re:pushrods

["Gowin, Lawrence" <Lawrence.Gowin@domain.elided>]

"60 bhp/litre.  Almost matches my USA-spec GTV6 from OVER TWENTY YEARS AGO.  I
can't imagine paying that sort of money for such a pathetic engine in terms of
specific output.  Any jackass can build a 5.7L engine to make a given amount
of power, cars that cost $50k should be able to do so much more elegantly."

Ask the owner of a new Corvette if they would be willing to pay $40k for a
230bhp Alfa Romeo.

Don't get too hung up on bhp/liter figures.  The Corvette's motor is designed
for torque.  American V8s are tuned for low rpm grunt, not bhp at 6000+ revs.
It's too easy to be an armchair engineer, and I would never liken the
powerplant engineers at GM to jackasses.  You don't know their specific design
objectives or what limits they had to stay within.  If you're going to sling
mud at GM, throw it at the marketing people not the engineers.  But before you
decide that they're a bunch of buffoons, think about what a successful product
the Corvette is for the company.

The Corvette isn't a GTV6 and the GTV6 isn't a Corvette.  As a general rule,
GM designs cars for one driving style and Alfa designs cars for another.

Cheers,
Lawrence
'71 GTV
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