[EdRedCamaro2]

I think of my car as the automotive equivalent of a loaded gun. Firing it in a crowd, bad idea. Firing it around kids, bad idea. Take it out onto a range under controlled conditions and fire away.

What the OP has experienced is so frequent for me it is downright scary. The fart-can imports, pickup trucks, heavily modified pony cars want to race under any and all conditions. City traffic, rush hour highway, etc.

One thing they have in common, very little in the way of brains. What is worse than that kid missing 2nd gear is his potential to lose control and wipe your car out, too.

Does it make me look like a wussy to back down? Maybe in the eyes of the challenger. All I know is, I've got a loaded gun. And if I act responsibly and I don't pull the trigger, he'll never know how powerful it is and nobody gets hurt.