OK, wiseass, so you need some space to vent. Here it is. Direct letters to the editor to sccnews@sourceinterlink.com and we'll do our best to come up with a snide response. Or completely ignore you. But hey, at least you've got a voice.
Free Stuff!
There turned out to be more entries than we had originally anticipated but the USCC is over (for now), the letters have been checked, and one reader has been selected as the winner. Ryan Bosking of Houston, Texas was the first entrant this year to correctly pick the AMS Evo X as the 2008 USCC champ. As laid out in the November and December 2008 issues, he'll be taking home a G-Tech Pro EGS gauge system, Password:JDM EG/EK carbon air intake, Cobb Tuning WRX springs, and a PowerBass USA 10-inch subwoofer. To follow in Ryan's footsteps, send us your feedback to sccnews@sourceinterlink.com, or to Sport Compact Car - Inbox, 2400 E. Katella Ave. - 11th Floor, Anaheim, CA, 92806.
Ultimate Green Car Challenge
As always, the two issues covering the USCC are my favorite each year. While I already understood the scoring, the graph provided this year made it even easier to understand and calculate scores.
Then I got to thinking about the future, specifically how you would score cars that do not run on fossil fuels in the fuel economy category. Say, in three years, you select someone with a Chevy Volt, a Honda FCX Clarity, or Telsa Roadster to be in the challenge. All three of those cars can run without using any gas. This would put their fuel economy at infinity and make the line on the graph a horizontal line (slope of 0). Then the issue is how to award points. One option could be to award the alternate fuel car 110 points and all others 10, but that wouldn't be 100% fair to the other cars. Granted, we are still years away from performance oriented alternate fueled cars, but it is better to think of a solution now than be hit with a surprise and have to come up with a quick solution that may not be the best.
Mark Waterman
Plainfield, IL
[We're all about being green and would love to see an alternative fuel vehicle tear through the drag strip in 11-seconds or less. We'd even take a fire-breathing hybrid entry. But the reality is that we're performance first and green cars in the US have yet to reach truly sporty levels. Once they do, we'll brainstorm about how to best re-structure the Fuel Economy test of the USCC. But until then, that's our story and we're sticking to it. - JL]
Junk In The Trunk
What would it take to put a 2JZ-GTE or a 1JZ-GTE in the back of a 1st-gen MR2? That car had an optional six cylinder so it should fit. Could an adapter plate be made to use the stronger 2nd-gen MR2 transmission? I'm thinking that that big motor in the back would keep the rear tires planted with all that power.
Nathan Kalaskie
Springfield, IL
[The first-gen MR2 was never produced with a six-cylinder option, just a naturally aspirated four and a supercharged four. Many have successfully swapped V6 engines into their MR2s though, with a little bit of work and not a lot of cash. A turbocharged straight-six engine is a whole other project altogether. The 2JZ and 1JZ engines won't fit into the back of the MR2 either longitudinally or transversely and you'd have to cut out large portions of the chassis in order to fit one if you were so dedicated. Our suggestion is to find an engine that doesn't cost more than the chassis, such as an old Camry or Lexus V6, and go from there. That 2nd-gen MR2 transmission you're eyeing will even bolt up to the Camry V6. - JL]
We Like Ace Combat
Thank you for a great November issue. The "Rumble Strips" section was one of my favorite articles ever. It was eye opening to see the various career paths of several successful drivers. The way they handled opportunities and downfalls on the way to greatness spoke volumes; not only about the determined character of successful drivers, but also successful people. It helped put my own life into perspective.