Swan-song for the 718 before they turn the next gen into an electric porker, and it is a beautiful thing.

Agreed. They gave us the GTS 4.0 and standard GT4 with a stick, so I’m not hard up about the RS being PDK-only.

Oh, you absolutely know BMW will try to cash in on the brand equity of the “M1" nameplate sooner or later. Probably just as the last set of people who even remember the original hit retirement, because after that it’s worthless.

Same crowd that might alternatively buy an S3, which is also small but 50k and not really track-oriented.

I like it.

Hey, this seems like it might be fun! Any idea if the new M240 will eventually be offered as a sedan?

Agreed. And, while BMW absolutely will not even consider it, having the stick with the AWD would be a real coup. Since the demise of the previous generation 4-series, the number of cars available with both AWD/4WD and a manual has been just four: WRX, Golf R, Bronco, Wrangler. Oof.

Number one contender to replace my S3, everything I’ve watched and read about it sounds like the car is damn-near perfect. The strong showing of the M-lite variant, however, just makes me want to wait and see what the M2 is going to be like even more.

Nah. Performance will be fine and the shock of how dumpy the model looks has already worn off. Sticking on some black-out trim, wings, and carbon fibre won’t do anything to make that better or worse. It will arrive with a “meh.”

Is it? The one and only time I have ever been in a position where I am not running absolute circles around the sales guy is when I went to go look at a Golf R. The staff at that dealership were enthusiasts and, for once, knew more than I did about the car. Even luxury brand staff typically don’t know squat about what…

The point about the Supra makes zero sense. Lexus is Toyota, meaning the SC is thus developed and manufactured entirely by Toyota, so Toyota bears the entire expense of development and production. The A90 Supra is mostly designed by BMW, and is manufactured by BMW, and Toyota is offloading most of the burden onto BMW.

I mean, I knew it was going to look like a knock-off CLA (a car I’m already not fond of, visually), but it’s just disappointing to know that Honda is so married to their swishy, boring, flame-styled corporate Acura face. There’s no way they don’t know that people would prefer something like that render.

Thou hast been elevated, convey thine comment to the masses.

The Civic is not sleek right now, actually brickish. Two generations previous was sleeker.

What’s different from the old cars? It’s simple:

Your first sentence is a gigantic mischaracterization of the forces at work, here.

For the Integra, it was the sedan that died first. The coupe stuck around until the end.

Or, and I bet this is far more likely, the “Integra Returns” marketing stunt is a colossal failure.

A sleek 2-door coupe to serve as the Honda group’s answer to the Miata and the 86 twins. Base model with 220-ish HP, Type S with 280-ish HP, and Type R at the healthy 305. Manual must be available on the two upper trims.

Maybe if manufacturers stop firing from the hip with uninspired product, featuring poor styling that has zero apparent relation to the namesakes they are cynically applying as if the name alone was enough to convince the only people who actually care about the name, and actually produce something worth buying, I’ll…