Will this be a good decade for car enthusiasts? (huge list of cars)

[RaceR]

So, we all miss the Good Ol' 90s!
But lets face it, we live in the year 2012 now. Lets look at the cars we now have! We can still live in the moment, enjoy the stuff we have and still cherish the cars from the past.

I managed to find more than 50+ driver cars that we already have or look forward to in this decade!

I excluded many heavy, expensive and not that driver focused cars. No supercars. Some expensive and heavy cars slipped into the list tough.. :p

I have probably forgotten about many cars, but please come with suggestions you think should be on the list even tough it may not be available in all countries.


RWD
Toyota GT86/FR-S
Subaru BRZ
Mazda MX-5 (NC)
Mazda RX-8 (EOL 2010-2012?, depending on market)
Hyundai Genesis Coupe
Nissan 370Z
Lotus Elise
Lotus Exige
Lotus Evora
Caterham Roadsport (Superlight etc)
Morgan 3 wheeler)
Morgan (plus 8, 4/4 etc..)
Tesla Roadster (pretty expensive, electric vehicle)
Porsche Boxster
Porsche Cayman
BMW Z4
BMW 1-series (1-series M Coupe, M135I etc)
BMW 3-series (M3, etc)
Mercedes Benz SLK
Mercedes Benz C63 AMG
Ford Mustang
Chevrolet Camaro


AWD
Subaru Impreza WRX (STI)
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X
Nissan Skyline GTR (kinda more like a fat supercar in terms of price and weight)
Audi TT RS Coupe/Roadster
Audi A1 Quattro (limited production, and its Haldex AWD :p)
Audi RS 3
Audi RS 4


FWD
Honda Civic SI
Honda Civic Type-R (EOL 2010, new car in 2015)
Mazda 3 MPS
Ford Fiesta ST (arriving in 2013)
Ford Focus ST
Chevrolet Sonic
Dodge Dart (SRT4)
VW Golf GTI/R etc..
VW Scirocco R
VW Polo GTI
Mini Cooper S (/Works)
Peugeot RCZ
Peugeot 207 GTI (EOL 2012?)
Peugeot 208 GTI (arriving in 2013? «The 205 GTI reincarnation»)
Vauxhall /Opel Corsa OPC Nürburgring Edition
Vauxhall/Opel Astra VXR
Citroen DS3 (/Racing)
Renault Megane (RS Trophy,265 etc)
Hyundai Veloster Turbo
Honda CR-Z (not really a fast FWD, but closest thing Honda came to a modern CRX)
Suzuki Swift Sport (not really fast, but cheap and a kinda cool hot hatch )
Volvo C30 T5 R-design
Scion tC
Nissan Altima


Possible upcoming cars this decade:
NEW Mazda MX-5 (collaboration with Fiat)
Fiat Spyder (collaboration with Mazda)
Toyota cheap sportscar (MR2?, Celica?)
Toyota performance sportscar (Supra?, collaboration with BMW?)
Alfa Romeo 4C
New Nissan 240Z/370Z ???
Honda NSX (yeah I know, supercar)
BMW 2 series (several variations, Coupe, Grand coupe, M2)
Mazda RX-7?

[RaceR]

I think it will be a pretty good decade! Even tough many cars have become a bit more fat, round in terms of body styling and not that communicative in steering.

But what is up with all those FF hatches?
It is just a bit too much. And all of them are about the same size..
Seems like the Renault Megane RS Trophy is the Modern Civic Type R. Small, but takes on cars that are RWD and much more expensive.
Honda says 2015 Civic Type R should be faster tough.. So we are probably looking at 250+ HP FF cars.

Honda should focus on some cheap RWD instead. Or both!

Nice to see Toyota coming with the 86 and maybe future sports cars..

[einzlr]

Great thread! (saw your mention in the Toyota successor car thread)

To the RWD list, since you've included other cars which no longer are in production, I'd like to submit as an addition the E36/8 M Coupe (aka Z3 M Coupe).

Originally Posted by RaceR

Honda says 2015 Civic Type R should be faster tough.. So we are probably looking at 250+ HP FF cars.

Honda should focus on some cheap RWD instead. Or both!

Second that! Personally I am no fan of high-powered FWD cars; torque steer ftl and just in general the whole point of FWD is to create econoboxes which do for sure have their place, just don't try to mix that with performance. Anything above 150-ish bhp should be RWD. But that's just me Lots of people out their love their Mini S's and their tuned GTI's, and they should

[RaceR]

Originally Posted by einzlr

Great thread! (saw your mention in the Toyota successor car thread)

To the RWD list, since you've included other cars which no longer are in production, I'd like to submit as an addition the E36/8 M Coupe (aka Z3 M Coupe).

