Next, I'm a musclecar person. I don't like Hondas or front-wheel drive except the old Toronados and those in the '30s. Four cylinders don't do much for me since they seem to be lacking the other half of the engine. In the Sept. 03 issue, you have the last page of "Import Killer Part 2." On the facing page there is an ad for the Pontiac Sunfire, a 2.2 four-cylinder making over 1,000 hp. Yes a four-cylinder. It also shares over 50 percent of the stock Ecotec engine parts the ad says. Wow-that's just a tad more than your big-block Chevy makes with fewer cubes. I wonder if it's possible to put two of those four cylinders side-by-side and make a V-8 that would have 2,000 hp on less cubes than that Chevy. It seems I've heard of the Cavalier doing the same thing.
John Brooks
via e-mail
Finally, someone with taste is picking the women. The model on the cover of your Sept. '03 issue is by far the hottest babe you've had grace your magazine, and the Chevelle is a nice piece of work too!
Andy McMullen
Redding, CA
I've enjoyed your magazine since 1964. Even with the ongoing slant to certain brands, the information provided over the year is second to none.
No one enjoys the beauty of a pretty girl more than me, but that overblown cow on the cover of your latest issue is overkill. Don't stoop to the levels of other car mags by using girls to get attention.
Paul Boyd
Wyandotte, MI
Top 10 Signs You're a Gearhead With a Project
10. There's a container of Gojo in your bathtub.
9. You wake up earlier on Saturdays than on workdays.
8. You can't remember your wife's birthday, but at the slightest prompting you will recite your car's bore, stroke, displacement, cam specs, valve specs, rocker ratio, bearing clearances, rod length, journal diameters, bolt-torque specs, carb jetting, ignition advance, plug gaps, redline, shift points, compression ratio, flow numbers, axle and transmission gear ratios, dragstrip times
7. You pack your spare toolset for a trip to Barbados, and a carb to rebuild on the plane.
6. You lie awake at night thinking of car parts.
5. A jury found you innocent by reason of insanity when you were stopped for doing 120 mph. Upon encountering a clear, straight stretch of desert highway, you were unable to tell right from wrong.
4. You wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat screaming, "Die, Honda!"
3. You fire up an engine you built for the first time and you get aroused.
2. You and your cam break-in sessions are the topic of heated discussion at local Block Association meetings.
1. You find a Dear John letter from your wife on Monday morning-dated Friday.
J. Caballero
Jersey City, NJ
I have been reading Car Craft since 1985 and held a subscription since 1998. Since I have held my subscription, David Freiburger and Matt King have built Car Craft into the best magazine out there for real hot rodders. When I started reading Car Craft in 1998, I was excited to find a magazine that catered to all makes and models. If they did an engine buildup between Ford, GM, and Mopar and the Mopar came out on top, they printed it that way. They didn't slip on a single-plane intake and rev the GM a little higher or make excuses as to why the Mopar won, they just printed it. I believe what Car Craft says about an aftermarket part, engine combination, or new car. A few years ago when they tested a bunch of new performance cars, Car Craft said that the Cobra was slower than the others (lousy low-end torque) but had good ergonomics. I believe they even compared it to a four-cylinder car at low rpm. The truth hurts, but Car Craft was vindicated later when the news of the '99 Cobra debacle came out. When GM canned the Camaro, Car Craft blamed the poor quality and user friendliness. They told the truth. When Car Craft pointed out that the Monaro (GTO) looked a lot like a new Mustang, they told the truth.