Marc UrbanoCar and Driver
From the April 2021 issue of Car and Driver.
When the pandemic spread across the country early last year, vacations were canceled. Restaurants shuttered. Beaches and parks closed to the public. What could we do to chase away the oppressive dread of an invisible, omnipresent scourge? For people fortunate enough to remain employed, an unexpected answer emerged: Buy a boat. Or an ATV or an RV or some other motorized toy that allows us to have fun while social distancing. In February of last year, life was normal. By April, we all wished we owned a chain of stores called Jet Skis and Toilet Paper.
In defiance of 2020's general economic gloom, Americans bought 115,000 new powerboats in May and June, a 30 percent increase compared with sales from those months in 2019, according to the National Marine Manufacturers Association. The RV Industry Association says that November's 42,513 RV sales were the most ever for that month. And Can-Am saw side-by-side sales rise by about 30 percent in the third quarter. Clearly, a lot of people needed to get out of the house.
Including us. To see what all the fuss is about, we rounded up a selection of motorized funmakers and hit the road, trails, and water. Because nothing takes your mind off a pandemic like jumping a side-by-side over a 55-foot gap.
Marc UrbanoCar and Driver
Travis Pastrana shows up with coffee and doughnuts and then climbs his indoor rock wall and backflips into a foam pit. Then my kids and I strap into a four-seat Can-Am Maverick and he starts cranking Poison's "Nothin' but a Good Time" while driving around on two wheels.
Michael Simari/Brian RozarCar and Driver
Personal watercraft (PWC) are joyful machines. They exist purely for goofing around on the water, and even a 35-mph rental unit will displace your worries with rambunctious entertainment.
Andi HedrickCar and Driver
If you're going to have an adventure, you'll want to be familiar with sunk-cost bias. It's the idea that if you've spent a lot of time, money, or energy trying to accomplish a goal, you'll be inclined to keep at it even if quitting is the wiser move.
Jeremy M. LangeCar and Driver
Honda introduced the Monkey for the 2019 model year as the Grom's retro, naked mini-moto counterpart. And if that sentence means nothing to you, let's explain it this way: The Monkey is a small motorcycle with minimal bodywork, a 125-cc fuel-injected engine, and a four-speed manual transmission.
Car and Driver
"many" - Google News
March 21, 2021 at 09:01PM
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Like Many Americans This Past Year, We're Into Quarantine Toys - Car and Driver
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