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Just take a look at the damn numbers!Apr 19 '00 Write an essay on this topic.Some ludicrous kid left a comment on one of my reviews saying something as absurd as: “American sports cars are low performance hunks of junks with nothing more than high horsepower.” In an attempt to keep my car vs. your car idiocity out of my review, I chose not to respond to this illogical paradox. But right now, I am gratified by the fact that the addition of this new section gives me the full power to express my opinion on why American Sports cars are unmatched in terms of bang-for-buck value by any other vehicle on the market. (All right, you are perhaps that kid and have a passionate hatred towards domestic cars, but even if my opinion is worthless to you, consider the numbers I will include in this review and re-calculate your biased decisions. After all, numbers don’t lie even if you think that I do.) Dodge Viper: I have never driven the Viper, but if I had I would have reviewed this suicide machine – I call it so because high-speed experience is a must with this car. Despite never having driven a Viper, I can talk about it briefly as I have read many, many articles on it and watched it defeat anything that moved on the track. How does dodge push 450HP with a NA engine? Easy, put 10 8000cc cylinders under the hood and you’ve got godly HP. Torque is not a problem with an engine this big (which is the main cause of agony in Japanese cars – low torque) Viper pushes an amazing 490@3700 rpm. All this does not come cheap, however. Viper costs around 70k with a resale value that is not too great. It weights around 3.5k lbs, but how problematic do you think that is with 450HP/490torque? Viper is a hard to handle RWD -- its front is very heavy and the huge tires in the back don’t help you that much at the curves. (or so Mario Andretti said in his review of the car’s handling characteristics) In this aspect, main competitors of Viper – Acura NSX and Porsche 911 Carrera defeat the car. Nevertheless, both cars offer less HP and torque, and even with a higher weight the Viper boasts better acceleration. (NSX: 3k lbs, 3.2L 290HP engine with a torque of 224@5500 rpm. Porsche: 3k lbs, 3.4L 296 engine with 258@4600rpm torque.) Corvette C5 I would gladly choose a Porsche over the Viper anytime, as handling is also an important matter on high performance cars. Although the pioneer in big engine, high performance vehicles without the cost of an exotic museum piece like the Diablo, the Viper has its shortcomings, but I think they are fixed in the American auto industry by the powerful Corvette. The performance and the handling on the Corvette astounded me, and this is one car I seriously enjoyed driving and reviewing. The 5.7 liter V8 engine on the Corvette beats the hell out of anything in its price range -- and by that I mean anything. The newest Vette weighs 3.2k lbs and offers 345HP with a torque of 350lb/ft. No Japanese or European car comes close to the performance per dollar offered here; people can only make remarks about the handling and the interior room on a big engine RWD. Amateurs like us can’t do skid-pad tests that would prove any points about the handling on cars, but my personal opinion was that the Corvette was truly amazing in this area. Taking a ramp at 100MPH thought me that lesson and completely changed my view on this vehicle. But than again you will say that Porsche or the NSX offers better handling because of the 4wd on the first and the mid-engine on the latter car. I won’t argue against that; but while your may be correct, let me tell you why the Corvette is possibly the best sports car offered in the world – it’s the 40k price tag. Yes, friends, you have been comparing a 40k car against awesome vehicles that cost almost twice as much! For the price of a luxury sedan, you get an incredible super car when you buy a Vette, and that is exactly what makes American Sports Cars the best in the market – high performance with a low price. Mustang, Firebird, and the Camarro Talking about low cost performance, one can hardly ignore these 3 speed devils. Camarro with its Z28 and the SS models, and the Firebird with its Formula and Trans AM models, are brother cars from General Motors, and share a toned down version of Corvette’s 5.7 liter V8 engine that punches 320HP and 335lbs/ft torque. The direct competitor of SS and the TA is the Mustang SVT Cobra, a car with a 4.6 liter engine that is hand-built and signed by Ford’s Special Vehicles Team. Taking its name from the infamous Shelby Cobra, this bad pony offers 320HP and 317lbs/ft> torque. Although these cars have relatively the same weight of 3.5k lbs, the Cobra is recorded as a bit slower then the f-bodies on a 0-60 race, and that it comes back on the turns. Cost? It is less than 30k. Once again, nothing European or Japanese comes close to these amazing numbers in that price range. The new Mustang GT introduced in 1999 also punches 260HP with its 4.6liter V8, giving cheap car with superb performance and styling a new edge, as none of its direct competitors offer nearly the same bang for the buck. Of course, many will add comments saying how they beat a Mustang or a Firebird in their 108HP Honda Civic, or 190HP Toyota Celica. (And the most pathetic of which was some guy that rambled on about how he always takes on and defeats 5.0 Mustangs with his 4cyl Volkswagen Corrado G60 that has a 158HP engine with 166lb/ft torque) Just like I said, people can lie, but numbers don’t. Just be realistic, and drop your prejudgism at the door and look at the sheer power that is offered. Downsides: High performance means sacrifice. One sacrifice that is truly despised by your average environmentalist is the utter depletion of earth’s natural sources. I hear you, buddy. I am not saying the Mustang or the Corvette or the Viper is fuel efficient in any form or at any speed whatsoever. These cars are gas guzzling rockets that require the driver’s attention, but fuel economy is not the subject here. We are talking about sports cars, and in my book gas is not even a remotely relative matter. However, if you are after the honorable cause of saving the world, go for a Japanese made 4-banger. Those guys can seriously squeeze all the juice out of a small engine that revs sky high, and I am not known to be the one to deny facts. The second and most agonizing sacrifice is spaciousness – you won’t find any in these cars. The BMW M3 offers more comfort, and so does the Mercedes CLK line. Nothing like a German vehicle when it comes to comfortable speed. But once again, the subject here is performance, and my advice to you is not to buy an American sports car if fuel economy and cargo room are your top priorities. Every brand name and model has its strengths and weaknesses. The cars I glorified here have only one strength – they are pure muscle cars for the true speed enthusiast. Which car you get depends on your taste and personal priorities, but if you are looking for the best bang for the buck in terms of power, don’t deviate from the path of buying an American V8 or a 10cyl monster. Comfort and less money spent on fuel will only seem like myths to you, but your car will outperform anything else that is on the road.  |
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