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"So," I said after I'd had enough, "you've ruined it".

He was genuinely taken aback. I believe there's a sense over there that car makers are pretty incompetent. And that if GM, Chrysler and Ford can't make a car properly, then what chance do those funny little trolls in Europe have? Never mind the l'il yella fellas from under the rising sun.

I tried to explain to our American friend that the Exige was put on sale after much development work and that if a two-degree shift in rear camber would make it handle better, then he could be assured that it'd be sold that way in the first place.

But he was having none of it, launching instead into a long list of things he'd done to make the Toyota engine run cleaner and better than Tojo had managed. If you want to know what these measures are, he'll almost certainly still be there. It's the only garage in Baker. You can't miss it.

Anyway, the thing is that, thanks to the new found fondness for modding and pimping, and the more aggressive driving style, there are a great many modded and pimped cars on the market. Most of which seem to be based on the new Ford Mustang.

That's no bad thing. With its see-saw damping and damp dishcloth V8, the standard product is like one of those 'girls next door' you see featured in FHM. You sense that with a bit of lighting here and a bit of eye shadow there, you could turn the pasty-faced teenager from Pontefract into the next Claudia Schiffer. Shelby's given it a bash with mixed results.

There's lots of power - 475bhp - but the handling, steering and brakes remain untouched. Which means you're paying extra, simply to have a bigger accident. Roush is different. Roush currently fields, I think, five of 43 Winston Cup Nascar racers, which makes the company a bit like Ferrari, McLaren and half of Williams rolled into one.

Roush is also responsible for the alarm/tracker on my GT, so that's not so good. But I don't allow personal issues to cloud my judgement. Actually, I do allow personal issues to cloud my judgement - it's why I punched Piers Morgan - but on this occasion, I'm going to play it straight and say, straight out, the Stage III Roush Mustang is a delightful way of going fast for not much money.