Open letter to Toyota and Subaru

[medina619]

Originally Posted by Davev

My letter to Toyota (and a cc to Subaru)

Thanks for making this car. Going out on a limb to produce something for enthusiasts is appreciated. Drivers like me who don't feel like putting part of their nest egg into a depreciating asset love what you did. This car is almost perfect for sunny weekend drives. It doesn't have to be the fastest car on the road. It doesn't have to haul people or stuff. It doesn't have to be driven if there is rain in the forecast. It's purely for enjoyment. And it delivers.

I'm betting that it will be reliable and last many years just like other cars you make. Like my 80s Toyota truck that went 400k miles before I sold it. And my 1986 4x4 that went 260k miles before it was stolen. And my 2012 Tacoma that should do the same.

And many years down the road- it may be a sought after car- for all the right reasons. I would like to think I would have ponied up for a Porsche 550 back in the day because they were built for the love of driving, the way the 86 is too. So I bought one.

Regards,
Happy 86 owner

well put! its fast enough it handles fantastic it looks stunning. Toyota..for everyone that can only find things to complain about, grab yourself a for sale sign or go aftermarket.

[raul]

Originally Posted by imag

Dear Subaru/Toyota,

Looking at the vehicle strategies in the last two decades, it seems that there are two primary sales strategies for dedicated sports car platforms in the US and global markets:

The first is to offer multiple variants with multiple power ranges, all introduced within the first year and a half of the product launch. Those variants are then lightly refreshed at the halfway mark of the model run. This strategy pulls buyers into spending more, leverages a single platform across a larger buying segment, and increases public interest in all of the vehicle variants. This model has led to significant sales and profits in the following varied companies and vehicles:

- Ford (Mustang)
- GM (Camaro, Corvette)
- Porsche (911, Cayman)

The second strategy is to build a single performance specification, then offer the performance upgrade 3-4 years into the model run, when interest has died off and competition has improved. This strategy has resulted in poor sales and low profits for the following companies and vehicles:

- Honda (NSX and S2000)
- Mazda (Mazdaspeed Miata, FD RX7, RX8)

The question is: why are you pursuing the failed strategy rather than the successful one?

I assume you want to limit R&D costs on a low volume platform. Have you considered that the BRZ/FRS is low volume (and low profit) precisely because you will not give buyers an opportunity to upgrade to a higher spec factory car? This limits your profits, your press coverage, and the pool of buyers who would be interested in a more expensive (and capable) version of your car?

Please do not insist that the aftermarket provides an answer for buyers. OEM performance variants will always have higher resale value than base models with aftermarket parts on them. Resale value and warranty will usually be important to buyers at the top of the range. Significantly upgrading power, tires, and brakes on an FR-S through the aftermarket will cost over $7K, money which is essentially thrown away on resale.

I realize it is too late to change course now. Some BRZ/FRS performance upgrade will presumably come at the midpoint refresh. But I would ask you to consider a different strategy in the future.

Thanks,

Imag

To you, I present their 2 upcoming models, slotting below, and above the FR-S. The FT1 is one of them.

[_j_anthony]

I think they're fine with having a single engine option but subaru and toyota should both offer a supercharger and turbocharger kits. offer these different after market options on our first gens and then decide based off of these aftermarket kits which forced induction option should come stock. I think over 20% of 86 owners wouldn't mind spending $3500-$4500 for a kit, install plus factory tune with options and variants.

- I think the minimum toyota and subaru should offer is a cobb accessport type device to allow us(owners) to change our tune for track days and daily driving. Even if it was 3 or 4 nicely programmed tunes to remove that power dip.
*I understand that this could be difficult to provide seeing as most of us run different aftermarket parts and a tune might not work best with whatever mods we have.

I just think the problem is that everyone wants more power out of these cars and toyobaru hasn't really responded to us. I think toyobaru will fail with these models if they continue to release the same cars every year without any major changes. Now I don't think these car should come with anything more than 300hp from the factory.

I find it really cool to meet other 86 owners to see what they did to push more power out of these cars. On the other hand, I'm sort of sick of people calling my car a ***** car because any V6 family sedan can pull on me...

WARNING: Rant!
Recently a girl with a automatic mustang convertible base 2001, with an ebay supercharger thought she could beat me... -_- I'd bang all gears. dump clutch and rev to 7,501 rpms just to beat her, I'm that pissed off that she even thought to say a word. She totalled her car so we'll never know....
END of Rant! lol Bed time...

[makesdrivingfunagain]

I had a mustang with am exceptional amount of high quality suspension work! It was set up for autocross It was a track/street car mid to high 13 quarter mile range (290 rwtq 215hp). I converted it from auto to 5 speed, a tremec TKO 500 (about a 2k trans alone). It had many many more mods. One ride in the Automatic FR-S and I was making some calls to the bank.


My mindset changed from the g-forces of going fast in a straight line with good handling (for a mustang for sure) to an excellent handling and looking vehicle the FR-S; the g-forces I now am in pursuit of our on the turns. Since my sticky tire upgrade, o my gosh..This car handles so well...!! I can't believe I just added rims and tires. These aren't even slicks. Oh yeah reliability, warranty gas mileage, fantastic appearance.