I find this discussion too interesting to pass up. My daily driver is an '87 Corvette (Brand X - 210K miles, never had a head off, 26+ MPG on road, runs clean and strong, although I might be in the market soon for the new Ford Hybrid *small* SUV) but my fair weather machine of choice is, of course, my Cobra. I've been a hot rodder since I learned to drive, drag racing my '50 Olds D Gas coupe, then learning the joys of turning corners by autocrossing my '64 Plastic Chevvie convertible many years ago. I am currently preparing my Cobra for some serious autocrossing when the rain goes away. And when I drive it on the street all I get is smiles and the ole thumbs up. I am also a Life Member of the Sierra Club. And I *did* hug some huge redwoods last New Year's Day in Guerneville. I guess I'm a bit of a paradox, but I think one can balance the love of high performance and the environment as well. In fact, I recently became a member of Alcoholics Ananimous, a group dedicated to the use of alky (ethanol) as an alternative fuel, to help get us off the old fashioned petroleum bandwagon. There are still issues to be resolved, but the potential (even for the short term) is very good. If you have any interest in this, you might check out their website
http://secure.permaculture.com. Peace, Rich.