American Cars in GT5

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I certainly think you have to have Mosler in the game. The Florida-based car company produces cars such as the Mosler Raptor and the sexy MT900. The MT900 has raced in series ranging from Rolex Sports Cars, the British GT Series, the Bathurst 24 Hours, and the JGTC. It's powered by an LS1 Corvette motor, so you know it has power. Then too, the MT900 looks more like a super version of a Corvette C5, only with a mid-engine layout. Mosler would make great race cars for the GT series. Callaways are nice, but I'd like to sweeten the pot with Mosler and the hot MT900 and hotter MT900R.

This is just like my GT4 thread on American cars. American means "made in America," ranging from any compacts to supercars and race cars. The basis of my American cars argument, thus, doesn't only pertain to muscle cars. Sure, muscle cars are more American than anything, but there are other machines such as the Dodge Neon SRT-4, Chevrolet Cobalt SS, Vision K/2, and that sort of thing. So if there's any unique American automobiles from economy to concept or supercar that would be interesting for the next GT game, share your favorites.

Say what you want about the new Pontiac GTO. But Rhys Millen races one in Formula D, while Rolex Sports Cars have these lovely orange and blue GTO race cars that would also look good in a GT game. To me, I would like to see more race cars for American cars in GT5. This is even if they are purely fictional machines. It would be nice to see Vector return with the M12 and the Wiegert thingie from GT2.
 
JEEP! JEEP! JEEP!

Imagien the Hurricane with dual hemi's and 0 degree steering radius. Oh my lord that would rock so much. And I would love that classic CJ-8 Scrambler.
 
Im'a tell you something. If that Jeep was in the game, it would be the next most unique car to be in the GT series. GT4 had the Nissan Skyline Pace Car, which turned out to be one of the most fun vehicles I've ever used in a GT game. And with mods, it is even sweeter.

As I said, if it's American, it belongs in this thread for discussion. Doesn't have to be muscle cars. Having a few of the AMC muscle cars would be a unique twist. The SVT Focus would also be a nice twist. While the Focus was born in Europe (am I right? If not, set me straight), we took the Focus and made it racier. For sure, I'd love to see a 2005 Ford Mustang as a race car, and I don't mean that concept car with two small lights on each side with that bad in the middle. I'm talking about the one with extra lights, the V8 model. I've given my 2005 Mustang GT a nice rear wing, so why not a GT wing for this machine? Or if you want to have a little fun, why not mod one up to be like the Team Falken drifting Mustang?

Other American additions I'd nominate would be the late 1990s Chevy Cavalier, 50th Anniversary Chevy Corvette C5, 1960s Ford Mustang Boss 302, Dodge Hemi Dart, Dodge Omni GLHS, Vision K/2, Vector M12, 2001 Saleen S7R, Chevy Cobalt SS, 200? Dodge Viper Performance Coupe (the racing model normally seen in the Speed GT Championship), Panoz Esperante GT1 Road Car, Panoz Esperante, Dodge Ram SRT10, 2000 Chevrolet Camaro RS, Pontiac Firebird/Trans-Am of 1999...

I named as many interesting picks as I could. Do you agree with some of my picks? Have any others? Of course, this thread is also about making American cars better in the next GT, since a lot of people didn't really like the American car sounds and such. Okay, carry on. Awaiting the next reply...
 
Yeah... muscle cars would be nice. Mabye a '70 Z/28 Camaro ontop of what is already in there. Mabye an '02 Camaro SS 35th anniversary model.
Corvettes: '53, '58(Fuelie 327), '63 Z06 big-tank, Original Corvette GranSport, '67 L88 427, '69 ZL-1(all-aluminum 427, 490+hp.), '71, '80, '91, '96 ZR-1 and GS, 50th anniv, '04 Z06, '06 Z06 & Z51. Have I mentioned that I like 'vettes?
Umm... Hemi 'Cuda, Hemi Dart, Superbird Hemi, Roadrunner, GTX.
AMC AMX
Impala 409, '66 Buick Riviera GS, '70 GS 455 Stage 1 and GSX.
'96 Impala SS, '87 GNX.
Olds 442's from '68, '70. Preferably W31's.
Ford Mustangs - '70 Boss 302 & 429, '67 and '68 GT350 & GT500, '66 GT350R, '70 Mach 1, and a Penske Racing Mustang.
'70 Mercury Cougar Eliminator (302 &428)
That's all I can think of right now... post more later.

