Quantitative mindset sums it up quite well for not just the tech mindset, but most people. More in some metric equals better, for a lot of people.

-----

I have a very conspicuous car, that most people don't realize the manufacturer even built (they quietly sold it for one model year, with ~700 sold in the US and < 40 in Canada). I also live in a snow belt state, and always drive it roof removed and windows down as a rule... including last night for a 125 mile trip for Christmas with air temps of 34F (1C). So let's go over all the questions I get...

-----

* Why don't you have a Tesla?

This is the number one question, by a landslide. Random people ask me this at gas stations, FFS.

I have four friends with them. I have driven every Model S variant from a P75 through a P100D. I have heatsoaked all of them in under 10 minutes. A friend who wanted to tag along with his P90D on a 3 1/2 hour pre-dawn backroad bombing run turned it into a 10 hour trip... couldn't keep up, had to stop seven times for limp mode (once in as quick in 6 minutes), had to charge it twice, and had to reboot it once because the turn signal kept making the indicating noise ten minutes after the stalk was returned to the neutral position.

But the main reason is I wanted a mid-engine sports car with a ton of motorsport-proven engineering that never skips a beat, not an under-damped executive sedan that weighs over 2000 pounds more with the interior materials I'd expect in an Infiniti. Trick infotainment though. Be interesting to see what they'll be in 15 years.

-----

* Why don't have a car with all-wheel drive?

Because I know how to drive in the snow. Even if I'm caught out on summer tires and am on an 8.5 degree downhill grade.

-----

* Why don't you have Car X? Car X has more horsepower!

I mean, I could get a Dodge Demon, couldn't I? Refit the Hellcat Widebody suspension for street use. Have 840HP on race gas, and the best part of 800HP on 93 Octane. I've driven a few Hellcats. They're decent cruisers and you can light up the rears in 4th gear for grins on demand. But they're still 4400lbs, feel like it in the corners, and have awful visibility.

Oh wait, but there's the Corvette ZR-1 which is 800-900lbs lighter and handles. Right. However you cannot use anywhere near all that has on the road... so then it feels boring, unless you push into felony territory all the time so it feels interesting. The tires wearing down will scuff up the paint protection film like the wooden floor of a Catholic school when it's not hucking rocks at it. Last, if it's like every other Corvette I've driven I know there's more past eight tenths but the car keeps mum on how close to the limit I am, meaning I have to put my faith in experience and physics.

Or, you know, buy a more communicative car instead.

-----

* Why don't you have Car X? Car X has a faster 0-60 time!

Here's how often I do standard 0-60 starts: Never. 0 to 60 isn't exciting, and you look like a tool if there's other people around. You know what's more exciting than a very temporary trip to 1 longtudinal G? Maintaining an excess of 1 lateral G in a corner. Every corner. That's something you can do in a Miata with good tires and a dialed-in suspension. If you want to spend, there's quite a few supercars out there that approach peak 2 lateral Gs at speeds where the aero really does work.

Sure. A P100D trumps me to 60 and gets me by a hair over a second in the quarter mile. Though I'd about catch it in the 1/2-mile, and will leave it for dead after the mile mark.

-----

* Why don't you have Car X? Car X has this amazing infotainment system!

Which is the first thing to obsolesce. Don't get me wrong! Tesla, Audi and Porsche all have great systems right now. However 10 years from now, will you STILL want that same system? 20 years from now? No. To trade in a $100K+ car over a $5K infotainment system is absolute insanity. Moreover, treating a $100K+ car as disposable or a consumable is also insanity.

I own a car to be on desolate backroads at 3AM on a Saturday morning in which I might see three whole other cars in three hours. The driving is entertaining. Not music. Not gadgets and gewgaws. Not autonomous driving at normal speeds. Challenging myself is what I enjoy.

It also reminds me that people like the infotainment because driving/commuting is so dull. I think autonomous driving will be great, because that's what most people want. Maybe then people more people will buy fun cars to actually drive for fun, for when they don't have to autonomously commute about.

-----

* Aren't you cold?

You are only cold if you want to be. Prior to this car, I had a very desirable coupe by all measures for about 14 months. Very handsome, quick, fast, etc. It was very toasty and comfy in cold weather!

Prior to that I had a Miata for nearly a decade, in which I adopted the "top down, windows down, no hats, always" rule on delivery.

... and after a few months with this very nice coupe, I decided it would be better if it were worse. I made a very, very expensive mistake. I missed the Miata which is objectively worse in every measure, but subjectively better for what I wanted to use it for... and when I was cold, it actually enhanced the experience. So I bought a factory frankencar made for die-hards like me.

When I drove top-down in rain for 2 hours in 36F (2C) air temps, I knew I made the right decision. Bought driving gloves though!

-----

* Why doesn't you car have Feature X?

My car does not have... power seats (option, went for manual fixed-back carbon buckets instead), heated seats, ventilated seats, massaging seats, seat position memory, adjustable seats (save for height and fore/aft), rear seats, good cupholders, pointless carbon fiber trim, heated steering wheel, multi-function steering wheel, paddle shifters, soft-closing doors, self-closing trunk, heated mirrors, dimming mirrors, power-folding mirrors, fancy door handles, keyless entry, keyless ignition, fancy lighting packages, voice control, blind spot monitoring, adaptive cruise control, lane assist, self-parking, auto-braking, super-premium audio, apps, metallic paint, a power top, forced induction, all-wheel drive, a dual clutch automatic transmission, adaptive suspension, carbon ceramic brakes, center-lock wheels, a front-axle lift system, or aggressive aero. It was ordered with air conditioning, and I had it removed after delivery (can easily put it back in if I change my mind).

Though it weighs under 2900lbs (weighed 2888 lbs when corner balanced), has one of the best-feeling manual transmissions ever put in a car, has a normally aspirated engine a foot behind your head that runs up to 8000rpm all day every day and sounds like motorsport, steering as crisp as a frosty morning, delicate handling, the industry standard by which braking performance has always been measured, and looks that get way too much attention at gas stations and stoplights. All the stuff it doesn't have is nice, but it would only compromise what I actually care about.