2) No car manufacturers will allow me to use their cars in the game really and fictious names takes the fun out of it
Don't let that worry you. Supercars 2 didn't need 'real cars' to be the premier top-down racer of its day. (And if I'm totally wrong and it *did* have real cars... well, I didn't know about it - and it didn't hinder it.)
1) Internet LAN gaming is waayyyy tricky in 2D games I've noticed - it quickly gets very choppy and I sort of wish I'd done the whole thing in 2D in 3D - but it's too late as I've come so far on that game.
Since any internet multiplayer I'm likely to do anytime soon will be in 2D stuff, I'm curious as to what exactly you mean by this. I'm not sure I understand why 2D would be inherently choppier than 3D. I suppose it depends on how one defines 'choppy'. Could you elaborate, pretty please? :o)