Edit1 - I'd like to see some trucks as well. Ram SRT-10, Silverado SS, SVT Lightning, Ranger Edge, Typhoon and Syclone, Blazer Extreme, Colorado, and mabye an old '69 or '70 Chevy C-series truck. Oh, and an El Camino.

For stuff other than cars, I would really like to see a proper form of drag racing. I'm talking about where you pull up to the burnout box and do a burnout, then stage your car and get your own R/T. At the end of the race, I would like to see something along the lines of a timeslip that has R/T, E/T, 0-60, 0-100(if applicable), and speed of the run.

More importantly, I would like to hear accurate sounds. There is nothing that pisses me off more than choosing a Cougar XR-7 and listening to a new Camaro (The Camaro sound isn't even accurate).
I believe that PD said that the car sounds were recorded. I now know that is not true, as they are not accurate.

Also, proper torque and power bands should be implemented. All of the musclecars (and trucks for that matter) don't have any power/torque in the low RPMs, where IRL they have most of their torque.
 
Well, CMcMahon, I don't think most American-made cars from foreign brands count. For example in NASCAR, the Toyota Tundra raced in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is built here in Texas or Indiana, one of them. With rumors of Toyota entering Busch and Nextel Cup in the future, you'd have to imagine what will be used. Anyhow, I don't think a lot of people would see "American-made Toyotas" that way. If there was one consideration, then hands down, I'd surely like to see that 1,000hp Toyota Tacoma Pikes Peak back in 1999 and 2000. I remember Rod Millen just SPEEDFREAKING that thing up Pikes Peak, but sadly... wasn't able to crack the 10 minute mark climbing up the mountain.

This I didn't know about Toyota... if you visit the Toyota New Car lineup, you'll note a car called the Toyota Voltz S. Of course, this car is the Pontiac Vibe in America. But as I found out, Toyota is not a brand of GM, but it is "really close" to GM. It's much the same way as Mugen is to Honda/Acura unless they joined them.
 
I'd like to add a 1999+ Pontiac Grand Am GT Coupe (my car), Pontiac GTP, and the new Grand Prix GXP - 300hp 5.3L V8 in a FF. :dopey: Of course all of the GM cars that were upgraded to the LS2 need to be in. Drag racing needs to be more in-depth. There should be a burnout box to heat up the tires, then staging. Actually having to dial in a time would be cool. For all the trucks to be useful, there should be some real off-road stuff. You know, rock climbing, wooded trails, etc. Of course I don't expect anything off-road besides "rally", but I can dream.
 
While on the subject of American cars in a non-American-made game, there's a usual question of concern. Would you trust a game company from another country to accurately re-create Americana? Go back to my Codemasters example. Codemasters, best known for the touring car and Colin McRae game series, do their best to recreate the look and feel of most types of racing. The stock car series in "Pro Race Driver" and "TOCA Race Driver 2" feature sounds which sound nothing like American stock cars. Most NASCAR, ARCA, ASA, USAR, and all the stock car fans will probably disagree with the sounds the stock cars have in these two games. You can't really trust a game company to capture the sounds of all sorts of machines perfectly. This is why game companies try their best at capturing such sounds.

I think on my time on GTPlanet, I've seen some devoted American car fans. Mostly people dedicated, respected, and very fond of American automobiles. Among some of them are Mr. McShake, 98Cobra, BlazinXtreme, just to name a few. I try to follow a world of cars, but sometimes I feel as if I shouldn't be introducing a topic like this about Gran Turismo, simply because I don't know as much about American muscle as I want to, to at least validate that I introduce the topic and know what the hell I'm talking about.

