Because “the grass is always greener”.
I guess we all want for something we can’t get. Dreaming is perfectly healthy as long as one doesn’t confuse it with reality. You’re fortunate enough to be able to get a taste of the reality. Most of us just get to dream.
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Tim Stoddard at Grassroots Motorsports likes to say it’s a lot more fun to drive a slow car fast than it is to drive a fast car slow. Assuming you live in a place that has roads with curves in them, he’s absolutely right.
I can wind out my old CRX and MR2 all day long on the street around town and never break the speed limit. If I had something awesome like an NSX, I’d be well into felony territory if I ran around at full throttle all the time.
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I would choose a Mazda Miata over a Nissan 370Z any time Nissan was the worst POS I ever owned.
One of the auto magazines did a comparison test of several also-ran cars. They were ones that did not win first in class in their annual COTY challenge. I believe it was Road and Track, but definitely not Motor Trend. Anyway, prices went from the Fiat Spyder Abarth up to the Porsche Cayman, I believe. As it turned out, those were the top two, and the Fiat won because it had to be driven flat out to keep anywhere near the Porsche, and the driver knew he was on the edge. The exhilaration of driving a sports car on the edge pushed the Abarth over the top.
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I would too if I could get into it…
That was also my reaction to the Subaru BRZ. I was able to get into one without too much difficulty, but when it came time to get out, I had to essentially crawl out onto the showroom floor, as I was unable to raise myself out of the very, very low seat.
I tried and couldn’t get in or out of one without great difficulty and some pain.
It needs a droptop anyway. Without a droptop it isn’t a sports car. Just a low coupe.
My son-in-law loves his old NSX, early 90’s. He takes it to local car shows and gets a tremendous amount of attention. Most ask if it is a Ferrari, and the design makes it look that way. He got it for $40K because of its age, and it clearly is his second childhood car. My daughter doesn’t care. He manages the family money very well, and in the end, it didn’t cost much more than a lot of new cars.
The maintenance parts are standard Honda parts. It is rated high speed tires, but I don’t think they cost as they would on Ferrari, just standard high speed tires.
it is in spotless condition and is actually a pretty car. He only has a two car garage, so his Honda mini-van sits outside.
He is a good man, and he is happy with it.
I guess there are different definitions of a sports car. I think of all Jaguar XKEs as sports cars. Most Ferarris are sports cars to me too, whether they are a roadster or hard top.
I really hope that he is not making all the decisions by his self. We make ours together because if something should happen to one of us the other will not be in the dark.
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They have been married 20 years this fall. When a decision comes up, they discuss it, and in most cases agree right away. She is a Christian and when she was a teen-ager I explained how it works. So, if they do not agree, she says, “We do not agree, so we are doing it your way.”
Over those 20 years, seldom is his way a mistake. As an engineer, he understands something she did not understand. In the very rare case where his decision was wrong, as a scientist herself, she has noticed the cost of his mistake was very low. And, she says, “In exchange for this, I have peace in my house.”
They live well. She lives well. Their little son probably lives too well, but what do I know?
The image of most husbands as family leader involving every sort of evil is pure fiction by people who do not like men at all.
She married him because she trusted him. So far that trust has been well justified. When he wanted the NSX, she asked one question. Can you make it happen? He told her yes, and as far as she was concerned that was good enough for her. She said he has spent many years, designing their house, getting it built; getting it paid off, and made almost perfect. And, if he will be happy with his toy, it is fine with her.
IF sons-in-law had controls on them to adjust all parameters, I would not even think of touching his controls. I could not possibly make him any better than he is.
The other one; hee, hee, that is a totally different story. Last time I visited their house was July 2005.
The Gen 1 NSX has a reputation for excessive tire wear. I suspect it could be caused by drivers having excessive fun.
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I agree that there have been true sports cars for decades lacking a retractable/removable top. My definition is a car that sacrifices practicability to achieve a primary purpose of driver enjoyment.
I did a web search for the definition of a sports car. Jack Baruch from Car and Driver presented an article in 2016 where he claimed that the SCCA calls convertibles sports cars, but nothing with a hard top. I went to the SCCA web site to check his claim out. He was right about the Mustang being a sedan, but I couldn’t find a definition of a sports car. When looking at the racing classes, Boxters and Caymans were in the same class. There were many other examples of convertibles and hard tops in the same class. There is no racing class called “sports car”. BTW, the sedan racing class is for pony cars like Mustangs and Camaros.
So a full size 4 seater Cadillac from the 1970s would be a sports car . . . ?
And a top of the line hard top Corvette would not . . . ?
I suspect the folks at SCCA need to get off their high horse and take things case by case 
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The truth is that a sports car is whatever you’d like to call a sports car.
Me, I think of a sports car as having a droptop. I grew up in the heyday of British Leyland ragtops.
That’s what the web search showed, except for that C&D writer who thought he had a better idea.
The official brochure for my 2005 Scion tC calls it a “sports coupe”.
I call it a “sporty car”. Except when I’m enjoying the utility of the fact that it’s a hatchback! 
The closest-in-words category to “sports car” in SCCA classifications is “Sports Racing,” which includes C Sports Racing, D Sports Racing, and the formerly-until-the-SCCA-cracked-down-on-the-idiots-infamous Spec Racer Ford.
They’re open top, and look kinda like hopped up Gasoline Alley Go Karts.
I know the 07 TL handles better the 07 Lexus. Test drove both back in 07. Both were great vehicles. The Lexus is however quieter (which is what my wife really liked). The lexus handles fine…drive either vehicle to extreme and the TL will be the winner. But in normal driving mode and reasonable speeds - either one is fine.
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