Performance Cars - Are we going too far?

[wbradley]

Originally Posted by drewbot

You can hit the track for much less than $600 in Southern Ontario!

A lot of track day events require to get a certificate which is often in that price range.

I am probably a little more knowledgeable that the average Joe off the street so I'd rather just do open track days.

[bcj]

Boils down to bench racing at the pub.
Avoid.

[Cole]

I absolutely love when people bitch and moan about cars that they will never or could ever own. Like Lamborghini, Ferrari, McLaren, Porsche, Mercedes, etc even give a fuck what you have to say if you can't pony up the cash to buy the cars that they're making.

If a self driving car is what it takes for me to be able to set my cruise at a reasonable speed, not hit stop and go during my commute and not have to worry about the fucking lady beside me who is spending more time with her eyes and both hands on her phone is thinking, I'm all for the self driving car.

Edit: Also, what the fuck are you doing on the street that lets you even max out the twins performance capabilities? Sounds pretty illegal to me.

[Mr.Impreza]

Originally Posted by mixtape

I owned an automatic Honda Fit for eight years (it was my first car and I had it through high school and college). I made the switch to my BRZ because of aftermarket availability, overall appearance, and, of course, its performance out of the box. I have no track or performance-driving experience and I want this car to help me transition into that world. Going to a brand new, manual BRZ from an automatic eco-car with 109hp at the crank is a life-changing step and I absolutely love my car for this reason. I feel like I'm driving it and I hope that manufacturers do not completely abandon this crucial aspect in the coming decades.

Oh this brings memories. I remember that feeling when i bought my stock 02 wrx with 227hp. I was driving a 99 Nissan Quest van at that time and when i bought the Subaru i felt like i stepped into a rocket ship haha.

By the way, Honda Fit is like my dream daily car! I really want one, i love the way you had yours done up! Looked awesome! I live in a congested city, so small cars that are amazing on gas and easy to maneuver just make a lot of sense here. Plus i just love Kei cars, which are not available so the next best thing is sub-compact

[mixtape]

Originally Posted by Mr.Impreza

Oh this brings memories. I remember that feeling when i bought my stock 02 wrx with 227hp. I was driving a 99 Nissan Quest van at that time and when i bought the Subaru i felt like i stepped into a rocket ship haha.

By the way, Honda Fit is like my dream daily car! I really want one, i love the way you had yours done up! Looked awesome! I live in a congested city, so small cars that are amazing on gas and easy to maneuver just make a lot of sense here. Plus i just love Kei cars, which are not available so the next best thing is sub-compact

Thank you, that means a lot! I loved that Fit to death but it was time for a change.

[strat61caster]

Not interested in 'performance cars' interested in what used to be called a sports car: affordable, lightweight, & fun. Horsepower is cheap, quality chassis and suspension isn't. Let BMW, Porsche, Mclaren & Ferrari play with their magazine reviewers and 0.1% buyers, idgaf, they're not getting my money. This isn't politics where I have to vote for the lesser of two evils, instead of bitching about how heavy and numb the M3/M4 is the enthusiast who actually cares about the things in the article will maintain his E30/E36, maybe go out and buy a Fiesta ST or Miata. Auto manufacturers make what gets them profit, the cars we care about simply aren't terribly profitable.

The 86 prompted a lot of hype, a lot of automakers saying to journo's "Oh maybe we'll do that too!" but it didn't outsell the mustang/camaro/challenger, and it was never going to. Mazda will keep doing what it does, other automakers may experiment to profit off of pent up demand (See Focus RS filling the gap the EVO/STI have left behind) but ultimately we keep putting our money where our mouths are.

