As a relatively young former 16 year-old I figure I'll chime in for the hell of it.

When I was 16 (way back in the dark ages of 1998) I was given a car, a 1990 Acura Legend. It was my dad's old car that he had replaced with a Mercedes in '96 and had been driven around by my grandpa since then. I was all into cars and thought I was a pretty good driver. As a birthday present to go with the car, my folks let me get a CD player put in. Not a system, just a new deck.

Within two weeks of buying the stereo, I crunched the passenger front fender on the back of a Jeep pulling into a parking spot in my high school parking lot while I was singing along to Jimi Hendrix. Yup, real smart. My parents paid out of pocket to fix the car and gave 400 bucks to the parents of the kid who owned the Jeep.

A few months later I was driving home from school and while making a left turn in a residential neighborhood this guy ran a stop sign and t-boned me at low speed. There was a big dent in the side of the car so I drove it around like that for a good six months. The cops had ruled it a no fault accident since the stop sign he ran was not directly at the intersection but at a driveway 20 feet away.

My senior year I was driving to school one morning and stopped at a red light. Then this old lady in a Corolla came barrelling down the hill and rear ended me. This happened right before Halloween so while the car was parked in front of my house a couple of punk kids broke the rear windshield with a pumpkin. The body work was all covered by the lady's insurance from the rear-ender but the windshield was an $800 comprehensive claim on my insurance.

So the car was totally fixed and I was working as a camp counselor at a summer camp. On the day that the parents came to pick up their kids this one lady's minivan wouldn't start in front of one of the bunks. So I drove my car over and jumped the van. As I was backing out, I wasn't paying attention and dragged the driver's front fender along a telephone pole. That damage was never fixed and the car was sold when I went off to college.

Through all of it my parents were supportive and understood that I was a dumb 16/17 year old kid and I was bound to crunch up whatever car I would have been driving. At that point the car was pretty old and my dad had long since paid for it so there was not so much financial sting.

After my freshman year I bought a '92 Integra GSR with money that I had saved up since I was like 13, did a few modifications and drove like a generally sane person. Being in college and a bit mod-hungry I ran out of money and had to sell the car after racking up credit card debts equal to the value of the car. But in the year that I had it I never once put even a ding on the thing.

So the moral of the story is that while I now consider myself to be past my fender bender years, when I was 16 I might have been a "safe" driver but I sure did manage to crunch that car up in stupid mistakes. I wouldn't have a problem giving my kid his/her first car but it would be a newer used econobox that I didn't mind the kid banging up a little bit.

 

Another reason I personally wouldn't allow my 16 year old to have FD or any other FAST vehicle is:

1. Even I was them straight A student with very strict parents, I wrecked my dad's GTO not for speeding or racing (not to say I didn't), but some A^&(( decided to turn right inspite of having left turn signal and try to avoid accident I met up with a telephone pole.

2. My bro, straight A student, drove the very same car and rearended a drunk.

It doesn't matter how mature or intelligent kids thinks they are 16 yr old does not have enough experience to react to split second decision as compared to experienced drivers.

Because we've been there done that.

 

in a word to answer your question even if my FD was stock the answer is*

NOPE!

Rotary driving is different especially stock power and torque in a FD vise like a Honda civic or Toyota Corrola

 

**** i'm 18 and at 16 my first car was a 1994 toyota supra TT, not an FD but very similar, i had it for a year no accidents no spinning out (on purpose), and i learned how to drive in it.

now i'm not the typicall teenager but i was responsible enough for 16 to handle a powerful car like the supra, i sure as hell wouldnt give my kid a supra if i didnt trust him, but my father trusted me so i got it. we sold that POS after 8 months the rear suspension was all tweaked from a previous owner.

after that i got a 99 trans am and still have it till this april when i get my hinson v8 rx-7.

but to answer ur question i wouldnt buy a FD for my kid unless they proved to me they were responsible enough. and about 95% of 16 year olds are not responsible enough for the power and light weight of an fd.

