Why IS Zero To 60 SO Important? AND Whose Idea Was It Anyway?

In an intriguing, reflective piece Jason Harper takes a stroll through time to see when and why the zero to 60 measure has become such a staple in today's automotive world. Just about on any forum you'll see guys duking it out with other members over a tenth of a second.

No lie.

It sounds something like this:

Person A: "Oh, company "X" says the Thunderbuster 3000 can hit 60 in 3.0 seconds!"

Person B: "Pft, you're dumb because company "Y's" new Turbomatic Supreme can do it in 2.9 seconds and it's a Turbomatic! Who wants a Thunderbuster anyway?"

Something tells me that this will not be the end of the zero to 60 argument but with that said, click "Read Article" to see what Harper found out...

One Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Miss — boom! Congratulations, you've just hit 60 miles an hour. Or would have if you were piloting a Bugatti Veyron.

Instead you're behind the wheel of a Chevy Aveo, giving you time to recite the name of the state 10 times before reaching that speed, with lingering pauses to take in the scenery.

Few car statistics are as time-honored — or hoary — as the 0 to 60 mph test. Car lovers are obsessed by it. It's a verdict that can end (or begin) an argument...

[Source: The Detroit News]

2012 Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Photo Gallery

2012 Fiat 500 Photo Gallery

2011 Chrysler 200 and 300 Launch Photo Gallery

2012 Pagani Huayra Photo Gallery

2012 Porsche 911 Black Photo Gallery

AutoSpies.com Photo Galleries

If you want to see your photos running on our homepage photo ticker, be sure to upload your photos on the go by sending them to Mobile@AutoSpies.com

Share on Facebook

Read Article

tattedtwice - 2/3/2011 9:42:25 PM

+3 Boost

"Whose idea"

Agent00R - 2/3/2011 10:08:23 PM

+1 Boost

Whoops!

Steve - 2/4/2011 9:41:22 AM

+3 Boost

Bragging rights. They're very important to some. You see this a lot in the motorcycling community, where Joe Averagerider buys a GSX-R1000, and now he believs he has bought instant street cred. Meanwhile, a skilled rider on a 600cc bike will clean his clock in virtually all scenarios.

upwards - 2/4/2011 11:00:55 AM

+1 Boost

For me 0 to 60 is mostly for safety when passing or merging on the interstate.

M35MT - 2/4/2011 12:57:34 PM

+4 Boost

Not sure if this is part of what you're getting at with the question but I believe 62mph = 100km and 100km/60mph are typical 'highway' speedlimits, so it makes sense to measure how long the car takes to get to the top LEGAL cruising speed.

ThierryHenry14 - 2/4/2011 4:23:01 PM

+3 Boost

Personally, I think its not important, especially when you are talking about performance vehicles. However, it does give a good indication of how well a car's drivetrain feeds power to the wheels...

85bmw745i - 2/4/2011 11:12:12 PM

+1 Boost

Traction has alot to do with it. For example, a WRX STI may get 0-60 faster than say a mustang, however that is due to the AWD giving better off the line traction. 80-120 the Mustang may stomp it. A ZR-1 Vette would annihilate almost anything 0-60 if it had a sophisticated AWD system like the Audi R8. 0-60 isn't everyting for me, and a couple tenths mean nothing. The CTS-v is slightly faster 0-60 and in the quarter mile than an M5 but the trap speed for the M5 is higher and shortly after the M5 passes the CTS-v up despite having less horsepower. Since it has a higher redline, the gears can be shorter, effectively multiplying the available torque and HP better than in the CTS-v. a couple tenths here or there are not going to be realized and it will ultimately be the better driver that will win.

100octane - 2/5/2011 9:59:04 AM

+1 Boost

0-60: drag strip
60-120: racetrack

jeffy210 - 2/5/2011 2:45:52 PM

+1 Boost

It's a good equalizer given that HP and Torque curves for each car can vary widely, and even cars with the same numbers will not yield the same performance.

As for me, i'm more interested in 40-70, or 50-75 numbers as that's what I use when needing to jump out past someone that is going slow, or passing. That to be matters much more than a 0-60. How often do you really start out from a stand still and need to rush to highway speeds?