RE: Too fast...
>Um, actually, NASCAR cars have restrictor plates. And they
>are all engineered to be equal, but you're right on the
>crappy driving and spectating part!
Exactly, the cars are engineered to be equal, not faster than the other cars. The restrictor plates are, however, only used on really fast tracks so fewer drivers wind up dead because they always bump into each other. Ever watch them race on a road course?
>Me, I want the best of both worlds, high horsepower and
>world class drivers. Gotta be low tech though, its annoying
>when a car can't finish the rally because a software problem
>in the transmission... Judging by your choice in vehicle
>you'd agree with me.

Hey, mine's even more high tech!
Unfortunately, it is a lot easier to make a faster car than it is to make a faster driver. Naturally, modifying the car becomes the most apealing method to get quick quick, and the driver becomes secondary.
Technology caps should be up to the manufacturers. After all, the only reason they sponsor rallies and drivers is to sell a product. Why should we reduce ProRally's appeal to them by making rules for their arena which they might not like, but have little ill effect on the average joe rally driver? The manufacturers can help us, SCCA's members, a lot; let's not spoil it.
For now, I'd say that the sport is growing too fast, so let's kill two birds with one stone and limit all cars to 200 hp (maybe even less) for a few years. That way drivers will have to keep their speed up in the turns so we might get at least a few good drivers, and until we figure out how to control them, we won't get so many spectators because the cars are boring.
BTW: My car will soon have an engine and induction system which are a mere 30 years old, with a little help from MadMike et al. I'm also working on a state of the art driver module for it, so watch out!
Will MacDonald
1968 Volvo 144