How Far We've Come

Perspective is everything. As road testers, we fight to maintain proper perspective of every vehicle we drive. Believe me, it's not easy to jump from a Ferrari 550 Maranello into a Daewoo Lanos and maintain perspective on just what the Korean econocar's mission in life truly is. The same goes for old cars. Our fantasies of fast classic sports machines like the '56 Corvette dual-four-barrel V-8 and two-seat Thunderbird are actually quite out of whack with their real-world performance. Sure they still look stunning, but drive one today and its acceleration will leave you scratching your head wondering what all the fuss was about. In fact, Mom's new Honda minivan can blow the doors off most of the big-name legends of the '50s.

A lot has happened in automotive engineering in the past 40 years. Not the least of which is engine development. Thank powertrain management computers for giving us small-displacement/high-output V-6s that make more horsepower than did many of yesteryear's manly multi-carbed V-8s. And remember that today's output is calculated in "net" horsepower (as measured on a production-spec engine, replete with air cleaner and accessories) not the highly inflated "gross" horsepower numbers (usually obtained with a hand-built "optimized" engine devoid of generator, cooling fan, etc.) touted by advertisements of the '50s.

Thus explains the potency of today's cars versus their legendary progenitors. That, and the fact American manufacturers exaggerated a lot back then.