Can anyone name a performance vehicle available in the US that doesn’t have all these luxuries technologies like in-dash GPS, SYNC, park-itself, electronic-every-freaking-thing, etc.? It seems as if once you opt for a high-performance vehicle, it comes with all these other “luxuries” that I don’t want, and don’t want to pay for.
One I can think of is the Lotus brand of vehicles, but I would like to know of any others.
That could be tricky if your looking for a new car. I would suggest a scion but you did say you want a performance car and you also mentioned Lotus in your post. If I was in the same market, I would be looking at a G35/350z/S2000… Although they did come with navi, it was optional on most and you can get the Z pretty bare if you wanted. The S2k has no navi option and the G35 is the same as the 350z. I was starting to look into the Suburu STI models. I love the latest hatchback. Just throwing some suggestions out there.
PS there is always the Domestic market. C5 vette, Mustang, ect…
Ryan
370Z sport. Stay away from touring. You’ll get cloth, no navigation, no moonroof (no Z has one), and a regular ol’ 6-speed manual. Sport gives you the better brakes and limited slip as well as synchro match.
Mid 90’s NSX.
If you’re looking for something newer, the G35 is a good choice but check out STi’s and EVO’s. Pretty sure most of them came pretty bare as far as gizmo do-dads.
I would ditto the 370 or the upcoming BRZ/FRS
I concur. Or an earlier 350Z, since as previously mentioned they can be had without navigation (my '06 Touring doesn’t have it).
domestics not included? you could custom build a mustang gt with none of that crap…but I think they make you have at least a radio…or you could opt for a 1993/1995/2000 mustang cobra R. air conditioning?..nope. Radio?.. nope. Room for more than 1 passenger…not a chance. oh did you want a color other than red? we cant help you. oh and i hope you like reaching to open the pass door and cranking your windows by hand. and dont drive in fog, there are no lights for that monkey buisness, we would rather keep your brakes cool.
THanks for the responses. I didn’t really have a preference domestic or imported. It seems as if the domestic manufacturers are pushing a lot of their “most technology in its class” awards so :shrug:
this is true, its because german and japanese car companies already make all the useful technology, so domestic cars make things that no one will ever use, but still counts as “technology” haha
To me, more electronics mean more stuff that can go wrong. And it’s difficult to troubleshoot electronic components, as I’ve witnessed several times. People just end up having to replace the defective electronics which amount to several hundred dollars. I prefer to stick with the simple stuff.
[SIZE=“1”]Aliens love shorting out electronics…[/SIZE]
Agree 100%. I’d love to see more manufacturers offering the option of an affordable, stripped-down performance model. Much like the Type R was, and like the original musclecars were. That is, powerful engines in lightweight cars that were accessible to the general public. You’d think Ford could offer a rally-spec AWD Focus instead of all the bells and whistles they currently tack on. And I’ve also noticed that their commercials only show people talking about how awesome SYNC is and how they can finally parallel park, lol!
Did you have a year range in mind? I assume electronic ignition is okay so it can be something newer than say '72. 
My '06 touring has leather though. And heated seats. Which, while amazingly awesome, are luxury items. :giggle:
Neil get an '06 like the cool kids and we’ll play on some of the back roads in Severn. 
I don’t know how you like sliding all over leather. I much prefer cloth seats too.
[QUOTE=armedferret;2243976]My '06 touring has leather though. And heated seats. Which, while amazingly awesome, are luxury items. :giggle:
Neil get an '06 like the cool kids and we’ll play on some of the back roads in Severn. 
[/QUOTE]
Yeah, I was thinking of qualifying my earlier statement as mine has heated leather as well. Quite amazingly awesome. It also has cruise and steering wheel audio controls, but the latter is handy for turning down the stereo in order to hear the exhaust note, without taking your hands off the wheel. So that’s a grey area… :giggle:
I would have preferred cloth, but I do find the Z seats to be quite grippy. The other luxury items don’t really detract from the performance nature either. It still feels like a “driver’s car” in spite of them.
Anyway, you could always find a less-optioned model. 
Lotus was my first idea. How about an S2000?
Grippy leather seats? Perhaps the seat design hugs better?
Likely a better design than some, yes. It’s not overly flat like some I’ve seen (RSX Type S, for instance). Cloth would be better though I’m sure…
It’s quite huggy. Actually fits me damn near perfectly; no lateral motion that I sense really, other than tangential force–since we both know centrifugal force is technically not real 
--pulling on my body, but it doesn’t slide around in the seat at all. Think we all know that i’m not overly huge either, so it’s not like i overfill the seat. :giggle:
happy to take you for a spin sometime…no guarantees on getting too spirited, since the cooler weather plus summer perf. tires that are getting rather bald seldom yields positive results. 
Nismo 370Z RC. Pretty much a race car though. (http://www.astanaya.com/nissan-370z-nismo-rc-ready-for-driving/)
[QUOTE=armedferret;2244087]
happy to take you for a spin sometime…no guarantees on getting too spirited, since the cooler weather plus summer perf. tires that are getting rather bald seldom yields positive results. :P[/QUOTE]
But cold weather → denser air → mad horsepower yo!