2008 Woodie Awards
Pocket rockets get stupid fast
Drew Wentz
Issue date: 11/8/07 Section: features
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It all took flight in 1976 with the legendary Volkswagen GTI. The idea was to take an affordable, front-wheel drive car and give it a high-performance package, making it practical and sporty. So they force fed a 110 horsepower engine down the petite, 1900-pound car's throat and thereby born the 'hot hatch.'
The creation was emulated by many others over the last three decades, but as of recently, things have started to get a bit out of hand.?In 2006, it seemed as though the players had peaked at their game. This includes the lightweight Mini Cooper S: 174 hp, Honda's brilliant new Civic Si, 197 hp, Nissan's Sentra SE-R Spec-V: 200 hp and the 30 year old original. The VW GTI, carries a beefy 200 hp as well.
The ghastly part is that the Civic Si was the slowest of the group running to 60 mph in 6.8 seconds according to Road and Track Magazine's "League of Extraordinary Pocket Rockets" in June 2007, and that's not slow at all boys and girls. In other words, all four of these top-end trigger-toys could outrun your dad's BMW 3 series and you mom's Honda Accord V6.
To take it a step further: on paper the Cooper S and GTI can out-acceleration a Dodge Charger V-8 Police Car, in reference to the annual Michigan State Police Car Tests (Shh, you didn't hear that from me, owners). These are legitimately fast little cars, and it's almost concern causing because they all go in excess of 130 mph for around $22-24,000. Game over right? Wrong.
The last year has raised the bar completely due to three car manufacturers that are making Courtney Love look well mannered and sensible. ??Mazda, Dodge and Chevy have upped-the-anti just a smidgen, and when I say 'smidgen', I mean belligerently. The Mazdaspeed 3, Dodge Caliber SRT-4 and the re-worked 2008 Chevy Cobalt SS (soon to be), all utilize turbo-charged four-cylinder engines pounding out 263 hp, 285 hp and 260 hp respectively. The trio is rounded out all posting 0-60 times in the 5.5-5.8 second range making them all just as, if not faster than a Porsche Boxster off the showroom floor. Of course, since you're going to be getting more power; you'll be paying a few dollars less than you would for a slower GTI. Wait, what? Yes, all three base prices of the Mazda, Dodge and Chevy will be around a grand less than the German innovator, and you get a complimentary extra 60-85 horsepower for free!??With all seriousness though, this really is getting a bit unruly. These are barely 3000 pound economy cars with nearly 300 horsepower; for hardly more than twenty grand?! A college student who works full time and summers can afford one of these if they lease it right?! Should an old teen, young twenty-something be able to handle such a car? In my opinio, yes. But don't go by me. Soon you'll be driving down I-80, see a hatchback in your rearview and think, "it may be a mother, taking her children to school," and then it'll pass you going 150, or at least it could if it wanted to.
The truth is, these are great cars for a young demographic that wants high performance. They will get around 25-28 mpg on the highway, and have the storage space to move yourself back and forth from school. They are all in fact capable of going 150 mph (though you "shouldn't"). Not to mention they're front wheel drives that can out-accelerate a brand new Porsche. Pocket Rockets? 'Salacious Supercars' is more like it.???(Note from author: I'd really like to know if there were any comments on the auto columns I've been writing. Whether they're compliments, complaints, hate-letters or suggestions, I'd love the input! If anyone has any questions, or ideas you'd like to see articles on, I'd be thrilled to do them. Contact me at amwentz@bloomu.edu)