A big gas guzzling V8 isn't any faster than a sporty four cylinder car. The legitimate reasons for a big V8 car are:

-RV camping. A V8 makes a great tow vehicle for a large camper trailer.
-Boating. If you have a large boat, you can't tow it with a little four-banger.
-Big Families. If you have five or six kids, you probably need a vehicle that can haul them all and pull a trailer with all their stuff in it.
-Hauling. If I had a need to regularly haul a lot of cargo on a regular basis, a big V8 would make life a lot easier.

Assuming what you have is best for everyone is just as big of a mistake as buying a big V8 when you don't have a legitimate need for one. Of course, it would be a major faux pas to assume everyone here in the States drives a big V8.

well thats where our countries dffer,if you need a vehicle for towing etc...we would buy a turbo diesel,even a modern 2.0 litre can have 170 hp,and 260 ib/ft of torque! thats enough to tow most things.but i was actually refering to people who just commute,or go shopping etc...where a small engined,small car would be perfectly adequate for their needs,instead of a 4.6 litre v8 ford crown vic!but i guess its because of your cheap petrol,that you can drive larger engined,larger cars than us brits!ive gotta fill up tomorrow,and petrol has come down to ONLY £4.50 ($6.75)a gallon now!.

if you need a vehicle for towing etc...we would buy a turbo diesel 

EXCELLENT...Toyota and Nissan both offer SUVs with Turbo Diesels that get about 50% better gas mileage then their gasoline counterparts...just one slight problem...THEY'RE NOT SOLD HERE. We can only buy what is offered. If you have any influence with Toyota or Nissan...tell them to start selling those vehicles here.

but i was actually refering to people who just commute,or go shopping etc...where a small engined,small car would be perfectly adequate for their needs,instead of a 4.6 litre v8 ford crown vic! 

I take it your a single guy living in a one room appartment by yourself. GREAT...a small car will suit you fine. When you get married and have 3 kids...please tell me what vehicle you'll be driving.

but i was actually refering to people who just commute,or go shopping etc...where a small engined,small car would be perfectly adequate for their needs,instead of a 4.6 litre v8 ford crown vic! 

Why didn't you say so? With that in mind, I agree that a V8 is too much vehicle for people like that, but I don't think folks like you and I should impose our will on others just because we think we are right. Americans can spend their money how they see fit. Although some people might argue with me, in comparison, you live under much more government control than we do. Let's not make moral judgments about which type of government is better, but I will add that a lot of Brits have moved across the pond to share in our freedom. I am not sure the opposite can be said to the same extent. Some people prefer your style of living and some people prefer our style of living. We will all get along as long as you don't impose your will on us and we don't impose our will on you.

but i guess its because of your cheap petrol,that you can drive larger engined,larger cars than us brits! 

I am afraid that is an incorrect assumption. There will always be people who have money and choose to buy more vehicle than they need (like the host of Top Gear, one of your fellow countrymen). For them, their vehicle is a status symbol. Again, let's not make ugly judgmental assumptions about these people, even if we think they might be superficial.

You really should try to open your mind to new possibilities. Take the time to learn rather than making assumptions.

just for the record,i think youve gotta wonderful country!!and i would love the opportunity to live there,you have much more "freedom" than us brits have! and youre right when you say some people buy a vehicle as a status symbol,i wish i could afford a lexus,or bmw,etc.... but working as a local government employee on less than the nationaal average wage,i will have to keep my 1.6 litre ford going for a few more years!

"A big gas guzzling V8 isn't any faster than a sporty four cylinder car"

Wanna race? I get the Z06 Corvette , you can have the Miata

Sure, except I want to drive an Ariel Atom, not a Miata. If you don't know what that is, take a look at http://www...aWoo82zNUA

The Atom uses a four cylinder Honda Civic V-Tech engine and will leave your Vette sucking dust.

I am well aware of the Atom. I also forgot to mention, that this race is 600 miles in length, on a 2 mile oval track in Michigan, in December :) You may want to wear a coat.

I guess if your idea of racing is driving in circles in cold weather, have at it. I'll stay here in Florida and pick a course with bents and twists. That is what I call racing. What you call racing doesn't sound like much fun to me. To each his own!

