One post says he don't like the new Corvettes and down just a bit he thinks "I am not too impressed with the technical aspects of a pushrod
7 liter with a supercharger for the new ZR1 (no variable valve timing and only 2 valves per cylinder). Pure crudeness at $100,000 per."As shown above he thinks the cutoff point was 1971 when half the gasoline went through the engine just to keep the valves from burning. Today's Corvette sips gasoline past some pretty sophisticated metallurgy in the valve train and gets 2 to 3 times the mileage the
1971 was getting. Of course that's not the only thing that is weaning the gas guzzlers of yesteryear, there in better breathing, materials, computers, bearings, less drag, manufacturing technique, and lubricants just to name a few advances.Of course if you want engineering there is the VW Touareg 2, it salutes you with an impressive light show as the range adjusting dynamic headlights calibrate themselves. Cosmetically, the 2008 Volkswagen Touareg 2 is more of a nose-tipping than a full face-lift. The exterior changes include the new-look grille (chrome for the V6 model and matte chrome for the V8 and the V10 diesel) that clarifies the family resemblance to the rest of the VW line. Engineering at its best.
You'll recognize this 40-valve 4,172cc V8 after its introduction to the Touareg lineup last year, and its rating of 350 horsepower and 324 pound-feet of torque remains the same. But the new application of direct fuel injection makes it possible to achieve peak power at 6,700 rpm, 100 rpm lower than before. The 2008 Volkswagen Touareg V8 costs $55,750, is the Touareg 2 now the sport-utility version of the VW Phaeton, a luxury sedan that never found its audience?
The Touareg 2 reaches 60 mph in 7.7 seconds in Sport mode, and the quarter-mile in 15.7 seconds at 90.2 mph. For an SUV that weighs
5,240 pounds that not to bad, although you pay the price with fuel economy(?) of 13.1 mpg.I must digress though, it sure is nice to get in the '64 and not have to worry about it taking over the world if all of the computers decide to turn on us. ;-))
Screw the wave, get up on that wheel and hit the gas........................................