So having said all of this, I want to do some deep analysis on all of this. Just to try to see what exactly would make American car afficionados happy about American cars in GT5. Say what you want about American car fans, but we're all car fans too. Just because many of us will prefer a 1971 Pontiac GTO over a 1999 R34 Skyline doesn't mean we're the scum of the earth. Many of us are just as much of car fans as many of you others. So for the fans of American cars who love to see their favorite cars represented in GT5, what will GT5 have to do and feature to make the American car experience better than in any other GT game? Do the sounds have to be completely accurate? Do the stats have to be absolutely perfect or near perfect? Would drag racing and sweet burnouts have to be implemented or made better? American car fans, what would make you personally happy about American cars in GT5?
 
JohnBM01
Say what you want about the new Pontiac GTO. But Rhys Millen races one in Formula D, while Rolex Sports Cars have these lovely orange and blue GTO race cars that would also look good in a GT game. To me, I would like to see more race cars for American cars in GT5. This is even if they are purely fictional machines. It would be nice to see Vector return with the M12 and the Wiegert thingie from GT2.
Click to expand...
I agree.
The Vector, actually, all the Vectors, need to make a return to the GT series.
The M12 racing car was so much fun to drive, and I would love to use a DFP to drive it. 👍
 
To put American cars in GT4 in perspective, if some of you haven't seen it already, there was a Chat session whereas people chatted to GT4 American producer Taku Imasaki. Here are some highlights in relevance to American cars:

davethestalker: With all of the technology at your disposal for sound quality, why did the V8s come across unatuthentic, especially if a 'racing muffler' is used. What will you do to prevent this in the future?
Taku Imasaki: To davethestalker: We've been working on sound improvement for such a long time now... our sound engineers have been challenged with getting that all-american throaty sound... it seems to have to do with how their programs works + hardware limitations. That's on of our top priority list.

TimBoss351: Due to the popularity in the US, will there be an effort to bring classis racing cars from the US, and series, such as the Trans Am series, when it featured 65-70 Mustangs, Penske Camaro race cars, AMC race cars, racing on Button Willow, Watkins Glen, ect? Also, love the 1080 Dpi--HDTV and 1080 is the only way to go for GT4!!
Taku Imasaki: To TimBoss351: Hey TimBoss, good feedback! Believe me, many of those cars were on our initial GT4 carlist. Wait for our future versions, man.

How would you counterattack these arguments in relation of American cars in the next Gran Turismo?
 
JohnBM01
To put American cars in GT4 in perspective, if some of you haven't seen it already, there was a Chat session whereas people chatted to GT4 American producer Taku Imasaki. Here are some highlights in relevance to American cars:

davethestalker: With all of the technology at your disposal for sound quality, why did the V8s come across unatuthentic, especially if a 'racing muffler' is used. What will you do to prevent this in the future?
Taku Imasaki: To davethestalker: We've been working on sound improvement for such a long time now... our sound engineers have been challenged with getting that all-american throaty sound... it seems to have to do with how their programs works + hardware limitations. That's on of our top priority list.

TimBoss351: Due to the popularity in the US, will there be an effort to bring classis racing cars from the US, and series, such as the Trans Am series, when it featured 65-70 Mustangs, Penske Camaro race cars, AMC race cars, racing on Button Willow, Watkins Glen, ect? Also, love the 1080 Dpi--HDTV and 1080 is the only way to go for GT4!!
Taku Imasaki: To TimBoss351: Hey TimBoss, good feedback! Believe me, many of those cars were on our initial GT4 carlist. Wait for our future versions, man.

How would you counterattack these arguments in relation of American cars in the next Gran Turismo?
Click to expand...
Notice the plural version...
Something tells me we won't see those for a while.
 
-John BM01- I guess from an American perspective, if you're going to have a lot of Skylines and Lancers, why not many Mustangs to even things up?
Click to expand...

