bad weather never had the ‘benefit’ of ABS, and certainly not stability control or whatever you have nowadays. REAL men and women, the oldschool hardcore, learned how to drive by not being molly-coddled by software and assisted driving aids that many of the younger generations have now. Apologies if you are a younger driver with skills, I am generalising I know.
Now, I have a Williams and have had a shedload of good old cars that really teach a driver what to do in the event of a slide or oversteer situation. Driving this kind of real mans/womans car can teach you not to panic, but do things which modern cars do not encourage you to do. They certainly don’t teach you how to power slide out of corners when you are losing the back end on black ice at learner school do they? That’s because the modern era of cars is expected to do it for you. Thus I put it to you: Modern Clio’s (and other cars)are flawed and not real drivers cars. Yes, they may be fast, yes, they may not break down so much (for now), but let’s face it: A real mans performance car is one you can drive and know if you f**k it up, you’re gonna die (but at least you’re learning something from the experience, eh?)
Now, I remember my old R5 GTT Raider. I had it at the same time as my old Series McRae Impreza which had ABS and sure was a hoot to drive about like a loon on an empty snow filled airfield, but even the Scoob had ABS which annoyed me a bit (though you could do some amazing powerslides). With the R5, which let’s face it, is about as manly as you can get, with just 0.1 mm of papier-mâché protecting you from a terminal impact, you HAD to learn how to drive hard in all conditions. Cars like the 172, 182 and 197 are just, well, a bit limp wristed?
Now I realise it’s not the fault of the younger drivers, you have no choice as you have been brought up with these cars as your icons, but you’ll never know true driving with cars like these as they are compromised for learning how to cope in potentially difficult situations like a bit of snow.
Dare I say that some of you crashing into things out in the snow recently are merely victims of our society and its ever increasing efforts to wrap us in bubble wrap. I mean, most of the kids I know nowadays think it’s time to call in the NSPCC because mum or dad makes them cook their own dinner for once. Wimps.
When you start a slide and you feel out of control, many drivers, especially the younger ones not familiar with snow or black ice panic and hope their ABS, ESP, ISUCK or whatever it’s called bails them out. Well, HEADS UP KIDS: It won’t. You’re going to crash. All these driver ‘aids’ do, (unless you have a good understanding of the car and react accordingly), is make your crash less likely to kill you or kill anyone else. If you’re really crap, you’ll total the car and smash yourself to bits anyway in your ham-fisted panic.
I am not saying you cannot learn to drive like a real man/woman in a modern car, but what I am saying is that modern cars which feature on this site a fair deal do not encourage you to do so. They make you feel so safe and reassured by the computer’s ability to stop you locking up that there is no normal reason for you to learn how to drive properly, so when the s**t really hits the fan and something strange happens you sit there praying the Holy ECU to bail you out but it’s all out of idea’s, and by the time you realise this, your either in a ditch or buried in someone’s living room under a pile of rubble.
In the bygone era, when cars were not made to consider the overall poor driving standards of today’s drivers, you had to learn using skill and a good understanding of a cars dynamics, when to apply power to get yourself out of trouble, or even use the handbrake to make emergency manoeuvres.
It’s for these reasons I would choose a car without assisted driving aids over one with, certainly in the case of a performance car like the Impreza RA which didn’t have anything including ABS or my R5 or the Williams, my current champion.
Discuss.
Most of the oldschool drivers I know, and a lot of the cars I drove back in day when we saw REAL (and not the media hyped crybaby stuff we’ve had recently)bad weather never had the ‘benefit’ of ABS, and certainly not stability control or whatever you have nowadays. REAL men and women, the oldschool hardcore, learned how to drive by not being molly-coddled by software and assisted driving aids that many of the younger generations have now. Apologies if you are a younger driver with skills, I am generalising I know.
Now, I have a Williams and have had a shedload of good old cars that really teach a driver what to do in the event of a slide or oversteer situation. Driving this kind of real mans/womans car can teach you not to panic, but do things which modern cars do not encourage you to do. They certainly don’t teach you how to power slide out of corners when you are losing the back end on black ice at learner school do they? That’s because the modern era of cars is expected to do it for you. Thus I put it to you: Modern Clio’s (and other cars)are flawed and not real drivers cars. Yes, they may be fast, yes, they may not break down so much (for now), but let’s face it: A real mans performance car is one you can drive and know if you f**k it up, you’re gonna die (but at least you’re learning something from the experience, eh?)
Now, I remember my old R5 GTT Raider. I had it at the same time as my old Series McRae Impreza which had ABS and sure was a hoot to drive about like a loon on an empty snow filled airfield, but even the Scoob had ABS which annoyed me a bit (though you could do some amazing powerslides). With the R5, which let’s face it, is about as manly as you can get, with just 0.1 mm of papier-mâché protecting you from a terminal impact, you HAD to learn how to drive hard in all conditions. Cars like the 172, 182 and 197 are just, well, a bit limp wristed?
Now I realise it’s not the fault of the younger drivers, you have no choice as you have been brought up with these cars as your icons, but you’ll never know true driving with cars like these as they are compromised for learning how to cope in potentially difficult situations like a bit of snow.
Dare I say that some of you crashing into things out in the snow recently are merely victims of our society and its ever increasing efforts to wrap us in bubble wrap. I mean, most of the kids I know nowadays think it’s time to call in the NSPCC because mum or dad makes them cook their own dinner for once. Wimps.
When you start a slide and you feel out of control, many drivers, especially the younger ones not familiar with snow or black ice panic and hope their ABS, ESP, ISUCK or whatever it’s called bails them out. Well, HEADS UP KIDS: It won’t. You’re going to crash. All these driver ‘aids’ do, (unless you have a good understanding of the car and react accordingly), is make your crash less likely to kill you or kill anyone else. If you’re really crap, you’ll total the car and smash yourself to bits anyway in your ham-fisted panic.
I am not saying you cannot learn to drive like a real man/woman in a modern car, but what I am saying is that modern cars which feature on this site a fair deal do not encourage you to do so. They make you feel so safe and reassured by the computer’s ability to stop you locking up that there is no normal reason for you to learn how to drive properly, so when the s**t really hits the fan and something strange happens you sit there praying the Holy ECU to bail you out but it’s all out of idea’s, and by the time you realise this, your either in a ditch or buried in someone’s living room under a pile of rubble.
In the bygone era, when cars were not made to consider the overall poor driving standards of today’s drivers, you had to learn using skill and a good understanding of a cars dynamics, when to apply power to get yourself out of trouble, or even use the handbrake to make emergency manoeuvres.
It’s for these reasons I would choose a car without assisted driving aids over one with, certainly in the case of a performance car like the Impreza RA which didn’t have anything including ABS or my R5 or the Williams, my current champion.
Discuss.
