Seeing some nice S2000s down here in California. All-black car with Mugen hardtop, white one with a slammed suspension and aftermarket exhaust and then a white AP2 with the taller rear OEM wing. Beautiful weather and roads here for a convertible - 20*C (or higher) every day so far!

 

A few weeks ago, when the roads were just starting to get dry (before the two big snowstorms we just had), I saw a black Scuderia out and about. Or rather, I saw it parked in a parking lot, but it was dirty as if it had been driven.

 

White S2k with hardtop on whyte Friday night.

 

Saw a black one last Saturday following me down Kingsway, turned South onto 133 st.

Dark Grey Metallic one going WB on 101 Avenue heading into the City from 34th St.

My coworker's nephew just bought an '04 white with a rebuilt engine from Calgary over Easter.. does anyone know about that car?

 

Just saw a white SLS AMG roadster on Gateway Boulevard Saturday night, top down. Sounds great, but the driver only gave it a bit of throttle in first, then was driving quite slow. Driving to be seen?!?

 

Saw a newer Viper ACR off Baseline yesterday, near the Honda/Chev/Hyundai dealerships.

 

Saw the SLS parked in Allard (111 St at 30 Ave SW) in the executive home neighbourhood.

 

I keep seeing this matte red wrapped full size Range Rover on the east side of town and in the Park. Weird look. Yet strangely, I am drawn to it...

On another note, highlights of the 2013 car show for me were the following:

Cayman S - looks hot - S2000 replacement in a few more years when depreciation works in my favour?!? Looks so much better than the first generation.

Jaguar F-Type - looks even hotter - V8S model with near on 500hp = 911 Turbo power for 911 Carrera money

McLaren 12C - love the doors and just about everything else.

Ferrari 458 - black on black - could you ask for more?

Focus ST - surprisingly nice inside, love the Recaros.

BMW M6 Gran Coupe - carbon roof and matte silver paint - $155k! Makes a regular M5 look like a bargain at $122k.

Aston Vanquish and DB9 - engine bays and interiors are absolutely gorgeous, as are the 'swan' doors. But the exterior design is looking a bit dated now, especially the 'new' Vanquish - looks like a DB9 with some carbon add ons, boo.

I wish Lotus brought the new Exige S out though, I've been dying to see that in the metal.

 

Totally agree with you, except for the Astons. I love the Vanquish and Vantage, especially - gorgeous cars, even if they don't change much from decade to decade...

I totally fell for the Cayman S. They improved that design so much over the last generation. The back end looks properly solid/muscular now. The last generation looked rather wimpy in the back, I felt, but the new one just looks perfect. The car has a great stance, excellent presence and is quite compact as well. I came home and told my wife that I found my next car. I almost convinced myself that I want it more than a 991S with the sport design package.

I also loved the blue 991 with the ducktail spoiler - didn't know that was an option (definitely not the standard appearance of the 991). Apparently it comes with the Sport Design package. Nice!

That Jag F-type was beautiful! 380 hp in the base model (supercharged V6) but definitely getting pricy. I'd prefer a car with a true manual transmission (I actuate the clutch and stick), though, so even though I know it's not quite comparable, I'd still probably go for a Cayman S for similar money. We'll see, though - have to drive them both. Jag interiors and styling look pretty good to me - just not sure I'd trust one over a Porsche.

The ZR1s were great looking, too - they always impress me much more in person than in pictures.

The FR-S with the Five Axis kit looked amazing! While I wouldn't personally put 19s on a car that's focused on being light and nimble, the additional aero pieces really did work well. $3K (installed and warranteed) by the dealer, so actually a pretty good price! The base FR-S interior left me wanting more but the BRZ was much nicer inside.

I was struck (once again) by how bad the interiors are on muscle cars. The Mustang and Camaro, regardless of trim, are truly horrendous. Big, massive dashes with lots of plastic and bland panels. Ugly! I swear, I'd pay $1K-$2K more for those cars if they could make an interior that matched the power under the hood...

The Dodge Dart was arguably the worst car I looked at. I got in it and immediately thought "This is just a new Neon". Dash design, seat design, materials - it all screamed "Neon" to me, and I haven't driven/been in a Neon (rental car) since 1999, I think, so that's kind of scary.

 

I really don't dig the 'new' Vanquish. I really think Aston needs to move their game along. I realize they are a relatively small manufacturer, but they keep harping on about their platform and how it can be used for years to come - but it's already been used for years already! Kinda scary in the long run for them, I think. I really do dig the Vantage, especially in V12 guise. But the other models need more differentiation between them I think. I honestly have a hard time telling them apart immediately (other than the Rapide and of course the One-77). The Vanquish is just a nameplate now, I wish it was actually another model.

Re: Porsches - Cayman S or a nice 997 Carrera 2S? Hard choices. Early 997 C2S are in the $40-50k range now. But I am still focused on a C63, so I think I will keep my S2000 for a while. I had bandied about the idea of selling my S2k and getting a 911, and then keeping my C55. But the C63 is still too appealing, so I will stick with the original plan and sell the C55 when it becomes time. Talk about a first world problem....

I was really surprised to see the duckbill on the 991 too. Too bad I couldn't get much closer, they were all fenced off. Nice they have that nostalgic option, very cool. But I still like the 997 vs. the 991.

The bodykitted FRS looked great too, I have to agree. I didn't look at it too long though. I'd like to see one of the Rockey Bunny bodykits in the metal (fibreglass?). I sat in the BRZ but not the FRS. The BRZ looked nice but I don't think it will wear well.

I sat in a Challenger SRT8 - for kicks. We rented a base V6 Challenger on our honeymoon in Maui. Whilst the SRT8 is obviously a huge step up, and looks pretty cool from the outside, the instrument cluster feels very aftermarket. And I mean like cheap aftermarket, like APC as opposed to, say, Defi.

I also sat in the Cherokee SRT8. The shift paddles are a bit disappointing. Like half paddles. And then there are buttons on the back of the steering wheel too. These can't also be transmission related because the manual Challenger SRT8 also had them. Something to do with stereo maybe? Also, the shift lever on the Challenger was gross.