Nothing appeals to everyone, and that's certainly true for racing games, but sometimes criticisms are valid while others are grasping at straws. One complaint I've often seen against Forza Motorsport is that too many of the cars are junk nobody wants. I recently saw this gripe again, which lead to this little article. It's a complaint that can also be leveled against Gran Turismo, since they're similar products with a similar sort of car variety.
In the perspective of some people, nobody has any interest in driving or racing anything that doesn't have a six or seven-figure price tag and at least 500 horsepower, bare minimum. While these people with these sorts of viewpoints do exist, they don't actually represent everyone. Both Gran Turismo and Forza Motorsport have had their time as the benchmark for console racing games, so they clearly had their fans and did something right in the eyes of many.
Contrary to what some may believe, you cars don't have to be incredibly powerful and expensive to produce great racing. I've seen exciting racing in slower, lower-end cars and dull, eventless racing at the top end.
Some (many) may be absolutely amazed that a mini could even stand a chance against a Mustang with several times the power, but yet here it is. More relevant in this instance, however, is the close, thrilling battle between cars that couldn't stand a chance against a Formula 1 car or a Le Mans Prototype, but that didn't matter because they didn't need to compete against such high-performance cars. They had plenty of exciting racing at a more modest pace.
These cars "nobody wants" are also more attainable and relatable to the average person. Some of us actually own or have owned vehicles represented in these games. Not everyone can appreciate this, but some of us do.
Another issue with the high end cars is that their faster speed can actually make good racing less viable. Formula 1 serves as a fantastic example of this, as their cars have outgrown tracks like Monaco decades ago. They still race at Monaco, but it's essentially impossible to pass, and everyone knows it. I've seen cars limp around on bad tires, a sitting duck with no chance if racing elsewhere, but still unpassable at Monaco because they just can't make an overtake before running out of road. Once upon a time, when the cars weren't as fast, Monaco was more realistic as a race venue, but now they're too fast.
Car shows and car auctions are popular with car enthusiasts, and what you typically see are old regular Joe cars. They're cars that regular people usually drove as an ordinary daily driver, taking the kids to school, picking up groceries, or going to work. This mundane dailiness never stopped people from loving and appreciating them, and some people have maintained theirs for half a century or more and people flock to shows just to look at them.
I'm sorry, but I'm not sorry. I don't agree that these are cars "nobody wants". Sure, I get that some folks don't want them, but they're not for everyone. They're for the folks that love cars.