 

points taken by the people who gave their reasonable thoughts on the issue. on the other hand,


threads like these whittle away at my respect for certain 'old' people, and create an even greater stereotype on my side of the fence for "adults" like you.

there really isnt much respect up in here since half you are joking about kids and "fast and furious" body kits /caring more about the car rather than the kid / and some really stupid, not even funny **** about the prices of Rx-7s going up when kids die in the crashes.

im not trying to feed the animosity between young and old but DAMN its not just the kids that need to grow up.

 

I have nothing against a 16 y/o getting an FD or any other Rx-7...I'm 23 and I think of myself as being young enough. All I know is that at 16 that would be my "weekend" car until I gained more experience driving because I've been through a number of cars and learned a lot along the way. The thing that I don't understand is that unless a 16 y/o is given the FD - where are all of you (or them) getting the money from?! Maybe in the US with your dollar being more than our's things are cheaper, but there's no way in hell that I could've afforded an FD at 16 even if I worked 40 Hrs a week with school for 3 years. I'm just curious - maybe it's time to move?...lol

 

Its not older people being arrogant, its older people being wiser. Why pick a rare car to "learn" your limits in, drive an FD when you've learnt them and know how to drive not while your still learning. This is why, imo, anybody who allows there child to drive such a high powered rwd car is a negligent parent:

http://www.car-accidents.com/pages/s...ent_stats.html

let me highlight this point:

Quote:

Teenagers

Car Accidents are the leading cause of death among teenagers in the United States, accounting for 36% of all deaths of persons aged 15 to 19 years.

The fatal crash rate per million miles for 16-year-old drivers is more than 7 times the rate for drivers aged 30 to 59 years.

Nearly the same number of deaths occur among teenaged passengers as teenaged drivers: in 1993, two thirds of the deaths of passengers aged 13 to 19 years occurred when teenagers were driving.

you still think the idea of experience is a myth? You think we are injust in saying you shouldnt be within a square mile of the keys of an FD at that age? We want to preserve as many of the cars we love as we can not hand them over to a ticking time bomb, no matter how good a driver or how "not fitting the stereotype" you are.

At that age you are inexperienced, there are not two ways about it. End Of

 

I knew that at 16 I did not know how to handle the power of the car. I still drove it some on the weekends but I did not push the car.

adam_c: should i sell my car once i install the new reman because im 17 about to be 18 and dont deserve it? The only time I race my car is at the track. I know im a bad driver when it comes to racing and I will be the 1st one to admit that.

 

It's not the driving a nice car part. It's having a car you can easily get yourself into trouble with.

An 90 Toyota Celica GTS is a nice car if properly maintained, and so is a 93 FD. Now tell me, WHICH car is more dangerous? Both are nice cars.....

I have absolutly NOTHING against a 16 year old driving a nice car, so as long as it's a car he can learn his baby driving steps with.

As some have mentioned, insurance rates are expensive for the younger crowd for a reason. It is STATISCALLY PROVEN that younger people get into more accidents due to a lack of experience, and I'm sure peer pressure would find its way into the equation, too.

For the young guys who have somehow found the way to have the experience (family racing, etc) and control involved (Family also showing them how to race), then you ARE part of the minority. It takes a sufficient amount of control to say no to your buddy saying "Come on, you can take him. Forget about the traffic" and an equal amount of wisdom to be able to control your car in the event you began to loose the rear end.

Even still, knowing what you should do is completly different than having experienced the action. Knowing what you should do when you are having sex is different than knowing what you want to do after having several encounters allowing you to make your experience even better.

This is no substitute for experience. PERIOD. Go buy a book on how to make the winning race around a track. Now plant yourself in a Formula 1 car and race against Pablo Montoya. Who do you think will win? ANd why did he? Because he has the EXPERIENCE.

Same applies to all of us. Saying we can control it is different from actually controlling it when the need arrives.

