Horsepower

Last month, my daughter and I, along with her Girl Scout troop, went on an overnight trip to a horse farm near Jackson, Ohio. That weekend, I rode a horse for the very first time in my life. My steed was an enormous white horse named Martini. (Hers was much smaller, brown, and called Chocolate Chip.) Martini was absolutely wonderful, and I actually felt very natural up in the saddle. I could feel the definitive power of the horse’s 1,200 lb. body with his every footfall far below me as we marched around the ring. It was invigorating. One horse. Power.

I was thinking about our trip to that farm, and the horses, and Martini while I was driving the Routan on a mission to check out a fabric store with a friend this week. Thoughts of horses brought my mind around to how interesting I find it that we still discuss the power of an automobile’s engine in terms of “horsepower.” In the early days of the automobile it made sense; it was something common folks could relate to. Prior to upgrading to a Model T Ford, one might have driven a wagon pulled by just two horses. Those two horses could haul an entire family and all their worldly possessions. Now maybe they wouldn’t be travelling more than a few miles per hour, but regardless, horses are pretty powerful creatures for just two of them to pull off that stunt. The engine in the Model T is said to have been about 20 horsepower. Twenty horses – that’s fathomable. You can create a picture of that in your mind if you’re a guy who is used to driving a pair of horses.

Have you ever watched the Tournament of Roses Parade on New Year’s Day? In addition to the stunning flower-covered floats, the parade is known for its large number of equestrian groups. I believe there were over 300 horses in last year’s Rose parade. If you have not seen it, let me illustrate for you. In one unit, there might be a group of 25 horses arranged in five neat rows of five, and that is really a sight to see. But now try to picture ten times that many horses – 50 rows of horses, five abreast, stretching several city blocks. I can do the math, but I was struggling to envision how far down the highway in front of me my team of 253 horses would stretch as I cruised down the entrance ramp and prepared to merge onto I-71 that day. That is the Routan I am driving – 253 horsepower. Crazy, right?! (Ok, I know it’s no 600hp Corvette, but c’mon, this is a MINIVAN!) To put in perspective the reason this is so impressive to me, the minivan I have previously been driving has a 158hp engine; that means that the Routan is nearly 100 horses-worth more powerful than the vehicle I have been driving for the past six years.

I will be the first to admit that I am not much of a gearhead…I know very, very little about the engineering and mechanics of a car, but I do know what I like. I like powerful, and I like fast. The Routan does not disappoint.

Here’s a typical scenario of me driving my old minivan and getting on the interstate:

The motor roars, the car hesitates and seems to pull back away from me as I press the accelerator to the floor, wrap my white knuckles tighter around the steering wheel, and lean forward in my seat willing the car to pick up enough speed to move into traffic without getting rear-ended in the process.

The Routan? Nope. None of that. This vehicle merges like no minivan has a right to. On my excursion that day, I was pleasantly surprised to find that we had smoothly accelerated into traffic without my giving it a second thought. I was cruising along in the center lane before I even realized my entrance was complete. I turned to my friend in the passenger seat and said, “Wow. That was pretty awesome!” She threw me a sort of puzzled look. She does not drive a minivan, so I explained that in my experience, minivans just don’t do that.

It seems that the Routan does!

Swinging into the left lane and accelerating effortlessly past two schmoes talking on their cell phones, I was reminded once again of the physical power of my buddy, Martini, one single horse. And then I smiled with giddy thoughts of the 253 horses I am sitting on now. Yee-ha!

The Neighbors are Jealous.

There’s a new car in my driveway this afternoon, and it’s a very different car; it’s a Volkswagen Routan SEL. Certainly, it is the first one in our little suburban town. (My husband tells me “No,” he doesn’t think it is; he has seen a white Routan around lately. Hmpff.) I am thrilled. The marketing materials bill it “A Stylish Alternative to the Minivan.” It IS pretty cool. I have never driven a “new” car; all of my cars have been “previously owned.” I am anxious to get my hands on the keys.

My girlfriends from the neighborhood come right over for a look – they yell inside my house for Dan to bring out the keys…they want to get inside. Another neighbor leans over the fence for a peek. Others crane their necks as they walk their dogs past our house and I press the button that opens the sunroof.

My friends are funny; there are a lot of ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ as Dan demonstrates all the fancy features. (This baby has ALL the bells and whistles!) Automatic open sliding doors, automatic power trunk lift gate, dual DVD players, satellite radio and, of course, the third seat automatically folding into the floor and back out again over and over…That really is a work of genius. And I haven’t even gotten to the part yet that caused one friend to actually speak the words, “I am so jealous.” Rear windows that roll down. Yes, for those of us who are regularly driving 2000 and 2001 minivans with kids and dogs packed into the back, this is the single most enviable feature. Not the 4.0L V6, 253 horsepower engine or the safety features that are among the best in its class. Wow! But no, it’s not that. It’s the windows. Rear windows that roll down.

This summer, I’ll be cruisin’ in this sweet ride. Can’t wait to fill you in on all our adventures!

NOTE: I know you’re going to ask, because it’s the first question I would ask. It’s the first question anyone asks when they learn you’re driving a new car…. It’s black. With gray leather interior.

-Meg