With no apologies to the New York Times
Someone killed 1 person and critically injured 2 more in Conemaugh, PA using a high-performance, racing-style Corvette made by Chevrolet. Ramon Echevarria used the same type of Chevrolet car to crash into an office building in Arlington Heights, IL. The Rancho Cucamonga hit and run driver also used a Corvette in a spree that killed a bicyclist in July.
Corvettes are by no means the only sports cars of choice among mass killers (the Naperville driver used a Porche), but the brand’s repeated presence in murderous incidents reflects Corvette's enormous popularity in the sports car world, the result of a successful marketing campaign aimed at putting NASCAR horsepower and machismo in the hands of civilians. Car owners once talked about the need for personal transportation and sport driving, but out-of-control ad campaigns like Corvette's have replaced minivans and MGs with highly lethal high performance fantasies.
Motor Trend reveals that, "[the ZR1] is so powerful, so capable, so massively endowed that [it's] beyond the realm of what constitutes a usable, reasonable street car."
The cars, some of which come in red and racing yellow, bristle with features useful only to a Gran Prix driver or NHRA competitor. A six-speed manual transmission featuring launch control makes it possible to shoot the quarter-mile in 11.4 seconds. Weapons-grade supercharged V-8, lets drivers exceed 200 MPH easily. Brembo® Carbon Ceramic Brake rotors allow precise control without fear of warping from brake pads that grow hot after multiple braking maneouvers are applied. But now anyone can own these cars, and thousands are in civilian hands.
“This supercar can hang with the best the world has to offer. It’s a thrill to drive and offers the performance of far more expensive cars. ,” Car and Driver said, speaking of the Corvette ZR1. “Explosive power and massive grip. This Vette has the performance to battle any supercar.”
The company’s webpage and ads show a Corvette speeding along winding roads at break-neck speeds, engine revving. “Corvette can be found in some of the most legendary races around the world ranging from American Le Mans Series based in the United States and Canada, to the Sebring International Raceway and the 24 Heures du Mans in France,” says the advertising copy, over the through-the-windshild view of a Corvette negotiating the ring at Nurburg. “ZR1 is the fastest, most powerful car Chevrolet has ever produced, and rivals the world’s best luxury sports vehicles both on and off the track,” said the Corvette webpage, peddling a high-performance sports car billed as “the only truly American sports car in the competitive class.” (Available to anyone for $125,920.)
In case that message was too subtle, the company appealed directly to the male egos of its most likely customers. “Driving is collaboration between man and vehicle, and now with more extensive performance options available, you can construct the perfect ZR1 to complement your driving style,” said one Corvette campaign (left on the Web after the Conemaugh collision), next to a photo of a Corvette. “there is no better example than the C6.R race car and its streetcar counterpart, the ZR1.”
The effect of these marketing campaigns on fragile minds is all too obvious, allowing deadly power in the wrong hands. But given their financial success, sports car makers have apparently decided that the risk of an occasional massacre is part of the cost of doing business.
(BTW, in the original editorial, one of the unacceptable aspects of the Bushmaster rifle was, "Barrel shrouds allow precise control without fear of burns from a muzzle that grows hot after multiple rounds are fired." I've never seen a rifle that required the firer to hold the naked barrel in his bare hand. I've also never seen a firer put his hands in proximity of the muzzle while firing, either. I suspect the editor responsible for this mess has never seen an actual rifle at all.)
Someone killed 1 person and critically injured 2 more in Conemaugh, PA using a high-performance, racing-style Corvette made by Chevrolet. Ramon Echevarria used the same type of Chevrolet car to crash into an office building in Arlington Heights, IL. The Rancho Cucamonga hit and run driver also used a Corvette in a spree that killed a bicyclist in July.
Corvettes are by no means the only sports cars of choice among mass killers (the Naperville driver used a Porche), but the brand’s repeated presence in murderous incidents reflects Corvette's enormous popularity in the sports car world, the result of a successful marketing campaign aimed at putting NASCAR horsepower and machismo in the hands of civilians. Car owners once talked about the need for personal transportation and sport driving, but out-of-control ad campaigns like Corvette's have replaced minivans and MGs with highly lethal high performance fantasies.
Motor Trend reveals that, "[the ZR1] is so powerful, so capable, so massively endowed that [it's] beyond the realm of what constitutes a usable, reasonable street car."
The cars, some of which come in red and racing yellow, bristle with features useful only to a Gran Prix driver or NHRA competitor. A six-speed manual transmission featuring launch control makes it possible to shoot the quarter-mile in 11.4 seconds. Weapons-grade supercharged V-8, lets drivers exceed 200 MPH easily. Brembo® Carbon Ceramic Brake rotors allow precise control without fear of warping from brake pads that grow hot after multiple braking maneouvers are applied. But now anyone can own these cars, and thousands are in civilian hands.
“This supercar can hang with the best the world has to offer. It’s a thrill to drive and offers the performance of far more expensive cars. ,” Car and Driver said, speaking of the Corvette ZR1. “Explosive power and massive grip. This Vette has the performance to battle any supercar.”
The company’s webpage and ads show a Corvette speeding along winding roads at break-neck speeds, engine revving. “Corvette can be found in some of the most legendary races around the world ranging from American Le Mans Series based in the United States and Canada, to the Sebring International Raceway and the 24 Heures du Mans in France,” says the advertising copy, over the through-the-windshild view of a Corvette negotiating the ring at Nurburg. “ZR1 is the fastest, most powerful car Chevrolet has ever produced, and rivals the world’s best luxury sports vehicles both on and off the track,” said the Corvette webpage, peddling a high-performance sports car billed as “the only truly American sports car in the competitive class.” (Available to anyone for $125,920.)
In case that message was too subtle, the company appealed directly to the male egos of its most likely customers. “Driving is collaboration between man and vehicle, and now with more extensive performance options available, you can construct the perfect ZR1 to complement your driving style,” said one Corvette campaign (left on the Web after the Conemaugh collision), next to a photo of a Corvette. “there is no better example than the C6.R race car and its streetcar counterpart, the ZR1.”
The effect of these marketing campaigns on fragile minds is all too obvious, allowing deadly power in the wrong hands. But given their financial success, sports car makers have apparently decided that the risk of an occasional massacre is part of the cost of doing business.
(BTW, in the original editorial, one of the unacceptable aspects of the Bushmaster rifle was, "Barrel shrouds allow precise control without fear of burns from a muzzle that grows hot after multiple rounds are fired." I've never seen a rifle that required the firer to hold the naked barrel in his bare hand. I've also never seen a firer put his hands in proximity of the muzzle while firing, either. I suspect the editor responsible for this mess has never seen an actual rifle at all.)
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