
As you progress further expect to see races where all 4 cars are within 3 seconds of each other after 3 laps, it is a very intense game and the CPU drivers are very tough. Even if your car has a huge advantage over the competition spec wise, it won't always be a breeze. The semi realistic racing isn't the only factor in the game's reasonably high challenge level - the CPU drivers are also key contributors. The lack of a huge range of unique models creates a sense of restrictions when it comes to selecting cars towards the end of the game - there are only probably two at the max that are going to be any good in the later stages of the game, making most unique models redundant pretty quick. For example, Nissan have 2 unique models the 350Z and Skyline, which both have a 4 to 5 sub-models that only differ very slightly. The actual amount of cars on offer isn't that impressive though, at least the amount of unique cars isn't - while there are 50 cars included, the amount of actual models is far less. Respect is basically just a way for the game to regulate what events you can and can't participate in, whilst cash obviously regulates what cars and items you can and can't purchase, which cost roughly what you could expect to pay in the real world (when purchased new anyway). There are two basic currency's in Street Mode - respect and cash, both of which are earned from competing and winning in events.
