Sadly, history seems to repeat itself. I couldn't have said it better myself, I wholeheartedly agree with Jeremy Clarkson, and it is one of the main reasons that I bought my 370Z. The 2012 EPA fuel economy mandates and green movement in general are putting the era of the sports car in grave danger, and the sports cars as we know them are in the final twilight.
I think we are going to see a mass extinction much worse the death of the American Musclecar in the mid-70's, and the demise of the Japanese sportscar in the mid-to-late 90's. The V10's and V12's have all but been extinguished from all but the most exclusive exotics, I fear the V8's are next, and the V6's may follow if this madness does not stop. Soon we will all be forced to drive underpowered, small displacement hybrid 4-cylinders, or electric vehicles. Sure, the picture I paint may be a little extreme, but it is not completely unrealistic.
Sure, technology may find a way, as long as there is a demand for it. I get the feeling that we will first see a reduction in performance, like the late 70's musclecars that managed to survive when all the emissions crap was tacked on them (the 1978 to 1983 Corvette comes to mind). It will likely be years before the affordable performance of something like a Mustang GT, 370Z, or Camaro will be re-realized with affordable hybrid or electric technology. Even then, if the market has been extinguished, will someone put the effort into reviving it?
What I really dislike about the green movement is the way that it is being implemented and accepted, but that is a very political discussion. I wish the people pushing so heavily for the green movement would look back and see how far we have come. As Minicobra1 and BanningZ posted, we have come a long way. I never would have guessed that I would ever have a 3.7 liter V6 that develops more power than a 5.7 liter V8 and is more than twice as efficient.
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