Most dangerous car for P platers to own.

[zerodown]

I don't trust myself again in a RWD for a long time, especially in the wet. Oh and my VS has Brand Spanking new Goodyears on them.

All your saying is that your bad driver with no self control. Wont make a **** of difference if it's rwd, fwd or all wheel drive imo

You got into a situation thru your own fault. Take it is an expensive lesson on your driving limitations and learn from it!

 

[zerodown]

Sorry I dont mean that to sound harsh at all.

I just don't think their is any better way to learn a lesson.
Hopefully you can take that with you and improve your decision making.

 

[CrimsonThunder]

With all the talk about the poor road behaviour of P platers across the country, it occurred to me that there are some cars out there that are very readily available, cheap and entirely unsutiable for new drivers to own.

My nomination is the VN Commodore. These cars are now really cheap. They are 20+ years old, have virtually no safety equipment, had extremely poor braking even when new, handled only fairly, and were often criticised for having too much torque off the mark, which provided them with very brisk accellereation from a standing start. Even when new, they could be a handful in the wet.

Nowadays, after 20 years on the road, most of them are worn out, yet because the engines are virtually indestructible and they have managed to avoid the tin worm pretty well, many are still for sale and their price makes them a popular choice for novice drivers.

Ok. That's my nomination. Any others, or comments? Keep in mind that I am referring specifically to P Platers and many states have restrictions on the type of vehicles they are allowed to drive, so no XR6 Turbo's or V8's please.

Sorry to ask such a stupid question, but did that stop with the VN? Or is the VP to VS in the same boat?

And I'd have to agree with your choice too, its just they're really cheap and easily available.

 

[Tas_HSV]

It is fully dependant on the maturity and attitude of the driver.Thread title should be "Most dangerous cars for an immature tool to own"......And anyone who nominated a VN......LOL.Early Mazda rotaries are a hell of a lot more vicious,faster,ill handling and dangerous than a VN,(Ive had around 10 early girl rotors)but by far the most dangerous car ive ever owned(and i was on my ps when i had it)was a 265 4 speed manual chrysler centura "frogmobile"......wouldnt handle,wouldnt stop,but would outgun a VN v6 quite easily in a straight line....even the standard 245 3 speeds were no slouch.....Tis a wonder i survived my teenage years

 

[elemeNtz]

this thread needs to have guidelines and assumptions; let's assume all cars are road legal in all aspects & the drivers are responsible. Therefore we can discuss what cars' build quality and features lead to it having more crashes.
I nominate the The Zap Xebra

 

[Turd Ferguson]

if u wanna plat that card, ill go 1 better,

The Peel P50, where ur legs are the crumple zone

 

[Tsunamix]

Hmm.. front wheel drives understeer all to hell in the wet. I don't like FWD from the reason that 2 tyres have to provide braking traction as well as steering traction. In RWD you have 4 tyres to do that job.

FWD does not oversteer except perhaps when you spin the wheels under acceleration. And I guess you would probably call that torque steer not understeer. They scrub out. You try to turn but you don't have enough traction at the front to make it steer. Oversteer is where you turn faster that expected, and usually requires input from somewhere else - ie the rear wheels pushing the nose further around than you expect.

My nominations - Drum braked 4 wheel drives. Old Hi-Lux's with lift kits. Torsion beam suspended valiants with drum brakes - like the AP5/AP6.

Compared to these, the old VN is a dream to drive.

 

[Calaber]

Sorry to ask such a stupid question, but did that stop with the VN? Or is the VP to VS in the same boat?

And I'd have to agree with your choice too, its just they're really cheap and easily available.

It did stop to some degree with the VN, because Holden realised that the torque came in far too early and in the later models, the torque curve was modified to have it higher in the rev band. In the VN, maximum torque was available from just off idle, around 1200 rpm, which was just too low for most drivers because of the ability of the VN to get going rapidly from a standing start. In the wet, they could be treacherous, even with good tyres and carefully handled. They just had too much torque too low down. The old Buick was far more civilised in the VP and VR.

This thread isnt meant to be a P Plate bashing exercise, either. There have been enough of those already. The question was quite simple. I believe the VN is too readily available, is overpowered for the poor engineering it offered, and is a popular choice for P Platers. Turbocharged cars and V8's are prohibited for P platers in NSW, but that edict tends to ignore other cars which are far more affordable for young drivers, but just as deadly if driven badly. I think, for a combination of reasons, that the VN is the worst of the lot. I don't hate VN's - I had one, so I know what they can do. I thought it was a poorly engineered car when I had it, and it was only five years old and well maintained.

 

[Calaber]

It is fully dependant on the maturity and attitude of the driver.Thread title should be "Most dangerous cars for an immature tool to own"......And anyone who nominated a VN......LOL.Early Mazda rotaries are a hell of a lot more vicious,faster,ill handling and dangerous than a VN,(Ive had around 10 early girl rotors)but by far the most dangerous car ive ever owned(and i was on my ps when i had it)was a 265 4 speed manual chrysler centura "frogmobile"......wouldnt handle,wouldnt stop,but would outgun a VN v6 quite easily in a straight line....even the standard 245 3 speeds were no slouch.....Tis a wonder i survived my teenage years

Your point about the Mazda rotaries is valid, but compared to the VN, they are quite rare. VN's are very common, very cheap, and often completely clapped out. But they still go hard and lots of young drivers buy them because they are so cheap and go so hard. Bad combination - that's why I nominated the VN - very cheap and heaps of grunt, allied with worn out brakes and suspensions and lots of them still around.

 

[88GreenVN]

.Early Mazda rotaries are a hell of a lot more vicious,faster,ill handling and dangerous than a VN,(Ive had around 10 early girl rotors)

I had a RX4 when 17 - it was a bullet in a straight line - but just try and stop it - what a joke

But they are just about all wrecked now or restored and not driven by young drivers.