Looks like by January there will be some new manufacturers in the game (possibly AMR and Nissan) as well as an official VW tie-in with a free demo version of the game for people to try. https://forum.reizastudios.com/threads/automobilista-2-november-2021-development-update.21513/
The free demo is now available - not the most inspiring content but gives a taster of what the game is like. Also, the new US DLCs are available for free this weekend to try out if you own the game. It seems they are now getting better at using the Madness engine and player feedback is more positive in terms of how cars drive.
The key to enjoying AMS2 is finding a good combo. There are some shonky cars that really have no place in the game and some others that are not reall suited to the game engine but there are plenty of others that are super fun to drive. The 2 Dallara F3s are a case in point, the 301 is an oversteery undriveable coffin in default set up state whereas the 309 is much more stable. I find the best experience is with lower powered cars that appreciate use of the throttle to steer them e.g Lotus 25, Caterhams, Formula Reiza Trainer.
The F301 is about the same as in AMS1, an older model with less aero. Add some rear wing and keep it calm when the tyres are cold. And if you think that's an undriveable coffin, never drive the Tatuus F3 in rFactor 2.
As far as I remember the Skip Barber in RF2 is the most undrivable and/or challeging car in simracing history. It will try kill you at every corner.
I´ve been getting into online ranked in AMS2. The system used is a legacy from PC2, like much of the rest of the game and is similar to RRE in that there is an ability based rank and a safety one for reputation. What´s different is that there is no real time indication of how you win or lose safety rank during a race - apparently in addition to collisions and off tracks, you can get a better rep by overtaking cleanly and close pack racing with no contact. One really big difference with RRE is you don´t nee a dedi server; just create a room, invite your friends or even fill it up with AI and you are on your way. The downside is that sometimes you wait ages for people to join or to click they are ready but it is a simpler and faster option for on the fly racing.
Record low price at 66% off and the DLCs are all record lows too. It´s interesting that the spike in players at version 1.3 launch has fallen away again and it is still behind RRE and RF2 in number of online players however the lobbies are more numerous now there is ranked MP. What´s missing is a ranked official server calendar.