I beat that game the other week and I agree with your list. The cut-scenes always had me laughing out loud. I couldn't figure out if they were meant to be sarcastic or if they actually are serious.
And, once you get past a certain point, the police chases become rediculously hard. The final mission, after you beat that Razor douche, is running from the cops with a x6 heat level. You gotta find some damned bridge and jump over it while they're coming down no you pretty damn hard.
I love the damage effects, too. Run into a wall doing 180? No problem, just some scratches on the bumper and a cracked windshield lol. Just get rammed by two Jeeps head-on at a combined speed somewhere around 270? You're good, keep driving.
I beat the game using the Cobalt right from the beginning. I won some nice cars, like a C6, along the way. I found they suck because when you try to launch all they do is spin the tires, which won't help when the cops are trying to pin you against a wall or if you get stuck during a race and need to catch up quickly. This game is fun, just rediculous, like the last one.