The Little Engine that Could…

Close your eyes and try to remember the year 1997. Our business was growing at an alarming rate and all we could dream of was an OEM Auto industry that cared about the performance minded enthusiast.

The once-kings of Japanese performance cars had all been dethroned. The 300ZX and RX-7 were both already discontinued in the US and the Supra followed a year later. Despite stellar performance and sex appeal, they had all suffered from bloated price tags and lackluster sales. Moreover, they had become a faint shadow of each of the cars that paved their way. The early Z’s, RX-7’s and Celica-Supras had followed simple tried-and-true recipes for the sports car enthusiast; combine an eager engine with a sporty suspension and wrap it in a sexy affordable package. Sadly, by the late 1980’s, Nissan, Mazda and Toyota had created a war to see who could cram the most complicated technology under the hoods of their flagship sports cars. Ultimately, it led to their demise.

Ok, so it’s 1997 and the Japanese sports car is only attainable as a used model. That is until Acura announced that the Integra Type R would hit US shores. The 195 hp 2600 lb Type R was fast, raw, high-tech and affordable! The automotive press RAVED about it’s performance and other auto-makers took note. Soon enough, budget performance cars were released year after year and I think we all have to give the Type R some credit for the much needed spark that set our industry aflame for the next decade…

1998: Subaru came through with the Impreza 2.5RS. The mini-WRX was loaded with potential and Subaru geeks around the country united in parking lots and message boards. Soon ater, the car virtually exploded with popularity as Gran Turismo and Colin Mcrae Rally became enormous video games. We all drooled for a WRX.

1999: Toyota introduced a revised Celica. Co-developed by Yamaha, the high revving 180hp motor seemed to directly target the Integra Type R.

2001: Ford brought us the SVT Focus.

2002: Nissan gave us a revised Sentra SE-R (Spec V). Acura re-badged the Integra as the RSX and the world was introduced to the now legendary K-series motor. Oh, and Subaru finally sent us the famed WRX!

2003: A big year. Mitsubishi, hot on the heels of the Subaru’s success with the WRX, brought the EVO to the US. Nissan finally released a new Z car with the 350Z. Even Dodge joined the party with the powerful and insanely affordable Neon SRT-4.

2004: Subaru countered with the WRX STI and Mazda brought back the Rotary engine with the Renesis powered RX-8.

2006: Acura drops the RSX from it’s lineup, but bolts in all the go-fast goodies into the revised Civic SI.

2007: Mazda provides again with the brutally powerful Mazdaspeed 3. And Honda took everything that made their redesigned Civic SI a winner and put it all in the worlds first Civic SI Sedan!

Back to reality – it’s 2008 and us auto enthusiasts seem to be living in a new golden age. There is a sizable menu of performance cars to choose from in the range of $20k -$25k. How much longer will it last?

There are already signs that the trend may be shifting again. Subaru and Mitsubishi continue to fight it out as horsepower ratings and price tags grow. The EVO and STI price tags start around $35K. Even Nissan is rolling out the first Skyline GTR in the US but you have to pay to play and $70K is Porsche territory.

Are our beloved budget hot rods destined to become too fat and too pricey? Will we have to endure another cycle of bland offerings from the companies we all love again? Time will tell. For now, I think we should all bow respectfully to the USDM Type R and it’s B18C5 motor. The little engine that could…

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