Up-N-ATOM!.... Up and At Them!

Being a car guy, I have priorities. Certain traits that I appreciate and look for in a car. There are things that matter, and things that don't matter so much.

I got to ride in an Ariel Atom on Sunday. That car is the absolute embodiment of minimalism in an automotive form. Every single part of the car is dedicated to performance, and there are basically 0 features related to anything but that. 

I never thought of a windshield and being not performance related, but I guess race cars don't have those. Heater? Nope. Radio? Yeah right. Doors? Adjustable seats? Roof? No, nada, no way. 

What it does have is power, and oh dear lord it has that. I have never been in anything that accelerates so fast. I have gotten to ride in Ferraris, Bentleys, Tara's Dad's Z06... and I thought that those were pretty fast. I know now that those were fast in their own way, but not in comparison to this. Rocket sleds are maybe fast in comparison to this. 

And it isn't just fast, it has grip. I mean like those tires must have claws that hold onto the road grip. I was flying into a corner, helpless in the passenger seat, looking at a big yellow sign saying that the suggested speed for the corner is 35mph. We are going over 100. He isn't slowing down, in fact, he is accelerating. Hard. 

Your mind can't really adapt to that. You think that you know what the limits are, what a car can do and can't do. But those thoughts are all wrong for a car like this, the rules are different, really different. 

I thought that the ride was going to be an awesome experience, but I didn't realize that it was going to be such a learning experience. It changed the way that I look at a lot of things. 

Overall, the cost for what you get for a car like that is comparatively low. There isn't anything that can perform like that for under $200K, maybe more. But there are obvious sacrifices. The roof, heater, A/C, radio, windshield... you don't get those. But what you do get is a great deal as long as you want something fast, and don't care about the rest. 

The lesson that it teaches is about focus, about having one specific goal and reaching that goal at any cost. 

I like being focused, I like being dedicated, and this car is exactly that, in spades. 

After that, driving the Tahoe feels just like driving the Tram at Disneyland. 

You stay classy everyone...TTFN.