Here is the problem with this. First you get about, ...20 Skylines. 10 Lancers etc. etc.. Then you get 10 - 15 Mustangs, Corvettes, Saleens. Wait......! What about Germany? Or the UK? Don't they have cool cars too? I'm from the US, but personally, I hate US cars. (They're all copies of each other) If you have a ton of Mustangs, why not a ton of BMW Z3's, Z4's, Z8's, or a 760Li? What about Vauxhall? Can we get a nice wagon from them in every trim line? How about an Acura if we're going US? Acura TSX.......great car, why can't we have that. (I know they have the UK Honda Accord "Euro R" but there are significant differences between the two). Acura RL (Nice car, but do we get it? NO! We get ****ty Integra's and RSX's). I'm sick of all the typical cars!!!!!!!!!!!! We need everyday drivers like a Toyota Camry. You see em everywhere! <<<(Please note that the Toyota Camry has been the US's BEST SELLING CAR since 1997! Shows you what a Mustang or Chevy Imapla is to the US market...)>>> I know I'm ranting, but I don't care anymore! I'm sorry, I'm a bit enraged! Lol. I'll stop now, but keep this in mind!
 
Where I was getting at with the Lancer and Skyline deal is that these are pure performing machines. But in America, so are the Camaros, Mustangs, and (granted they make it) Firebirds/Trans-Ams. Basically, I think some American car fans are like "why have more of the same Japanese cars when there are (much better) American cars?" You have to keep in mind, some people see Gran Turismo more than a game, myself included. In one way, if you're an American car fan, you want as many American cars as Japanese. Sure, Japanese cars represent perhaps the biggest contingent of automobiles sold worldwide. But many American car fans just love seeing muscle and sports cars. Some like American cars overall. Anything from a Ford Probe to a Chrysler ME412 are likely well-accepted by American car lovers.

I'm a big lover of automobiles. All I want to do is provide a discussion so that American car lovers can get a chance to talk about what they want to see in the next GT. This relates to either more cars, better sounds, better driving dynamics, and thereforth. Speaking as Americans, how can we make the next GT better for America and American cars? We don't rule the world, but there are American people who love American cars over anything else. I've been reading on GT fans saying that most bigtime American cars lacking the distinct American car V8 growl. All I'm trying to do is think about what would make American cars and American car racing more desirable and enjoyable in the next GT game. Just wanting the public to sound off and share their views.
 
The more the merrier I say weather it be U.S. cars or Korean cars,and as many variants of that model. With the power of the cell and RSX chips who Knows how many American cars can be included not to mention other makes and models.
 
I would very well appreciate PD resetting the limiters for many of the musclecars... I mean, well think about it, almost all of them top at 121, 129-130, or 137. It gets rather repetitive. Now, do not take me wrong here, I do not want all of them to go speeds usualy reserved for Ferraris, but many muscle cars went 150. Crap, the Superbird was reported good for 160 (some reports of 172, 200, 220 [yes, a road car!]) The Daytona also reported for such obscene speeds. A (forgive me) NASCAR--spec Daytona would be friggin' sweet. Also, a 421 equiped GTO from '67 would do plenty fine for replacement of the '64. The ZL-1 Vette in my avie wouldn't be too bad, either. Problem is, there were only 2 made...
 
Like I said. I don't know as much as I'd like to about American muscle, so that's why I'm offering this thread to discuss what would make this upcoming GT a classic for American car fans. I bet if you frequently attend something like (http://www.yearone.com), what you know and love about American muscle cars should be replicated in the Japanese-made Gran Turismo.

Recently shown on TV, I seen Speed Channel's "American Muscle Car" and Spike TV's "Car and Driver Television." Both of them featured a sport compact from the 1970s (I believe) called the AMC Gremlin. I heard people put in small block motors to make it shine. Of course, most muscle car lovers would probably think that most sport compacts of today were probably nothing like the AMC Gremlin or the Dodge Omni GLHS. I created this thread because I've read a lot of people say that American muscle cars didn't really perform or sound like the ones they love in real life. The magic of a game like Gran Turismo is to replicate and digitize the love of a world of cars and make it acceptable for gamers of all walks of life to enjoy the cars they dream of. You can say this for Gran Turismo and Forza Motorsport. A lot of people like Gran Turismo, and when people don't like how their favorite car is represented in a game, they feel pretty upset. Most of us Americans love cars as much as many of you others around the world. I don't think I've seen people complain too much about European and Japanese cars represented well, so I guess the real problem must be with American car fans and their nation's cars.

