If everything goes right, pony cars are about to get really interesting. Ford is reportedly working on something new and Chevrolet is reportedly bringing back the Camaro. However, The next generation of mainstream American performance cars is going to look much different than the recent era of Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro and Dodge Challenger that many of us are fond of, and all signs point to Dodge being right 20 years ago. Even if some of the discourse at the time was offended by the then-new LX-body Charger’s form factor.
That’s right! After being told the sedan was dead and the muscle car was dead, the industry shrugged its shoulders and asked the important question: porque no los dos?
Meanwhile, the venerable Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana gain something significant for 2027, Gordon Murray is set to reveal another hypercar, and the Land Rover you probably forgot about it set to end production this year. Welcome back to The Morning Dump, where we slice and dice the car news of the morning into tasting-sized portions. Matt is at Monterey Car Week this week along with most of the crew, which means I’m holding it down on desk duty. Let’s get cracking.
The Mustang Sedan Is Reportedly Real
Last year, Ford filed a trademark application for the model name “Mach 4,” which sent the internet into a frenzy of rumors. Could we finally be getting a Mustang sedan, or perhaps even an all-wheel-drive model? It turns out that the former is far more probable, as Automotive News reports that a full-scale prototype example was recently shown to dealers.
Ford also brought an early prototype of a four-door Mustang onto the stage, giving dealers the clearest view yet of a product first revealed at a 2024 meeting and reported by Automotive News. Multiple people who saw the prototype likened its size and design to a Porsche Panamera.
The people asked not to be identified because the meeting was not open to the public.
Executives promised that the four-door Mustang would have a price tag of less than $40,000, a 0-to-60 mph time of under 4 seconds and more rear-seat space than the Panamera, according to two of the people. Ford did not discuss a name at the meeting but previously has identified it to dealers as the Mach-4.
If the purported Mustang sedan is indeed the size of a Panamera, it’s going to be huge. Porsche’s large sedan measures 198.9 inches stem-to-stern in standard-wheelbase trim and 204.8 inches long in long-wheelbase Executive form. The former figure’s more than 10 inches longer than a Mustang coupe and the latter’s merely 1.8 inches shorter than the new Dodge Charger. That ballpark would make sense given the limited rear seat space in the current Mustang coupe, but it’s still quite the departure for one of America’s most iconic nameplates and it might not be alone.
A few days prior, GM Authority dropped a new report on the forthcoming seventh-generation Camaro. If it pans out, GM’s pony car could also adopt additional doors.
One of the most obvious changes for the new Camaro will be the body style, with GM Authority sources indicating the new Camaro will boast four doors, rather than a traditional two-door layout. The four-door model would reportedly feature dimensions comparable to the Chevy Malibu or Chevy SS.
So what’s with the shift? Well, unlike in the ’80s, coupes just don’t work for most people anymore. As soon as you have kids, you have rear seat access and car seat fitment and all that to worry about. Not to mention stroller and diaper bag storage. Once those kids get a little bit older, they’ll go to school and make friends which means a middle seat in the rear—a rarity in modern coupes—becomes an enormous convenience. As your kids grow up, they might get too tall for the tight rear headroom of many modern coupes, and by the time they’re through college, your knees might just say no to daily-driving a low-slung two-door.
For the most part, this relegates modern coupes to second-car status, sometimes even third-car status. And that’s hard to justify. When the median house price in America is $410,700 and the average new car carries a transaction price of around $49,000, the prospect of another new car payment is often just too much for the personal spreadsheet. However, add a pair of rear doors and suddenly, you have a far more justifiable daily driver. One that you can easily do the school run, the airport run, or the lunch run in.
Dodge figured this out two decades ago with the reborn Charger. Purists were up in arms about it having four doors, but guess what? It sold, and sold well throughout that generation’s entire production run. In 2019, the Dodge Charger outsold the Ford Mustang and more than doubled the sales figures of the Camaro. And that’s with the two-door Challenger alongside it. Understandably, Dodge still offers a four-door version of the new Charger, and while sales of the LB-generation car hasn’t exactly picked up where the old model left off due to a controversial EV-first launch and premium pricing, the four-door option opens that model up to those who simply couldn’t make a coupe work.
