At 09:36 AM 9/24/99 , Don Miller wrote:
>Almost every hobby costs something and depending on
>how fanatical you are, you will save to by the items
>you want. If I could afford to buy better parts, I
>would. But just because my racing budget is $500 for
>the year doesn't mean the next guy in he pits has the
>same budget.
I agree with Don....
Note that the difference between a $500/yr budget and
a $2000/yr budget is a _lot_ more than the difference
between a $50,000 and a $200,000 car. The biggest
gains come from the first dollars spent, after that
the gain/$ declines rapidly.
Most of the real expensive cars are real expensive
because they are pretty, exclusive, luxury, loaded
with gadgetry, etc.; not because they perform way
better. Further, many expensive performance cars
are expensive because they have a giant engine designed
to accelerate well from 100-150mph -- and are actually
dogs at autox.
My point? We cannot reasonably limit the price tag of
cars... it would be silly to tell me I need to remove
the Nav System, upgrade stereo, ridiculously overpriced
decorative aerokit, overpriced leather, and upgrade paint
from my expensive 911 or Ferrari because it took me over
the price limit. It would be silly to tell the
Lamborghini's that they can't play when in fact they
aren't particularly competitive.
And there is no way to base a rule upon the price of the
performance parts alone.
If a part is "unrestricted" in the rules, then I should
be able to use titanium, carbon fiber polymer, gold, or
platinum -- assuming I am willing to spend the money.
Of course, most of us would not consider the performance
or looks advantages worth the cost, but I don't see how
we can prevent someone from playing who is willing to
spend the money.
Brian
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