Mr. Rydabent ... I have joked about your choice of rides repeatedly, and have also expressed respect for them and for your continuing to ride at age ... 82, is it now?
I have also said that I would love a tadpole trike but there aren't enough dedicated paths where I live and they seem too dangerous in traffic.
I have not seen anyone else seriously put down recumbents.
I have seen a lot fo people mock you for your misguided opinions and for reposting the same threads every several months, and for your habit of demeaning everybody who isn't just like you (and no one is) while at the same time imagingi9ng that you are being persecuted.
I am sorry that you think only what you have experienced is real vis-a-vis cars. if you knew anything about automotive history you would know that four-cylinder engines have been used in cars for about 125 years.
Modern motors are built to such tight tolerances that they are vastly more efficient than your imaginarily excellent V8s. Not all of us are in our twenties here ... lots of us remember they days when an engine with 100 K miles needed a complete rebuild, whereas now most engines (including those 4-cyliners you hate) will last at least twice that long. I guess piston travel isn't that big a deal, eh?
On top of that a lot of us have owned a lot of cars through the years and have experience with both front-, rear-, and AWD ... and know that what you say is bunk. FWD cars don't tear up tires and brakes especially more quickly than any other cars ... in fact, wear is more a function of how one drives the car rather than the car design.
By the way, the first car I owned was a Ford Capri ... the first gen model. Two-liter four cylinder engine, RWD ... a Ton of fun. That was in 1972 .... after years of driving RWD V8-powered cars (often with two or three times the power) driving something light, nimble, and quick, with a four-speed manual, was a huge improvement over the Detroit-built boats I was used to. (Not that they weren't fun ... just sloppy.) However my 2004 Honda Civic with a 1.7-liter I4 is Vastly more powerful and every bit as fun---FWD, please note---because it does Everything better than that old Capri ... tech has come a Long way.
My point here (if I have one) is that THIS is exactly why you get flack. You say a bunch of stuff which is patently Not based on reality, act as though you are the Keeper of the Eternal Truth, and demean everybody who points out that you have few to no facts in your diatribes.
No one minds or even much cares if you like recumbents, trikes, late-60s muscle cars, or whatever ... a lot of the rest of us do, too. What people object to is that you claim that everything everyone else likes is wrong, and then pretend that everyone who feels insulted by your insults is attacking you.
Stick to facts, and you will fare better.
You are old enough to know better.
Anyway .... as for the original point .... in every sport records are set with contemporary equipment and no one cares. "Dead-ball" era homerun counts were low. Cars ... if you know so much about cars, do you think the Indy 500 should be run with two-seaters with a passenger, as the original races were run? Should the NHL ban improved sticks? Should the NFL ban modern helmets and pads, because the original players wore at most leather caps and cloth pads? In track and filed, should shoes be banned? Should pole-vault poles be turned from trees? Should swimmers have to wear cotton suits?
Further, there are different rules in different eras. Should all sports be required to play by the original rules? Should football be played on the original gridiron, with stripes going laterally as well, to define where the passer could throw?
WHY?
Anyway ... just as with most Flat-Earthers, whom I suspect only spew their stuff to wind up people who get sucked into debate, I assume you post all this atavistic stuff just to get a rise from whoever takes the bait ... so ... Well Done, Sir.