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Originally Posted by zr1fan
Heheh, you really have a flair for absurd arguments. So basically a car isn't a sports car if you can park it next to something similar.
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No, get it straight, if your alleged sportscar is merely a hopped up version of an econobox, it's not really a sportscar. Get it right and quit inventing my points (
and those of others) for me
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Originally Posted by zr1fan
Engine design and design goals aren't that different from chassis design and design goals.
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Awesome generalization, truly. I believe this as much as I believe Al Gore invented the Internet. Engines are engines and chassies are chassies. The only points where these two coincide are hardpoints like motormounts (
and of course selecting the proper chassis to support the horsepower and torque of the intended powerplant and transmission).
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Originally Posted by zr1fan
To yank your chain a little, would you have the same thought if I started a poll asking "Can an engine be a proper sports car engine if it's shared with econoboxes?" Would you contend that no, you can't hop up into something proper, an engine that was designed from the ground up to provide pedestrian grocery-getter power and economy? If a Corolla pulled up and parked next to you at a car gathering, would you quickly close your hood/decklid/whatever before the owner saw your secret shame?
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No idea, since you're engaging in wild @ss speculation.
As a matter of fact the motor in the Federal Lotus Elise/Exiges is a Celica/Matrix motor, it's only recently been available in the Corolla XRS. On the contrary, I'd be rocking an NSX or BMW if there wasn't a Toyota powerplant under the decklid
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Originally Posted by zr1fan
On platform sharing, or "hopping up" as you call it, are any of the following cars sports cars?
Nissan 350Z
Ford Mustang/Cobra/Cobra-R/Shelby GT500
BMW M coupe
Mitsu Evo (any of 'em)
Subie WRX/STi
There are probably more, but that's all I can think of offhand.
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Sure, let's play your game:
Nissan 350Z (Z33/G35). What's the econobox that shares this platform?
Ford Mustang (all variations) Where's the FWD econobox that shares this platform? Never mind that the Mustang is more of a ponycar/GT since it has back seats, but it's definitely more of a sportscar than a Neon could ever hope to be
BMW M coupe Wow, is there a FWD econobox on this platform? What is it the FWD 1 Series? (Wait, BMW doesn't do Front-wheel drive cars)
Subaru Impreza/Mitsubishi Lancer: I never said these were sportscars, to me they're GT cars. In WRC homologation (EVO/WRX/WRX STi) form, they kick all sorts of @ss over Neon SRT-4s, and actually use all 4 wheels.
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Originally Posted by zr1fan
Even Lotus is talking about sharing platforms with parent Proton. Will that be the end of them making sports cars?
Edit: Add the Porsche 356 and the 914 to the list.
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You're missing the point again, sportscars sharing platforms isn't a problem if the vehicle you're talking about hasn't evolved from an econobox to begin with