I always thought that more horsepower and better handling made for a more exciting driving experience. Then I tried to make a left turn into a complex intersection in heavy traffic in my Honda.
Whoah.
In the 911, it's a no-brainer. You wait for an opening slightly longer than one car length, throw down the hammer, and launch neatly into traffic. I can go from parked to 45 before I get to the other side of the street. I have plenty of traction with my Yoko DB2's, especially in the rain. People usually see the car, simply because it stands out a bit. And people are generally loathe to hit it -- there's a certain respect for expensive German parts.
In the Honda, it's a totally different experience. The Honda is grey, and tiny, and non-descript. Your eyes almost slide off it, if you try to look at it. I think sometimes people try to hit me just to take me out of my misery.
The roads are wet, and even 82 horses are enough to break loose my 145 width front tires. The launch is critical, because if I don't get off the line fast enough, I get my tail clipped by the 7500# behemoth SUV with bad brakes coming down the hill to the left. The mental picture of me getting tossed across the intersection into oncoming traffic (which is mostly made up of soccer moms talking on the cell phone and not paying attention to anything shorter than their monster vehicles) isn't pleasant.
Then look -- someone's making the right turn! That opens up 2 car lengths on the other side! The next light down is giving me 4 seconds of cover from the left! Go little car, go! The adrenaline courses through my bloodstream as I feather the throttle and clutch, perfecting the launch. My knuckles get progressively whiter as the tach slowly nears redline, the engine screaming it's protest. Come on, baby, you've gotta do this for me! Come on, go little car!! (phew), that's redline, after 5 seconds that feels like an eternity. Soccer mom on my rearview mirror clearly doesn't see me, she's still closing fast! Power shift into second, praying for more speed! Brace for impact!!!
Another look in the rearview mirror shows that she's finally spotted me and started to slow. She's opening range, which is good, because there's a funny smell coming from my engine bay. Good enough; another day I've survived the intersection...