A Touch Of Modernity
It’s an unusually exciting time for the Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana vans. GM’s oldest vehicles are getting their first big standard equipment addition in years. The previously-fitted old-school head unit with no built-in Bluetooth is going in the bin in favor of a modestly-sized touchscreen infotainment system. As first reported by GM Authority:
The updated system, identified by RPO code IOR, will feature a seven-inch HD color touchscreen in the Express, along with Bluetooth phone connectivity and Bluetooth audio streaming. The upgrade will apply across the Express lineup, including Cargo, Passenger, and Cutaway models.
This is essentially the same infotainment system as in a base Chevrolet Trax, although its feature set in the Express and Savana hasn’t been confirmed yet beyond bluetooth audio streaming. It might still have Apple CarPlay and Android Auto stripped out of it, but at least GM van drivers should now be able to wirelessly listen to their favorite podcasts on the go without the need for a phone dongle to split charging and AUX duties. While photos of the new unit in the Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana haven’t been released yet, don’t expect a whole new dashboard. It should still be fairly simple in there, as you’d expect for vehicles with their roots in the ’90s.
A New Gordon Murray Car Is Coming
It’s just about the eve of Monterey Car Week, and Gordon Murray Special Vehicles is looking to make a splash. It just released this teaser photo of a new hypercar that seems to sport a roof scoop and NACA ducts and a delightfully flat deck. Is there a whiff of S1 LM to the silhouette? Certainly, but it’s not that few-off limited-run special that broke the internet last Car Week.
So what could we be looking at here? It’s safe to assume it runs a Cosworth V12 and features a carbon fiber tub, although beyond that it’s anyone’s guess. Just figure it’s going to be rare, it’s going to be expensive, and with several members of The Autopian on the ground for Car Week, we’ll be there with photos of it in the sunshine.
Wait, They Still Make That?
Quick, can you name every model in the current Land Rover lineup? There’s obviously the Range Rover and the Range Rover Sport, along with the Defender. The Range Rover Evoque and Velar are still with us, as is the Land Rover Discovery, but one of the marque’s seven distinct lines is coming to a close in its current form. The entry-level Discovery Sport is set to roll off into the sunset. As Autocar reports:
A JLR spokesperson told Autocar: “Discovery Sport production will end in December 2026, in line with normal product lifecycles. As part of this transition there will be a managed sunset of manufacturing ahead of this date for certain markets.”
The compact, unibody Discovery Sport is a car that I legitimately forgot Land Rover still made. Not because it had been memory-holed for any particular reason, but because it’s both the slowest-selling car in the range and it’s very difficult to tell the difference between a 2025 model and a 2020 model. It’s the Ann Veal of the Land Rover lineup [Ed note: her?], present but not massively memorable. Believe it or not, the model’s discontinuation was actually announced two weeks ago, only to be met with the equivalent of a shrug. Truly, you heard it here third, but someone could tell you again in another two weeks and you’d probably have completely forgotten the news. Either way, it’s the natural end of the Discovery Sport’s model cycle, so it doesn’t make sense to update it to meet GSR2 requirements. If you want an entry-level Landie, there’s always the Evoque.
What I’m Listening To While Writing TMD
Last weekend was a bit hectic. Several big car shows, places to go, people to see, but I kicked it all off with a bucket-list concert: Broken Social Scene, Metric, and Stars. Hearing “Anthems For A Seventeen Year Old Girl” live is simply sensational, especially on a warm night as the sun sets on the city skyline. Sing it with me now, “Park that car, drop that phone…”
The Big Question:
All these rumored four-door pony cars beg a question: What’s the least-practical car you would actually daily drive?
Top graphic image: Dodge
Least practical? I mean I’d daily just about anything?
A Morgan would be nice and impractical I guess the trike would be a pain in the winter.
A Deuce and a Half?
