Be careful here . . .

[Mike Arman <armanmik@n-jcenter.com>]

>
>You saw the "Smokey and the Bandit" and "Cannonball Run" movies, right?
>
>How much of that junk could _really_ keep up with a 911 or a Ferarri?
>
>- --
> Phil Payne
>

Be careful here . . . in a straight line (note the qualifier) there are
PICKUP TRUCKS here in the U.S. of A. that will positively eat a Ferrari or
911 for an appetizer, and not even wait around for lunch! Keep up with
them? Heck, the 911 and the Ferrari would never even know which way the
'murrican iron went.

The Cannonball Run was a coast-to-coast "race" - run what ya brung - 

Chevrolet was selling a short-bed pickup with a 454 engine for a couple of
years, and there was also the GM Syclone which was pretty much the same
thing - for a while, the 454 Chebby pick-em-up was the fastest 0-100 time
of any production four wheeled road vehicle in the world, and had a top
speed of "over 145 MPH". Scary? You bet! But remember that the vast
majority of roads in the US are basically straight and flat - ideal for
this sort of lunatic fun and games. You can drive most of the way across
the midwest (1,000 miles?) and never have to turn your steering wheel more
than a few degrees (unless you want to make a rest stop!)

I once had a ride in a 1964 Plymouth Fury equipped with a 383 inch V-8, a
four speed, and a 3.14 or so rear end. The speedometer read to 140 MPH, and
the maniac who owned it proceeded to demonstrate that he could quite
handily BURY the needle in THIRD - I seriously considered walking home.
During the 60's and early 70's, gasoline sold here for 25 to 30 cents a
GALLON (I once paid 22 cents a gallon!), so everyone bought cars with huge
V-8s - some of them would positively FLY - no, they wouldn't go around
corners, yes, the brakes were a joke, but in a straight line, they could
outrun the starship Enterprise, and not even breathe hard doing it.

It is just a question of the right tool for the job - blinding acceleration
and little else, I'll take the 454 Chevvy pickup (and remember, that was
STOCK - anyone for a lumpy Crane roller cam, headers, and a pair of big,
hungry four barrel carbs? Yee Haa - into orbit we go!!!!!!!). In the real
world, with curves, stop signs, pedestrians, and other traffic, I'll take
my Audi.

Best Regards,

Mike Arman