SinoPenn

The last two weekends saw my wife & I and a couple other friends of the family out test driving different cars. We all have our Drivers license, them and me a Chinese one, and me also my Pennsylvania license (hence sinoPENN, yep. Now you know). Here’s what we found out.

Note: This is according to the dealerships we went to. Maybe not all, but most that we went to.

One: Chinese people, even with a drivers license, are not allowed to test-drive cars unless they’ve had their license for over two years.

Two: Foreigners can test drive cars with a foreign license. (I didn’t show them my Chinese one).

Three: When Chinese people get their drivers licenses, it seems to be some sort of past time to go to a dealership, whip out the license and say, “I want to Test Drive this car!”

Four: Dealerships fear drivers with new licenses due to the fact that, license or not, they still cannot drive worth a damn.

Five: Road Rage can build up for years, even if one hasn’t driven regularly in many years.

That being said, we test drove a Chevy Cruze, Ford Focus, Citroen C-Quatre, Skoda… something (I forgot. Says a lot, doesn’t it?) & Chevy Epica, all Automatic Transmission.

The breakdown:

Chevy Cruze, both 1.8 and 1.6 ltr outperformed the Ford Focus 1.8 ltr with just the passing gear. When flooring it down an empty road, the Focus barely got going. I don’t see it doing much passing on a highway. And believe me it pains me to say this, as I’ve always been a Ford fan, going all the way back to Alan Kulwicki & his Hooters Ford Thunderbird! RIP, Alan!

C-Quatre was built by the French. ‘Nuff said. But I’ll go on. This car had about the same power as the Cruze 1.6. Same passing power, and even had a display on the dash that shows you what the car camera shows you when backing up. It didn’t work well, as I still almost hit someone screaming out of an alley. I’ll trust my eyesight, thanks. As for the comparison to the Cruze 1.6 ltr, the Citroen was a 2.0. Again, it says something. Something like, “Sacre Bleu!!! I’m French, and I don’t CARE if you step on the gas petal. I REFUSE to go!”

The Skoda… something was actually the first. This car had a 1.4. I didn’t know this before I got behind the wheel. Stomping on the gas petal basically gives you a feeling of emptiness. Something’s missing. What is it? OH! SPEED is missing!

The Chevy Epica wasn’t so bad. To make turns, you really have to crank the steering wheel. I believe that’s called LACK of Power Steering. It reminded me of driving my grandfather’s old Ford Crown Victoria.

The missus, pretty much the whole time, had her heart set on the Cruze, so that may be what we’re getting. Which is fine. It’s her car afterall. I’ll get myself something a bit better.