Why do we buy performance cars in North America?

Question

Seriously, what is the point?

Every time I turn around I am getting pulled over for speeding, nothing crazy but 15 miles or so per hour over the speed limit. Maybe I am getting old or something, I don't know, but now I look at fast cars and wonder why we waste the money on them. Gas prices are so high and if you don't have time to take them to the track you can't use them.

Sorry, just venting I guess...

Answer 1

Well, as an American, I don't want some governmental agency telling me what to buy and how to enjoy it. Freedom of choice is what it's all about, just because a car has 500hp doesn't mean it has to be driven to it's limits each time it's driven. I'm sure a 90hp car will exceed legal speed limits and can cause a driver to get into trouble too. What's next? We need better drivers on the road, not critics who complain because they aren't paying attention to their driving.

Answer 2

Our human nature, especially males, is simply that.. we love adrenaline, we love to go fast, we love competition. There will ALWAYS be a market for people who enjoy enthusiastic driving. And car maufacterers would be stupid not to cater to that market. Gas prices are at an all time high and everyone in the United States is hurting as a result, but for many people, it doesnt affect their passion for cars and performance, and owning a vehicle that performs. It is illegal to speed, but there is no limit on how fast you can reach the speed limit.. haha. Performance cars exist for that reason and for the reason that most people have some sort of down-time that they can take theirs cars to the track.

Answer 3

I have been noticing in the enthusiast press, for the last 20 years, that no matter what they write about, they would say "The belchfire V6 only has X horsepower, and it's too slow, so you should opt for the rimfire turbosnort, which has Y horspower.  That was true when cars had 140 hp, and now it's still true with cars that have 440 hp.  If cars had 10,000 hp, they would still be writing that they're too slow.  There are now dozens of car models that have over 500 hp stock.

It makes no sense at all.  You may have noticed that with oil at $150 a barrel, and Ford and GM about to go out of business, hp is still going up, and cars are still getting bigger.  Every new engine that came out since the big "crisis" started has had more hp than whatever it replaced.