A pessimist's take on sales success / failure

[Mess11]

Read this comment on another site (not posted by me!) and was wondering what the members here think about these comments - whether they have merit or not.

My fear is that this kind of thing really happens and the FR-S/BRZ ends up having a short lifespan run due to bad sales.

The Miata doesn’t sell that well. The 240SX didn’t sell that well. FWD coupes took a nosedive ten years ago, when even the traditional tuner crowd started buying sedans. That crowd, incidentally, is down in numbers because of the legal and social response to the “street racing scene.” I’d bet that the enthusiast crowd is proportionally older than before, because of that. That means they’re more likely to need practicality because they have kids, or might soon have them.

And we’re really picky. Instead of buying an imperfect $25,000 sporty car, it seems that we enthusiasts are more likely to give up and buy a ‘normal’ car for the same money. Forums and car blogs are full of excuses by people who didn’t buy the sort of car we keep asking for. I’ve certainly got a lot of my own. Otherwise we would’ve all bought Mazda 6 wagons back when they were offered. But we didn’t.

American retro, high power, and luxury seem to sell. This car is none of them.

[sfwg]

makes it more unique when i own it^

[madfast]

if the miata and civic si havent been killed off yet, then i dont think any of us should worry. and if this car does get a short life span... instant collectible car

[VenomRush]

350z says wassup

[Dave-ROR]

I'm an old enthusiast and I still want this car more than a big 4 door :shrug:

Miata's sell very well considering they are a niche car. These types of cars are not supposed to be a primary source of income for the manufacturer, that's what Accords, Camrys, Altimas, etc are for.

[Kostamojen]

The 240SX stopped be sold over 10 years ago!

Other than the Mustang and Camaro, which still sell in droves, there aren't ANY cheap RWD cars out there.

It WILL sell well. I haven't seen this much interest in a car since the '02 WRX and we all know what happened with that...

[SteelReign]

Keep it cheap and good looking! see: 350Z.

[pastuch]

There is definitely a market for this car. Marketing and reinventing the Scion brand (Honestly just getting people talking about a Scion) will play a major role in the cars success. I see Subaru getting more sales out of this car based on brand alone. There is definitely a market for this car though, there are a lot of new Genesis Coupes, Mustangs and WRXs running around Ottawa and it snows a LOT here.

I am 95% certain to be buying one of these at this point. The only info we don't have is 27 days away. The styling, weight, stance, horse power, torque, storage and interior all look stellar to me. If they confirm it has an Aisin AZ6 transmission I'll go place a down payment.

[yarik83]

I somewhat agree with original poster.

In my experience car ownership and car modification do not go hand in hand like peanut butter and jelly.

Most car enthusiasts are 15-50 with majority of people enjoying JDM cars in their 18-30s. Unfortunately that is also a group that does not have zillions of dollars to spend. Car purchase for a teenager usually implies buying a used vehicle while college graduates can buy new vehicles but they also have college bills to pay for.

In my personal experience I began modifying cars in 2001 right when fast and furious came out and at the time I was 18 or so and every mod to my car had to be calculated. I had to save up for half of year to do anything really. Meanwhile of course we saw tv shows like pimp my whatchamacallit advertising how easy it is to modify cars. Unfortunately they have forgot to mention that to "hook a car up" you needed to buy the car first and then have enough cash reserve to do 20,000 dollars worth of modifications to make it go fast, sound nice and look cool.

With time as I was growing up I saw a transition of car theme to sedans like pointed out above but I also saw a trend which involved people sticking with their old cars and not necessarily buying new ones. Those that did buy cars of their dreams barely modified them (ie wrx sti/evo x owners drive mostly stock vehicles) because car payments and insurance cost a very hefty dollar.

Another thing that sort of became apparent is that at some point in your life you have to make that decision which says... do I buy a sports car and be happy or do I buy a vehicle that can suit my lifestyle/family needs... be it a van, a sedan, a truck or otherwise. To top it off economy is doing very iffy so buyer confidence may prevent owners from buying fancy sport(y) cars.

Time will tell.

[ryridesmotox]

Really, that original quote, really? The Miata is THE best selling sports car of all time... It's cheap, fun and easy to drive, and reliable. If the FT86 is as good as that, and by all accounts it will be, I believe it will take some miata sales

[balance]

I agree with the article to some extent. For instance, I have a family with young children, the only way for myself to own this car would be buying it as a second car to enjoy the driving. In other words, I will be spending the money for my self enjoyment rather than contributing towards the well-being of the entire family. And when a family man with monetary constaints is in such situations, the value factor certainly plays one of critical rolls in the purchase decision. Although I really like this car and it seems to be promising, there are certainly other cars out there that can suffice the definition of fun-driving at lower costs while they may not provide the awsome feeling of owning a brand new car released after much anticipation.

Hopefully, Toyota will be able to see that the average age of the enthusiast group is getting higher as suggested by the quoted article and that the value is factor is an important decision tool for the people in this group with economic constraints. Also, the current economic status may also support the increased significance of the value factor nowadays.

[Giccin]

Originally Posted by ryridesmotox

Really, that original quote, really? The Miata is THE best selling sports car of all time... It's cheap, fun and easy to drive, and reliable. If the FT86 is as good as that, and by all accounts it will be, I believe it will take some miata sales

+1

I see a lot of miatas.

OP's Weird OP needs to take his head out of his bum.

[RRnold]

What the blogger didn't realize is that life goes on. He seems like he's from my generation and does have a point in regards to the age demographic. What he also doesn't realize is that generation passed and evolved into a new set of car enthusiasts.

That crowd, incidentally, is down in numbers because of the legal and social response to the “street racing scene.” I’d bet that the enthusiast crowd is proportionally older than before, because of that. That means they’re more likely to need practicality because they have kids, or might soon have them.

I do believe that this car being a Scion in the US and not a Toyota will have an slight impact on sales. Seeing all of the information in this recent week, I doubt we'll see this car tank... now we just need to see the price.

[Neutral_Eyes]

When it comes to new cars these days, I'm ridiculously pessimistic as well. Not only does the industry seem to be taking away attainable fun cars, the platforms are disappearing as well. I drive a Miata. It doesn't do everything well. But it's fun. That single trait was worth compromising my safety, fuel economy, insurance payments, sexual orientation perception, and cargo capacity.

Which is why I can't look at the FR-S/BRZ with anything but optimistic anticipation. They want to do it all. They want to create a fun car without the compromises. If this car doesn't sell, it won't be Toyota or Subaru's fault at all.