Quote:
Originally Posted by lafountain
Yesterday I did come up with another reason why an automatic is being considered by me. In the event my wife and I go out and I have a couple of drinks (she doesn't drink at all) she can't drive a stick and the only way I would get home is if she drove home. Of course the other possibility is still get a stick and know that if I am gonna drink, we will just take her car.
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As tempting as it is to take a FUN car out at night when going out to dinner, you are much better off taking something boring and low-key if you have that option. Just never know who you will run into ... some people are a bad influence and the 2 or 3 drinks you may normally consume when out to dinner can quickly turn into much more in the right crowd.
The only car I've currently got over 300 HP is my 1969 Mustang: 351W 4-Spd MT & 3.50:1 LSD (est. 325~350 HP), and it has not been out on a weekend night in over 20 years.
My current daily driver ... 2004 Mustang w/ 3.9L V6, 5-Spd MT & 3.27:1 LSD (est. 200~220 HP) is even a potent enough combo to get someone in trouble after a few too many drinks.
The only FUN car I've got that can be safe for a night out is my 1967 Fairlane ('85 HO 5.0L, 3-Spd C6 AT & 3.00:1 open diff ... est. 225 HP), but still attracts more attention than a boring minivan. IMO, an AT equipped 304 HP V6 Camaro has more potential for trouble than this Fairlane.
As far as the Camaro SS AT being OK for a night out, I'd have to say NO FRIGGIN' WAY. A good friend of mine has a 2006 Charger Daytona (AT w/ 350 HP 5.7L) and a good buddy of his just bought a new SRT Challenger (AT w/ 425 HP 6.1L). After a few too many drinks they lined up and ened up breaking 100 MPH in a 35~45 zone. Lucky for them no cops were around and nothing happened, but it was just plain stupid for 2 guys in their 50's.
Interesting results though, he told me the 2 cars were nose to nose the whole time ... SRT Challenger with all that extra HP & displacement could not pull away from his bone stock Daytona !!
Anyways back to my point ...
Now a days, even a few drinks CAN get you over the ultra-low current legal limit for an OWI/DWI ... it's just not worth taking the chance no matter which kind 2010 Camaro (definitely a cop magnet for the next 6 months or so) you've got or plan on getting !!
Doug