Having said this, carry on. And what do you think about how American cars (and even trucks) should be represented in the next GT to please as many American car fans and American gamers as possible?
 
I'm getting pretty tired of everyone screaming for car damage. If it's going to be implemented in the game without the improvement of AI, you're going to return the game after playing it for half an hour because your car is going to be freakin' totaled. The AI has to be improved about 3 million times over what it can do now, because if I decide to brake somewhat early on a turn due to my car's weight or braking setup or driving style.. why is it the AI in GT4 can't sense this and instead runs right into the back of my car, sending me flying off the track? We'd both be out of the race if they pulled this in GT5 with car damage. "lol den dont braek early!!!" is not the answer.

Maybe 5% of the posters I've seen asking for damage know exactly what they're asking for. A few people are good enough at racing that damage would be an awesome addition, as I am not half a bad driver in GT4 myself.. but at the same time I recognize that I am NOT a professional driver and damage would piss me off most of the time because my car's performance would be hurt by every bump with another car. Listen, folks. There is a reason professional drivers get paid to do what they do.

I think for online or LAN racing, damage would be a fantastic idea though, since you'd be playing with other people that can react and avoid situations and such.. but there should be some kind of option to turn it on or off for solo AND lan/online play. Granted, yeah you'd want to keep all the record lap times and whatnot with the damage on, so people can't bounce off walls and crap and still finish the lap. So, I think the key word we're all looking for is "controlled damage", where exactly how it is implemented is left up to the choice of the user. This way everyone is happy, and all the crybabies who wanted damage and suddnenly hate it will be satisfied in turning portions of it off.

I'll get off my soapbox now, but the whining is getting to ridiculous levels.

NOW BACK ON TOPIC:
The biggest most satisfying thing they could do to GT5 is beef the hell out of the engine sounds. PD needs to go back to every single goddamn car they've made sounds for and put like 10 microphones inside the cockpit and record it in surround freakin sound and with BASS. I've got a Logitech Z5500 sound setup ( http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/products/details/US/EN,CRID=2177,CONTENTID=9486 ) that is using the dolby surround sound from the PS2's optical port, with high quality cabling for fantastic sound. The only problem is while the music and everything sounds fantastic from GT4, the cars sound very tinny and there is no bass. You guys out there with this sound setup KNOW what I'm talking about. When I'm screaming down a straight in my C5R that thing should be freakin howling. The Ford GT40 should have a throaty growl while at low RPMs. Instead, the only thing producing bass if not the music is the air wooshing over my car, and it has way too much bass to make it sound realistic. There is hardly any bass whatsoever coming from the car itself, and with a subwoofer that I can fit my arm in I SHOULD be getting bass. Nope.

As far as american car additions should go, there needs to be a lot more Corvettes and Ford GTs of ALL year models. Personally I am interested in what the C6R (and accompanying street model) will have to offer, as I have heard a lot of good things about it and I am a Corvette fanatic. The new Subaru Impreza WRX STIs are not american cars obviously but they are another favorite of mine, so more of those would make me happy. Also the ability to upgrade to a racing-ish model like via GT1 and 2 would make me super happy - especially with the added ability to tune the racing editions up as well.
 
Perhaps my (new) favorite Corvette in GT games is the Corvette C2 race car from the 1960s. I've seen old-style Corvettes racing Le Mans back before few of us were probably born. If you remember, I believe the C5 Corvette was out at the time of Gran Turismo 1, but all got was the Corvette C4, then the lovely Sting Ray. Even in GT2, we had many other Corvettes, but no recent Corvette. That trend would end as GT3 featured the C5 Corvette for the very first time, but in the form of the much more powerful ZO6. I still favor the C5's looks over the more recent model. I do think we may see the Corvette C6. After all, the C6 is more powerful rated at a matching 400 horsepower, and 400 lb. ft of torque. You can probably make your own calculations on newton meters and PS.

