I just watched a segment on YouTube about how many garden variety ‘meh’ cars today are faster than some of the muscle cars of yesteryear. I knew this was true, but it was interesting to see this particular portrayal of the issue.
I owned a ’69 Pontiac GTO years ago and I think I’ve always been realistic about its acceleration. Even with 3.90 gears, 4-speed muncie and decent rear tires, I’ve always considered 6.0 seconds to be a realistic 0 to 60 time, and mid 14 seconds for the quarter mile.
The Nemesis
I did a quick search on the ‘0 to 60’ website (https://www.zeroto60times.com/vehicle-make/honda-0-60-mph-times/) and and selected the 2016 Honda Pilot Elite AWD for a comparison vehicle. They put the Honda’s 0 to 60 time at 6.1 seconds, and its quarter performanced at 14.7 seconds. The Pilot has 280hp, weighs 4,300 pounds and has a 9-speed automatic transmission.
Picture this imaginary, but entirely possible, scenario. You’re cruising in your ’69 GTO, feeling pretty good about things. You happen to be in the left lane at a stoplight, with the right lane coming to an end just past the the intersection. Next to you, in the right lane, was the afore-mentioned Honda. Karen is driving the Honda and her two little progeny are safely strapped into the seat behind her. The required “Baby on Board” stickers adorn the back and both sides. What you don’t know is that Karen fully intends to use that 280hp and her AWD traction to blast ahead of you and take your lane!
Idiot or Victim? (or neither)
Well, what happened was inevitable. When the light turned green, Karen launched and had a whole car length on you. Think about it. You’re driving a cherry 1969 Pontiac GTO for crying out loud. Nobody is going to take your lane without a fight, dammit! What to do? You don’t want to do anything unsafe or illegal, but, damn, that Karen should have some respect, shouldn’t she? I mean, what’s wrong with her? Normally you’d just accelerate smartly and let the other guy merge to the left behind you. But Karen is flogging every one of those 280 horses and using that 6.1 second 0 to 60 time to just take your lane, in spite of the fact that it was her lane that was ending!
What to do? Let her go. That’s right, just let her go! To do anything else would be unsafe and immature. This is a different era now, with 300+ horsepower vehicles everywhere and impossible to recognize. You need to be philosophical about it. Nobody, but Nobody has ever said “Hey! That was a Honda Pilot Elite!” Even if Karen cares to later discuss the encounter with ‘Mr. Karen’, she almost certainly won’t even know what your car was!
You know what you have, and you’re well aware that your car wasn’t the fastest on the streets even back in the day, and today you have nothing to prove to anyone, especially stupid Karen in her stupid Honda with her stupid kids! You’re the owner of a classic car that you wouldn’t trade for a dozen run-of-the-mill, everyday, meh-mobiles!