BMW Isetta?
The problem is if we’re talking about me and my lunch going to work daily then basically anything works. Something permanently convertible then.
First gen Viper?
Ok this is my final answer. Isuzu Vehicross.
The parts availability has to be getting real bad.
I dailied a NA Miata for 5 years in the PNW. It was totally fine for 95% of my needs, and on the rare occasion that I needed extra seats or cargo capacity I just swapped in the family hauler. Wouldn’t likely work if you needed a young child car seat but otherwise absolutely viable solution.
Same. I even had an RX8 and a Yukon XL, and the Miata got most of the driving to do basic tasks around the traffic infested city like get groceries or go to home depot, and was by far my favorite car to drive in snow.
If they could do a 2 and 4dr of the new Camaro that would be nice (ala classic malibu/chevelle) but if there is only a 4dr that would suck. It makes sense because 2dre don’t sell as well but me personally I am sad of the downfall of 2dr cars.
As for least practical I would daily would be an Autozam AZ-1 (well I need to drive one first). I did daily the ND maita for about 6 months. Or if legal I would daily a tank maybe a retired Sherman or Paton everyone would get out of my way and I wouldn’t have to worry about dying in ab accident.
Mach4 is ok, but calling it a Falcon?? *chefs kiss*
I think the bland malibu of recent past is still too fresh, but Chevelle may be good
“So what’s with the shift? Well, unlike in the ’80s, coupes just don’t work for most people anymore. As soon as you have kids, you have rear seat access and car seat fitment and all that to worry about.”
Don’t blame the kids. In the 70’s and 80’s parents had no problem squeezing as many kids as could be squeezed into the back seat of a coupe, the bed of a single seat truck or in my case the rear shelf of a two seat roadster. Kids were perfectly happy to roll around back there with the dog and the groceries, unencumbered by seat belts and to gently succumb to the deep sleep induced by the hum of the differential, mild carbon monoxide poisoning and heat stroke.
Oh sure the migraines upon waking up sucked but at least we stopped bothering mom and dad with our ceaseless “are we there yet?” blather so they could listen to their stories on AM radio.
I remember rolling around with my dad as he dropped kids off after a youth group activity in the early 80’s.
Had 11 junior high and high school kids in his 260z. Rear hatch open with feet dangling out.
Would not fly today but the church was a small church back then and did not have any vans yet.
Ah, the good old days.
I got 9 teens in my Triumph TR-3 once. We were driving around looking for a Saturday night party. It even impressed the cop who pulled me over enough to tell us where the party was.
Ah, the good old days indeed!
We had 3 teenagers and a Golden retriever in a 2003 Hyundai Getz 5dr no problems when I was in senior school. 16 year old me who told mum to get it even argued for the 3dr at one point “because it has better structural stiffness”
I heard that argument too. I often wondered how much fact there was behind it.
I would buy a working class Panamera tomorrow if they existed. The market for this stuff is ripe for the taking.
Edit: I’m also very curious as to what the powertrain for this car might be. Under $40,000 with a sub 4 second 0-60 doesn’t sound like the usual 2.3 liter Ecoboost…
I’m guessing under $40k and sub 4-second 0-60 are two different trims.
I can’t imagine it’s not the 2.3-liter Ecoboost as the sub $40k trim’s engine
Other outlets are reporting it’s sub 40 AND sub 4 seconds. We shall see, you all are probably right but I’ll dare to dream. They do have a few interesting turbo V6s that meet Euro emissions that they could be using as well. The Ranger is sold over there with the 2.7 liter and in Raptor guise and I’d imagine the costs for those engines have long since been paid off.
Could also be an EV, but I very, very much doubt they’d try that since the Mach E already exists and is so reviled by the usual Mustang audience.
least practical? 1991 Integra in the Colorado mountains. it actually worked really well with good snow tires and an engine block heater for the -20 nights. only issue was I got high sided a couple of times when there was lots of snow and streets not plowed yet.
I want a four-door Toyota GR86/Subaru BRZ that can fit proper humans in the back.
