The demise of the exotic sports car

Like the domination of the electric car, the hydrogen car, the death of the internal combustion engine, and the end of the world, the driver-less car has been predicted as the future norm for well over a half-century with no real signs of it actually happening.

It's far more likely that we'll witness a Cubs vs. Mariners World Series than any of the previously mentioned crap actually happening.

 

I think you may be talking about the demise of a human driven car. I don't think that will happen.

I think that the computer driven developments are in response to too much traffic and energy concerns as well as safety. The roads will hold more traffic at sustained speeds and improved economies.

As far as the demise of exotic sports cars, there are so many products available today it is dizzying. A buyers cornacopia.

 

There is another issue,already present.
Exotic sports cars used to be significantly better performers then any so called "normal" cars could ever be.
Not anymore,there are plenty of comfy,very safe and very well performing family sedans or even SUVs that not only can match most exotics but even beat them in any driving environment short of a race track.
My daily driver, a lightly modded CLS63 can stay with my Italia at any speed,the acceleration feels even more brutal then the Fcar.
Performance is getting more and more accessible without spending huge $$ on exotics.

 

When I was a kid growing up in the 1970s, we were told that before the year 2000, we would all have robot servants, fully automated homes, and personal helicopters instead of cars. I was also promised that I would be taking vacation trips to the moon and its satellite stations.

Not in my lifetime, and probably not in our children's.

 

I think you nailed it. The performance gap used to be a chasm. When the Countach was doing 0-60 in 5 seconds, Porsche was selling 944s that were in the 9 second range, and anything under 10 seconds was fast. And brakes and traction control today simply kill older cars.

The whole concept of "exotic" (literally "foreign") is badly outdated. Anyone who thinks modern Ferraris and Astons are hammered out by hand in little workshops is delusional. Industry-wide technology sharing has made cars better, but also created situations like the Audi R8-Gallardo comparison, where the badge is pretty much all the remaining difference. And you're right, half the cars in the BMW and Merc showrooms will give any roadgoing Ferrari or Porsche a run for the money.

At least in the US, there are legal precedents that prevent outlawing the use of property that complied with laws when bought. E.g., those of us who own older cars prior to the existence of emissions equipment are still allowed to register and drive them on public roads.

Recently there was an interesting story about outlawing older cars in Paris, though, and it caused an outcry because a lot of the French love their old Citroens. So, anything is possible.

IMHO, cars are already living rooms on wheels. We're living in an age of obese Chevy/Cadillac Suburbans with video screens, fat kids eating and watching movies in the car and parent talking on cell phones while driving. I think we're already past the point where driving is valued as a fun activity by most.

 

Man will always lust for beauty. As long as designers produce exotic sports cars, we will buy them.

I want my automated flying Jetsons car to drive me home after a few cocktails dammit!

I was at an electronics store a few years ago. The guys behind the counter saw the TR I pulled up in. One of them said his Dodge Neon RT turbo bla bla was faster 0-60. The other guy said, "Dude, at the end of the day he drives a Ferrari, you have a Dodge."

 

I would say more like the demise of the daily driver.

 

It seems that is what a lot of people want. A Testarossa with it's full rack and pinion steering with a stick shift that only a man could operate which was all pure fun is now replaced by an auto mode button. Next step: fully automated car.

 

TOTAL RECALL. THREE "" WOMEN, HOLOGRAMS, ETC...

 

Autonomous cars are coming, and faster than you think. Audi and Toyota are demoing them at CES this year, and Volvo is saying that they intend to be the first to the market. Google has driven 300,000 autonomous miles so far on public roads.

I don't know if manually driven cars will be outlawed any time soon (although I imagine they might be), but autonomous cars will be given special lanes and privileges that will make it impractical to use a manually driven car for daily use. I predict this will happen in the next 20 years.

It's a tipping point thing. The technologies are there now, and when they start to come together things will move fast.

 

I hate to say it, but the way most people drive, it will be a plus to take control away from them.

As far as exotic car performance on local roads, there are very few places I could open a car up. My cheap Mustang GT is about 80% as much fun as I imagine my Ferrari will be during local driving. I installed a higher hp version V8 in the Mustang and it will now spin the tires if I step on the gas too hard. I have had some fun with this and don't imagine I could do much more in a Ferrari.

I want a Ferrari and I better get one before it is too late.

 

Car manufacturers have been demonstrating autonomous cars for over 50 years. As we learn in marketing class -- it's not about technology, it's about behavior. People need flexibility to drive anywhere -- and to respond to a non-automated fleet, meaning the ROI of making cars fully autonomous all the time for all destinations is far from beneficial.

