Suzuki Samurai was Re: [geeks] SPARC proprietary (waaaay

[Kurt Huhn]

On Wed, 22 Oct 2003 11:26:07 -0400
Mike F wrote:

> 
> Oh yeah, it's bad alright. Carburetors, pushrod valvetrains, iron
> engine blocks (!), steel tube frame w/ sheet steel body skins,
> steel wheels... I'm just skimming the high points here. Stone-age
> stuff, as far as I'm concerned. Apparently, though, many of the fans
> believe these cars are really exotic and fast; and they are when
> compared to the family station wagon or pickup. But these same
> people seem to only appreciate things they can understand; they
> can understand carburetors and steel tubing, but mention a pneumatic
> valvetrain and they start spouting off about that damn foreign stuff
> and those dirty Europeans.

I've been trying my best to stay out of this one, but I just have to
comment.

Y'all are missing the point of NASCAR.

NASCAR isn't about using the latest and greatest technologies.  It's
about *identification*.  Joe Sixpack can identify with the racing teams
on a very personal and down-to-earth level *because* of the technology
they use.  Pushrods, carburetors, tube chassis, it's all something that
anybody could build in their back yard with enough time and money. 
That's a good thing- it allows people to dream a dream that's not
totally unattainable.

Look at it in this way: do you drive a car that, redlines at 18,500RPM,
is 10 cylinders but only 3 liters, shifts with paddle things on the
wheel, and is drive-by-wire?  Almost nobody does.  But if you ask how
many people drive, or have driven, a V8 - the population segment goes
*way* up.

The people that like NASCAR racing like it for reasons that y'all may
never understand - but that doesn't make it bad or worthy of
denigration.  It just means that you don't understand - that's all.

And just to clear something up - the NASCAR cars are *fast*.  Maybe not
exotic, but they're fast.  You can't make a 750+hp car and have it not
be fast.

-- 
Kurt                 "I am not aware that any community has a right to 
kurt at k-huhn.com       force another to be civilized." 
                                                   --John Stuart Mill