Thanks! Yeah, tought this was a more suitable place for some of that discussion..

Id like to keep the list to production cars in this decade.
Some cars one the list are not on sale in the US (anymore), and some have been taken out of the EU some time ago.. But all cars should be 2010- some place....

[ichitaka05]

Hey RaceR

It's not "Boxter", it's "Boxster"

[RaceR]

Originally Posted by ichitaka05

Hey RaceR

It's not "Boxter", it's "Boxster"

Whoops.. Just spelling.. :p

Would like to see some RWD hatch style car in this decade btw. Like the Z3 and Z4 Coupe cars. Or a more sporty version of the 1-series..
Or just the gorgeous model 86 hatcback ichitaka05 made...

When hot hatces can become unpractical.
RWD sports cars should also be more practical... Id like to see that!

[einzlr]

Originally Posted by RaceR

Thanks! Yeah, tought this was a more suitable place for some of that discussion..

Id like to keep the list to production cars in this decade.
Some cars one the list are not on sale in the US (anymore), and some have been taken out of the EU some time ago.. But all cars should be 2010- some place....

ok gotcha. But I still maintain that someone - doesn't have to be BMW - needs to make a worthy follow-on to the E36/8 M

Originally Posted by ichitaka05

Hey RaceR

It's not "Boxter", it's "Boxster"

And here I went out of my way to not bug him about that

[RaceR]

I have no Idea how the Scion tC and the Nissan Altima rides but added them to the list..
Those cars are not in the EU as far as I know..

[einzlr]

Originally Posted by RaceR

I have no Idea how the Scion tC and the Nissan Altima rides but added them to the list..
Those cars are not in the EU as far as I know..

I have heard the tC being described as a good car for young drivers because it is very "forgiving", which I interpret to mean not very big-grin inducing. Altima no idea either; closest I've come to that was a Sentra loaner which was about the most tedious car I've ever driven.

[RaceR]

LOL...
Forgiving is usually just the nice way to say it understeers..
Very forgiving.. Cant be good... :p

[einzlr]

Ya know what I'd also love to see? A really cool electric car. I love the instant torque and I love the idea of gliding along (near) silently at speed. The Tesla Roadster was a good start, but I want to see better range, less weight, price at an affordable order of magnitude. And of course a complete recharging/battery-swapping infrastructure. Should be easy, right?

[RaceR]

Easy peasy!

If I did not have the need for a more practical car than a 2 seater roadster I would consider the Tesla Roadster.
But I sold my MR-S for practicality (need of lugge compartment) and reliability.

Hmm.. Tesla Model S will just cost a little more than the 86 in Norway. Extreme taxes on the 86, ZERO tax on electrical cars (at the moment). That makes a low spec Tesla S cost the same as the GT86.

I think this decade will be most know for introducing alternative engines and hybrid solutions. Next decade might start to be the end of the normal combustion engine.. who knows..?
In 2030 we will be looking back at this decade.. Good times.. GT86, high reeving NA petrol.. Full control over stability systems... etc..

[dem00n]

I think were in the golden age of cars. Some might disagree but we have such a wide choice of cars. Even the choice of the cars of the old.

[TuxedoCartman]

Originally Posted by RaceR

Easy peasy!

If I did not have the need for a more practical car than a 2 seater roadster I would consider the Tesla Roadster.
But I sold my MR-S for practicality (need of lugge compartment) and reliability.

Hmm.. Tesla Model S will just cost a little more than the 86 in Norway. Extreme taxes on the 86, ZERO tax on electrical cars (at the moment). That makes a low spec Tesla S cost the same as the GT86.

I think this decade will be most know for introducing alternative engines and hybrid solutions. Next decade might start to be the end of the normal combustion engine.. who knows..?
In 2030 we will be looking back at this decade.. Good times.. GT86, high reeving NA petrol.. Full control over stability systems... etc..

Not to mention we're coming to the end of manual transmissions as we've known them. Modern automatic slushboxes are just as fast (if not faster) than manual transmissions, and are now getting better fuel economy. And for the die-hard performance enthusiasts (the last holdout of support for manuals in America), double-clutch flappy-paddle gearboxes are faster still, and getting cheaper and more common all the time.

Mark my words: by the 2020 model year, there won't be but maybe one or two cars still in production with a third pedal, and even those probably wont be on sale in America.