Talk Morgan Forums Community Vehicle Talk (non-Morgan) Howards Dillema...Almost.

It's nice that we have different preferences and interests as well as different ideas of what a car means and should be for us. Driving pleasure, modern performance vs. controlling and mastering an old car concept, status vs. functionality etc. Nobody is positioned in one extreme corner, we are all on a ray that stretches between the extremes.
And how nice it is to be able to exchange ideas in this forum and for everyone to respect each position!

I have never driven a car on a track day but I have done a few track days on various bikes, including a '50s Moto Guzzi Falcone at a classic track day.
One of the greatest buzzes that I had was on my wife's 250 cc Yamaha commuter bike. I was able to keep on the tail of a Ducati that had 4 times the engine and power and continually pass him on the outside before he blasted by me on the main straight. I will admit it said more about his lack of skill than my capability but none the less it does show that you can have heaps of fun going quickly with a slow machine than going slowly with a fast machine.
As an aside I did hear that the Ducati rider went and traded it in on a HarleyDavidson the following week. The HD was probably more his style 😳

I am often surprised by the amount of people who buy powerful cars (BMW/Audi etc) yet seem completely unable to use a steering wheel. There's a lovely little stretch of road between Irchester and Wollaston - it's a 60 limit, but a couple of tight corners (signposted as advisory 40pmh). If you hold your nerve and know your car, you can take them easily at around the national limit.

I tend to do the whole stretch at 55/60mph but often will have cars hooning past me at 70+ on the straight, and then I have to hit the brakes as they're slowing down to 30 for the corners......

It's the art of overtaking which has been lost, in part perhaps due to cars and SUVs which have excessive width, but crocodiles of timids following slower vehicles is an epidemic.

Plus the amount of traffic on the roads leaves fewer overtaking opportunities so people get out of practice.

I also suspect that driving instructors discourage overtaking on single carriageway roads.

I also believe that overtaking technique is not properly taught.... I was taught, many years ago, to get in the correct gear, pull over into the overtaking position, if all is clear then overtake quickly. If it isn't clear it is easy to drop back behind the car to be overtaken. Perversely EVs make this easy, it was the best bit of the Tesla M3... The Plus 8 was less good as it is not quick to pick up engine speed. The Boxster is bonkers, because it has an overtaking mode button on the steering wheel that sets the right gear and engine map to give 20 seconds of peak power..50 to 70 is less than 4 seconds. The noise is good as well.....

Had a Saab 93 ... had the more unusual 2.2 turbo diesel ... there was something about the power delivery and gearing that just made it perfect for the short straights of our NE Scotland roads ... never had another car that could swoop by a dawdler so effortlessly ... went over twice round the clock and was only vanquished by electronic woes hopelessly outweighing its value.. still miss that car and would have another tomorrow!

K

There is an overtaking in the Plus 4 too. It is the big round one in the middle of the steering wheel

Ahh: Italian style of driving

Around here it is quite common to come up behind a queue of ten to fifteen cars travelling at 15 to 20 mph following a cyclist. If the leading car cannot bring him/herself to overtake the bike you are stuck because everyone following is nose to tail.
Even without cyclists involved the top speed of all motorists seems to have become 40 mph.....
No indicators until the steering wheel has been turned. People trying to park nose first in a space that clearly will only be accessible by proper parallel parking.
There is very little evidence of anyone having been taught any driving technique at all. I think the cars have got too big for people to manage.