The close game is the most painful to lose. Sure, the prospect of a glass half full says to go with your head held high with pride in your efforts and a calm understanding that the cards of fate are not in your favor this time-around. I envy that positivity. Things where you’ve done almost everything in your power and still haven’t worked out – those are the worst.
So is the car. Today’s question asks us to think about cars that have Near the over there. Pain is close to perfection, or at least reverence. The cars mostly got it right, which we would fondly remember if there weren’t a single key element missing.
If you ask most enthusiasts today, usually the absent element is usually the powertrain. It was a constant, inevitable push for the car-only Toyota Supra, until the Japanese automaker finally has overcome that oversight with the latest model year. But my nomination for this QOTD is a rare case of a hybrid that looks sporty, has the right transmission, but has a weak heart: the Honda CR-Z.
No, the CR-Z isn’t a bad car, and it unworthy of the full burden of contempt it received in the five years it existed in this world. But it deserves 25% of the scorn. Precious-contempt. Listen, I’ve always been a preacher that power isn’t everything, and I can’t even justify a total of 130 horsepower through the front wheels of the CR-Z. I maybe maybe if it was better than 36 miles per gallon combined. My Fiesta ST will manage about 4 MPG less on a clear day and have 70 more ponies and no electric motor.
We are all aware of the problem, but perhaps there are not many solutions. See, 12 years ago, Honda tuning specialists Spoon flirted with making the CR-Z the best version of itself. That process doesn’t involve a K-swap, because Spoon respects the car the CR-Z is intended to be. Instead, the company has made things a little better, every Agile Hunter, and giving it a carbon hood and its signature yellow wheels. The final product only had a 20-horsepower advantage over the original, but along with a limited-slip differential and a 300-pound diet, 20 horsepower should suffice. I’ve been wanting to drive it since the moment I saw it in Gran Turismo 5.
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That’s me, though. What car broke your heart with how almost perfect it was?
