Hello!
In response to point 1, TVR never had to homologate for the American market. The amount of effort that has to go into crash and pedestrian protection is *insane* and this is what makes a lot of 'normal' cars look similar and weigh a lot. Also need to balance materials vs cost vs weight. TVRs are partially light because of the body work but glassfibre has more than a couple of downfalls - bringing me back to crash protection. Let's face it, crash in a Griff and you'd be lucky to walk out of it in one piece whereas in even a modern supermini the amount they can withstand is incredible.
Not what people like to hear from petrolheads but I'd take saving lives over minimising weight any day of the week and I'm glad the standards/regulation are so high nowadays. Not saying it's perfect but I think it does more good than harm.
At the same time customer demand for luxury has increased and people expect air con units that can chill you even when the car is at full tilt on a hot summer's day. People expect having good hi-fis, comfy seats with lots of adjustment, high grade plastics, so on and so forth. It all adds weight and there's only so many places you can trim without a car costing a fortune.
As for number 4, I think you're being a bit unfair. Porsche make God awful interiors? Do they? They're not the most exciting but their quality is undeniable, as attested to the sheer number of the things running round in perfect working order. The new Panamera/Cayenne have really swish interiors. As for BMW, well, they're a large scale manufacturer so there has to be commonality in parts and design language. That's why firms like TVR go bump and why BMW make big profits even in a recession. I really like BMW interiors FWIW and they feel hewn from granite, even in the 1 series.
And I wouldn't call the XKR a blunted instrument, not sure how you can argue against something with 500+bhp/lb ft, ability to do everything and undercut Aston's efforts by £10k minimum. They're a really desirable car.
Last edited by Cicerone; 24/08/10 04:40 PM.
