[Major_Lee_Slow]

I've always had a soft spot for the Z-Cars ever since the early 70's, and I just read the Car and Driver short review of the car and I must say, at least on paper, I am impressed. the exterior dimensions and the wheelbase were shrunk and the HP is up to 330, but torque is a little low at 270. I wonder how much that can be improved. The wheels are a little bit, 19 inches, but hey at least there not 20's. It also comes with 4 piston brakes. They managed to keep the weight at 3300-3400 lbs, meet the new crash test standards, and Nissan claims the car is stiffer than the last model. The question is, will it be a competitive Street Prepaired car. I think the current model runs in BSP. Could this be a potential replacement for the SS when the time comes. I'm not sure, but I do know for sure I won't be buying a 2 Ton pig.

[jensend]

The sad fact for people who really like performance cars is that virtually all cars come loaded with equipment and option packages that add substantially to vehicle weight. My son, who works at a honda dealership, said that you can't even get a Civic without power windows, A/C, and a host of other "essential" items. His '89 Civic commuter car had no options, a primitive FI system and a 1.5 liter engine. It got an honest 38 combined mpg and roughly 44 mpg on the highway. His new "high tech" Civic Si struggles to get 32 highway mpg because it's heavier and equipped with "essentail options". According to my son, people just won't buy a car that isn't heavily equipped. Manufacturers design and build to that demand.

This week's Autoweek had an article on the new Pontiac G8 GXP. The specs listed 415HP, 415lb./ft., 6.2 liter V8. RWD, 6 Spd. Manual trans.. Zero -60 4.6 sec.! The most powerful modern Pontiac- ever. The bad news- 17mpg (EPA). Why- curb weight 4,023 lb.! That's over 2 tons empty, roughly the weight of a 80's era Lincoln Continental! Imagine how much real performance is compromised by that bulk.

Those of us who put performance above luxury are a very small, virtually insignificant percentage of the market. We want "sport cars" and cars that have high levels of performance. The bulk of the market wants "muscle cars" loaded with luxury and enough power to impress the SUV in the next lane. Manufacturers design for profitablity and sales volume. Unless the public demands more realistic cars both in terms of economy and performance, we can expect cars to continue to increase in luxury and weight at the price of true performance.