Track Time

I was reading an old Car and Driver comparison test today. They republish some classic articles from their back issues on their website. To me it is some of their most enjoyable and valuable content. The article that piqued my interest was a sport coupe comparo from 1985. Just about every 4 seat sports coupe of the day was included.

I didn't agree with some of the conclusions. The Mustang SVO was so far beyond everything else in performance. The editors indicted it for turbo lag and dated interior and tossed it in 5th place. I've driven the SVO and I never thought the turbo lag was too bad. It would have been quite a car with the 5.0 from the GT, and a new interior was coming for '87 but by then the SVO was gone.

What I did like is the way the test was done. They did the usual performance testing, with an extra slalom thrown in, then they hit the road, the PCH to be specific, to see how the cars did on the streets. It was nice to see the emphasis on driving experience. It seemed a bit of a welcome contrast to todays emphasis on track comparisons of performance cars.

It was a simpler time when reputations were not won and lost on Nurburgring times. We don't even know what the lap times of those cars were. We didn't know how many laps before the brakes would fade. It didn't matter because they were street cars.

I suppose from years of silly subjective results with unfathomable math formulas the reader now demands objectivity and thanks to the Intarwebs they have a few more outlets to provide that feedback. Automobiles in general are now far more capable, most beyond what can be controlled or enjoyed on the street, so we look to the track results to settle the differences.

I've learned my lesson about track results and the street. I drive my street car on the race track, but even then it doesn't matter how quick I go around it. I've been around long enough to know better than to put "race" parts on my car. How it works, how it makes me feel, how comfortable and confident it is, all matter more than a second or ten on a road course. I would never buy a car based on such things.

The Audi Coupe GT won the comparo. It was a dated design, with just 110hp and soft suspension. The controls layout, quality trim, comfort and over the road feel made the difference. I grew up through the 80's with Audis in the family. They really did get the basics and the details right in those days. They charged a few extra bucks but I took a look at the spec sheet and the price was pretty competitive, if you weren't focused on 0-60 and slalom speeds.