Quote:
Originally Posted by Frupal
You seem to have some very rigid guidelines!
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Just the oldest classic guidelines I could find.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Frupal
Most people call anything with only two seats (besides pickups) a sports car.
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Of course, but we're not most people, right? We are enthusiasts, and as such have better definitions for these things. I mean, if we go by the general public's definition then there is no need to even have the words Muscle Car or GT Car, as both fit into the general Sports Car category.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Frupal
Of all of the cars I have owned, I would only consider the 3 NSXs that I had to be true Sports Cars. Although they were not! By your definition. Mine were all manual, but they did offer an automatic. Perhaps the ‘manual only’ requirement could be re-assessed.
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By the earliest definition yes, the car would need to be a manual, but maybe I wasn't clear earlier. Just because it's available as an automatic doesn't mean it's not a Sports Car if fitted with a manual.
More clearly, an automatic NSX cannot be a Sports Car, but a manual NSX could (depending on the other criteria).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Frupal
Most of the great ‘sports cars’ today offer ‘automatics’ Which shift faster than shift through a goose. Haha. And I think that they shift MUCH faster than we humans can toss a gear lever.
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It's precisely the fact that the automatic has less driver involvement that excludes it from the Sports Car definition. And remember, "fun" doesn't care how fast you are, so the lightning-fast shifts of today's automatics are meaningless.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Frupal
I also did not buy it because I am waiting for the right time to get my hands on a C8 Corvette. I’m not fat, and don’t have a confederate flag, or own any guns, but I do have some fly Prada Boots. Do you think they’ll still sell me one?
Happy Motoring!
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I love your attitude, you sound like a very cool guy
Quote:
Originally Posted by JamesNoBrakes
Oh, so now some cars are "too serious" to be sports cars?
It's like cherry-picking your own favorite car and excluding everything else, because other people aren't exactly the same as you. Come on, open up...
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Yes, that's exactly it. And exactly why the Miata is the closest thing we have to a real Sports Car, as it doesn't take itself too seriously. Muscle Cars are serious. Most GT Cars are serious. But the idea of the Sports Car is to be fun.
I'm not cherry picking anything, I'm only saying that by the earliest definitions of a Sports Car it would need to be fun.
I actually forgot to mention that it's required to be a 2-seater as well, but Frupal reminded me of it.
Sports Car:
- manual trans
- radio
- 2 seater
- open top of some sort
- focus on handling tossability (not ultimate race-car grip)
- light-weight
- power is not a focus
- generally skinny tires
Muscle Car:
- automatic trans
- coupe or sedan
- focus on straight line quickness (not top speed)
- weight not a consideration
- handling not a consideration
- focus on power
- focus on ease of modification for more power
- generally wider tires
GT Car:
Generally not as fun, or well-handling as a Sports Car, and not as powerful as a Muscle Car, but seeking to give the customer a good middle-ground between the two.