I don’t want a large car, but a sporty one that can still transport the family.
There are dozens of us! DOZENS!
I think it would be a hit if it was marketed correctly. My concern is that it would eventually model bloat to a Lexus IS or RC
I mean, that wouldn’t be so bad if we’re talking the original Lexus IS. We’re not, of course, but we could be!
Oh you want a 4 door version of a Toyota GR86? Well Toyota has a GR model for you Right Here
We can’t be friends.
(ha)
Well then how about a GR Sienna?
https://www.carscoops.com/2026/06/toyota-gr-sienna-render/
An RX8 was a much better packaged car especially if you got one without a sunroof. Every seat seems to be bigger by 2″ in every direction, and it’s much easier to live with as a daily. Unlike a BRZ, 4 6’+ people can fit inside of it for a 1 hour+ trip. Oddly enough they also seemed to be more reliable too. You simply knew your engine was going to blow at around 100K instead of wondering if it’s 10K or 150K, and the rest of the car was rather solid.
When my 2nd child turned 2 and didn’t need to face the rear anymore, I sold my 98 Jeep Cherokee and bought an RX8 as my “family sedan”. Back seat is roomy enough that I was able to take my in-laws to/from the airport.
I spent a good chunk of time (~6 years?) dailying a 3-door gti (mk4) and a notchback fox body while my 2 kids were in some combination of daycare, elementary school, and middle school. We managed to fit me, both kids, and an upright bass in the notchback with everyone properly belted and nothing sticking out the window. It was even easier in the gti. I regret nothing. I also reject the assumption that coupes are inherently impractical. They can look good, be stupid fun to drive, and still fit a surprising amount of people and stuff.
I had the 5door Golf. It was our everything car.
Long road trips with the kids (esp. when they were little and we needed to bring all the big-crap like strollers, playpens, etc…), camping with the whole family & two dogs, home depot runs, daily commuting, etc…
I’m not sure what people are carting around.
If I recall, the radio in the GM vans is the once standard, now virtually obsolete Double-DIN form factor. So any radio should fit.
The aftermarket still makes a LOT of double din. I say as someone with a double din that needs updated. As long as they kept the Double DIN slot I say it’s a good deal.
I’ve dailied Miatas, an aircooled 911 (actually very practical) and now a GR86. Not very “practical” but perfect for a fun commuter car with occasional passenger duty. Still, it’s a second car at best and we have more practical crap for people/stuff haulage.
99% of my driving is by myself, so a BAC Mono would do the trick.
Else, a motorcycle at that point.
I had a close call in my 20’s on a motorcycle so I generally stay away from them now. Will occasionally take out one of my friends extra bikes when he does group rides, but never solo anymore.
Technically, Ford had the idea before DaimlerChrysler, with the 2003 Mercury Marauder (which also reused a name from a ’60s muscle coupe), but they sort of half-assed the execution and never followed through
I don’t hate the Marauder, of course, I wouldn’t mind having one some day, but it was clearly more of a Falcon Sprint type of product than something from the Mustang mold
Don’t forget the 90’s Impala SS with Corvette LT1 power.
Yeah, but there was enough of a gap between that and the mid 2000s Marauder and LX cars that I don’t consider it part of the same trend, really. The arrival of the Marauder for 2003 and 2004, and 300 and Magnum in early 2004 as early release 2005 models was what established real staying power for the segment. Ford and DaimlerChrysler were reading the same tea leaves around the turn of the century, as was GM, probably, with the GTO being their contribution
GM came late to the party in the US with the G8 they borrowed from the Aussies.
“but they sort of half-assed the execution and never followed through”
Specificially they wanted to give it the supercharged V8, among other things. But Ford’s management/beancounters stepped in and stopped that.
Ford during that time had a habit of making products that were ‘almost competitive’.
Different sheet metal would have been pricey but helpful, at least the front clip if not the door skins. The body was over a decade old by then, anyway, what did the tooling still owe them?
“The body was over a decade old by then, anyway, what did the tooling still owe them?”
