Ray wrote:... But I can't shake off how the Europeans look down thier noses at our cars. Hell, I've heard nothing but snide remarks from Jeremy Clark about the new Z06. It's quite possibly the best supercar for the money and all that is being said about it is it's American.
Well, here in sunny South America we have a decent coverage on F-1 by seasoned argentinian commentators and direct transmission of NASCAR by seasoned american commentators. I can't decide myself what's better, although I've followed Dave's path.
Going out of thread (sorry...) about the cars, well, the japanese and european car technology is very different from the american one. I couldn't decide what's better, also: if driving the battered, 40 years old Pontiac GTO with 300.000 miles on it and its clockwork V-8, a jewel of an engine (with several reconstructions on it and no signs of dying soon, that I could dismantle with my eyes closed) or my economic and agile Nissan coupe that hasn't had a glitch or a noise since bought (and that I couldn't repair if my life depended on it, to the extent that I had almost no metric tools). Actually I love even the Lada 2121 at the farm: this thing cannot be destroyed by a nuclear blast (and that ugly thing brings, installed on the factory, a set of tools you could use on "The Flight of the Phoenix" to build a plane in the desert
).
I would love to have an
american engine on an
european chassis with all the
gadgets, economizers and instrumentation made in Japan. This is what the F1 world basically did during the Cosworth era. I believe NASCAR could use some "european ideas" on their chassises, if they don't do it already.
What Jeremy can complain about (I've havent heard him) is the waste and the lack of "design". They pay a lot of taxes on fuel, like U$6 per gallon, Ray. Picture yourself in that position: you wouldn't value raw power as much as fuel efficiency and engineering. Then you have the matter of the "desing" or taste, and
that, my friends, is underdeveloped in America, let's be frank. I am saying this as a true friend of the american car industry and in a mild state of shock after seeing the trend of the SUVs and their horrible grills and indescriptible bodywork. No matter what you do, after letting these monsters go out your factory door, you have lost any respect for your sporting car line. South americans value versatility but also the beauty and efficiency of things, and I haven't heard a good comment on that trend around me
.
Now, the F-1 fans could put themselves at the other side of the fence: what kind of engines would you have if you paid 1/3th of what you pay now for fuel, like americans do? And what kind of car would you have to cross the continent if all roads were flat and straight?
I went from Phoenix to Washington a couple of times by car and the first time I swore I wouldn't do it again without cruise control: my right foot had cramps at the end of the day, keeping the gas pedal flat most of the way. I was driving a U-Haul truck, towing a car, not precissely a sporty combination, and the thing barely made 70 mph. I confess that for some time I used a brick to keep the gas pedal in position... I am not making this up. The least of your worries is the handling.
About JPM, well, that's life. There will be better times. I only hope he doesn't kill himself, but he has, understandably, my complete attention and affection, more than sympathy.
Overall, he has done pretty well in a short time going from a race car to a nascar stocker.
. 
