Quote:
Originally Posted by Kunzite
Then, you must believe many here (me included) are idiots, because we like a "pretty idiot" car. Very nice of you.
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Not at all.
I loved my 2000 Celica GT-S (marketed, appropriately enough as "looks fast"), and it too was a beautiful, sporty, good handling and braking car.
And one in good repair would rival the much newer FR-S/BRZ in every regard, except which wheels are turning.
That's my complaint.
The FR-S is what the last gen Celica should have been TWELVE YEARS AGO.
The last gen Celica, like the FR-S/BRZ, was a "pretty idiot" of a car. It would have been brilliant had it been built at the same time the last gen Integra was first released instead of during its last model year.
Then the RSX came out, and showed what a pretty fool the Celica was.
Timing is everything, and performance metrics matter.
Would I want a numb turd of a car that cannot handle, brake, or get out of its own way -- no.
But while having 2 out of those 3 features ain't bad for under 20K, it's disappointing at 25+K, especially when for around 5K more, you can own cars that will absolutely destroy it out of the box.
I love the FR-S/BRZ. But I want it to be more. I want Toyota to offer more. I want Toyota to build a car that rivals cars 1.5 to 2x the price in all three of the attributes I noted.
They didn't do that so I am bummed. I'd be shopping for one right now if they had, or if they had at least made factory options to take it there.
And I predict that unless they really turn up the wick on the next gen, you will start to see many other similar competitors (e.g., "baby" Camaro) that will demolish it.
Toyota set the bar too low and the price too high. The car is an amazing success only viewed through a time machine's porthole, with the "way back" dial set to circa 1999. For the 21st century, it's a step in the right direction, but only a single step.