B serious

An excellent point.

A good daily use vehicle is often different than something minimalistic like a S2000.

Could I drive a S2000 every day? Yeah probably.

But COT dang, is it nice to get into a new car with new stuff.

I'm an enthusiast...so even if I bought a new car, I wouldn't just go buy some lame box that's full of "cool stuff".

There are genuinely GREAT cars out there today that are also packed with features. Those two things are not mutually exclusive.

My 06 TSX 6MT with tech package is out dated now. BUT...its still got most of the tech I use every day (nav, bluetooth, auto climate, etc etc etc) And it still runs great.

When I buy a new car, it will be something interesting...but with the most up-to-date tech I can afford.

RLT

But whatever % is left over just might agree, you never know.

B serious

Heck yeah, brother.

We've had multiple trips of that sort in all kinds of cars. Including S2000's.

I doubt I'll ever want to do another 2 person S2000 long haul though. Where does one put their sandwiches?

True. Lol...but car companies do exist to make money. And honestly, the small number of cool cars we see every now and then are made possible by a mass-marketing budget.

GuthNW

Not that it matters all that much but it seems that I am not getting through to some of you. While I can appreciate why some people love to configure their cars with as much new technology as possible, I personally do not care for most of it. My truck is coming up on 20 years old. The CD player doesn’t work, the tape deck doesn’t work, leaving the radio which I don’t bother with. I’ve got a shell on the back making parking the thing in an urban environment a total pain.

Truth be told the ride is not much more comfortable than the S2000. But it is great for carrying my fishing boat, hauling stuff back and forth to the cabin, making runs to the dump and any number of other things. That’s why I own it and drive it. It gets scratched, dinged and is filthy most of the time and I don’t have to worry about it. I wouldn’t mind ABS but that’s not part of the deal either.

Here’s the thing, it’s all relative. The truck felt like a luxury vehicle compared to commuting on the motorcycle. But I did plenty of that for a few years as well. Not everyone is looking to be coddled during their commute. I prefer no commute at all when I can swing it.

B serious

It probably depends on how long you commute, to where, and how often also.

I have almost no commute. If I didn't have to suit up fancy for work, I'd ride my bicycle.

So...yeah, my loudassed, completely devoid of features S2000's are great for that (in the summer).

In the winter? A car with heated mirrors, heated seats, fast acting heat, and goodass windshield wipers is key as I absolutely will not clear snow off a car.

Or a longer trip? A silent and roomy car with tons of gadgets is way better.

And so on.

In my opinion, anyway.

s2000Junky

I own a highly modified boosted 02 s2k and a mildly modded 00 Toyota Tacoma 4x4 with manual locking hubs. Both are DD depending on what the weather is doing. I don't even have anti lock brakes in the truck. Both are cool as **** and serve all my demand and entertainment needs. I have decently upgraded Stereo's for when I'm in the mood. My smart phone does everything else. They are long paid for and all I will ever need. I can fix them when broke and don't plan on ever getting rid of either one for those reasons. Try and replace them! I can spend 5x what they are worth for a new less fun or capable vehicle in either avenue. Both "outdated" vehicles that fit a niche perfectly unto themselves.

GuthNW

This is a very good point. I realize that some people spend four hours or more of every work day commuting. Personally if it came to that for me then I'd be spending my free time looking for a job that didn't require such a long commute because no car is going to make me happy under those circumstances. I'll happily leave the long commutes to others. The S2000 works great for me just the way it is because I only use it for fun drives and short getaways.

Years ago I had a job in Austin where I wore a suit and tie and had a decent commute to get there. I was plenty happy to have a nice new Audi to drive at the time. Traffic wasn't nearly as nasty back then and my commute included a scenic stretch of twisty road. The heated mirrors were nice at times but the ice cold AC was a real blessing most of the year. Living in the Chicago area would obviously have it's own set of requirements. How you manage to get away without clearing snow from the windshield is beyond me.

One of my favorite memories in life was taking a road trip with my father in his El Camino back when I was in high school. We were traveling to a motorcycle dealership a few states away — left before sunrise and got home after sunset. The only tech that El Camino sported was an AM radio. It didn't matter, we spent most of the trip talking. Didn't score a deal on a bike, ran into a couple of major downpours (visibility was zilch and had to pull off of the road more than once) and in general had a great time. A newer vehicle with a nice stereo, etc. would have surely been nice, but I consider that trip pretty much perfect as it was.

Regardless of how I feel about it, "modern cars" have always been defined in part by how well they were able to integrate the latest technology. In this country at least this is what the majority of people want. At one point having AC was a big deal. Same for power brakes, power steering, power windows, etc.. An AM radio with a single speaker in the dash evolved into a "stereo" with multiple speakers and now there are all kinds of audio companies looking to co-brand with automotive manufacturers. Who knows where it will all lead. There are plenty of things that we now more or less take for granted that were once considered cutting edge. The only time I see that changing is when we've reached the point where we will no longer be using cars at all.

GR8Bike

I agree with you. All my vehicles are paid for and the cost of ownership is nothing. My "Hellement" is used to haul my bikes and take trips to Moab, St. George, etc for MTBing and road riding. Highly modified E with 437 whp. CD player for noise and a couple of cup holders. Great vehicle. Fast, fun and will never sell it. My 03 S2K is fully built and turboed. 519 whp in current map. Great summer car. My wife has an 08 Nissan Versa. Total stock. She loves it. I drive about 10K per year now that I am retired. Ride my bike mostly. Old guy who doesn't care about tech in autos and have had some of my most fun experiences driving in Europe with no GPS or maps. Go where you want to go and enjoy your experiences.

s2000Junky