[s-cars] Kids and cars

[Lee Levitt]

Yep, I've got a driver in training. My 15YO is pining after *my* 
car and is pissed that I'm selling it.

When he can afford the payments...

Anyway, I want him to be a good driver...and I want him to be 
*the* driver. Lots of kids get older Hondas, Toyotas, etc (and 
one's getting a 540i...but I digress).

Anyway, I don't know how those kids will be taught to drive. I've 
seen some of their parents drive...

And I don't know what kind of cars they'll be driving...how 
they've been maintained, etc.

And I'll best that *most* of them are less safe than an Audi.

So I want my kid to be the driver. I've already started giving him 
lessons in a local parking lot, including emergency lane changes 
and hard braking...it's been fun :)

So I'm looking for a third car...an older C4 A6 or A100 or 
similar...

I would not put him in an SUV or pickup truck. The visibility 
gives a false sense of security, and I don't believe that around 
town, a pickup truck would have greater survivability in a 30 mph 
accident. And on the highway, well...

Active safety (the ability to steer or brake clear of an accident) 
keeps us safe 99% of the time. It's the other 1% that brings into 
play airbags, crumple zones, etc. And I believe that a well 
designed car (like an Audi) wins hands down in both cases.

Just my .02

Lee


On Wed Oct 12 08:37:14 PDT 2005, Ian Duff <iduff at comcast.net> 
wrote:

> All this talk of cars for soon-to-be drivers has me elevating my 
> thinking. I
> have a 15 year old daughter who is pining after a Jetta. Oh, 
> well. At least
> my VAG-COM would work. My wife and I are wondering how many jobs 
> Storey will
> have to hold down to afford to buy it <grin>.
> 
> A friend suggested what might be the world's best first car, 
> given that
> virtually ever new driver gets into some sort of bodywork 
> opportunity fairly
> soon after getting their solo endorsement. Our friend suggested 
> an older
> F-150. Tall, so kids are more likely to see what they've just 
> hit. Only one
> bench seat, so they're less likely to load up with distractions, 
> er friends.
> Cheap, so that bodywork opportunity might remain an opportunity, 
> and not
> necessarily be acted upon. Plus it would build character for a 
> teenage girl
> to pull up to school in a beat up hiccup truck. Not that Storey 
> needs any
> character, she's already one on her own. Heavy, so that if ever 
> she finds
> herself in the way of progress, she's more likely to survive.
> 
> Now I just need to find a RWD one with a straight six, a 
> three-in-the-tree
> and a rollcage, for less that $500. Shouldn't be a problem.
> 
> -Ian Duff.
> 
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