Performance Cars - Are we going too far?

[Mr.Impreza]

http://www.speedhunters.com/2016/03/...ars-going-far/

This is a great article and i agree with all the points. Thought i would share for anybody who doesn't visit speedhunters.

I've been saying this for a while now, but so many people are caught up in the numbers game and it's true that most of the new cars are disconnected from the driver.
Look at the new NSX for example...it's in no way what the old NSX was about. It's just this computer programmed car that makes you feel like a pro on the track.

Anyways, most people don't even track so I don't understand this focus on track oritented cars. They just do it so people can say there car did this time on the nur.

This is exactly why i love our cars. They are so raw compared to the newer cars today which lack feel and a lot of times are over powered. Also we can enjoy our cars to the full potential.

Anyways, i love our cars and i hope these types of cars stay popular and get more popular in the future.

My last comment,
My 2002 stage 2 wrx had around 300hp and i could barely enjoy it. I could never take it to it's full potential, so i don't understand how people enjoy these 400+ luxury sedans and sports cars unless they go to the track every weekend.

[MisterSheep]

Originally Posted by Mr.Impreza

My last comment,
My 2002 stage 2 wrx had around 300hp and i could barely enjoy it. I could never take it to it's full potential, so i don't understand how people enjoy these 400+ luxury sedans and sports cars unless they go to the track every weekend.

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

[Summerwolf]

If you have never had a car with a lot of horsepower..... it is something you can easily enjoy everyday. Especially with the tuning available for most vehicles they can generally be made to drive stockish normally and then be on point when you hammer it. All depends, but you can have a "civil" racecar that is streetable. A stock Z06 is a great example of that.

[wbradley]

I like the comment made by a reader that there are 2 types of performance cars, ones that you drive to their limit and then over drive them, and ones that you drive to your limit (supercars) but not the cars limit.

Aside from affordability, I am sure it is a lot safer driving the former.

Now, if track time (time attack style for example) was more affordable at a reasonably local venue. Got a taste of it last year and want more. Don't want to spend $600 on a driving course though (flamethrower suit on).

[mixtape]

tl;dr: I agree.

Originally Posted by Mr.Impreza

This is exactly why i love our cars. They are so raw compared to the newer cars today which lack feel and a lot of times are over powered. Also we can enjoy our cars to the full potential.

Anyways, i love our cars and i hope these types of cars stay popular and get more popular in the future.

This article and your quote almost brought a tear to my eye because they were so spot-on. Articles about self-parking, self-driving, self-braking, self-masturbating cars make me cringe. I legitimately fear seeing what cars will be like in 20, 30, and 40 years because the two aspects behind cars today, the driver and the car itself, will be completely secluded from each other.

Originally Posted by Summerwolf

If you have never had a car with a lot of horsepower..... it is something you can easily enjoy everyday. Especially with the tuning available for most vehicles they can generally be made to drive stockish normally and then be on point when you hammer it.

I agree with this point 100% as well. 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.

[go_a_way1]

to much text for me.



Because racecar. is my answer for whatever we are talking about

[DarkSunrise]

Some people I know are obsessed with performance numbers (0-60, skidpad, etc.) when buying cars and yet never go to the track. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me, but I guess there are the bragging rights and "wow" factor that goes into owning those sorts of cars.

There's also the question of whether expensive track cars (Nismo GT-R, Exige, even a Z06 and Viper) make sense except to one-percenters. One of my friends bought a new $200k GT3RS intending to track it, then promptly sold it on arrival once he realized the risk in tracking such an expensive car. You really have to be massively wealthy to buy a new expensive car to use on the track.

These are some of the reasons I bought an FR-S. Its handling is great for weekend track use and it's cheap in terms of consumables (cheapest lightweight RWD coupe on sale today), yet it's low-powered enough that you can redline multiple gears on your way to work during the week.

[Joakim3]

Absolutely agree with the writer

It's the reason I will never sell my families 9-3 Viggen. Theres a laundry list of cars now a days that are faster, handle better, brake better than it. But I've yet to find a person that doesn't giggle or laugh when they ride shot gun and you drop it into 3rd gear and press the loud pedal, all while inhaling tire smoke...... and then look at me in amazement when they realize it's a 16 year old car

It's the reason I'd pick a E30 M3 over a M4, or an air-cooled 993 Turbo over a 991 Turbo S... there is something beautiful about simplicity and cars aimed to simply bring out the inner 10 year old in you by having that extra bit of lunacy or pre-built flaw for the shits and giggles

Hence why I want a GT86.... there simple, good, old school fun... and at the end of the day, isn't that why we love cars?

[fang_gt86]

IMO, whether we like it or not, "pure" and driver oriented performance cars are a dying breed. Eventually, cars will be so advanced that everyone can drive like a pro. Not exactly a bad thing isn't it?

[MisterSheep]

Originally Posted by fang_gt86

IMO, whether we like it or not, "pure" and driver oriented performance cars are a dying breed. Eventually, cars will be so advanced that everyone can drive like a pro. Not exactly a bad thing isn't it?

It'll make good drivers a thing of the past... Pretty soon it'll make drivers a thing of the past and have the car do it all.

[fang_gt86]

Originally Posted by MisterSheep

It'll make good drivers a thing of the past... Pretty soon it'll make drivers a thing of the past and have the car do it all.

Imagine, anyone can just get in the driver seat, buckle up, pick what mode and how fast you wanted and enjoy lol

[Joakim3]

Originally Posted by fang_gt86

IMO, whether we like it or not, "pure" and driver oriented performance cars are a dying breed. Eventually, cars will be so advanced that everyone can drive like a pro. Not exactly a bad thing isn't it?

Like Mistersheep said.... the end of "good drivers" is coming slowly coming to reality, cars are taking the driving element out of driving.

Sure for the average joe it's a great thing but for the 1% of us who genuinely appreciate performance or the art of driving in itself... It's a bad thing lol

[drewbot]

Originally Posted by wbradley

Now, if track time (time attack style for example) was more affordable at a reasonably local venue. Got a taste of it last year and want more. Don't want to spend $600 on a driving course though (flamethrower suit on).

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

[Cockatoo]

Trying to look into future of where car manufacturers want to be scares me.... I'm all for more safety, but if the endgame is to take the driver out of the equation, then as an enthusiast and a person that takes driving seriously, I hope it never comes to that point.

I feel like with all the fancy auto-braking and auto-accident avoidance, etc they are currently putting in, every time it has to intervene there should be some way to add points to your license...

ie. Fifth Element style... (robot voice) "Auto braking engaged... accident avoided... 2 points have been added to your licence.... you have 10 points remaining until suspension.... have a nice day"