Some people enjoy the aesthetics, the design of the car - they can be quite beautiful! Some enjoy the engineering - it can be challenging to squeeze so much performance out and still meet environmental requirements. Some enjoy them for the tuning and personal work they can put in to make it their own. Others like it as a status symbol - a recognition of the hard work they put in and what they accomplished. Some like it for the moment to moment feel of being pressed into the seat and the sounds it makes.
There are a lot of reasons to enjoy a sports car. It'll be something I almost certainly never do myself, but I can definitely see the appeal.
> it can be challenging to squeeze so much performance out and still meet environmental requirements.
So much so, in fact, that nobody meets them but cheat in the tests instead. Those that haven’t cheated haven’t been caught yet.
If you choose to drive a sports car, at least have the courage to admit that you value your personal satisfaction over the environment and future generations.
...a single person driving a sports car occasionally is not moving the needle of climate change. I think that's a bit ridiculous.
If suddenly the entire driving population of the US decided to swap - yes, absolutely, that would be a significant difference.
There are far, far bigger fish to fry when it comes to climate change than the occasional sports car use. Like say, the proliferation of SUVs and massive pickups.
...a single person driving a SUV or a massive pickup is not moving the needle of climate change. I think that's a bit ridiculous.
Do you see what I did? A large part of the driving population of the US decided they need a environmentally unfriendly car, many of them SUV and pickup, but a few sport cars too. That does make a significant difference.
The difference is that SUVs and Pickups are literally everywhere. They're the new default. It's all manufacturers sell, it's all consumers buy. It's a massive problem.
Sports cars, by comparison, are very rare. Not many people buy them, and even then they're often not a daily driver.
Sure, that’s not my point. It’s a mindset thing: driving a sports car or electric SUV but simultaneously soothing yourself that someone surely tested those for environmental impact is just self-delusion. Drive a sports car if that’s your thing, but at least stand by your decision for what it is—an act of hedonism.
By that argument almost everything is. Ate some food that uses single-use plastics? Can't do that! Wanted to keep the lights on at night because it's more cozy? Nope! Want to drive to work because it takes <10 minutes instead of 40 for the bus? Dirty polluter! Want to feel comfortable in winter instead of shivering while covered in blankets? Just think about all that natural gas! Selfish selfish selfish! You can go as far here as you want - there's always something, it never ends.
If you're living in an industrialized country, pretty much everything we do to exist ends up being sub-optimal environmentally.
I'm not saying people should do nothing. But taking no enjoyment in life is also not a solution.
I don’t think we disagree. Doing something for your personal pleasure is fine (except if you’re Jeff Bezos and you’re shooting dick rockets into space for your personal pleasure. Just stop, Jeff.)
Deluding yourself that you have done all you could anyway is not. If you tell people they’ll save the planet if only they drive an electric and don’t drink coffee from plastic cups, they don’t fight for meaningful change anymore.
So by all means: enjoy your sports car. But don’t lie to yourself.
How about a car that doesn’t spend most of its energy on transporting its absurdly heavy self rather than the payload? It’s not like sedans suddenly aren’t a thing anymore.
That, or accepting that you drive an SUV because you like to drive an SUV. Either is fine.
> How about a car that doesn’t spend most of its energy on transporting its absurdly heavy self rather than the payload?
Precious few of these have ever been built, and none available commercially, as far as I know. The total weight of my family is maybe ~500 pounds. Any leads on any sedans less than this that can hit highway speeds?
Yes, I know EVs are heavier. Combustion vehicles waste most of their energy on the process of combustion. I ride a bike to work, which is the perfect vehicle for that application, but it won't work for this scenario.
I was more making a comment about how you really can't use most of the value of a sports car (outside of the flashiness aspect I guess) unless you frequent track days.