I guess if my idea of fun was driving around an oval track, I would want your Corvette too. I prefer the curves, corners, twists, and bends of a race track that challenges the driver as much as it challenges the car.

Have fun driving in circles in cold weather! Evidently, that is what your Vette was made for.

It also gets around the Nürburgring faster than just about anything else :)

You may not be aware that Corvette has almost no peers on the American Le Mans Series circuit. They race GT1 while Porsche, Ford, Dodge, BMW, Ferrari, Aston Martin, and Panoz all race GT2. If the others were fast enough, they might graduate to the senior circuit and race with the Big Boy in GT1. But Corvette decided to meet them in GT2 by producing a lower powered version of the C6R. Corvette will continue to own GT1, since no one dares compete with them.

A big gas guzzling V8 isn't any faster than a sporty four cylinder car. The legitimate reasons for a big V8 car are:

-RV camping. A V8 makes a great tow vehicle for a large camper trailer.
-Boating. If you have a large boat, you can't tow it with a little four-banger.
-Big Families. If you have five or six kids, you probably need a vehicle that can haul them all and pull a trailer with all their stuff in it.
-Hauling. If I had a need to regularly haul a lot of cargo on a regular basis, a big V8 would make life a lot easier.


That covers about 15%, the other 85% is covered by:

-Big Ego
-Inferiority Complex

.

I agree to a point. I try to buy the SMALLEST vehicle I need. A small 90hp car won't even come close. A family of 5 will NOT fit into a vehicle that small. I will agree that many people do buy vehicles that are far far bigger then they need. But so what...it's their money.

Second..We drive a LOT more then you do. Our country is 50+ times the size of England. I commute 40 miles one way to work. I sure don't want to be commuting in a small vehicle in heavy New England traffic every day. I'd be a cripple in a few months time.

It's funny, that back in the 60's and 70's a WV was fine for a family. In fact I took my family of four cross country and back in my 1970 bug. Today there is not enough room. I guess kids got bigger or expectations are greater.

If you tried to pull that off today, you would be arrested for child endangerment and there would be a expose about the sorrid affair on the 11:00 news. :)

The kids have definitely gotten bigger (look at all the media coverage of The Childhood Obesity Epidemic!) since that era, as have many adults! Sometimes this coverage is couched in supposedly postive terms like the articles marveling on the number of 300 lb. high school football players in Texas.

As evidence of this trend, take a look at family photos from the '60s & '70s, and I guarantee that you will think that almost everyone looks very skinny by "modern" standards. Look at movies from any time earlier than the '80s, and almost everyone looks emaciated as compared to most of us today.

Watch an old Honeymooners episode, and observe how "fat" Jackie Gleason was supposed to be. Compared to the average man on the street (and even compared to many teens) today, he does not look especially fat! Sit in a theater seat from 40 years ago, and it will probably seem very narrow.

The bottom line is that most Americans (and, by now, many Europeans and some Asians) have become grossly overweight. As Pogo the Possum said, "We have met the enemy, and he is us"!

(Note: I am not excluding myself from this criticism, as I could stand to lose about 35 lbs.)

The majority of top selling cars are 4 cylinder and small - midsize.

Just curious, how much time have you spent over here? I don't see too many vehicles with V-8s in my day to day driving except for pickups and SUVs. My 1969 and 71 Buick Skylarks had small V8s of only 5.7 liters, but things have changed in the last 40 years. I still have a 93 Caprice with a 5.0 V8, but it gets better mpg than my wife's minivan with a V6. However, when I was in England a few years back for my Aunt's funeral, I was surprised by how many Jeep Wranglers and Cherokees were on the road.

Another thing I've noticed, the price of an American car sold in England is nearly twice what it sells for in the US.

Ed B.

Exactly what I was going to post.The idea that America is covered with "gas guzzeling V-8's is a dated perception.

ive been to new york several times and got to ride in your 4.6 litre ford crown vic taxis!and in england only the wealthy can afford to drive big v8s because of our high petrol prices,and youre right about american cars in the uk costing twice as much as they do in the usa,but thats just another case of "rip off britain!" incidentaly,when i was in new york,i noticed that a mini cooper actually costs several thousand pounds less to buy than in the uk,and we make te bloody things here!!