Rallye Monte Carlo 05, why is rallying going downhill... Options

[saleeka]

I just got done watching round 1 of the WRC, and it seems like every year it gets more and more boring... So many great rounds have either been dropped, moved to different times, or the format has changed completely... I swear it all started when the TAP Rally of Portugal was dropped from the itenerary back in 01 I believe... Next the Safari was canned and now it seems all, and I mean ALL the rallies are either near pure tarmac (monte, san remo, corisca, germany, catalyunia) events or mostly gravel (cyprus, australia, mexico, japan, greece, finland, great britain, new zealand)... most of the manufacturers are pulling out, or already have (peugeot, citroen, ford, subaru, mitsubishi, and skoda is all thats left, with puegeot, ford, and citroen all likely to pull out after 05)... It seems that there is no more heratige or variety anymore, and now its like watching euro-nascar to me... I miss the goo good old days, back when the cars werent so tarmac specialized and the events were MUCH longer... 74-84 was prime... am I the only one who thiks rally pretty much sucks now???