pushrod engines, was 'Hemis'

["Jim Steck" <4sfed@domain.elided>]

In the case of the Corvette, specifically, it was cheaper and the engine
is shorter.  The hood profile was a serious design parameter.  At the
speeds of most street engines . . . particularly large-displacement 
V-8's . . . pushrods are more than adequate.

Chain-drive reliability and low maintenance (warranty) come to mind too.  

Jim Steck
AutoComponenti

> ------------------- snip ---------------------------
>> They've designed a completely new pushrod V8 hemi...

> Is there some theoretical advantage to pushrod engines that I'm not getting
> here?  Why do American manufacturers continually go back to the drawing
> boards, create brand new engines from scratch and spend tens of millions of
> dollars to create all-new pushrod engines?  With cars like the Corvette, is
>it just to satisfy the purists?

> There are overhead cam engines that are torquey, cheap to build and
> reliable.  Why build a 21st century passenger vehicle engine that uses
> pushrods?

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