Maybe we'll get a few S660's or SFR's, maybe Tesla's new Model 3 will deliver some Mazdaspeed3-like performance and practicality, maybe the Focus RS will outperform targets and will be a model that's here to stay, maybe Alfa Romeo delivers on the Giulia to cheers of praise and a large slice of market share. Those are the things I care about in the near future, let the armchair quarterbacks bitch about the GTR refresh or C7 overheating issues, idgaf, there's plenty of fun cars out there to tinker with and autocross and track and there will be for a very long time. It's always been that way and it's not going to change because now the M3 is 3,500 lbs instead of the 3,200 lbs it was 20 years ago.

[Cole]

Originally Posted by strat61caster

Not interested in 'performance cars' interested in what used to be called a sports car: affordable, lightweight, & fun. Horsepower is cheap, quality chassis and suspension isn't. Let BMW, Porsche, Mclaren & Ferrari play with their magazine reviewers and 0.1% buyers, idgaf, they're not getting my money. This isn't politics where I have to vote for the lesser of two evils, instead of bitching about how heavy and numb the M3/M4 is the enthusiast who actually cares about the things in the article will maintain his E30/E36, maybe go out and buy a Fiesta ST or Miata. Auto manufacturers make what gets them profit, the cars we care about simply aren't terribly profitable.

The 86 prompted a lot of hype, a lot of automakers saying to journo's "Oh maybe we'll do that too!" but it didn't outsell the mustang/camaro/challenger, and it was never going to. Mazda will keep doing what it does, other automakers may experiment to profit off of pent up demand (See Focus RS filling the gap the EVO/STI have left behind) but ultimately we keep putting our money where our mouths are.

Maybe we'll get a few S660's or SFR's, maybe Tesla's new Model 3 will deliver some Mazdaspeed3-like performance and practicality, maybe the Focus RS will outperform targets and will be a model that's here to stay, maybe Alfa Romeo delivers on the Giulia to cheers of praise and a large slice of market share. Those are the things I care about in the near future, let the armchair quarterbacks bitch about the GTR refresh or C7 overheating issues, idgaf, there's plenty of fun cars out there to tinker with and autocross and track and there will be for a very long time. It's always been that way and it's not going to change because now the M3 is 3,500 lbs instead of the 3,200 lbs it was 20 years ago.

Amen

[tennisfreak]

Originally Posted by MisterSheep

simple.. They don't. It's all about bragging rights

Only someone that has never had a high horsepower car would say this.

I used to be one of you.

This past 5 days on my road trip, in a rented vehicle, I had never wanted my horsepower back so badly.

Passing, acceleration, going up hills, shifting, etc...... are all everyday benefits you enjoy in a high powered car that do not require going to the track.

I know you are going to argue with me but I owned an FRS. It was great and could accomplish much of what my Vette can do, it just did not do it nearly as easily and effortlessly as the Vette.

Its highly enjoyable not having to shift out of 6th or 7th to pass someone or climb a hill.

Its nice to know that if a douchebag wants to try and cut me off 99% of the time he cannot do it.

So yeah I enjoy and use that 460hp everyday not going to the track.

Whats even more sad? My Vette gets 28-30 mpg on the highway (the same as my FRS just about, and I dont even use the ECO mode that does cylinder deactivation). Actually tested and verified that last month on a trip to Austin and back.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by tennisfreak

Only someone that has never had a high horsepower car would say this.

I used to be one of you.

This past 5 days on my road trip, in a rented vehicle, I had never wanted my horsepower back so badly.

Passing, acceleration, going up hills, shifting, etc...... are all everyday benefits you enjoy in a high powered car that do not require going to the track.

I know you are going to argue with me but I owned an FRS. It was great and could accomplish much of what my Vette can do, it just did not do it nearly as easily and effortlessly as the Vette.

Its highly enjoyable not having to shift out of 6th or 7th to pass someone or climb a hill.

Its nice to know that if a douchebag wants to try and cut me off 99% of the time he cannot do it.

So yeah I enjoy and use that 460hp everyday not going to the track.

Whats even more sad? My Vette gets 28-30 mpg on the highway (the same as my FRS just about, and I dont even use the ECO mode that does cylinder deactivation). Actually tested and verified that last month on a trip to Austin and back.

