Saturday, September 26, 2009

About Drivers Ed And The High End Of Performance Cars

By John Robertson

For many when you think about Drivers Ed, it's just the thing you have to do before you can get your driving licence. The classes and theory and possibly boredom. Once you've done it you don't need to do it again unless you get a bad driving record and get sent back for a refresher course - right? Wrong! One of the world's most expensive and desirable sports cars, Porsche, has been running numerous Drivers Ed courses for their owners and enthusiasts. And they have been successfully doing this for the last thirty years.

Drivers all must master the basics before they are permitted to do more advanced training. It is a structured approach like any good training course.

Warm up courses focus on the basics of driving a precision car. From what seat and steering wheel positions should be to what the various components in the car do. Done in safe areas or on racing tracks the Porsche driver learns how to handle common issues such as over and under steer, emergency braking and the best method for getting through road bends. It's just about drivers Ed, just on a different scale.

To meet some of these needs a basic precision course is offered that covers the same basics as the warm-up day, but allows participants to spend a second day driving on the track improving their skills and not just aiming for high speed circuits.

Off road training is also offered starting from the absolute basics including how to judge the terrain and what low gear options are for. Often these are done as part of a travel experience. Sand driving in the deserts of Dubai or off-road circuits in Germany.

Then there are winter conditions. Porsche doesn't just teach how to drive safely on ice. No they take it to the extreme and have a specialist base in Finland where people can really master the hazards of snow and ice. If you go beyond the basics course you can try ice racing, slalom courses and downhill speed driving.

And one area that isn't ignored in the education process is discussing ecological factors. Information is taught about how to drive economically with no unnecessary braking and acceleration and how to minimise fuel consumption.

And you to learn from trained professionals. They are passionate about the vehicles and come from the ranks of Porsche designers, engineers and testers. They know these cars totally. The program itself is available in many countries around the world from Japan to Brazil, from Europe to the USA.

So when thinking about Driver's Ed don't be fooled into thinking that you learn once and then you are set for life. The basic principles are as relevant for the new Porsche owner as they are to the 16 year old in Galveston Texas. As with anything in life we all have things to learn. - 2368

About the Author:

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home