re: 10 very fast cars slower to 60 than the Tesla S Plaid

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Exactly what I said, the 0 to 60 factor. What a great reason to purchase a car.

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Power/acceleration is a pretty critical metric for a vehicle. What are your deciding factors?

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Exactly what I said, the 0 to 60 factor. What a great reason to purchase a car.

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0-60 is shorthand for power to weight ratio with a little tranny and rear drive thrown in. Honestly, 0-60 along with 1/4 ET/trap and 70-130 times are one of the major criteria I look at when buying a car even my non-performance cars or SUVs. It is just a petrol head thing. I could probably tell you the 0-60 time of every car I have owned and there have been a few.

As I have gotten older I prefer a more balance car where power/weight, handling, and braking performance match each other but it doesn't mean I don't appreciate a hooligan car which some people love. I see the plaid as a bit of an homage to cars like the 440 Magnum Cornet and Monaco, the 455 Pontiac Gran Am and the Chevelle SS454 Wagon. I remember Luca di Montezemolo when he was at the head of Ferrari at the beginning of the horsepower wars had a journo point out they were lagging behind in the power metric compared to even some 4 door saloons and he just said something like we won't sell cars with more engine than chassis like some others. Many felt it was a shot at AMG at the time. There were a lot of people that liked those AMGs that could hang the rear out and melt massive Michelins at an astonishing rate. People just like quick cars and the 0-60 metric is a good way to determine how hard you will get pinned in your seat and 2ish seconds 0-60 is getting hard to breathe territory. Plus most every half-decent driver can exploit that where very few can test the limits of a cars lateral G-force limit without calling their insurance company afterward.

0-60 may not be the most logical metric but there are a lot of people for whom it is very important and for most of those people using it can bring a grin to their face even after the shittiest day and why I think civil engineers designed the first onramp.