The Woes of Rare Sports Cars

**Aaron Cake** · 01-28-2005, 09:54 AM

Oh yes, we all know how authoritative those books are.

Those books are great reads, but I have seen so much misinformation and munched facts that I don't take any of them seriously anymore. Odds are that all the decisions as to what to be included were made by editors, and not the various authors.

Have you ever, ever seen a real sports car that was FWD?

Face it, FWD != sports car.

It's not just my extreme dislike of the Probe that is making me say this.

**NiN^_^NiN** · 01-28-2005, 10:01 AM

Originally Posted by Red GTi VR6

it's not a SPORTS car! simple as that!

I never said that a FWD car can't be sporty, nor did I ever say that a FWD car can't be a sports car.....to the contrary....hello!! I drive a fuggin VW GTi! I'm not a FWD basher, or an import basher by any means!

I have a hard time taking the true sense of the words "sports car" and putting it with a Probe......be it anal or car.....still just can't make the connection

Doesn't matter what u say IT IS A SPORTS CAR its a sports car by definition and it's a sports car by the auto organisations INCLUDING Goverment.

Last thing I'm gonna say IT'S A SPORTS CAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now i'm off to bed

and i'm not gonna bother with this discussion anymore

**RedGTiVR6** · 01-28-2005, 10:03 AM

hahahaha - ****y ****y

go get some sleep and we can continue debating this tomorrow.....sweetheart

=]

**Scouse Monkey** · 01-28-2005, 10:43 AM

Personally i would say it was Fords intention to make it a mainstream sports car. The angled nose, the flip up lights, 2+2 layout etc etc.

It is a poor attmept to be honest - not dissing your car, NN, i have never driven one and they might be real nice cars to drive and to be in - but as far as sports cars go we all have images of some pretty expensive and/or exotic machinery and Ford is a company that makes mainstream cars for the average punter. It has to make cars that sell in bucket loads and have a wide appeal. It can't try and compete directly with high perfomance cars as it would cost too much to develop new engines, drive trains, etc and equip its dealers with the facilties to service them. They are a 'bread and butter' company and there is no dening the Probe is a 'sporty car' and the closest thing to being a sports car they have produced since the GT40 (but that is more a supercar and is in a different league to most things) and it is obvious that it was their intention for it to be an easy to live with and run sports car.

The Delorian was supposed to be a sports car (its based on the Lotus Esprit). The probe is certainly not a family saloon, it's not a hatchback it is a coupe with extra styling. Your average coupe is derived from an existing 4/5 door model and is supposed to be the sporty model in the range to add apeal to the range and provide something for people who don't need rear doors and want something a bit sleaker looking. The Probe is a standalone product - like the Fiat Coupe and i thinkt he fiat coupe can be called a 'sports car' before the Probe but they are very similar in basic terms.

The probe has "sports car styling" and I guess it was fords "sports car" at the time.

They called it the GT - Grand Tourer. A Grand Tourer is a sports car and i think it fits the Grand Tourer name pretty well. It has a decent size engine (min 2.5 litre), it is 2 door with sporty styling and it sacrifices practicality for style.

**Custommx3** · 01-28-2005, 12:13 PM

Originally Posted by Aaron Cake

A Ford Probe is not a sports car. It's FWD. No sports car is FWD. Same with the MX-3.

It was stated a FWD is not a sports car.

**RedGTiVR6** · 01-28-2005, 12:36 PM

I won't agree with that completely....in the TRUEST sense of the words sure, but I won't agree completely

=]

**0l33l** · 01-28-2005, 02:12 PM

Originally Posted by Scouse Monkey

Not 100% true. You can make a good handling front wheel drive car - it's jsut difficult. The big problem is getting the power down. Hot hatches in Europe are now up to 240bhp or summit (alpha 147 as an example) and 200bhp was the accepted limit for front wheel drive but it can be overcome to a degree with clever engineering and a bit of black magic.

Super cars in the old days only had 280bhp. And we are not talking supercar here just sports car. If, heaven forbid, anyone did make a front wheel drive sports car and they did it right it would most likely be just as good to your average joe as a rear wheel drive only probably safer for them.

Front wheel drive is never gonna be as good to really throw around etc but how often do a lot of the muppets who can afford nice cars but buy em cos they look nice use them to their full potential?

Good luck with the torque steer in your 240bhp FWD car... my grandma's 98' Sentra (Sunny) with a 1.6l engine (117hp) had torque steer, I can't imagine it in a car twice as powerful.

**dug1967** · 01-28-2005, 08:15 PM

Originally Posted by wizardPC

being from america, hearing a ford probe called a rare sports car makes me giggle.

BTW, I have never seen a ford probe that HAS NOT been in an accident. I dunno if its a design thing or the type of drivers that buy them, but its something I noticed.

With all due respect I MUST concure... Ford Probe ---- Rare Sports Car????

Hell.... Ford and Rare Sports Car don't even mix.....

But in Austrailia, I guess everything is upside down

**dug1967** · 01-28-2005, 08:18 PM

Originally Posted by Scouse Monkey

Ford is a company that makes mainstream cars for the average punter. It has to make cars that sell in bucket loads and have a wide appeal.

And they make vehicals the ignite and burn, while sitting in your garage.... and burn your house down and kill you.....

I feel like I am falling into one of my FORD SUCKS rants again.... I will stop..... To each his own

**Scouse Monkey** · 01-28-2005, 09:47 PM

Originally Posted by dug1967

And they make vehicals the ignite and burn, while sitting in your garage.... and burn your house down and kill you.....

I feel like I am falling into one of my FORD SUCKS rants again.... I will stop..... To each his own

Ford makes a lot of cars and occasionaly there will be a bad one - it happens. Designers and engineers make mistakes - especialy when trying to keep costs down. All cars are full of mistakes and crap design. If cars were designed and built like planes they would last 30 years but they would cost a hell of a lot more and they wouldn't bring out new models very often. I am the 1st to say i would never buy a ford. But i would also never buy a vauxhall or a Kia and loads of others.