Ford beancounters: MORE. You owe us MOAR!!!!
“Last year, Ford filed a trademark application for the model name “Mach 4,” ”
And once again, Ford’s marketing people again demostrate that they have no idea of what they’re doing.
They’re gonna damage the Mustang name by doing something stupid just like they did with the Mach E instead of taking the opportunity to come up with something interesting.
Personally I think a 4 door version of the Mustang should be called the Torino, Falcon or Fairlane.
And BTW… can we convince these idiots to use a better name than “Fathom” for the upcoming electric pickup truck?
“Well, unlike in the ’80s, coupes just don’t work for most people anymore.”
One thing you overlooked about coupes/2 door cars… in the past, they used to be the CHEAPER option. These days, the opposite is true.
“What’s the least-practical car you would actually daily drive?”
The Honda Beat comes to mind. Robert @ Agingwheels just bought one.
Bingo – the actual Mustang competitor Challenger was still a 2 door. The classic Charger always was Torino/Fairlane sized.
Name a 4 door Camaro a Chevelle.
probably a much better idea than a Nova
Or Chevette.
Everyone says the Mach-E “damages the Mustang name” but I don’t understand how. I see a ton of Mach-Es in my area. Mustang sales have been on a steady decline since 2015, years before the electric blob was announced.
Yeah, I think it’s a case of any press is good press and applying the Mustang name to the Mach E sure got people talking.
I also can’t imagine an appreciable number of people who were ready to put down cash on a Mustang, but then said “no I don’t want a car that shares a name with an EV crossover” and then backed out.
I bet you’re absolutely right in the real world despite what internet bluster would indicate.
“Everyone says the Mach-E “damages the Mustang name” “
It damages the name by diluting what it stands for. Plus it pisses off loyal Ford enthusiasts.
And the Mach-E would have sold just as well if it was just called ‘Mach E’… with no ‘Mustang’ tacked on.
Plus, coupes aren’t any less practical than they were back then. What’s changed are government safety regulations, the level of safety risk most drivers are willing to live with now compared to then, and what we want/expect in our cars (more room, more convenience, etc).
One other thing that has changed… coupes/2 door cars used to be cheaper than 4 door cars.
These days it’s the other way around.
If they call it a Torino or Falcon, they won’t be able to make them fast enough, equally with calling the 4-door Camaro a Chevelle
I respectfully disagree. None of those have the market power of Mustang or Camaro. The Falcon was cheap, the Torino a midsize every car. Will the expansion of the Mustang or Camaro name lead them down the same path? Likely over time.
“ None of those have the market power of Mustang or Camaro”
I disagree. I think those other names still hold power… it’s just not obvious to any marketing type who doesn’t know the given brand/model history.
Also if the name sounds good and the vehicle itself is good, it will sell. And it will sell without needing to dilute an existing established name.
This I agree with. Find a new name.
Gran Torino was a Clint Eastwood film and Chevelle is a rock band. Both using name equity built up by the cars they’re named after.
Going by your argument Ford should have called their off-road SUV the “Explorer X” rather than the Bronco because the Explorer sells so well and has market power which would have been a terrible decision.
The sedan version of a muscle car has a different buyer in mind, it should have a different name
Going by my argument, Bronco is the best name for the vehicle that carries it.
Maybe my opinion – and it is just that – is colored by my age and the sea of crappy cars that bore some of the names you’re suggesting that I experienced over my 7 decades.
The people who remember the Falcon or Torino are pricing tennis balls for their walkers, not sporty new Fords or Chevys.
I resemble that remark 😉
Get off your own lawn!
You say this, but just think how much you’ll want the Ford Mustang Mach 7: The 7-seat unibody crossover with a 2.3L I4 EcoBoost engine.
That is plastered with Mustang ponies and Mach 7 badges, including Mustang ponies on the steering wheel boss, embroidered onto the headrests and center armrest, and in the center of the rear cargo area mat.
Which is why I said that the naming may be powerful now but like so much from American manufacturers will result in their complete dilution.
