Sports Car Qualifying Quiz

1) How do you gauge the most important quality of a car?

(Hint: if you didn't answer "c", STOP RIGHT HERE! You suck!)
a) By how well it approximates the gas mileage of a vintage 1990 Geo Metro.
b) By how many cows and beer cases it can haul.
c) By how well it drives, corners, and accelerates.
d) By how many brick walls it can plow into while keeping the roof structure intact.
e) By how many have been sold and whether my neighbors, relatives, and "Mary Joe" has one.

2) What is your preferred type of transmission?

a) An automatic.
b) A manual (aka. "stick" or "standard")
c) Grandpa's "Three on the tree" column shifter.
d) I don't know what a "transmission" is.

3) When driving a stick, do you double clutch when downshifting?

a) Yes!!!
b) Heck, no, like I know what double clutching is!
c) I'll have to get back to you on that.

4) Do you use the heel-toe downshifting technique when approaching or blasting through a corner?

a) Yes!!!
b) What???
c) I don't dance while driving.

5) Where are the drivewheels located in a real sports car?

a) Must be the front, cuz Mitsubishi keeps touting the front-wheel-drive Eclipse as the "best-selling import sports car!"
b) You mean "steering wheel," right?
c) The rear.

6) Which of the following is the best 0-60mph acceleration time?

a) 4.5 seconds, a la Lotus Esprit.
b) 7.8 seconds, because the Toyota Camry can accelerate to 60 in this time and it's the best-selling car in America!
c) 15 seconds, because that is the "safest."
c) 30 seconds, a la early 50's Bug, because more is better!

7) How many other people do you plan to carry in your sports car at once?

a) My softball team
b) A gang of 5
c) Just one, prefferably my favorite guy or gal.

8) What's your attitude towards the weight of your car?

a) Heavier is better because it's "safer".
b) Heavier is better because Dad was bragging the other day that his Cadillac weighs over 4000 pounds!
c) Less is more, as in more acceleration and braking potential!

9) What's your attitude towards a car's seating position?

a) I don't mind if I feel like I'm sitting on the floor as long as the lower seating position allows for better aerodynamics and handling.
b) I must sit high, like in a bus, so I can see over everything!
c) I like the seating position in my Toyota Camry.

10) Which of these is a true modern-day sports car?

a) Mitsubishi Eclipse.
b) Ford Mustang, esp. the V6 version because it's good on gas!
c) Porsche 911.
d) Chevy Nova.

Answers:
1) c 2) b 3) a 4) a 5) c 6) a 7) c 8) c 9) a 10) c

This page was last updated in July 1998.