 

We don't hate it because it was in a movie.
Most of us hate it because its just flat out FUGLY

 

My first car was a ford crown vic. its rear wheel drive and my birthday is in oct. so there was snow on the ground. and i just took it easy all the time with the rwd in the winter my dad showed me all the does and donts in the rwd. That all he drive are rwd cars cause he says fwd is for *****. so i drove the crown vic and winter no problem and it the spring he help me buy a 300zx turbo and i never had a problem in that car and let me tell you that car had alot of power in her. I sold the 300zx when i was 17 and now i am looking for a rx7. The funny thing is that my dad had a rx7 when i was 15 and said would you like this car when you turn 16 and i was like no. So he sold it and it was a 91 rx7 gxl and he had it since brand new and i wish i said i wanted it cause ever day i kick myself in the *** for saying no!!!!
Oh yeah i never have been in a accedent or got a speeding ticket or anything yet and i am 18 now. So it just matters whose hands you put the keys in!

 

Guys, I wanted the opinion of the older crowd. Or should I say the Experienced crowd.

ALL of us were 16 at one point. We ALL know how (cool, rad, phat, awesome - whatever gen you are from :p ) it would have been to have an FD at 16. You feel like you would be on top of the world. You feel superior. You feel like you can do whatever you want, and you are always right no matter what anyone else says. Rememeber it has also been psychologically
proven than teenagers will tend to want to rebel against what anyone says. Basically, you are forgiven since it's currently in your nature to want to do so Of COURSE you will want to fight that fact

Seriously guys, remember. There simply is NO substitute for experience, and handing you the keys to an FD is just, well, I have a list of that at the begining of the thread. LEARN to drive. Are you going to play ALL your money when playing your first poker game? Or are you going to reserve as much as you can until you get the full feel of the game?

I've lost friends in high school because they wrapped their mustang around a tree.

I got into my share of trouble, and all I had back then was a 75 Firebird with a 350.

I had another friend slam himself into a tree on his bike because he was showing off to us what he thought he could do.

Am I willing to let the same thing happen to my kid? Hells no. Like I mentioned before, BABY STEPS

 

That's great!
But think for a moment.....
What if he wouldn't have taught you? What if he just gave you the keys and said "Ok, here ya go."

Not everyone has a father or at least someone to be able to show them the does and don'ts. That just increases the risk even greater.

Now pretend your father owns a car dealership, doesn't bother to show you the do's and dont's, and says "Here. I got this twin turbo RX-7 cheap. Do what you want with it" You see the car and say "WOOOOOOOOOW!!!" You begin to drive it having no clue how it drives...........and BAM!

See my point?

 

I have seen 40 year olds that I wouldn't let mow my lawn and I have seen 16 year olds that were very mature. Physical maturity is different than mental maturity and age sometimes makes no difference.
Glen Cambell? The guys on "jackass"?
You cannot decide if someone is mature enough or responsible enough to drive soley by their age. Each individual needs to be judged by their character and level of personal responsibility.

 

You're kind of missing the point made by many, including Flybye: it's not so much maturity or responsibility-- it's experience. If you've got very little experience in traffic, slippery conditions, merging onto a busy highway, etc., it really doesn't matter what car you're in. The chances are high that you will put yourself in a bad situation that could result in an accident. Having the savvy to avoid dangerous or risky situations comes with experience, and unfortunately statistics and odds support that.

 

Well, I just want to point out My opinion..

I do not think that a 16 year old Child should not be allowed to drive any sports car.. I feel Females are 10X worce drivers then Male so I would give it to a Male before a Female if I was forced.

I owned my first fd when I was 17 and I allmost killed my self twice with it.. I was just lucky not to hit anything or do any damage with it..

Secondly my first FD was demolished by a 16 year old Girl who was given to the keys to a BMW M3. That kid was doing over 100miles an hour when she Tbone my Rx7. Now so you know she was hard on the brakes at the time she hit me.. So you can imagine how fast she was going before she struck my car.. I was doing around 62 miles an hour at the time she hit me..

So you know the impact sent me and my Car over 300 feet from the point of impact hitting a Semi truck and sending my car end over end clearing a 4' fence and up a hill..

The girl broke her neck in the wreck and the other child in the car was lucky with just some broken bones..

I was in the ER with 4 broken ribs broken wrist punctured Lung and several other injurys..

It may be just I have bad luck with Girls and New cars hitting me..

I was hit last winter by a 16 year old in a brand new Ford escort. She was driving to fast for road conditions and slamed into the rear tire of my Work Van.

So I may have a biased opinion but I Think no kid has the skills to take the wheel of any car realy..