Yet the Mach 9 will have 50% more embroidered ponies to compensate.
Does it have a velour interior?
TBQ: Mid size sedan with a full roll cage (so no backseat or storage functionality), no A/C, with drag radial tires on all driven wheels and skinnys on non-driven wheels with locked differential. I daily drove my LTD like that for a while. I would have daily driven my Similarly modified Galant VR4 but had other DSMs to handle that duty.
I am all for v8, rwd sedans and would not bat an eye at a 4 door mustang/camaro. The Cadillac CTS V and CT5 V blackwing are nearly perfect if not for the huge price tag, so if that can be largely replicated but with something close to a reasonable MSRP then I am all in. I like 4 door cars when I was single and now with a family they are even better!
My son just left for college, so I am finally coupe ready! I did have a regular cab B2500 when he was very little, so I guess that’s the answer to the QOTD.
Serious question, who is asking for a 4-door Mustang or Camaro? Just call the sedan based on the Mustang a Falcon or Torino or Galaxy and the Chevy sedan a Nova or Chevelle.
GM can just sell the Alpha 2 sedans as Buick’s and Cadillac’s and leave the Camaro as a coupe or keep it dead, otherwise it just screams old GM badge engineering of here’s the same sedan across 3 different brands with overlapping prices and features.
Now that rant is over:
A Morgan 3-Wheeler, and I would say that a vast majority of daily driven cars could be 2-door coupes/3-door hatches because most people commuting via car to work are by themselves.
I would seriously consider either as a 4 door.
Having grown up in Australia the concept of a muscle sedan is nothing new to me, and that has carried on into my life in the US where I’ve owned the same RWD V8 5-speed Ford Fox-platform sedan for 25 years now.
I’ve only owned a handful of coupes and I’ve always found them kind of a pain to live with due to the long doors. Give me a sedan anyday.
the long doors was always something that bugged me too with the coupes I have owned. its even worse with my current coupe. Long live functional fun cars! i.e. RWD v8 sedans
As someone with long legs that always has trouble car shopping and fitting into most of the fun cars, I have always found the longer doors (that make ingress and egress so much easier) to be a tremendous feature and one of the main reasons I prefer a coupe to a sedan.
My race car is a sedan and I wish it was a coupe for that reason alone. But I’m not parking my race car in a supermarket parking lot.
With a convertible and long legs it’s always a bit tough getting in and out but much easier if I’m able to open the door all the way. For this reason, and not wanting door dings from the careless, I always park way out, far away from where I’m going anyway. Maybe the extra steps I take will prolong my ability to keep driving my low-to-the-ground, fun car.
I respect the long legs and wanting a longer door. I am not tall enough to have really noticed a difference, which is probably directly because I am not tall, therefore my seat is usually moved forward enough that my effective opening is not that large regardless of the size of the door.
Yes, you get it! Sedans are better than coupes for most people, and they can still absolutely look and perform very well. And I say this as someone who has only ever owned two-door cars… Any time I compare the prices of sedans and coupes I’m left feeling like the sedan is the bargain of the two, offering a lot more practicality, almost as much if not just as much style, for a fraction of the price coupes are going for. As a budget-concious enthusiast I’ve learned to appreciate sedans, so I’m excited to see more fun sedans being made.
Coupes are problematic in the average garage, because the doors tend to be so much longer
In fairness to Ford, a Mustang sedan was seriously considered/planned for in the early 60s. There’s even mockups of it, which look pretty cool (imagine a stretched ’65). IIRC Ford, a little unsure, decided to instead focus resources on just a coupe, and the rest is history. But a sedan now could be reasonably seen as in-canon.
Found pictures in this link (along with other concepts, some scrolling needed) :
https://viaretro.com/2019/03/the-mustang-as-we-never-got-to-know-it/
Cool, thank you! Great to see them all in one place. My favorite has always been the ’67 Mach 2…Ford even used it in period ads!
