Toyota Supra

The NSX revealed (Acura).

(Pictures are from Autoblog)

Looks like today is the official release for the NSX reviews. The internet has been buzzing as reviewers post their comments on the car. The car had been sighted at various locations and has had hiccups due to engine reconfigurations. However it seems that finally Honda/Acura have given the release on a production NSX that will be available spring of 2016.

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I’m already over this model, all I can now wait for is the NSX Type-R if they ever make one for the “Acura” brand. It also looks like the GTR is finally getting the N-attack package released in North America. I loved the look of this package much more than the NISMO edition. I can’t wait to see it on GTR’s here in the states.

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All we need now is the Supra to be revealed at the Tokyo Motor Show.

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Friday! Friday! Friday!

The FT-1/Supra is still a no show. BMW’s next Z4, the last E chassis model, is still in wraps because of the ToyoBM partnership with the cars. However, the Z4 GT3 model made its last appearance in the 24hrs Spa race, so I can only assume this replacement is getting close to making its debut. The Z4 has been a hit ever since it debut; they didn’t even need to make a M// model for it to stand out like the earlier Z4 and Z3. Anyways, if we don’t hear anything by the end of SEMA, most likely more will be revealed about either the Z4 or FT-1 around the time of the Tokyo Auto Salon and Detroit Auto Show.

And whether or not the FT-1 will be named “Supra”, the fact remains that it will reignite a flame that Toyota has been reluctant to light ever since 2002.

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In the U.S. we have the Continental Tire Road Race going on from Aug 8-10, this will be composed of mainly GT3LM, GT, and Prototypes. If you are in the Wisconsin area, head to Road America to check it out.

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Manually Getting There.

So I composed a list for North American car manufacturers offering a manual transmission in their line up. I found a lot of interesting things when searching through different car web pages, especially gaudy flair.

The Alfa Romeo webpage was by far the most confusing of them all. I tried to get a simple spec sheet that took me more than 6 minutes to find, I should have been paid for fanyarin’ that kazi. Porsche also has too many options for their cars that they fail in giving a clean webpage to properly choose and differentiate between the options. Honestly, if you are getting a brand new Porsche, find a dealership and let them help you with those choices. The easiest page was Scion, nothing flashy and quite simple to understand and build my car.

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Few surprises were with Audi only having manuals for its A4, A5, and R8 lines, this includes S models. They had the easiest and cleanest web configuration when building a car out of the other luxury brand vehicles. Volkswagen also shares parts with the A3 through the A6 models, so I was surprised that the A3 didn’t have a manual transmission standard/option, yet all Volkswagen’s do. With the release of the new Lamborghini Huracan I won’t be surprised if the new R8 V10 loses the manual option too.

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The three Japanese luxury brands have essentially phased out all manual transmissions in their line up. I know Acura is now officially overseen by U.S. management as of the beginning of this year, so I’m not sure if the ILX will even remain a manual. Infiniti hasn’t released its official Q60 coupe since it shares engines with the Fairlady Z and Lexus decided the IS models don’t need manuals anymore.

For the American brands, Ford had options on almost all their sedans and coupes besides the Taurus. Chevrolet and Dodge also had a great line-up for a manual transmission package on their cars. As for  luxury U.S. cars, Buick and Cadillac had at least one or two options performance cars with manual options.

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Lotus, Porsche, and Subaru were my all time favorites. They still offer manuals as standard and their line-up’s were amazing. The BMW range disappoints me, it looks like they are slowly trying to let go of the manual. However I’m glad the M6 and M5 still have that option available.

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