Quote:
|
Originally Posted by ZMM_OMG
This was an excellent and timely discussion and I think they nailed it on a couple of key points:
- Manufacturers seem to be substituting performance for driveability
- The vast majority of people couldn't care less
The horsepower wars are in full effect. Shift once and blink twice and cars are bombing along at hyper-legal speeds. Joe and Jane Driver needn't worry though, because if they drive beyond their capabilities the car will send up a cacophony of warnings, apply the brakes, reduce power, and bring them neatly back in line so they'll live to terrorize another stretch of rush hour traffic without spilling so much as a drop of their Starbuck's coffee.
Perhaps that's a good thing though, because the vast majority of drivers could care less about things like progressive handling limits and steering feel. After all, steering feedback is just something that distracts people from the text message they were banging out. Regrettably, the trend is likely to continue because human beings are "maximizers". Need proof? Look at all the GLOWING reviews of the BR-Z and then consider the biggest complaint: lack of horsepower. It does 0 - 60 faster than my e46 fer Pete's sake.
In a quest to continually push an apathetic driving public from the perfectly capable car they have into the manufacturer's "latest and greatest", cars have become homogenized products that are expected to be all things to all people. At the end of the day, for whom should the manufacturers build cars? The 10 "every man" consumers who want more features and power, or the 1 enthusiast driver who wants 3 pedals and RWD? Exactly. So new cars have more doo-dads, more power, and more electronic nannies that make Joe Driver feel like an auto-x champ when he's running to the grocery store for diapers. |
You hit the nail on the head with this one, although it's that one involved driver that requests feel and involvement that they are allegedly catering for when they speak of their "improvements".
I know that when I'm beyond being able to see down a stretch of road, my hand eye coordination aren't in sync and I can no longer perceive hazards, there will be a gadget riddled vehicle to do it for me but, is that what I really want?
This may sound very irrational and even stupid but is it not the potential dangers coupled with the efforts and skill of the person at the helm that enhance the driving experience?
We are heading closer and closer to vehicles like the ones in "Minority Report".
Cars like the Ferrari 260 GTO command greater premiums than any Bugatti can command and why? Because they represent what driving is really about (besides it basic function), the organic, involving and enveloping experience of man and machine at one in harmony. Be it that split second where traction breaks at the rear and the driver feels it, instinctively correcting as if it were an extension of their own limb or, the feel of a gear shift once the oil in the box has warmed up, driving should be a mechanical and physical experience.
It may seem as if I'm blabbering but, I feel really passionately about this.
The "Playstation" generation of driving is here and I'm not too fond of some it's key elements.
What would you rather drive, a Pagani Zonda F or a Nissan GTR?