Two Unrelated Thoughts Involving Cars

1) One of the top stories on the local TV news tonight was about a reckless driver who went off the road near the Great Smokies National Park in Townsend. Witnesses told of him doing donuts and speeding before he lost control. The car plunged down an embankment through trees before coming to rest on the bank of a river.

After the driver had been taken away for medical treatment, the police searched his car and found dozens of beer cans in various states of containment.

I count the blessing that I have always been so repulsed by drunkenness that I refuse to engage in it myself, and have never done anything so stupid behind the wheel. I've been in car wrecks, but have never endangered myself or anybody else like that man did.

2) Auto racing season is in full swing, of course. I'm not a fan of any particular driver or team this year, tho'.

My main interest now is NASCAR Nextel Cup's implementation of the Car Of Tomorrow, which is running in a limited number of races this year.

The irony of NASCAR's Nextel and Busch cars is that they model a type of car no longer in vogue elsewhere--the full-size two-door coupe. As far as I know, the Chevy Monte Carlo is the only such vehicle left in production. What's stranger...with the Car of Tomorrow, the only differences between the marques hardware-wise will be the drivetrain on the inside and the nosepiece and hood (bonnet) on the outside.

It's disappointing that there are only four marques participating now. Pontiac and Buick got out of the business a while back. Maybe Nissan would come in, now that Toyota has arrived and looks to be doing well, but I rather doubt it.

FP (who is thinking about doodling What-If? Cars of Tomorrow layouts)

NASCAR Car of Tomorrow Continued

This image was doctored from an offical photo from a NASCAR press kit. Doctored in that I removed the marque's logo and decals from the front of the car. I'll be using this image to doodle out ideas for elsemarque cars, machines that are possible but unlikely.

My list, so far:
* Buick LaCrosse
* Pontiac G6
* Saturn Aura
* Nissan Altima
* Mitsubishi Galant
* Honda Accord
* Hyundai Sonata
* Kia Optima (tho' the Amati is better as a style choice--the combination of the rounded headlamps and the eggcrate grill...)

I could also theoretically add Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi and other European marques too, but those are a little harder to justify. Besides, I doubt many of the marques I've listed have "normally-aspirated" V8 engines in the 5.7~5.9 Liter displacement range, which is the requirement for Nextel Cup cars. The size and mechanics of the engine is another anachronism in NASCAR. You have engines that are more often seen in pickup trucks and SUVs than in passenger cars. *shrug* Such is tradition.

FP