The "aero wars" in NASCAR were part of the big-winged and long Superbirds. I only know one best- the Plymouth Superbird. But I believe there's been others such as the Ford Torino, Dodge Charger, and stuff like that. I don't want anything related to NASCAR in the next GT, but a race featuring these big-winged American beasts would make for an interesting race. Of course, these big birds had those big wings stock. I don't know if the aerodynamics for those machines are adequate, or just wanted to make a huge impression. But saying that these are American classics, I'm sure you already know if the aerodynamics were for real or not (not knocking tuners).

Are all big American cars just all heavy and not real performers? If you just DON'T LIKE American cars, the Mustangs might change your mind. I've been completely blown away by the 2005 Ford Mustang after a lot of tuning. The car is so agile, I'm telling you. Even in stock form, it's great. I think Ford did a great job in making the most recent Mustang. It's selling very well from what I've seen. I'm seeing the V6-powered models with only two headlights, then the V8-powered models (as seen in GT4) with two headlights plus two extra. Do yourself a favor- get one of those Mustangs. I'd kind of like it more if it had a deep red, Sonic Blue like the Ford GT, or something like that. Black is also a nice color for it. So all I'm saying is, if you completely dislike American cars, the latest Mustang might change your mind.
 
Right on, and a well thought out post. :) Being born in 1982 doesn't really help my case, as the closest thing I've really come to sitting in one of these beauties was my dad's 1969 camaro z/28. That thing sounds so damned impressive in person, it almost makes me cry to think about what I'm missing from cars like the cuda :)
 
My apologies. I meant to say "Midnight Blue" as the Ford GT's color. Sonic Blue is that somewhat moderate blue color available for the 2005 Mustang, and also the Ford F-150 SVT Lightning in GT4. So yeah, Midnight Blue would be a nice color for the 2005 Mustang. Granted that you'll be able to paint up your car in the next GT, this is a color I'd like to see with the Mustang GT. This is so I can be able to win the Stars and Stripes races with ease.

There are some other American race cars that would be interesting to see in a GT game. (1) The Corvette GTP [ http://www.corvette.nl/specials/GTP.html ] from the mid 1980s or so, is a wonderful race car. Since many of us Americans prefer horsepower, how's this for one- I heard it packed about 700 or 900 horsepower from a turbo V6. I even read of 1,100 hp! Some of the notables who raced the Goodwrench GTP Corvette include Doc Bundy, David Hobbs, Elliot Forbes-Robinson, Bobby Rahal, Mario and John Andretti, Wally Dallenbach, lot of big names raced this thing. (2) Ford Mustang GTP (picture: http://www.mustanggt.org/fun/m2708.jpg) (3) GTP Ford Probe: http://www.maecomotorsport.com/cars.htm (scroll down to "GTP Ford Roush").

More Can-Ams and IMSA American race cars would surely tickle the fancy of American sports car fans. Chapparral was a nice pickup for GT4. Many of the popular GTPs would be nice for me to race in GT games. Regardless of who makes them, they are good parts of American racing history, even if they never won anything. My favorite among them would have to be the Corvette GTP. I think IMSA played a big part of sportscar racing, so an increased emphasis on IMSA, and in terms of American cars, would mean a lot for American fans who want classic race cars. Of course, I still kind of want my 1960s and 1970s Trans-Am race cars. Can you dig 1960s and 1970s Trans-Am race cars to race with in the next GT?
 
Cars: I heard about the historic Trans-Am cars mentioned and thought I should bring up this site: http://www.historictransam.com/homepage.htm I know Chad Raynal, I worked with his brother and cousin at an indoor go-kart track in Santa Clara, CA that closed as of February. Chad still races his historic Camaro when the historic Trans-Am series comes out west.

We can name cars left and right until we're blue in the face. I'd like to see more performance oriented cars (and light trucks/SUVs) from: General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, American Motors, and Studebaker. What makes and models? Whatever comes to mind. This includes the muscle cars of the 1960s through the 1970s, into the fuel crunch of the 1980s, and onward to the power numbers that the 1990s and 2000s have seen. The 1980s Ford Mustang 5 liter was a big hit when it came out and it still is; it's one of the most modified cars out there. Up until their demise in 2002, the LS1 powered Camaros and Firebirds were the best bang for your buck. I love many American cars. If you ask me which one(s) to put in, I'll simply answer, "Yes." As in as many as will fit on a Gran Turismo DVD.

