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BMW vs Corvette?
Sorry folks. can't resist.
About 20 years ago I owned several Jaguars including an 1959 XK150 which
was perfectly stock except for the engine which had the "C" type head in
"street" tune. While driving back from Provo to Salt Lake City, Utah on
the freeeway in my old Jag a 'Vette of early '70s vintage -- a 454, if I
remember correctly -- roared past me.
I wanted to see if I could catch the Vette (I knew the owner) so I flipped
off the O.D. and went after it. I caught it two times and it easily pulled
away -- but the third time I passed it and it slowly disappeared in my
rear-view mirror. The tach in the Jag was right at red in 4th/over -- so
it was flat out.
The following monday I saw the owner of the Vette who asked me "What in the
hell do you have in that thing?"
To which I replied "Just an old Jag six."
"Damn," he said, "I was doing 150 when you passed me."
"Damn," I replied, "I was only going 135."
" ... the race is not to the swift, and the battle is not to the warriors,
and neither is bread to the wise, nor wealth to the discerning, nor favor
to men of ability; for time and chance overtake them all." -- Ecclesiastes
9:11
If the car with the best "specs" always won the race then it would be
pointless for anyone else to close the door and buckle the harness. Which
reminds me of a Fiat Abarth Zagato I once owned ... but that's another
story.
Regards,
Bob Atwood
ratwood@domain.elided