Car Wars - sixth time the charm?

I'm really torn. I've played Car Wars from the pocket edition in the eighties, through the 5th edition. Playing both with friends and at conventions. Playing the highways, arenas, and races, Convoy, and The Car Wars Card Game.

I like the saving of investing almost $200 (Canadian) instead of $500 to get most of it. But the game seems so radically different from the versions I remember. I'm not sure if anyone I used to play with would play this version. I'm not sure if I need to be the one to buy everything from this version in order to play.

Based on the videos, I don't like the car design compared to what I remember. I don't like the control panel compared to the old record sheets. I don't like the forced upsizing and do not like the look of the cars (too much Battlecars compared to the old artwork). The game play in the videos with the special dice compared to the old modifiers seems a bit cold to me.

Still, it is a really good price.