A casual observer

[Buzz]

Reading many of the other threads, I find it interesting that when the going gets rough, some choose to compound the agony with woeful wails and chicken little cries of impending doom instead of finding calm reassurance in the historic failure of these doomsday prognoses to ever actually materialize.

Remember how bad things looked for auto enthusiasts in 1974 when the Mustang II was rolled out? It was the end of the world as we knew it - the guillotine that was hanging over the head of the muscle car had finally dropped. Then suddenly - by the mid to late 80's, a TPI Vette could hit 150 mph and Buick GN's were smoking tires all over the place. Trans Am GTA's, IROC Camaros and Mustang 5.0's were kicking butts and taking names. Old school big block aficionados stubbornly resisted accepting the new EFI, TPI and turbocharged breed of performance cars, but like it or not, as the new tech evolved, cars were matching the performance of the old dinosaurs AND doing it with way less fuel consumption and cleaner tailpipe emissions.

Dean and Dan and Sharroll are absolutely right. Performance cars will never die. They will just be different, that's all. Today; Vettes, Vipers and lil' Japanese 4 bangers are posting numbers that the old muscle cars could mostly only dream about on a relatively frugal sip of fuel while (comparatively speaking of course) blowing rose petals out their exhaust pipes. Compare a new Vette's performance, gas mileage and emissions to those of a '69 427 or a 70's 454 C3 to put things in perspective.

I guess for some reason it's easier to succumb to paranoia and fear than to face the prospect of change with an open mind, a pioneering spirit and a resolute faith in the inventiveness born of necessity that has come through time and time again.

[HI Cobra]

Right on Buzz - I see your glass is half full too!

[Ron61]

I would like to see change also but not just some of the knee jerk stuff they are proposing. I do like one thing about the new proposals. Let the Federal Govt. set the standards for all states so they are the same, and at least the car manufacturers won't be trying to meet different car emission standards for every state. Also this will drastically limit the amount of cars on the highways as only the wealthy and politicians can afford to own one.
I like the 35 MPG standard but wish it could be achieved with a new engine and fuel combination as I think they have just about ruined the gas here as much as they can. With all of the anti smog additives, the mileage on my little Comet with the 289 has dropped over 5 MPG from what it used to get.
I do believe that given the incentive and some time they can build performance cars that will put what we have to shame and still meet the needed standards, but it isn't going to happen overnight.

Ron

[Buzz]

Amen Flip! It's never empty til it's empty.

Ron - sure it will take a while, but in the mean time we have our current crop of pretty decent performance cars to hold us over.

PS: Looking waay ahead here, but have you guys seen the eyeball-flattening acceleration numbers some of the prototype electric cars are churning out? If we go that route (and I suspect there will be more than one technology being deployed concurrently) it's just a matter of perfecting the battery technology and packaging. We will miss the big cam V8 bellow and the smell of hi-octane for a while, but 1000+ ft/lbs of torque from idle to unlimited redline churning through a continuously variable transmission just might help ease the pain. Warp speed, Mr. Scott!