Oink Oink! Woof Woof!

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

I've noticed (between the intercooler-at-home thread and the
crash-into-baby-buggy thread) a certain ground swell of infighting about
the relative merits of the 4K and 5K models, with the 4K guys calling 5Ks
"pigs" and "dogs".

Guess what - the cars are DIFFERENT - this kind of infighting is
non-productive, and convinces no one of anything.

It is a case of using the right tool for the job - no single car can do
EVERYTHING well. If you're autocrossing, you want a 4K, if you're highway
cruising, you want a 5K, and if you have nine kids, three dogs, a boat and
camper, you want a V-8 SUV. Saying the 4K is a hunk of junk because it
can't seat nine and pull a trailer is absurd - as is the same statement
about the SUV because the lap time at Lime Rock was four minutes instead of
58 seconds - the cars are DIFFERENT and have different purposes.

Since I was 18 (I'm now 53), I've owned over 150 cars - a small sample
includes: XKE, XK120, XK140, Lotus Elan, 356 Porsche, MGA, Sprite, Corvair,
El Camino, Econoline, Fiat 500 (!), 280SL, 300SEL 4.5, 57 Chevvy 2 dr V-8,
Wabbit, Bug convertible, VW van, Dodge van, Ovlov 444, coupla Studebakers,
Saab Sonnet, other Saabs, and dozens of other cars like 2 and 4 door
Amurric'n sedans and so forth.

The fact that I couldn't park the Dodge van in a space only big enough for
the Fiat 500 hardly makes the Dodge a "pig", and the fact that the Fiat
wouldn't haul two BMW motorcycles, two people, and all their stuff at 70
MPH on the interstate doesn't make IT a dog.

Use the right tool for the job and you'll be happy. 4Ks are better for
autocrossing, 5Ks are happier on the highways.

A few weeks ago, I drove a 1996 Chevvy Suburban - loaded, and I mean
loaded, leather seats, dual air, monster tires and mag wheels, the works,
and I went for a 600 mile interstate cruise. Set the cruise control, set
the autopilot, set the alarm clock, and it wakes you when you get there -
just walk past the tennis courts next to the jacuzzi, to the bedroom and go
to sleep! Two things: Don't try to go around any turns, and you have to not
mind 14 MPG - all in all, a pretty impressive vehicle for something based
on a pickup truck!

But it doesn't ring my bell - (didn't expect it to), and I'm keeping my
pair of 5Ks, because they are the right tools for the jobs I have.

Best Regards,

Mike Arman