I am a backwards thinking billhilly and I have no problem admiting it. Instead of buying a vehicle new and then trying to make it better I buy old junk and turn it into something worth having. I dont like any of the new vehicles out there at all. Really there are some of them that have some really cool features but you have to put up with a computer thinking way more than the driver. Toyota seems to be at the forefront of the computer car age. In all the writeups that Ive read on all the new vehicles offered by Toyota the same type of problem rings loudly in my mind, the computer systems have too much controll over what is happening as you drive. Everything that can be copmputer controlled is from the ABS to the traction control, yes they are very closely related but on different planes. I feel like Im on my own in thinking that I am smarter than a computer in most cases. Yes ABS is good to have and so is electronic stability control if you let your mom borrow your rig and she doesnt have the same understanding of the characteristics of the braking and yaw of your vehicle.
I think that Toyota has indeed really lost sight of the performance car segment in the US as well maybe even more so than in the Semi Usefull Vehicle market. They have neutred each and every "performance" oriented car in there lineup one by one. They have just as Mike suggested systematically downsized the hp ratings and made the cars look sportier than ever, but also slower than ever before. I just dont get it, I hope that one day someone gets into a place of authority in Toyota USA that has no degree from MIT or Harvard and has balls hairy enough to start kicking everyone else right straight in theirs. Then and only then will Toyota get returned to its former place as a performance vehicle.
