WSJ examines why supercars are dropping like flies on public roads
It's a well-known fact that just because you can afford a supercar, it doesn't mean you can handle it. As the purchase of exotics has increased, the number of customers cracking up their hyper-expensive rides has risen accordingly, and the Wall Street Journal decided to take a look into the facts, the figures and the conjecture surrounding the issue.
The article, accompanied by a two-and-a-half minute video segment, explores some of the more publicized cases of the past several years, along with interviews with some players in the automotive industry and the press.
One of the stats that caused us to re-read an entire paragraph came courtesy of the California Highway Patrol. "... The total number of accidents involving Aston Martins, Bentleys, Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Lotuses and Maseratis rose to 141 last year, an 81% increase from 2002, while overall crashes declined statewide during that period."
That stat pretty much sums up the state of affairs, but the whole article is certainly worth a few minutes of your Saturday. Whether or not this recent phenomenon is worthy of some of the government's or automaker's time is another issue entirely.
[Source: Wall Street Journal]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Snix 8:49AM (6/16/2007)
Some people have more money than brains.
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geo.stewart 4:03PM (6/16/2007)
you dont have to be smart to be rich and you certainly dont have to be a good driver to be rich.
that being said, Paris or Lindsay wrecking a McClaren SLR should no more be news than a high school student wrecking their Sentra.
zgatt 1:56PM (6/16/2007)
> ... an 81% increase from 2002, while
> overall crashes declined statewide ...
...
> That stat pretty much sums up ...
Not really, you also need to know the relative percentage of road-miles of those makes. Given the recent supercar fad, is it not plausible that the cars are correspondingly more prevalent?
(especially astons and bentleys, compared to 2002)
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blake 10:23AM (6/16/2007)
+1
It is just because you don't have to be smart to drive, er crash a supercar.
That is ok, it is population control.
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steve 10:12AM (6/16/2007)
as a condition for owning a hyper car prospective pilots should be required to spend a month on a gsxr1000 so they know what the real deal is and develop a healthier respect
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Zo 11:15AM (6/16/2007)
But when I tested it on my PS3/XBox 360 it drove just fine! You mean video games and real world are not the same?
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JC3 11:31AM (6/16/2007)
Mid engine cars have a different driving dynamic than the front engined cars most are accustomed to.Summer tires and wet pavement ,then goose it on a right turn intersection and you may lose it when the weight of that engine comes around.
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Claude 12:28PM (6/16/2007)
The article itself proved that there is no freaky statistic of crappy drivers in exotics.
Quote: "One reason for the increase is that there are simply more of these so-called "supercars" on the road. CNW Marketing Research, a firm that analyzes the auto market, says Americans bought about 8,400 "ultra-luxury" sports cars last year -- more than three times the number from 2003."
A 300% increase in exotic cars bought with only an 81% increase in wrecks. Not too bad in my opinion.
Go5Go 12:33PM (6/16/2007)
Soon owning a car like this will be like buying a house in south florida, yeah you can afford the house, but not the insurance!
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paul34 12:24PM (6/16/2007)
That's because most people (also goes for the majority of rich people) aren't very smart. They just get lucky, or were ruthless in regards to their fellow human being, and thus got where they are financially.
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Colin Smith 12:41PM (6/16/2007)
These people can be arrogant idiots. Not all of them, but many.
Some really do believe that if they spend a fortune on a car then it must defy the laws of physics.
Thing is, they are not true car enthusiasts and don't really care or know about driving. And certainly they know nothing of physics. They are used to having everything done for them, and when they spend money on a car they expect THAT to look after them too.
A learning curve then!
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Andre 12:47PM (6/16/2007)
What do you expect, when you have Dumbasses like Lindsay Lohan,Paris Hilton and the likes driving and wrecking them like they are throw aways and end up buying another more bigger,powerful luxury cars afterward.
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Warren 1:16PM (6/16/2007)
What is sad is that people like that Jack-ass who has gone 191 on public roads. Driving that fast on public roads is just asking for a murder to occour. I am not afraid to go fast. I did all the naughty things that could be done in a car and on a motorcycle. Then I grew up and now go to the track when I want to go fast. You have to be one arrogant son-of-a-bitch to think that you won't ruin a ton of lives when you go off at a hundred and too much. I am not against speed, but the level that these stupid people are speeding isn totally wrong.
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HotRodzNKustoms 1:29PM (6/16/2007)
There are simply more supercars, so say if 20% of all supercar owners wreck their cars. If there were 1,000 supercars being driven, 200 of them will be wrecked. yet if there are 10,000 of them being driven, 2,000 of them will be wrecked.
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iQuack 2:50PM (6/16/2007)
Brings to mind a conversation I had with a friend who said he wouldn't buy an adequately powered, relatively quick 4 cylinder car because he NEEDED the extra power of a 6 or V8 for emergency driving situations.
I don't agree, so long as the 4 is adequately powered. Why? Because having too much power encourages reckless driving and taking inordinate risks such as passing on hills, taking turns too fast, or cutting across intersections before traffic clears.
If you buy what you assume is a safer ladder, you're likely to climb higher on it and fall on your ass.
No surprise to me that the ostentatious dopes who buy track cars for daily use are tearing up both their cars and themselves.
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Pep Boys Sux 3:21PM (6/16/2007)
I wouldn't call a DB9 or a 360 Modena a "supercar"; but I do agree that an alarming number of stupid, spoiled, bratty celebs (from Paris in her SLR to K-Fed in his 360 Spider) are in possession of hot cars. It depends on what a person considers as a "supercar." Is it any exotic? A Corvette? 911? M3? Regardless, there are a lot of young people driving who shouldn't be on the road--much less on the road in a 190 mph sports car.
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olddavid 4:02PM (6/16/2007)
It stupefies me that someone will pay $100,000+ for a car- yet be too near-sighted to spend $500-2000 for 2-3 days at Bondurant. I must agree with the natural selection comments. It just goes to show that money and brains are not necessarily mutual. Raise the inheritance tax- save a dumbass!
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sw 4:50PM (6/16/2007)
If 0 to 60
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sw 4:52PM (6/16/2007)
if 0 to 60 is less than 5.0 seconds, get driving lessons geared for high performance cars. If it's between 5-6.5 seconds, do give the lessons some thought
Barney 7:09PM (6/16/2007)
"One of the stats that caused us to re-read an entire paragraph came courtesy of the California Highway Patrol. "
Is it Californians that have trouble controling powerful cars? I'm not sure that with the volume of traffic in the state, even mopeds would be immune from MVAs.
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