While opting for a performance trim is more expensive than the base model, it's a far cheaper and more approachable alternative than buying a high-end sports car. If you can afford it, you can also buy a second car to use daily because you can't realistically use something like a Koenigsegg to go grocery shopping or take your kids to school. There are plenty of us who want a sportier experience behind the wheel of our daily driver.
We asked our readers last week which automakers they believe needed a performance brand. The comments section tackled the question from a variety of angles. Some readers wanted to revive dormant performance brands with a new generation of upgraded models. Others wanted to form new brands from scratch, built around the sports cars produced by mass-market automakers. There's no right answer, but there were definitely a few wrong answers that weren't included. Without further ado, here are the manufacturers that should have a performance brand:
Kevauto / Wikimedia Commons
As someone who sells these things, I'd certainly say Subaru. I have a couple of enthusiasts stop in every month just to complain about the state of the STI cars or lack thereof. I would love to see an STI Outback, Forester, Crosstrek, and WRX.
Submitted by: Joe
Alexander-93 / Wikimedia Commons
Maybe I still have rose colored glasses but I would like to see Honda spin off a pure performance brand. No EV's, focusing on their excellent engines and manual transmissions in more purist cars. Develop a V8 or even larger displacement, go back to the early 00's hydraulic steering in their cars that was perfect. Man, they could do so good when they wanted to.
Submitted by: cintocrunch1
ChromeGames923 / Wikimedia Commons
Mitsubishi used to be an exciting performance brand with actual racing success in WRC and Paris-Dakar. I have no idea what they are doing now. A reboot of the 1970s Colt Galant GTO would be cool.
Submitted by: James S
IFCAR / Wikimedia Commons
GM. Pontiac was arguably the closest thing they had to a dedicated performance brand, and even that got diluted by minivans and crossovers. Then, once things looked promising for Pontiac, they killed it. Even Chevrolet, which is going through the same identity crisis right now, doesn't have a performance vehicle other than the Corvette.
Submitted by: Drg84
MercurySable99 / Wikimedia Commons
There was talk years ago about making Corvette its own brand. Make the mid-engine C8 top of the line, bring back the Solstice/Sky for the bottom of the performance line, and make a Fiero replacement for the middle of the line. All performance products, each in a different segment.
Submitted by: Old_SLAAB_Guy
Alexandre Prevot / Wikimedia Commons
Ford's already most of the way there with the Mustang, that it could practically become its own line. I mean they have Eco, GT, Dark Horse, Shelby GTs, GTD, and an electric crossover. Just need something with a 3rd row, and maybe a rebadged sporty F150 and/or Maverick, and they got all the bases covered.
Submitted by: Dr.Xyster
Kickaffe / Wikimedia Commons
Mazda is the obvious answer. Their cars can already handle and are lighter than the competition. They're the joy of driving company at this point. If anyone can enter that market on merit, it's Mazda.
Submitted by: Ryan Kudebeh
Mazdaspeed needs to be revived! Mazda Spirit Racing is ok, but it would be a dumb badge to put on a car and it's only available for one model in one market (ND MX-5 in Japan, IIRC). You can make a hotter Miata and Mazda3 without being "juvenile" or "immature", so do it.
Submitted by: JMJR
HJUdall / Wikimedia Commons
I agree with Mazda, but given their direction, I can't say I recommend it. I can think of one, and while their brand is still active, I argue it's not active the right way. However, I think it would be nice to have their lower-level line-up in a performance variant, because my benchmark for performance cars isn't stats, it's thrill. Abarth taught me that a little too well.
It's NISMO.
Hear me out: they have a Versa and a Kicks. Touchier throttle, turbo parts with emphasis on the torque down low, snaps and burbles from factory, retuned steering, and give us a manual, I don't care if it's archaic. A rice-y body kit, extra seat bolstering, if you hit 150 hp in this with torque fully active at lower RPMs, you'll have a new generation of car enthusiasts ripping these in their high school parking lot (that is if they didn't steal a G for the street takeover happening on Crenshaw).
Who else is poised to do this right now? I get that automakers want us to buy their higher-end models, but my advice: don't sell the big fish. Some of us are okay with a couple of sardines, and Nissan already has a couple of those.
Submitted by: Drift of Air
