Just to stoke the fires of "Car Chat" - which seems to have been stuck in boring econo-box mode for a couple days...
Hitech vs Lotech - DOHC vs Pushrod etc etc.. (Turbo vs NA or any other situation where one can show a progression in performance while reducing complexity)
And this is more than just a simple poll - lets get all passionate and discuss stuff
10 Years Ago: Then Versus Now
We've done this before; a little more than a decade ago, in fact, in our Feb. '92 issue. In the ensuing decade, the joint horsepower number for this pair has gone from 775 to 905. The Viper's 0-60-mph time has come down by seven-tenths of a second, but the amazing story is that of today's Z06 versus the $65,000-plus Corvette ZR-1 of '92. The Mercury Marine-built DOHC V-8 hauled the C4-based ZR-1 to 60 in 4.9 sec. Yet today's "less sophisticated" overhead-valve small-block LS6 gets the job done three-tenths of a second quicker--in a better-handling C5 that costs $15,000 less (in today's dollars). The '92 pair cost just over $120,000, with today's duo running about $130,000. Adjust for inflation, and America's two true sports cars have gotten both faster and cheaper. Now, that's progress.
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So - in summary - if something gets quicket while going down in price and losing complexity -
That my friends is the TRUE measure of progress
Let's warm up the flame throwers and put your best examples of why hitech is better than lotech ---- or vice versa...