READER MAIL

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Daily Driver Hell.

PMD, I think the outstate readers of yours are not aware of the conditions of the roads in Metro Detroit. It’s an understatement to say they freaking suck. In all my travels around this great country I’ve yet to come across more cratered tarmac than we have in the D. While our freeway system is almost completely overhauled, the surface streets are an abomination. The added level of detour traffic has rendered them completely un-drivable in anything other than a full-size truck or SUV. Yes America, an off-road vehicle is required to drive on the road here. Driving anything other than that requires you to know your route and drive out of your way to avoid them. You cannot daily drive a sports or enthusiast vehicle here. So cut Peter some slack. Daily driving an appliance is a cost of living here.

JRR
Plymouth, Michigan

Editor-in-Chief's Note: I would also like to remind readers that the State of Michigan allows the heaviest commercial trucks in the nation, with gross vehicle weights permitted up to 164,000 pounds. This is more than double the federal standard of 80,000 pounds. These trucks pound our roads to smithereens, day-in, day-out. And it's a giant bowl of Not Good. -PMD



Goin' back to floatin'.

Peter, you'll get no grief from me concerning your daily driver. More power to you!! I enjoy driving just as much as any enthusiast, but what I wouldn't give to have a new Cadillac ride like my '91 Brougham d'Elegance. I lay the blame squarely at the writers of Car and Driver, et al for always pushing performance and complaining vociferously if any car had the slightest bit of float. A luxury car's sole purpose is to transport me from point A to point B as comfortably as possible cocooned in silence surrounded by the finest materials. Instead, we have S-Class and 7-Series with almost brittle rides and concrete benches for seats. What is luxurious about that?!?! I contend if Cadillac would build an updated version of the DeVIlle/Fleetwood and Lincoln the Town Car, but with the same ride as their predecessors, the factories could/would run 25 hours a day and still be unable to keep up with demand.

RJM
Knoxville, Tennessee



Trans-Am.

What a great reminder of the 1970 Trans Am season. I was 12-years-old, and standing somewhere in that photo of the start of the Mid-Ohio race, which I remember vividly. And...say his name! The "flag man" was Ed Houlihan, who was legendary for his flourishes on the pavement (we don't need no stinkin' S/F tower....) when waving the green and checkered flags at race starts and finishes. And you are correct, the performance of those Bud Moore Mustangs in Jones' and Follmer's hands was unforgettable. Thanks for bringing back those memories!

Jim Fekete
Canonsburg, Pennsylvania

Editor-in-Chief’s Note: Ed was a legend in the SCCA Central Division and was a fixture at all the important races. I remember him well. -PMD



Design matters.

You can beat them over the head with a stick and they just don't get it:

Anybody who thinks that the business Genesis/Hyundai/Kia is growing is based on their QC and how they drive and their reliability? How many hands? Thank You.

Anybody who thinks that the business Genesis/Hyundai/Kia is growing is based on style and design?

THAT many hands. Wow.

Gee, why don't the OTHER automakers realize this?

Thank You.

J Wilson
Nashville, Tennessee