Can confirm this happened for at least one carmaker.

I doubt the NSX has anything to do with Ferrari’s decision making here. They probably see this car as a way to introduce hybridization further into their range, as that is the only way to meet upcoming emissions targets while retaining high output ICE engines. The Aventador replacement is taking the same route.

It’s not a LaFerrari replacement. Ferrari has talked about a mid-engine model between the 488/F8 and million-dollar-baby limited edition cars for some time.

The supercar game has also changed massively since then. There are more supercars, more “tiers” of supercars (NSX/570S/911 Turbo vs 488/Huracan/720 vs Aventador/812/720/Ford GT), and all of them are engineered far more comprehensively than before.

I’d normally complain about Americans missing out on the latest brilliant Renaultsport unobtanium, but everyone might be missing out soon - upcoming French tax laws will make non-electrified performance cars very expensive, likely killing the domestic market for hot hatches. Only the rich will be able to enjoy their…

1st Gear: *avoids making bad joke about the Jonas Brothers*

Clarkson seems to like his cars either hardcore and white-knuckle (but only if they don’t attempt to murder him when he drive them ham-fisted, or he likes them big, comfy, and with huge amounts of power for drifting and burnouts. This is why he loves AMGs, Astons, American muscle, etc. I could see where the Z8 becomes…

Good read. There’s a reason these things command such a premium in the market these days.

Am I surprised? Absolutely freaking not. BMW is notorious for this.

Said it before and I’ll say it again: Level 3 / high-end Level 2 autonomy is a bad, bad idea. It gives distraction-prone drivers every incentive to ignore their surroundings while still requiring them to operate a moving vehicle.

How is a likely instant death by katana blade moving at Mach 2 any more awful than a likely instant death by explosive overpressure, incineration, blast fragmentation, bullet to the head, and all the other ways modern warfare kills people?

I keep waiting for Audi to make a major design leap. Hasn’t happened yet - the cars keep the same theme they have since the mid-2000s. I get the need for brand continuity, but M-B and BMW have both evolved their styling to good effect.

I know the A80 Supra has a near-mythological reputation, but can someone PLEASE explain to me what, aside a movie where Dom Toretto building a 10-second car and the 2JZ’s ability to make 18879435hp without exploding, makes it so much better than the current car?

I miss many things about cars made 5, 10, or even 20 years ago (lighter, less complicated, more N/A engines, better steering feels) but overall you’re right - the only thing many car enthusiasts like more than driving cars is bitching and moaning about cars.

To add a Eurocar bent: the 911 is too much of a GT, the 911 is not a real 911 anymore, all newer BMWs are too big and heavy, the S3/RS3 are overpriced VWs, modern M-Bs have terrible build quality, Ferraris are only for poseurs, McLarens are all-look/sound-same, Alfas explode, Jags are for old people, modern Lambos are…

I cannot stand those non-metallic grays on anything except Audis and Porsche 911s

Interesting take, a few more thoughts:

I don’t disagree at all. College has become as much about the “experience” as the education, covered up with euphemisms like “maturing into adulthood” and “discovering yourself”. It’s basically social finishing for the upper- or upper-middle-class (depending on the school). Nobody seems to mind that this “experience”…

This wins.

This is true. My parents’ generation spent like drunken sailors and poured too much of what remained into real estate. My parents and almost all their friends are in the 60s. Almost none are retired, and inadequate saving is a huge part of it.