USA vs. europe and big HP twin cams

[Dwight Varnes <xmxbreed@domain.elided>]

Ed is right about a few things (no really!).

1)  Fiat owners are notoriously cheap. It's apparent to anyone who has
spent much time behind a parts counter that most Fiats are second or
third cars that see only occasional use, and the daily driver is
probably an Acura or a minivan (or God save us, a Lincoln Navigator).
You know, the kinds of cars on a lease program that get turned back in
before anything breaks. I think if folks weren't so spoiled with modern
reliable cars and actually had to buy a Honda water pump they'd have an
unpleasant awakening about the costs of things.

Please, no whining about how you like to get good value for your dollar.
I do too, and shop around for most purchases. Have never bought a thing
from Caribou, mostly because I have my own stash of used stuff or I buy
from someone geographically closer. But I also don't obsess on saving
ten bucks trying to get a NAPA thermostat into a spider in-line
thermostat housing. I pay the $35 or whatever and get the thing fixed
with a part that works. If I can save five bucks buying the SAME thing
from someone else, I probably will. But my time is too valuable to waste
trying to save a buck at every turn. 

I await the flame-fest.

As for the performance stuff, it is far too easy to spend $2000 on an
engine for your Fiat that will still not give you a 5.0 Mustang 0-60
time. Spend that same amount of money on the Mustang, and you'll really
be shaving some time off that run. It's a simple American thing that V8s
are the preferred way to go fast, and everything is readily available.
The few of us that care to do it to Fiats are a miniscule minority, and
the marketplace reflects this. In europe, all the cars are powered by
smaller engines, so building a Fiat isn't considered much stranger than
doing up a Ford Escort.

If you really want to hear complaining, ask me about speed parts for
Audi 5 cylinders.  :)

Dwight Varnes
1970 124 Spider (restored with many parts cars, and expensive parts from
Bayless)
1986 Audi Coupe GT (oooh, 110hp from 2.2 liters, better hold on)