 

Agree. They swerve, dart, and barely keep it between the lines.

What you'll see with the 360 (have driven a stang' many times) is the tires won't spin as readily... But the driver feel in the 360 and experience is unparalleled.

 

+1000

 

These days there a lot of forces that seem to be working against exotics. Bad worldwide economies, fuel restrictions, wealthy trying to be more on the DL etc. Computer driven cars will be around but based on previous technologies won't amount to much. People enjoy the freedom that driving offers and that will never change. Exotic cars will have an increasingly narrower market in future IMO

 

Once the fully automated traffic controls and cars are in place, how long will it take until hackers break into the system? I wonder if Vegas has any odds on that yet..

 

The thing you are missing is that the technology to make cars fully autonomous for all destinations is here today, and should be reasonably affordable. Yes, in the past those demos required expensive infrastructure and you had a chicken/egg problem.

However, Google, and Toyota, Audi, Volvo, among others, all have autonomous cars which work within our existing infrastructure, and interact with non-automated vehicles. The system works better if all the cars are automated (which is why I believe that we will have autonomous-only lanes at some point), but with today's technology it is not required.

 

If it ever happens, it will be on freeways only, as the roads will have to be modified accordingly.

But I had a kid's book on cars written in the mid-50s that predicted that we would all be in flying cars by 1970! So don't hold your breath.

 

Why do the roads have to be modified?

Google's cars (and Audi's, Volvo's, and Toyota's) seem to work fine on existing roads.

 

I've heard about Nissan developing an "auto car" and researchers developing magnetic fields under roads that charge electric cars while they're driving. I just can't imagine this becoming reality because the government would have to fund it (at least some of it), and the auto industry is too profitable. If cars become *that* boring, people wouldn't buy new cars as often, insurance would be completely different, etc. Even if this were possible, the government may not even want this all to happen. Besides, if cars were all computer programmed, highway patrolmen would have no tickets to write (in theory)!

There's conspiracy theories all over the place, but I fully believe if the government wanted to, we could have had flying cars and automated cars by now. We simply are not ready as a society for it.

Although, if all of the idiots who don't know how to drive got off the road, that would make driving F-cars much more fun and create more space on the roads. There just wouldn't be as many people to see them pass by.

 

Chinese military hackers (best in the World) are probably already salivating at a prospect of crashing the entire US transport system to a grinding halt, at will.....

 

The new cars today require very little skill to drive and some cars have auto-park software. Once automation of the steering, throttle, brake, and navigation are added people will flock to them because they will be able to surf the Internet and instant message people on their tablets while travelling. Traffic will be more efficient and safer and everyone loves that.

I hate to say it but it is inevitable. Perhaps not soon but it will depend on demand and the adoption rate for it. It's just like the debate about losing manual transmissions in favor of F1. F1 was only introduced 15 yrs ago and now we don't have a choice. Who would have predicted that in 1997?

People like to be unique and automakers will find ways to be different and give their products a strong emotional connection. Cars will still be badges of success for some brands. That won't change.

 

Agree on the performance gap. On the latter, even if legal it will be seen as reckless. Insurance rates will go up and driving yourself and causing an accident will have civil suit problems.

 

People will love cars with auto drive function. Most epople dont like the driving experience now anyway. Your commute will be a hell of a lot easier. Then we will have dedicated auto drive highways, traffic will move far mor effciently especialy during rush hour when on ramp and offramps create long backups.

Even auto drive cars will have self drive functions for when you are off autodrive roads or whatever, just as planes have the same. The cars will probably be lighter too, so your ferrari will be faster, can autodrive you to a mountain road or track and you can have ago. Older tech cars will be restricted to certain roads.

if they ever solve the battery issue, I would start worrying about where you are going to get combustable fuel for your car.

Possibly we will have dedicated tracks(driving amusement areas) that resembel highways, small towns with burger joints, and mountain roads etc for people to "stable" and excercise their old cars hang out etc. Its kinda like the horsey people today have trails and farms, but 120 years ago horses pulles everything. Could be a great weekend diversion, more fun than trying to mix it up with the general transport mass on adaily basis. Think of it as vastly expanded versions of todays track clubs. All it needs is a market.

Plus the computerised car is simply going to kill a lot of mass transit, and everyone will need the new tech so business will be good.

Frankly if I had a Nurbering type place to stable my fun cars, I really would not care about not driving on the street, its noit like you can really go fast from A to b these days anyway, might as well go in robotised comfort and chill along the way.

It will change a lot more than that though, on what basis will there be sobriety tests, or porbable cause for a vehicle search?