So the benefits consist of not having to downshift and being able to prevent people from merging in front of you? I try to pull in front of somebody and they speed up to close the gap I know who the real douche is.
I could not possibly make proper use out of 460hp in my day to day driving about 99.98% of the time.
I know you are not a jerk (or weren't) but it was established a long time ago that not everybody on the road wants or needs high HP to have fun with their car.

[tennisfreak]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

So the benefits consist of not having to downshift and being able to prevent people from merging in front of you? I try to pull in front of somebody and they speed up to close the gap I know who the real douche is.
I could not possibly make proper use out of 460hp in my day to day driving about 99.98% of the time.
I know you are not a jerk (or weren't) but it was established a long time ago that not everybody on the road wants or needs high HP to have fun with their car.

I'm not saying you need to have high horsepower to have fun, I know you dont as I had fun in my FR-S.

But my point is to the OP posing the question are we going to far.

Just because you (or another person) does not want/need the high horsepower does not mean its going to far or useless.

Different strokes for different folks.

As for the "merge" its easy to generalize my statement and think that trying to keep people from merging is being an asshole but I can tell you there are hundreds of scenarios that does not apply to.

There are quite a few times where the asshole is the person "gunning" it trying to force their way into your lane when they should not be.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by tennisfreak

I'm not saying you need to have high horsepower to have fun, I know you dont as I had fun in my FR-S.

But my point is to the OP posing the question are we going to far.

Just because you (or another person) does not want/need the high horsepower does not mean its going to far or useless.

Different strokes for different folks.

As for the "merge" its easy to generalize my statement and think that trying to keep people from merging is being an asshole but I can tell you there are hundreds of scenarios that does not apply to.

There are quite a few times where the asshole is the person "gunning" it trying to force their way into your lane when they should not be.

With ya 100% on all points except the merge thing. If the guy is trying to force his way in it is to late to try and close the gap and just backing off and letting them is the prudent thing to do (as frustrating as that may be).

[Summerwolf]

One thing I truly miss about the "high hp" (over 400) cars I have owned is that when I took a long trip, set it on cruise and it never waivered. Up hills, steady inclines, anything....they would stay around 1200 rpm and just take it effortlessly. Cruising just a little above idle also meant (in my experiences) little to no drone even with the exhausts I had.

[RichardsFRS]

Originally Posted by tennisfreak

Only someone that has never had a high horsepower car would say this.

I used to be one of you.

This past 5 days on my road trip, in a rented vehicle, I had never wanted my horsepower back so badly.

Passing, acceleration, going up hills, shifting, etc...... are all everyday benefits you enjoy in a high powered car that do not require going to the track.

I know you are going to argue with me but I owned an FRS. It was great and could accomplish much of what my Vette can do, it just did not do it nearly as easily and effortlessly as the Vette.

Its highly enjoyable not having to shift out of 6th or 7th to pass someone or climb a hill.

Its nice to know that if a douchebag wants to try and cut me off 99% of the time he cannot do it.

So yeah I enjoy and use that 460hp everyday not going to the track.

Whats even more sad? My Vette gets 28-30 mpg on the highway (the same as my FRS just about, and I dont even use the ECO mode that does cylinder deactivation). Actually tested and verified that last month on a trip to Austin and back.

Why are you even here if you are going to thrash on the car like that? Had I been you, the minute I bought my C7, these fourms would be historic history, never look back no regrets! It is what I plan to get next and you can bet your ass, the first thing I will do will detach here and attach to a Vette forum, UNLESS I end up keeping the FRS aswell, but I don't see that happening

[D_Thissen]

Originally Posted by Cole

Edit: Also, what the fuck are you doing on the street that lets you even max out the twins performance capabilities? Sounds pretty illegal to me.

First and second gear pulls to redline . Pretty sure if my brother did that on his bike, he would break every posted speed limit in the country lol.