https://www.automobilemag.com/news/2020-new-car-truck-suv-manual-transmission/?wc_mid

[Grasshopper]

I LOVE this post! Serge, you are on to something.

I HATE parking my Porsche, and it's not 1/2 as nice as the cars you've had in your stable. In fact, after I bought it, I remember riding in my wife's older SUV with all the mess from kids in the back and actually feeling relieved, free from worry.

Many times I miss my Honda S2000, which produced a cool 240 HP in a small go-cart package.

I LOVED that car...

The only reason I traded "up" to the BMW M3 was so my kids could enjoy with me.

Once I had my 3rd son, we sold it as we became a 5 person family and a 4 passenger anything didn't make sense.

Now that my youngest is old enough to enjoy, we got the P-car.

My taste for "more" is fading, and I much prefer to "feel" like the car is fast, rather than have a car that actually is fast.

I'm a go-cart guy at heart for sure.

When my kids get old enough to be front seat passengers, I could see another 2 seater in my future...and "upgrade" to a less expensive car that is all about the experience.

I thought I wanted a Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder, but that desire is fading because I would worry about parking, and the miles I'd be adding to the car.

The "worry" takes away from the experience for sure-

Originally Posted by PHC1

Speaking of “analog” experience and cars, I’ve stopped chasing high HP numbers after all the cars I went through and enjoyed. I’ve also been into crotch rockets for a few decades so speed and aggressive driving and riding was not something I am shy of.

Fast forward to today and for me the “analog experience” has become using 100% of what the car has to offer and a manual gearbox, the one I can fumble a heel and toe downshift and cringe or execute a perfect heel and toe downshift and smile...

Hitting the rev limiter in first three gears without worrying about going to jail, having the rear end step out in controllable fun little slide at the flick of the wrist into a curve in the road while barely going over the speed limit, is where the pure fun is.

I’m not worried about the mileage, I’m not worried about where I park , I’m not paying crazy maintenance and insurance rates... I’m not worried about depreciation, occasional pothole or a bump in the road to scratch the chin spoiler or any other dreaded thoughts that accompany the motoring experience of a car with a price tag of a “median home”....

I simply push a button, watch the sexy hard top lift and retract itself into the rear of the car and enjoy a nice open top “targa style” summer evening drive past the pastures with grazing cows, horses, smelling the sweet scent of fresh cut grass and enjoy the breeze in my face and the long winding roads. No drama, no ruckus, just a nice motoring experience with my wife by my side. Judging by her smile, all is good in this world.

At those moments the 150hp and a sweet 6 speed manual in a 2200lb go kart like roadster is just the right formula for me. (Miata RF)

[PHC1]

Originally Posted by Grasshopper

I LOVE this post! Serge, you are on to something.

I HATE parking my Porsche, and it's not 1/2 as nice as the cars you've had in your stable. In fact, after I bought it, I remember riding in my wife's older SUV with all the mess from kids in the back and actually feeling relieved, free from worry.

Many times I miss my Honda S2000, which produced a cool 240 HP in a small go-cart package.

I LOVED that car...

The only reason I traded "up" to the BMW M3 was so my kids could enjoy with me.

Once I had my 3rd son, we sold it as we became a 5 person family and a 4 passenger anything didn't make sense.

Now that my youngest is old enough to enjoy, we got the P-car.

My taste for "more" is fading, and I much prefer to "feel" like the car is fast, rather than have a car that actually is fast.

I'm a go-cart guy at heart for sure.

When my kids get old enough to be front seat passengers, I could see another 2 seater in my future...and "upgrade" to a less expensive car that is all about the experience.

I thought I wanted a Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder, but that desire is fading because I would worry about parking, and the miles I'd be adding to the car.

The "worry" takes away from the experience for sure-

I fully understand the desire for exotic cars. Probably not much of what I said would convince many until they get to go through the motions themselves. That’s obvious and logical. Not everyone would agree either, plenty of people love collecting exotic cars. Judging by the mileage, they don’t get to enjoy them much other than polishing them in their garage.

It’s whatever turns you on as they say. I’ve tried it, fortunate to say I’ve had that opportunity but honestly speaking it was never my thing to neither draw attention, which I hated by the way, plenty of people do not have a positive emotion when seeing an exotic car on the road, nor to have them sit in my garage as a collector.

Contrary the popular belief that people look at the exotics with admiration, I’ve had nearly as many middle fingers flicked at me as thumbs up while driving a Ferrari.

No-one notices my Miata RF but I get nothing but a friendly wave from other Miata owners or the obligatory “headlight raise/salute” from the first gen Miatas with pop up headlights.

The rest I already covered in the other post.

The S2000 was indeed a fantastic little roadster. A bit more of a handful than say a Miata with it’s happy tail tendencies but in the more skilled hands it was a blast. I’ve never owned one but drove my friend’s S2000 many times. He sold his Porsche 924 and S2000 and kept his Acura NSX in the long run and it’s been over 20 years now and 175k miles of nothing but driving the wheels off the NSX. Zoom zoom...