[Beach Cruiser]

Ok, so my son just turned 18. He has a Honda Accord that he built up pretty stout. Engine swap, coilovers, suspension ect... I think it is something like 300 hp on spray. He really wants to get into an F-body now. He's found a pretty decent 99 Z28 with some mild mods and high miles. Two questions for you guys, do you think a mild F-body is to much for an 18 year old? And what do you guys think abou the price and mod list? I drove the car, and it runs pretty well, and it's very clean, just High miles. Here's the link to the ad: http://norfolk.craigslist.org/cto/1561183126.html

What do you guys think?

[00 SS]

I understand your point of view, I don't fully agree with it, but I understand it. At 16 and a first car, I would say no. At 18, for a kid who has already shown they can drive and handle a car with a respectable amount of power, I'd say it's a judgement call based on the individual kid.

Safety is ultimately in the hands of the driver. Just like firearms, no amount of gizmos and mechanisms can overcome the potential for misuse. I would argure that, for any machine in good working order, there are no unsafe machines, just unsafe people. Even the old muscle cars were safe if you knew what you were doing.

Personally, I'd rather see a kid in a Camaro that he has some pride in it than be stuck in some econo $h!t box that he doesn't want. The potential for stupidity regarding something he doesn't give a crap about is probably higher than something he wants to take good care of. I've never bought into the idea that an un-appealing, under powered, wrong wheel drive car is any safer than a Camaro or a Corvette. Just because it's more difficult to go fast, doesn't mean it will happen less. Nor do I believe a big SUV or luxo boat is any safer. The extra tonnage, to me, means wrecks and rollovers due to the inablitly to stop or turn are more likely. A wreck avoided is a wreck survived.

There are certainly 18 yr old kids that can handle a car like that and some that can't. It sounds to me like the kid in question is one that probably could handle it.