[NikolaNovak]

Thx; hilariously, I own both the Honda Odyssey and the Subaru WRX example cars from the article :)

>>"It’s that 5-to-60—the first number you should look at, and when the light turns green, the only one that matters. "

I think 0-60 from stop, 0-60 with foot rollout, and rolling start 5-60 are all valid and useful metrics, when explicitly indicated as such. While I've never participated in a public-street red-light drag race, I don't think 5-60 is a valid metric for it, precisely for the reasons it mentions - the 5-60 eliminates a lot of drivetrain and surface components which would impact the launch; and more directly compares just the pure power. My Subaru WRX has less power, but has AWD and grippy tires, will leave my 1-wheel-drive heavily-traction-controlled, all-season tires Minivan in the dust at launch (but things may become more equal from the rolling start or even on highway overtakes).

[BoorishBears]

> more directly compares just the pure power

That's closer to what most people racing in a straight line want to measure as opposed to who can hook faster: hence drag racing using a two stage starting position

No metric will every reflect racing from a dig on a public street between the random surfaces, heat soak (it takes one or two pulls for most cars to start pulling timing stock), tires, etc... and I don't think any publication is really interested in satisfying that comparison.

[NikolaNovak]

I don't disagree. To your and authors point I have no interest in wrecking my daily driver transmission. I was just amused at the author spending 3 paragraphs explaining confounding factors that affect from-0 performance, and then offered the canonical from-0 situation, a red light, as suitable for 5-60 metric :-).

Anyhoo. Good read nonetheless :-)