Apparently KY said that the final version of the game will feature over 650 cars. IGN (I believe) had a list of 'all 650 cars in the game'. Now, if the game is supposed to have 'over 650' as KY said, then how could IGN have a list of 'all 650 cars in the game'? Sometimes these game sites do a good job of making themselves look stupid.
I'd have to agree that 650 is a conservative estimate. From the looks of things, PD has been having trouble with the online component of the game, and SCE has decided that they need to get the game out before the holidays, even if it means that a new title will come out next year with such capabilities added in. Now, I'd say this time around we're going to have about 740 cars, judging by the original 500 car count before release that ended up counting to 598 in GT2. I'm not even going to get into whether or not Ferarri, Porsche, or Lamborghini will be a part of those cars...to be honest, I could care less if they are or not...the sheer car count alone will make up for that.
I wouldn't be too scared with the list as it is...it could very well change from now til December..."over 650" is not "Under 652", and leaves a lot of numbers for guessing. But even then...if a new version is coming out next year with an online mode and more than likely more features, wouldn't it be feasible to think that there will be even more vehicles in that release as well? The framework for such a game, if it is released on PS2, is basically completed with GT4's engine, so the addition of an online element could be very well balanced with the addition of many more vehicles. I think we're in for a good run of total awesomeness as far as GT4 is concerned.
I'd say it only gets better from here.
-Metzger