Ain't that the truth. My first car, bought with all of $900 in 1976 at the ripe age of 17, was a 1969 Mach I, which had been modified with even more than stock HP. What the hell my parents were thinking to let me buy it I cannot explain even today. Thankfully, the Mach I and I both survived, both intact and miraculously without incident (not counting the numerous times I was topped by the local constabulary for real and perceived infractions). Eventually, I sold it and bought what turned out to be a safer car - a Triumph TR-6. It was low to the ground and noisy so it always seemed to be going a lot faster than it really was. Adding to this sensation was the vaunted British Leyland build quality with all the rattles and so forth that made it seem to be at the far end of its performance envelope during even the most mundane daily driving. When these features didn't save me, there was always the Lucas electrical system which further enhanced the vehicle's safety - hard to have a serious accident while pushing the car off the road or troubleshooting the latest short circuit in the safety of one's driveway.

 

New Drivers? This just means we have no one to blame when the kids splatter on the road not knowing how to handle the cars mommy and daddy bought them but the parents... its just bad parenting if parents shell out 30k for a car for their 16 yr old to drive... we will be ok im sure

 

I had a Capri 5.0 at 15...rolled that one with my gf in the car. Her daddy wasn't happy. 84 1/2 GT350 anniversary edition mustang at 17 that had piston ring blowby when my father purchased it second-hand off a car lot. We had the long-block reconditioned .30 over with moly rings and new pistons, heads ported and polished, 3-angle valve job. Wish I still had that car.... Two years later he purchased a 69' Camaro for me at 19, ran that one into a phone pole in the rain (bus suspension lol)....motor was swapped into a 77 T/A after I wrecked that one and shortly thereafter he lost his contractor license and the gravy train ended. It was all me at that point .

I learned how to drive at a young age. Lucky to still be breathing I guess.

 

You know OP, I was just wondering this myself a few minutes before I stumbled upon this thread. I was thinking about how awesomely powerful even the V6 will be stock, and then I thought... high schoolers. I was in HS just a couple years ago, and I wouldn't have given myself a car that powerful. God help us all...

 

Let's hope that parents will act like parents, and not best friends. My soon to be 12 year old will be driving in a few years. He's gonna get something that's big enough to protect him, but will accelerate just quickly enough to make freeway on ramps do-able. Guess I better start narrowing down the choices.....

 

True, but they are heavy.

The new 2010 Camaro with the LS3 is actually only as fast as its 87hp deficient older brother the LS1 4th gens.

The cars may be getting more power, but they are also gaining more heft and compensating for the hp gains adversely when it comes to performance.

In 2011, the Mustang may still be a lightweight, even with the new Coyote motor, but in 2012, all of that will/should change due to the current chassis not meeting 2012 safety standards. The Camaro is as heavy as it is due to the fact that its current chassis already meets these requirements.

Now what worries me is the rich, spoiled HS kids that get their parents to buy them anything they want... Sometimes (and yes I have seen this) that includes a Cobra, Vette, ZO6 vette, etc. These cars are light, and have the power to make them very dangerous in the hands of some DB that thinks its cool to do 90+ in a 25mph school zone, just because it takes their car 8 seconds to get there.

 

i turned 17 and got a car... know what it was??? an 88 BUICK park ave, rusted like no other, STEEL frame, a freakign take that speedo only went to 85 mph! i call that a parent that cares... if my mom bought me a 300+hp car yeah i woulda thought she was the best mom in the world (or best friend mom) and they could have written in on my tombstone!

In a sense.. parents just need to do their dam jobs... im not worried about it... i mean if some punk kid does get one, i hope he hits me, cuz then hes on his parents insurance, they buy me a nice new one, and he gets slapped upside the head, car taken away from him and maybe his parents will learn.

 

im a young driver as well, but i consider myself very safe and a good driver, i really think it just depends on the parents of people because my dad taught me everything i know about cars and driving and he taught me well, i have the fastest car out of all my friends but i dont drive anywhere near as crazy as some of them...i think thats because yes my parents did buy my car for me, but i pay the insurance, gas and everything else so i cant really afford to crash or mess up my car, and that makes me take much better care of it...but i do kind of agree with you on the fact that it kind of scares me to see high hp cars becoming much more readily available, oh well though i love muscle and im happy to see that on the road instead of ricers, much much more happy....and this is what happens when people who dont know anything about cars buy one's with high hp-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJ6atGhmVU8

 

What an effing idiot.

 

First of all, I'd love to see a HS kid buy a new 2011 GT with his own money. On top of that, I'd love to see how often the kid drives it. I garauntee daddy will have it most of the time anyways. Isurance would be outrageous at the same time. However, maybe it would be a good thing to make hp a more common thing. Some people may benefit from it.