If I have money at the time, I think a Tesla would be an interesting car.

Built like an Elise.

All the torque ready from the start.

Different "modes" to prevent the kids from killing themselves in Dad's car and the valets from thrashing it for fun.

And who knows what safety features with active suspension, adaptive brakes, etc will make driving faster safer.

At this time, the S2000 holds up very well. But it stays in its original "niche" with the addition of a little hp.

Dyhppy, from what I've read, I think you'd really enjoy a supercharger. Have you had a chance to ride/drive an SC S2k? Some people have claimed it's "how the car should have been designed." It doesn't change the underlying characteristics (IMHO). Power delivery is still linear, just with a sharper slope.

 

your point is taken, however some details ought to be added.

electronics is a totally different ball game than cars. there have been huge leaps forward in terms of size and useage. cars have stayed very similar in their size and useage. there also hasn't been huge leaps in speed, the limiting factor being human reflexes and the potential for bodily damge. it's not like 20 yrs from now, people are going to be driving around at 120 mph like we do 80 today (unless it's all automated). cars back then like a stingray or s500 were not built as well as the S is today and did not have the ability that our cars have. what im saying is that there is an effective ceiling when it comes to cars and the S is high up there. maybe you could give an example of what would render the S obsolete and liven up my imagination.

you're right, i constantly wish i had an ap1 steering ratio and higher redline. the ap1 is truly a great car. in terms of the filler i mentioned, i meant to elude to anything that takes road feel away from the driver. i too love technology and would be the first in line if the S had a nav, laser cruise control, parked itself, etc. bluetooth would prob be kinda pointless, though. i did add heated seats, gears and upgraded the stereo which i would highly recommend for any owner. the stock S is by no means perfect.

my vision of the S2000 s future is similar to that of an older porsche, stingray or some other classic old car. if you play your cards right, you'll appear "cooler" and wise than those who have the newest hover-mobile.

i dont know what you were aiming for in your last paragraph, but im sure it was profound.

 

ckit, thanks for the recommendation. i loved the addition of the gears as it made the powerband easier to access (light flywheel and gears). i did drive a SC with gears ap1 and agree that it doesn't change the nature of the car, but when i hit vtec, the thing flew. it flew in a way that made me uncomfortable (like i'd have to find a clear stretch before i'd dare hit the gas). and for 5k bucks, i didn't feel that it was something i could really use. the lack of power may be keeping me alive and safe in an indirect way. if honda sold the car with the SC and gears, it would be a monster. as i am now, i know im not going to win any drag races, but the car is faster than i need.

 

[QUOTE=CKit,Nov 24 2006, 10:44 PM]
Dyhppy, from what I've read, I think you'd really enjoy a supercharger.

 

i just want as much possible without losing traction from freeway speeds

 

That's a very refreshing and mature perspective. Everybody seems to think they're an above-average driver, but that's statistically impossible. Look at the crash stats, so many owners can't even handle the stock power!

My old S/C was fun for a while, but HP is like a drug, and you get used to it, needing more and more to get that adrenaline rush. I'm now happy back @ stock HP, though 4.44-4.57 gears wouldn't be a bad mod. The Koni/GC suspension is more fun to me than the S/C, it makes the car so much more fun in the twisties.

 

Always, always relative.

 

I was pushing over 400awhp in my gsx, and when it ran right, it wasn't nearly as fun to drive as my stock S.

 

I don't think the Newton/big cellular phone analogy is an apt one. Those and other older electronic items that are now considered outdated (throw in tube televisions, heavy laptop computers, and so on) had obvious practical shortcomings, even when they first came out, that have since been rectified in easily-available competing models. (Chiefly weight and bulk, in the cases cited, but it matters not.)

The S has been surpassed, in a sense, by cars in its price class, but not in the same way. (By the way, I do not actually accept that the car as a whole has been surpassed -- no car anywhere near it in price offers an equivalent combination of power, handling, and livability -- but I'll mostly stick to the power issue herein.) Power and the resulting acceleration are valuable, but not in an easily-justifiable, practical way. The car's power was perfectly fine for romping in the twisties before; now that other, lesser beasts are no longer lesser in this sense, it still is perfectly fine for that. Even when there weren't small cell phones, everybody wished there were, but not too many people were unhappy about the S in 2000.

I'm irrational; we're all irrational, or we wouldn't be driving impractically small, overpowered convertibles. I wish for more power; some time in the next two years I suspect I'll either add forced induction or trade for an NSX, and having done so, I'll still wish for more. But the "need" isn't really a need, nor even a practical desire, so I resist.

Meanwhile, if there were an alternative in the same price range that offered everything the S does, in terms of driving fun in a daily-commuting-friendly package, but with a greater power/weight ratio, it would be irrational not to switch. And if superchargers were free, or even cheap, I'd already own one, as I suspect would most of you. We have proved, by buying our S's, that we care about performance, practical or not. Maybe there's an upper bound to what we'd want, but frankly, I doubt it. I'm quite sure that I'd trade up to at least 500 hp, maybe higher, if I were given an easy way to do so. I'll bet most of y'all would, too.

 

i agree that if SC and power upgrades were free, many more people would do it. but that is only because we all grew up erroneously thinking more is better. once we all have it, the thought process might change. just like everyone wants to be rich and famous, but if everyone was, than some might just regret it.