Quote:
Originally Posted by Lug
Datsun's were junk.....until the 240Z
Toyota was junk ........until the Supra
Mazda was junk.......until the RX-7
Hyundai was junk......until the 5.0l Genesis?????????
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Your history is a little off. And you forgot Honda.
Honda entered F1 racing in 1964. Their engines forever have benefitted from their development of high revving high HP race motors.
YouTube - Honada - The Powerof Dreams - Honda Vintage F1
Toyota GT2000 in 1967
Far before Z came on the scene Fairlady Roadster was very popular and winning race car in the 60s. Bob Sharp made fair lady roadster famous in motorsports back in 1967 by winning SCCA national championship! Japanese directors valued motorsports as an extension of their company.
All the major Japanese car makers have had factory motorsports divisions that influence car design. Hyundai/Kia motors haven't had internal motorsports programs nor have they had a president that fully embraces factory race cars. All major Japanese companies were driven to learn from racing and they used much of their racing development in product design.
hyundai/Kia motors have invested in large design center in California over past 10 years. Their huge boost has been from US engineers working on better designs. They are getting there but can't go head to head yet with well developed Japaese cars with tons invested in sports car segment.
Nissan/Datsun USA in SCCA Competition
Japanese car makers have long history making sports cars. They also have lots of experience racing