RE: Chevy speak (long)

["Geoff Jenkins" <jenkinsg@pilot.msu.edu>]

Scott, I have a relatively simple question about the relative benefits and
costs of this sort of thing (applied to Audis, Porsches, whatevers). I can
see the benefit of a huge-torque high-displacement engine, and so can many
sports car manufacturers, given the number of such types still being built.
Certainly in a country such as the US, where average speeds are quite low,
stoplights are all too frequent and twisty roads are an anomaly rather than
the norm, then I can see the advantages. In the case of a guy with a dead
motor, in need of replacement, it probably makes perfect sense.

But given all that, why does Porsche (and Acura/Honda, and others) go for a
relatively low-displacement blown motor in the their top cars? In some of
this discussion, it's been suggested that there's no downside. Certainly, in
terms of power & torque per dollar, the domestic V8 seems a wonderfully
cost-effective solution. So, why do Porsche and others devote enormous sums
of money to designing ever more crafty versions of the small motors when
they could (at relatively low cost) produce as much power (or more) without
any real effort, just by reverting to a big V8? In the Audi case, you could
argue that the cost of European fuel has a lot to do with it, along with
German insurance categories (determined by capacity?), but for something
like a 993TT, who cares about fuel and insurance costs?

Whenever I'm presented with an argument suggesting "cheap, massive
horsepower & torque with no down side" (and we can all think of at least one
unproven recent claim to that effect), I'm dubious, to say the least. If the
downside was noise, or cost, or lifespan or around-town driveability, I'd
say that sounded right. But if there's no downside, and such a great upside,
why does anyone else take the alternative path?

Geoff

...whose S4 regularly beats big Detroit V8s from a standing start, but that
has as much to do with the other drivers' perceptions of the capability of a
big black sedan as it has to do with raw grunt off the line.