Mustangs, Camaro's, Chargers, Challengers... Your Civic, are not sports cars

[lavaheadache]

I admit, it's a bit of a nit pick but I can not stand it when those cars are referred to as sports cars. Every other thread about mustangs and camaros have people referring to them as sports cars. Please do me and the rest of the people who are car buffs a favor and look up the term " sports car" and see what the results turn up.

It is equally as annoying as the countless people a I hear referring to the entire computer and case as the CPU

 

[yottabit]

Very true. The definition of "sports car" has degraded over the years... however going back to the real definition, its funny to think that a Miata is a sports car but a Mustang isn't

It's particularly annoying when they label sport compacts that way...

 

[Gillbot]

Ahh, long live the Pony car.

 

[Vette73]

Ahh, long live the Pony car.

Not to be confused with the Hyundai Pony car. :hmm:

 

[LTC8K6]

I would argue that they are closer to sports cars now than they have been in the past. In the past, they couldn't turn. That's no longer true.

 

[darkswordsman17]

Don't agree, but by all means define sports car so we can nitpick your definition.

At the bare minimum, explain how the current Mustang, especially say the Boss 302 Laguna Seca with Track Pack isn't a sports car.

It is equally as annoying as the countless people a I hear referring to the entire computer and case as the CPU

Really, you find it equally annoying? The only way I would is if they referred to the whole car as the engine.

 

[vshah]

yo my civic is definitely a sports car it has HIDs and vtec yo.

 

[LTC8K6]

Didn't a Mustang keep up with an M3?

That would be pretty good for a car that's not considered a sports car.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Didn't a Mustang keep up with an M3?

That would be pretty good for a car that's not considered a sports car.

Maybe it's the fine German interior that makes it a sports car?

Oh wait, maybe it's the back seats! Yeah, that's it. Hold on a sec, the Porsche 911 has a back seat...must not be a sports car. The 911 GT3 is basically the same car but without back seats so it is a sports car. That also makes the 370Z a sports car and the Infiniti G37 not a sports car.

Nissan GT-R, oop, has a back seat...not a sports car.

 

[Zivic]

civics are sport compacts....

who really cares what they are labeled. it doesn't change what they fundamentally are. Still a compact car with a small 4-banger and FWD

 

[lavaheadache]

Maybe it's the fine German interior that makes it a sports car?

Oh wait, maybe it's the back seats! Yeah, that's it. Hold on a sec, the Porsche 911 has a back seat...must not be a sports car. The 911 GT3 is basically the same car but without back seats so it is a sports car. That also makes the 370Z a sports car and the Infiniti G37 not a sports car.

Nissan GT-R, oop, has a back seat...not a sports car.

Jules, a porche 911 is referred to a 2+2 not a 4 seater. Remember back in the eighties when rx7's had tiny little back seats as an option or 300zx's?

 

[JCH13]

From Merriam-Webster: "a low, small, usually 2-passenger, automobile designed for quick response, easy maneuverability, and high-speed driving"

What makes a Mustang or Camero not fit this definition?

 

[yottabit]

From Merriam-Webster: "a low, small, usually 2-passenger, automobile designed for quick response, easy maneuverability, and high-speed driving"

What makes a Mustang or Camero not fit this definition?

"small" ?

I agree its a fuzzy definition now. It used to be easier to separate the mustang and camaro because of their awful handling, but that has progressed so far now.

It also used to be that you could say they weren't DESIGNED for handling- what separated sports cars from others in my eyes was that sports cars were designed from the start as performance vehicles, while a lot of other cars were modified/redesigned economy/passenger platforms.

 

[xaeniac]

Maybe it's the fine German interior that makes it a sports car?

Oh wait, maybe it's the back seats! Yeah, that's it. Hold on a sec, the Porsche 911 has a back seat...must not be a sports car. The 911 GT3 is basically the same car but without back seats so it is a sports car. That also makes the 370Z a sports car and the Infiniti G37 not a sports car.

Nissan GT-R, oop, has a back seat...not a sports car.

This guy has a point and I would like to see it countered.

 

[yottabit]

This guy has a point and I would like to see it countered.

I don't want to defend the sports car definition, but from the "sports car" diehards they would say the Infiniti is not a sports car because it was designed with Luxury in mind, and a GT-R is not a sports car at all. Well, the NEW GT-R may be arguably a sports car, but none of the previous ones were since they were based on the Skyline

By "sports car" logic, an RX-7 is a sports car, a Bugatti Veyron is not. It doesn't mean the RX-7 is better, its just a different category.

WRX/Civic Si are definitely not "sports cars" whereas a Hyundai Genesis Coupe or 370z could be construed as one

I think the reason its hard to call a Mustang a Sports car stems from the fact that you can get it in an economy v6 package with subpar handling. A car that needs to be configured for great performance isn't really a sports car. Think Ferrari, Lotus, etc...

All in all I think it's a dying definition. I had a argument with a friend once and he didn't believe me that his WRX wasn't a sports car but a Corvette was. Alas words are defined by how the population uses them

 

[JCH13]

Read this from Motor Trend on the V6 mustang.