Tracks: I'll touch on this lightly as it's not exactly the topic at hand. I'd like to see the past variants of Laguna Seca and Sears Point. I'd also like to see SCCA and NASA club tracks that are in the U.S. but aren't featured in past versions of Gran Turismo. Buttonwillow, Willow Springs, Streets of Willow, Road Atlanta, Lime Rock Park, Thunderhill, Portland Raceway, Phoenix International Raceway, et cetera.

Now on to my own main point. Competition is great for the market because only the strong survive. What happened with BETA versus VHS? VHS marketed themselves better even though BETA was the better product. With some new competition to G.T. (Forza and Enthusia), Gran Turismo better step up to the plate or they will sink (read: there will NOT be a Gran Turismo 6, 7, ...). Forza has included car damage. They've got some licensing of manufacturers that Gran Turismo can only dream of. Forza also allows for motor swaps. Enthusia has some hot cars that Gran Turismo has so far missed out on.

Think about this for a second. What if Gran Turismo had a "parts bin" in your garage? What if you could take the 454 out of the 1970 Chevelle SS and implant it in the 1969 Corvette? What if you could buy an all aluminum crate 427 from Chevrolet and install it into the Camaro SS? How about buying a stroker crank from Ford and stroking a 1970 Mustang's 351 to a 408? What if you could refurbish, sell, or install certain parts from your parts bin into other cars? We all know about porting/polishing and engine balancing from Gran Turismo 4; though in the game they cannot be undone. Maybe that's true, but what if we could P&P and balance certain parts? Then we could put on or take off those parts as we wished.

Basically think of everything we do when we build hybrids (thanks to Mk and others) and imagine these features as coming with the game?

I do think that Forza hit a homerun with engine swaps. Let's hope that Gran Turismo follows suit and raises the bar with its next rendition. Otherwise I know a good amount of people are going to be ditching their Playstations in favor of X-Box and Forza.
 
In GT4, the Texas-based Chaparral group has two of its cars represented in GT4, the 2D and the 2J. One of the more popular Chaparrals wasn't in the game, the Chaparral 2F. The only way I know about this car is thanks to an issue of Road and Track magazine. You'll have to look it up online because I have no pictures to share of it. I don't know about any of you, but I seem to be more of a classic American car guy than too much of a modern American car guy. I try to be universal in my love of cars, but there were some American cars in GT2 I kind of wanted to see in GT4. One of them was the Dodge Challenger. It may not be the baddest of them, but it's a sick car.

Anyone else want to talk American cars?
 
As for engine-swapping, I haven't seen it implemented as well as I would like. But in truth, it should be limited to models for which engine swaps are common and well-documented.

I'm surprised it's taken so long for PD to hook up in a serious manner with American manufacturers. The Mustang GT you mentioned, for example, was modelled with the cooperation of Ford itself. Other car manufacturers are also waking up to the possibilities of GT, and it will be interesting how many American cars make it onto GT5 with active manufacturer support.

Maybe the creation of local research and testing teams could help create the ultimate GT in the next iteration. Unfortunately, Microsoft may be better positioned to do this, with more resources and pull than Polyphony Digital. But if Sony takes its ar with Microsoft more seriously and gives PD its full backing, we may see everything from AMC Gremlins to Windstars in the next GT.

It's funny, but with American manufacturers now finding a bigger toehold in the sport compact market, future GTs may still be filled with Japanese-style 'sports' cars instead of the muscle machines that American car enthusiasts most crave. Only this time, they'll have American badges.
 
JohnBM01
Well, here's my debut thread for this forum.