But they need to start some time so I guess its ok for them to drive cars like ford escorts or any econmy car..

In my opinion I don't think any kid should be allowed to drive a sports car untill they have atleast have 2 years driving and even then thats truly not enough..

 

Well,
I'm 17, and in the next few years (when I'm around 19-20) I'm hoping to buy an FD.

I realize most of you say that young drivers are irresponsible, and I agree.... mostly.

I learned to drive on my parents 2000 GT Stang, trust me... its a scary car when you are first learning to drive. After a couple months I could control it. Hell, I used to drive it in the winter (Saskatchewan Canada... 5-6 feet of snow is normal).

Later I bought a 1990 Eagle Talon TSI (FWD). Loved the car, fell in love with turbo power, learned to be a mechanic then sold it because a nice offer came a long.

Right now I am helping a friend rebuild his 87 Turbo II. Thats a great car... I fell in love with the 7's.

I don't know what I will buy next, may be a a beater, I don't know. But what I do know... is that I am a responsible driver. I have been driving for 3 years now in cars that aren't slow by any means, and I have yet to get in any sort of accident, I have yet to get any tickets... (no wait... i got a parking ticket).

I know I am not like your average 16-17 year old kid. I am not trying to stick up for the youngens here, I'm just saying that not all of us are complete dumbasses when it comes to common sense on the road.

 

Well what Im noticing here is that the main issue in not giving a 16 year old an FD is lack of experience. There is some truth to this but what you guys are saying is they should start of with a car of lesser quality because they would just wreck the FD, so your not really worrying about the child, but the car itself. I thought this was to consider whats in the best interest of the 16 year old
I'm 16 and I've always been a car fanatic.Originally I was a ford enthusiast untill i was introduced to the FD, and since then I'm determined to get an FD. One of the first things I learned is that cars, no matter their capabilities are should be treated with care. Spoiled? yes and generally speaking, teenagers are irresponsible, but not all of them.

 

Geo metros for all!

 

It's funny how all the 16yr olds ran in to defend themselves when the question was to the older crowd.

 

You're definitely missing the point. Please read the title of this thread....

 

You just know that a 16 year old is going to start a thread bashing older guys. I love all this banter. Its great.

Personaly i do agree with most people. I think that a 16 year old boy will end up doing very stupid things in an FD. I cant say all but most. A friend is riding along and he wants to impress him. Boosts in a sharp corner. And now my FD is worth $1.25 more.

But really, where is the thread bashing the older guys. Especialy 50+years old guys

 

I believe that's a $1.25 more you'll have to pay.

 

Originally posted by Kento
You're kind of missing the point made by many, including Flybye: it's not so much maturity or responsibility-- it's experience

**Not true. You can be a very experienced driver but be irresponsible and crash the car. You can be a novice but drive the car with caution and stay within your personal means and be safe.

If you've got very little experience in traffic, slippery conditions, merging onto a busy highway, etc., it really doesn't matter what car you're in.

**Exactly! That's my point.

The chances are high that you will put yourself in a bad situation that could result in an accident. Having the savvy to avoid dangerous or risky situations comes with experience, and unfortunately statistics and odds support that.

**It comes with a level head not experience. You can put an experienced driver in a 550 Maranello and by driving within their means (mature/responsible) they may never crash. If you put a guy in his late 30's who has limited track time but some and he drives the car hard, beyond his abilities he has a higher propensity to wipe out the car.

**Insurance charges each person by their record. As an aggregate a certain age group (16-20) may have a much larger propensity for crashes but they don't lump everyone together, they charge premiums by your record. If it was just experience they would just drop your rates over time because on experience. They drop them based on your responsibility. (record).

 

i believe in helping your kid buy his first car, but nothing fast at all. Although i had to buy all my vehicles myself. I worked my *** off to get to the point i am at right now. I think the best thing a parent can do to help there kid learn some responsibility is take a loan out for a 4 or 5 thousand dollar car in which they pay the loan and insurance on. If they miss the payment because of being careless you take the car away, sell it, and make them fend for themselves. If they have the will and ambition to save up the money for something a little faster then i guess they have some responisibility and should be given a chance.
adam