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We’ve all driven in a car that seems a little too rickety, fast or loud and the way it handles bends in the roads has us looking for some rosaries to make our last ditch effort to save ourselves before we’re next seen bursting through the pearly gates in ball of twisted metal and flames which used to be a car on the M1.
Experiences like this remind you how dangerous a car really can be but it would be better to find out before you’ve got in a car whether it stands a good chance of killing you or not. There are some cars that you should avoid and most of them are listed below.
The Chevrolet Corvette is an iconic sports car, just imagine taking the wheel and hitting 0 to 100 miles per hour in under 8 seconds, and then imagine turning around a bend to see a truck bearing down on you. You’re starting to see why this car, manufactured by Chevrolet since 1953, is on this list and why it is behind a considerable amount of road deaths each year.
Not happy enough with the destruction caused by the corvette the Chevrolet Camaro is the next car on this list. The car was built as Chevrolet’s answer to the Ford Mustang and is one of America’s famous “pony cars”. There are currently only four generations of this car, the latest one being made in 2002, however, another is being developed for a 2009 release.
Pontiac Firebird is another “pony car” and as such is an incredibly powerful, fast and great looking car. Pony cars would be like a rattlesnake wearing a bunny costume, dangerous but disarming. The latest generation of the firebird was released in 2002 with an engine that can get you going 165 mph and go from 0 to 60 in under five seconds. This car is not only dangerous due to its speed but also for starring a movie known for dangerous driving: Smokey and the Bandit.
Ford Mustang defined the generation of cars to come that adopted the name “pony car” and in a way is responsible for all the other cars on this list being so dangerous. The mustang made its debut in the World’s fair in 1964 and has had one of the most successful launches in automotive history. This is a powerful car with a long hood and short deck and has been in continuous production. The current model cranks out 300 horse power and the racing model won the Grand-Am Cup.
The reason for most of these cars being on the list isn’t because they’re built badly (they’re not) or they’re too fast (they are) it’s usually because of the people behind the wheel: young people.
"The Camaro, the Corvette, the Firebird, and the Mustang, all have large engines, appeal to a young demographic, and are relatively cheap for the performance you get," says David Champion, director of the Automotive Testing Division for Consumers Union.
Already having to pay a much higher car insurance premium should have been the first sign to many young drivers that they may be prone to make mistakes and it should be the same for you. When you decide to get in a car, check the age of the person driving it, if they’re only old enough to have a license for a couple of months than hail a taxi.
But the good news is that the danger associated with driving has been on a steep decline. Manufacturers don’t want to see you hurt anymore than your mother does and they’ve been working on safety features from crumple zones to airbags.
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