How would you define a MUSCLE CAR?

[fingers]

As far as I know, Chrysler Corp have right to the design of the HEMI engine and only allow certain other makes to use the design/concept (Daimler & Aston Martin I think) I was going write what I had heard and read about the Chrysler HEMI engine but this is easier and probably more accruate.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysler_Hemi_engine

Theres a bit about the Ford CVH unit too. T'was similar but not the same. Ford got away with this one by making it a overhead cam instead of a pushrod engine.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_CVH_engine

[HDi fun]

I think that's unlikely. It's virtually impossible to patent and copyright a concept, idea, word, or part thereof. You can trademake certain things, for example, HEMI in Chysler's case, which Chrysler may have done. But it's only a truncation of the word hemispherical.

It would be like Microsoft trying to acquire exclusive rights to use the word Windows (with a capital 'W').

CVH is an acronym for 'compact valve hemispherical'. This describes the combustion chamber design.

[waynne]

An interesting read Fingers. (I don't trust wiki that much, as a collaberative effort it gives a good overview, but there are some glaring inaccuracies at times!)

[HDi fun]

Wiki is a good read but as Waynne says, it's only a content delivery system. It's up to you to decide what you think is sacred, sacrosanct and silly.

[DaveyL]

Hemispherical combustion chambers, from what i've been told, is the ideal shape for a combustion chamber. Better than the dishes in most engines, but it makes the head large and heavy and, seeing as the diameter of the spere has to be the same as the diameter of the cylinder, you'd need big cylinders.

And, although I also don't like american engineering, I will say that american engines are reliable. Although you loose out on power and economy, most people in Europe wouldn't buy a car over 100,000 miles because the engine will be worn. Alot of american cars will run well into the 500,000 miles mark without any major issues. The engines are so understressed that they will run forever. I suppose thats their mentality.

Ohh, and for me, muscle cars have shoddy handling with lots of body roll, a V8+ engine, big fat tyres and be quick in a straight line, using power instead of finesse.

Dave