Replies

I agree with you on that. I would like to work on something like that. I could quit my job and go to work on a project like that in a heartbeat! :-)

I get tired of hearing people talk about how American cars are second rate though. Now, the dependability is not second rate. Yeah, there were several years when we fell behind but no longer. We build good solid stuff. Okay, you do get what you pay for if you go for the cheapest thing offered. That goes for imports too. But, we still do great quality work.

In 1990 I bought one of those Daytona Shelbys. I took a lot of flack for buying that from my dad and brothers. They kept telling me that I was stupid to buy American at that point. I drove the hell outta that car. Speedometer went to 140 and I could bury it on straight stretches of highway. It had a lot of top end power and I used it. It was also turbocharged and I could smoke just about anybody from a dead stop. Folks kept telling me I'd have trouble with that Dodge turbo but I never did. When I finally traded that car in for this pickup it had over 300K miles on it and was still running strong. I'd just torn up the front end and suspension from the way I drove it. Wasn't worth what it would have cost me to get those repairs done. However, there was not a thing wrong with the motor, tranny or drive train.

I regret trading that car in and deciding to go for practicality with this pickup now. But, heck, I'm shopping for something new now. I may come up with something I like just as much.

There is a silly extension of this. That Porsche is good for 200mph+. Yeah... like that happens all the time.

That was the cool thing about the Cobra. Sometimes it's not about top end. It's about getting there really, really, quickly. The Cobra still has (I think) the record for HP/weight but part of that is just all about torque.

If we wanted, we could make something that can get from 0 to 100 in six or so seconds, and back to 0 in four flat. That's where the Germans and Italians have killed us before. Speed isn't just about power, but its about handling and braking. That's something we've only recently figured out. That Porsche in the pic does 0 to 60 in about four seconds, and to 100 in only a couple more. But it can also run into a corner at 100, brake to 50 in the middle and be back up to 100 by the time it exits the corner. [pant pant]

:-)