In my first few months on GTPlanet, I came up with a great deal of topics looking to discuss as many aspects of GT4 as possible. One of those topics was on American cars. Well guess what? New game, new discussion. The amount of American cars in the game was pretty sufficient for almost any American car fan. Many of my fellow American car fans stated that the American cars sound completely weak, especially with a Racing Muffler. I think many of us can agree that the American cars in GT4 were pretty sick looking. I love my C1 and C2 Corvettes. I think my new favorite Corvette, the 1958 Corvette, would be nice for GT5. I'm going to roll with my buddy 98Cobra in saying that a nice selection of Mustangs should be made available in the upcoming game. The most Mustangs ever featured in a Gran Turismo game was Gran Turismo 2 (about 6). I guess from an American perspective, if you're going to have a lot of Skylines and Lancers, why not many Mustangs to even things up? GTPlanet, this is not only a discussion about American cars in general, instead, this is also a thread about what improvements should be made to American cars to make them shine more in GT5? Let's keep this moving, you dig?

GTPlanet, this is a list of issues I've read on GTPlanet that would be interesting to address. I'll cite issues I've read on GTPlanet and from some GTPlanet members concerning American cars. Here are some I read: (1) American cars don't seem to do well on the strip in GT4. (2) American cars sound pretty weak in GT4. (3) Not enough American cars.

These are the majority of issues I've read about American cars in GT4. You know me. I respect a world of cars, so just because I'm American doesn't mean I have to like only American cars. But I do want to carry on this discussion about American cars in GT5. Of course, American means American. Everything from a Scion xB to a Dodge Viper is perfectly legal in this thread. It isn't a wishlist, though you can talk about what would be interesting in terms of American cars. Alright. The floor is yours.
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The Shelby Cobra sounds downright awesome, however everything else is pretty weak. As for the rest that you said, I'm totally with ya.
 
Well I agree about having more classic American muscle in the game, I'd also like to see more regular American production cars in the game. One of the unique aspects of GT from a Japanese standpoint is being able to run a virtual version of your daily driver at the Nürburgring, Suzuka, "Monaco", etc. American car owners can't really do that unless they own a sports car, or one of the few isolated trucks or classic vehicles that PD put in the game.

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see more cars from the '50s and '60s. (A collection of a few '50s and early '60s Thunderbirds and a '65 Mustang would make me drool.) But I'd just as rather see more regular American cars. Say...a Cobalt SS, Monte Carlo, '02 Focus SVT, Ford Fusion, '99 Cougar, Saturn ION Redline, etc.

And of course, a few more upscale American cars wouldn't hurt either...how's about a '01 Thunderbird, Cadillac XLR, CTS-V, STS-V, Pontiac Firebird and Solstice roadster, Saturn Sky, and (of course) a few Lincolns?

Trucks I can take or leave. But these cars need to be in the game.
 
To me, the only Cadillac I'd want is the Cadillac Northstar LMP. I got into the Cadillac Cien, but when I started losing races I probably could have won, I retired it without delay. The Northstar LMP race car (from any age) is perhaps the only Cadillac I can be excited about. I guess I'd like to see more old-school autos since many of my peers liked them in GT2. I'd like to race an NATCC (North American Touring Car Championship) Dodge Stratus, since it was the winning car of the first... and eventually only year of the series. The Cobalt would make a nice rally car, or maybe a touring car. The Viper competition coupe is also a nice deal.

Remember HPA Motorsports in GT4? It was labeled as an American make, but from what I've read, HPA is actually Canadian. No, not red-white-blue, but red-white-red with a cute red maple leaf. Hennessey, baby. The Houston-based tuner group has about the fastest Ram SRT-10 or the most powerful, one of them. I seen the new Roush Mustang on some show, and that joker is mean. Kenny Brown is pretty well known among Mustang tuners, and some of his Mustang muscle is pretty nice. I'm not knocking Japanese tuners, but Americans can tune cars as well. In fact, how would you like a Tuner Car Grand Prix with American tuners vs. Japanese tuners? Or we can make it a World Cup if we make it America vs. Japanese vs. European in terms of tuner autos. Or, if there are any popular Australian tuners besides maybe HSV, we can make it a Fatal Four-Way.

Regardless, I think the American prescence is good, but maybe can be made better.
 

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