Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I agree, D-Towner, Paul Walker was obviously an extremely talented, humble and unassuming actor (extremely rare nowadays), however, he was not driving so my post had nothing to do with him directly.
We also know that Roger Rodas was driving and it is "claimed" he was an expert, experienced and accomplished race car driver yet the latest reports are claiming "excessive speed" in a relatively populated area as, more than likely, the cause of the accident. In this case, excessive speed does not imply 5 or 10 miles over the limit or what is considered reasonably safe.
Personally, I do not believe an expert, experienced and accomplished race car driver would conduct himself in such a way without the help of drugs and/or booze so the excuses being "dropped" on here about the tricky handling characteristics of the vehicle are just that . . . EXCUSES.
My comment still applies . . . THANK GOD no innocent lives were involved.
It doesn't matter how expert someone is at racing, they don't have a right to race on a public road because it puts the lives of the occupants of that vehicle and other vehicles and pedestrians in danger. Please keep in mind, I wasn't trying to get at you Bummer. RIP Paul!
Sad news.
I'm a huge Fast and Furious fan. As corny as the movies were sometimes, they are fun to watch. I loved watching the characters grow, how they played up the family aspect of the crew and it was great having the same people come back each time, I mean this was going to be their 7th movie with more planned after that.
I don't usually care to mention celebrity or famous-people deaths or really think much of them, but this one really blows. R.I.P. Hopefully his daughter can recover. After reading wiki, she moved in with him 2 years ago...
Within exotic circles, that car is infamously known as the widow maker due to its unforgiving handling. He should not have been testing the car's limits on that street. I have a 552hp car and never do anything that foolishly brazen on a public street. I suspect the driver, being a racing professional, overestimated his skill with that car.
But Walker didn't deserve to die for the mistake that the driver made
I'm unsure as to whether or not it was Rodas' first time on Kelly Johnson Parkway. I think that one shouldn't be testing a car's limits on an unknown surface street.
Mr. Rodas was only an occasional racer. His full-time gig was as a BOA financial adviser. I am acquainted with an occasional racer whom i would NEVER ride with on public streets. I wouldn't ride with him because i've seen this racer overestimate his street capabilities a couple times. And this acquaintance isn't a young guy at all. Like many part-timers, he comes from a pedigreed/privileged/spoiled background, wanted to be a full-timer, but wasn't talented enough. From what i'm reading on Mr. Rodas, he sounds just like the gentleman that i know.
When The Fast and the Furious came out, I loathed the idea of the movie and refused to watch it for the longest time. I eventually relented and grew to enjoy the movie. Even with its cheesy lines and outrageous special effects, it is a fun, entertaining movie. 2 Fast was ok, but Tokyo Drift, not so much. I think the Brian O'Conner/Toretto relationship was missing in those 2 films, which hurt them for me. The last 3 films have gotten better with each film for me. I was familiar with Paul Walker from seeing Varsity Blues, The Skulls, and Joyride before I ever saw F&F. With all the other movies of his, he will always be Brian O'Conner.
Even though he was an actor and these were just characters, with Paul you felt like below the character he was portraying, he was a genuinely good person. He wasn't celebrity tabloid fodder. He kept below the radar, which means he must have lead a relatively boring, ordinary life. I like that. Plus, he was a real car guy. I like that too. It wasn't until his death that I found out about all the charity work he's done. It's pretty impressive. Plus, he did it quietly. He didn't make a big fuss about it and try to turn the attention to himself like many other celebrities. He was humble and didn't let his fame go to his head.
A lot of people hate the F&F franchise and what it stands for and will then hate on Paul Walker and the rest of the cast. Like the films or not, I truly feel we lost a good one here.
The first movies were dumb and boring to me (despite the fact that I LOVE cars), but I really liked that dude.
And the last couple of movies were more about relationships and the heists were cool.
You don't have to build a supercar to build an extremely dangerous car. But the point is that any car with healthy acceleration and relatively low body weight can be a disaster.
Agreed, but my dd has "only" 370 HP and I can break the rear tires loose at 40MPH on a gentle curve if I'm not careful.
As for the Porsche, I'm not exactly ready to blame the manufacturer either lest these cars be regulated out of existence. However, from what I can gather reading review after review after news story it's not that the CGT is incredibly fast or has a ridiculously high power-to-weight ratio that makes it dangerous (at least relative to my 370 HP sedan) but that it serves little if any fair warning that's it's about to lose its composure.
to paraphrase: Those that live by speed shall die by speed.
Driving a capable fast car at the limit can eliminate the ability to do another "take" like in making a movie.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.