[TJ213]

Originally Posted by 8695Beaters

Toyota: Bring back the Supra, AE86, the MR2, and give us a real FWD car. The Rolly-rolla (my nickname for the Corolla) absolutely sucks and I bet I could beat it in my beater-CRX. The tC is a huge joke and to those of you who think it's a viable race chassis, look at it this way: The 2001 Integra GS-R handles just as well, weighs less, and cost about the same. And I belive it was about as quick. The feel between the two cars is completely different. Read about SCC's tC and you'll understand what I mean. The fact that Toyota does not have a single performance car in their lineup (the IS-F is a Lexus and unaffordable to the masses) means that GM will retake number 1 by about 2020. That is my guess.

Toyota definitely needs to go back to some performance cars, however the lack of performance cars will probably not make them lose their position to GM, performance does not sell as much as big vehicles and MPGs anymore.

Honda: While the S2000 rocks and the Civic Si is awesome, there are some major holes. For example, nothing, NOTHING in America that ends in "Type-R." And the BS that "there is only room for one Type-R in America" died with the Integra. WE ARE WAITING HONDA!!! WE HAVE BEEN SINCE 2001!!! Let's see what has made the jump from Japan since then: the EVO, the STi, the GT-R, the bB (aka Scion xB), the Vitz (Yaris), and a few real Mazdaspeed cars. How about some R love? And have you guys seen Acura's newest cars? Pitiful. No wonder they are falling behind. It's really disheartening to see Honda following Toyota. And of course man up and build us a man's V8 that can slap the ish out of Detroit. You could put into the next NSX while you are at it. If it revs to 10K RPM, then Ferrari will go running again. Hel, a V8 would solve about 50% of Honda's problems. And some more rear-wheel drive would help too.

The closest we've come is the Mugen Si, but it was way overpriced, Honda's claim is that the Type-R would be too expensive to bring over (I guess that argument depends on the success of the Mugen), and the emissions. I don't see the use of a V8 in the Honda line except in the RL, the Ridgeline, and the NSX. All of those are expensive vehicles that most people can't afford. Who knows, maybe the new NSX will bring a motor like the one you are talking about.

btw, I bet the Honda guys over and Japan wish they would bring over the Civic Coupe

Nissan: Nissan was the only Japanese manufacturer that could have taken the last strong-hold of Detroit dominance: pony cars. Pickup trucks are not the only place Detorit has an advantage over Japan. The funny thing is Nissan had the car to beat the Mustang. It was called the Silvia. If Nissan had actually given us the SR20DET in the 240SX, then I am positive that the Mustang would have slipped. The Fox body of that era was decent but mostly sucked. Unfortunately, so did the 240SX. If it had a real engine and a sportier suspension, then it would have really killed in the States. Sadly, it fell on its face. Give us an S16, with a a QR25DET longitudinally mounted, and you will have a winner here. It's just like the STi, but can drift. And with a few tweaks could probably take on a Shelby. Just don't weigh it down with unnecessary features. Stick to the original formula (Japanese formula please!).

It would be nice is Nissan would bring out some real performance other than the 350z.

Subaru: Make the STi a sedan. Sorry, but the new car just looks goofy. And beef up the STi's engine a bit. Less plastic, more boost!

Apparently the hatch design is actually a better performance chassis, although I doubt the difference is actually noticeable. Not really a fan of the new impreza designs, but oh well. I'd like to see how far the new STi motor can go with a chip; I don't know if they under-rated it like the 335i and the GT-R. What I would really like to see is a Legacy GT with some extra boost, much better suspension, and a few pounds shaved off.

Mazda: Update the RX-8 and put the Mazdaspeed 6's drivetrain into something smaller and lighter to give us Mazdaspeed EVO.

Agreed, the RX-8 needs some FI, and the MS3 w/MS6 powertrain would be awesome.

Mitsubishi: More cars like the EVO. The Lancer Ralliart is a great start. How about that engine in an FR (but use only the manual). And use the new motor in the Eclipse. It's surprising the 3000GT did so poorly. Try that one again too.

The Eclipse is a heavy plowing jelly bean, I wouldn't disgrace the EVO motor by throwing it in there. Another 3000GT would be interesting, but I don't know if they need it with the EVO around.

Infiniti/Lexus: I could care less. Maybe some styling that doesn't look like it's from Back To The Future? And some variation? The cars all look the same!!! They all look the freking same! I would rather by a Jaguar. The XJ is the only luxury sedan I have ever wanted. Oh and clean up your engine bays so the engine is presentable. The wiring mess under all the plastic covers is actually nauseating. If you ever have the opportunity to see a Lexus engine without its plastic engine cover, don't. You will be sorry.

The IS used to be a performance car, and the G37 isn't bad either from what I've heard. If you want performance luxury you probably are best off going bimmer.

Ford: A Focus that's actually new and give us the RS too. And get some quality while you're at it. And in case you were wondering, YES THE FUSION WITH ALL-WHEEL DRIVE WILL PROBABLY HANDLE BETTER THAN AN ACCORD!!! If it didn't I would just die laughing.

The FWD based AWD systems often provide little to no improvement in handling; the Euro Focus is much better than the crap we get here. Real AWD (quattro, subaru, evo, GT-R) will improve handling significantly, but not the crap most of ford and volvo uses. How about them giving the Mustang some real suspension while they are at it.

GM: About the same as Ford. I hope GMPD actually turns out something good. I was sad to see the Cobalt SS lose it's supercharger. That seemed more appropriate on an American compact. Besides superchargers are just cool. And work on some finesse in the Sky/Solstice. I sat in a Sky and an Elise back-to-back and you know what? The Solstice felt like a Suburban compared to the Elise. Make that small car feel small and it will be a super winner. People who buy sports cars want them small, duh.

The supercharger was neat, but emissions killed it. The Sky and Solstice are actually big heavy cars, thats why they seem big and heavy. Any car feels massive next to the Elise. Its a 50k car with 190hp and no cupholders, that money has to go somewheres.

Dodge: I think Dodge is going to die soon, even with its new owners. The Demon will be a failure before the first prototypes even turn a wheel if Dodge uses the Chinese platform they are planning to use. It's a joke. Just like the Challenger. 2 tons? That is more than proky, that is plain fat. And no stick (in the first year)? Pitiful. And the plan may end up being a 6-speed auto and a 5-speed manual. Anyone else see the problem here? If the Challenger was built a bit more like the Mustang, then I think it will be great. As it stands, I think it will end up like the new T-bird.

Yeah, the Demon sounds like it was a good idea, but they won't execute it correctly.

I don't even want to talk about the Euros. Too much luxury crap to deal with. How they can improve is beyond my brain. Except Lotus. I think they are the only car company that has not made a single mistake in the last four years. And they are doing everything right. I think it's time to give us a new car that's not based on the Elise platform. Unless the new Elise comes with a K20. If that happens, then I think Lotus will overtake Toyota as number 1. They definetely would in customer satisfaction.

Lotus still can't sell their cars on a massive scale, its just that the Elise and Exige only work for a small number of people. They will always be a small company, but they will always offer something nobody else has.