Mo' of Ze Heel Und ze Toe

["Al Powell" <APOWELL@agcom.tamu.edu>]

Mr. Eliot in Seattle forsook his scuba gear long enough to write:

> i used to have an alfa romeo and my cousin had a range of italian cars
> including a lamborghini urraco... all of these cars had terrific
> pedal layouts for doing heel/toe.

I bet!  My 1958 Fiat Spyder roadster isn't bad, either...
 
> i remember that constupid reports tested the alfa milano (or was it 164)
> one time and complained bitterly about it because the pedals were too
> close together!

Most drivers simply do NOT pay enough attention to the controls on 
their car - and the pedal placement is a superb example.  Where do 
you think all those unintended-foot-on-throttle complaints came 
from????  People who were driving Olds Cutlasses and bought Audis for 
STATUS - and never thought about where to put their feet.  My regrets 
to those who accidentally hurt themselves or others - but it was 
surely operator error.

If you put the pedals where they SHOULD be, they are automatically 
closer tham most American car pedals.

I have always characterized CR as a very helpful publication when you 
want to buy appliances, insuarnce, etc....but they have always 
impressed me of thinking of cars as "Toasters with four tires" and 
evaluating them the same way.  That's an OK way to evalute cars like 
the old Aspen/Volare series (a crime against drivers everywhere) or 
the now-defunt Checkers, but it falls down quickly as soon as you get 
into cars which have features that people "want" in addition to those 
which are basic "need".

I do think CR is doing a bit better job of trying to evaluate cars 
for their *intended* use in the last year or two.  They are testing 
specific groups of cars in specific niche markets.





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Al Powell                           Voice:  409/845-2807
Ag Communications                   Fax:    409/862-1202
107 Reed McDonald Bldg.             Email:  a-powell1@tamu.edu 
College Station, TX  77843-2112
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