Re: Roughin' it

["Joe Garcia" <corsanostra@domain.elided>]

John Hertzman said:

<<Couple of people have recently posted variants of a stripper-car spec, 
this one Joe's: "GTA version (all I need is 4 seats and a/c and sound 
system)".>>

Mm hmm. Yup, yup, yup. I should clarify that by 4 seats I mean seats for two 
adults and two children not-quite-of-teen-vintage, by a/c I mean something 
that will turn the cabin of the vehicle to 65F deg. within minutes on a day 
when the temperature is 95F and humidity is hovering at 90% and by sound 
system I mean whatever quality one may readily find in another upmarket 
European sedan or coupe. (While we're at it, no Bose...)

<<I wonder (well, no, I don't, but rhetorically I might) whether they really 
don't want motor-driven windows and central locking and things like that.>>

Yes. I really do not want motor-driven windows and central locking and 
things like that. I also don't want a sunroof (manual or electric) and I'd 
be willing to pay extra for the privilege.

<<Or, to put it another way, give it the time-machine twist: imagine the 
'big guys' in 1964 listening to a focus-group around a steel-bodied Sprint 
GT, complete with a heater and foot ventilation and a place in the dash for 
an aftermarket mono radio, who are saying "all I need is a/c and sound 
system". So, the big guys build it, call it the GTA, and our Intrepid Driver 
sets out for Spa-Francorchamps.>>

The a/c and sound system should also be either optional and/or readily 
removable.

<<Imagine an average noseheavy front wheel drive small car with, say, 
255/35-18 tires, parallel parking without power assist.>>

Now THAT would be intolerable...I mean the noseheavy part. Otherwise, *I* 
(but then again, I am not entirely in my right mind) have no quarrel 
parallel parking power-unassisted vehicles with either very tight steering 
or "The Fast And The Furious"-like tire fitments. Sure, I look like Popeye, 
but a guy has to suffer for his art.

And I thought I was being nice and reasonable by not asking for an absurd 
power-to-weight ratio...



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