Cliffs: 5.1s 0-60, 13.7s @ 102 quarter mile, 0.96gs skid pad. Those strike me as sports car numbers.

Yes, it is configurable. Being configurable is great because people can make the car suit their needs, rather than the other way around. Does this make it not a sports car? No, I don't think so. You can just configure the percentage of hardcore sports car that suits you. From base-line V6 to Laguna Seca Boss 302.

 

[Arkaign]

Yeah it's a dumb label. Civic is definitely not a 'sports' car. The Si is a 'sporty' car to some degree, though not as much as it used to be comparitively speaking. Mustang has definitely become a full-fledged sports car imho, particularly the more athletic variants such as the Boss and GT350. People just being petty. It could be a Ferrari 458 with a Mustang badge and certain people would be like 'but but that's not a sports car'.

 

[yottabit]

Read this from Motor Trend on the V6 mustang.

Cliffs: 5.1s 0-60, 13.7s @ 102 quarter mile, 0.96gs skid pad. Those strike me as sports car numbers.

Yes, it is configurable. Being configurable is great because people can make the car suit their needs, rather than the other way around. Does this make it not a sports car? No, I don't think so. You can just configure the percentage of hardcore sports car that suits you. From base-line V6 to Laguna Seca Boss 302.

I think the reason we are all getting hung up is we are looking at it two different ways. I know there are many people that think a sports car is defined not by the numbers, but by the design intent. The V6 mustang might have "sports car handling", but it clearly wasn't defined with performance as the first criteria. Old sports cars have shitty numbers, but that doesn't make them any less sports cars.

Something like a Miata might not even have as good numbers, but its clearly designed from the start as a sports car. You sacrifice creature comforts and large size to gain better handling. That's its common link to Ferrari and Lotus, and what separates it from an Audi or BMW.

Something that weighs near 4000 lbs and can lavishly seat 2-4 people is not a sports car by our old stuck-up definition, even if it does post good numbers and handle great

Just because modern sedans and coupes (and sports compacts) are approaching levels of performance that used to be defined as sports car, doesn't make them sports cars

If it's not a sports car from the factory, IMO you can never make it a sports car. Making my Saturn S-series handle great and do a faster 0-60 is never ever going to make it a sports car.

I'm not trying to push this definition on anyone- its just the way I look it at. I would love to own a new mustang, but I don't think I myself would refer to it as a sports car. I think of it as a class of vehicle reserved for small comparatively light vehicles that are designed with performance in mind first

 

[yottabit]

Wikipedia sums it up pretty well:

Sports car versus sporting models

A car may be a sporting automobile without being a sports car. Performance modifications of regular, production cars, such as sport compacts, sports sedans, muscle cars, hot hatches and the like, generally are not considered sports cars, yet share traits common to sports cars. They are sometimes called "sports cars" for marketing purposes for increased advertising and promotional purposes.[5] Performance cars of all configurations are grouped as Sports and Grand tourer cars or, occasionally, as performance cars.

 

[KentState]

Calling something a sports car is like calling someone black. It's a descriptor based on certain attributes, but it doesn't mean that one is better than the other. Some people get so caught up in certain high performance vehicles not being a "sports car" and it really doesn't matter.

 

[Arkaign]

Hmm, that's retardulous. I'd much rather have a muscle car that outperforms something in every_single_category than a mediocre car that carries the official 'sports' car label. Granted, most muscle cars are pigs (Camaro, Challenger, I'm looking at you!), but whatever makes people feel better.

 

[yottabit]

Hmm, that's retardulous. I'd much rather have a muscle car that outperforms something in every_single_category than a mediocre car that carries the official 'sports' car label. Granted, most muscle cars are pigs (Camaro, Challenger, I'm looking at you!), but whatever makes people feel better.

Why is it retardulous? I think the issue is that people think "sports car" inherently means "better". Why should it? It's just a different class IMO. I think most people who buy a Mustang should be happy it's not a "sports car" (at least by my definition) because then they probably wouldn't enjoy it as a DD. Most people don't want true sports cars...

I'm sure there are plenty of people who would prefer an older, under-performing (compared to modern cars) sportscar rather than a Mustang, too. A lot of it is about the driving experience

 

[hanoverphist]

Not to be confused with the Hyundai Pony car. :hmm:

also not to be confused with the my little pony car...

and i refer to my civic hb as my goKart.

 

[LTC8K6]

Both the M3 and the WRX were voted sports cars of the decade...

So, somebody must think they are sports cars...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sports_Car_International_Top_Sports_Cars#Top_sports_cars

 

[GuitarDaddy]

The definition of sports car has become so blurred its what ever you want it to be. If you want to be a real purist then only track cars qualify! Got A/C? not a sports car! Headlights? not a sports car! Nav system? definately not a sports car!


Labels are stupid, if it bothers you what someone else considers a "sports car" then you have way too much idle time on your hands.