They even planned a Mustang wagon/shooting brake of all things, and built two prototypes! I would love to see a full lineup of Mustangs in different body styles being sold simultaneously, all RWD with V8 and manual options available. The drivetrain and styling is what gives the Mustang its character, but the styling can absolutely work on more than one body style, there’s no reason the name has to stay exclusive to a coupe.
Who is Ann Veal? John Galt wants to know.
Jon Hamm wants to know as well!
I wonder if they will ever get to meat
A guy I know named Sloppy Joe could probably make it happen!
Joe Bologna
Keep him out of it. I have a Beef with him.
So, No Meat Loaf then? With a garnish of Kevin Bacon.
Only if it also comes with some Halle Berry and a Ceasar Cardini
My Bologna has a first name and it’s definitely not J-O-E
The sedan is the right direction to go for both the Mustang and Camaro. Sales have been trending downward and one big reason is they are not justifiable as an only car in their most recent forms. The addition of 2 more doors makes it possible for someone to lie to themselves and say, yes, a v8 RWD muscle car is a reasonably practical car to use as my primary transportation.
The ‘one car’ requirement is real.
Which makes it all the more puzzling when someone like VW starts removing options from the GTI/R to make it less appealing.
VW making the right marketing decisions is as common as Bigfoot evidence at this point
“What’s the least-practical car you would actually daily drive?”
Miata.
Or Fiata.
Or an ancient Alfa Romeo Spyder.
Or a TR8.
You get the idea.
TBQ: *looks out to the parking lot where his FR-S is sitting.*
….Miata.
You guys tell me whether a Hummer H1 or an LM002 is less practical because I’d drive either.
You know you’re old when you peruse the van section and skim the Gordon Murray news 🙂
Meh, the van is more interesting these days. There are so many super-hyper-giga cars with seven figure price tags made in production runs of a few dozen with carbon fiber and ceramic and titanium everything and nanosecond 0-60 times and the Nurburgring record, all sold to the same handful of wankers that they just blend together. Frankly, there’s nothing interesting in them- they are engineering in excess without the constraints of economics, or at least racing regulations, that forces any real compromises to be made. Like yeah, give me a $100 million and I’ll give you a Nurburgring-stomping hypercar. But an everyday minivan that people would buy? Fuck no, that’s way harder and is going to take a lot more money.
This is how I feel as well. And, in a way, is the difference between Superman and Batman – unlimited power X smarts and wits. There’s something appealing on a product that do well despite constraints and limitations, and something “meh” on another that is basically an alien spaceship.
Too bad the actual Batman would be the one buying the “Superman” cars, in this metaphor, and vice versa…
I’m kind of the same way. I have just about 0 interest in reading a review of anything that costs over 100K unless it dives into the engineering of it, or anything made by a German company. Stellantis used to be this way but now I’m fascinated in finding out just how much more they can make a vehicle that doesn’t appeal to me. They are all capable of doing some amazing engineering wrapped up in a chassis that also displays amazing levels of cost cutting and shortsightedness. I LOVE the German company and Stellantis related news though. Schadenfreude perhaps?
After a while these hypercars all start to look and feel the same. There’s only so much carbon fibre tied to a hybrid whatever that I am able to care for. And this reflects on my YouTube habits, I was into Mat Armstrong videos when I first found out, but after the fourth “throw parts at it until it is done” I lost a bit of interest. But now, Tasty Classics, Not Economically Viable, Cash Machine Cars and other crusty, pedestrian resurrection on a shoestring budget? Count me in!
Comments like this make me happy to be an old.
More van news please! I’m FAR more excited by a hyper fuel and space efficient van than any hypercar.
I have a theory that we care for those cars when we’re kids/teenagers because we don’t realize yet whose those cars are for. Once we notice that those are toys for people actively trying to ruin our lives for profit, we start to pay a lot more attention to the plebeian cars that have to make do with the same constraints we do.
That and maybe after sitting in one as an adult it hits just how ridiculous they are.
re The Big Question: I probably could make a Caterham work with my current situation so long as it has doors and a hardtop (I live in Canada)
on 2nd thought: Miata RF/PRHT