Just a rant

I think "overkill" applies to the person.

The only time I use it is when someone who's never driven a 300/400 horse street car, then starts talking about building a 600/700/800 horse street car. Especially when it comes to our kind of cars. With no traction control. No driving aids. Sometimes no power brakes or power steering. 400 horse can be a lot to the wrong person. Then these guys wanna build some 800 horse small block. With power that comes on like a freight train all of a sudden at 3k+ RPM. Breaking the tires loose as they go around the corner and they wrap it around a pole. Or worse.

I can't tell you how many guys I've seen drop tens of thousands on a car. Built this spectacular engine. Then never drive the thing or sell it, cause they can't afford the diapers/brown pants they need. Specifically this guy back in high school. Get's his grandma to buy him a 69 Nova. Get's it all done. Built 454. Turbo 400. 4 something rear gears. Caged. Buckets. The whole nine yards. Engine makes 650-700 horse or something. It was a great car. Done very well. Really a beast. He drove it all of twice that I ever saw. Including once where he did a full 360 in an intersection just trying to make a left turn and show off. If I recall he didn't own it a year after it was done. That's the definition of overkill in my book.

My car makes about 400, maybe 420. And trust me. It's more than enough to make some of my buddies **** their pants. Just the other night I finally took them for a "real" ride in it. Shifting myself. Actually doing more than 1/2 throttle. Throwing the back end out around corners/coming out of parking lots. Leaving the street light in 1st and mashing it, lighting it up through the entire intersection before up shifting and laying another patch right into 3rd. They loved it. But both of em said "This thing is ******* scary sometimes" at the end of the ride.

So, in short, overkill is subjective.