Holden utes aren't even practical. They have a very low payload rating. Fords are ok though thanks to the solid axle

A Mazda3 SP25 luxury is just over $35k. That's for a front wheel drive hatch. the top model, yes, but stil. It's no sports car.
Corolla ZR Levin is somewhere around $33-34k....
The 86 won't be the same price as these cars.

Have you driven a 25 or mps around the track? They go pretty damn good! Handle pretty good, huge boot (ugly but that's personal opinion :))
Fwd vs RWD, only difference is in drifting. Fwd can be a sports car, the RWD vs fwd stigma is fading, as is torque steering etc ;)

Haha I get to drive sp25's and MPS's hard regularly.
Dude I didn't say they don't handle well or go hard.
They don't handle as well as this car will, but my biggest point is not about that. FWD cars are CHEAPER to manufacture than RWD cars.
SO if two cars that are cheaper to manufacture are both mid 30's, the likliehood of a car that is more expensive to manufacture being the same price is unlikely ;)

And no, I don't agree that FWD's can be sports cars. Not real sports cars. They can be sporty and handle well. but not true sports cars.

All this for 2k extra?

Premium 3 Spoke Steering Wheel with Paddle Shift (AT Only)
Aluminium Pedals
Aluminium Scuff Plate
Tachometer with Digital Speed (km/h)
Frameless Inside Rear View Mirror
Leather/ Alacantra Accented Seat Trim
Premium Instrument Panel Finish

Exterior:
17" Alloy Wheels
High Intensity Discharge (HID) Headlamps
Daytime Running Lamps

Utility & Comfort:
Smart Entry/ Start
Dual Zone Auto Climate Control A/C
Driver & Passenger Seat Heater

Audio:
6.1" Sat Nav Audio

Ok 1st of all why can't a fwd be a TRUE sports car?
Second, everything in this country is overpriced car wise. It doesn't cost even 20k to manufacture the 3 or the 86 for that matter, so why wouldnt they be able to be similar price?
MX5 isn't worth what they are selling it for and neither was the 8. I wouldn't have bought my rx8 new.. Fuck that.. For that money there is a smougus board of cars that are better. That's why 8 did so bad here. That's why 370 is doing so bad here.
If this car isn't under 35 it's going to fail in the long run (ie 2-3 years) cus after the enthusiasts buy it, and the hype dies down, what's left? If its over 40 I give it 12-18 months before sales dwindle..
And anything is only worth what you are willing to pay (see diamonds/Gold)

Not too bad!! ^^^

Hopefully there isn't much difference between the two here either.

I just don't understand why it would be priced at under 35k. Celica's and Prelude's were selling for up to 50k for their high spec models 15 years ago. Do you have an example of any car that sells for 25-27k in the US and sells for mid 30's in Australia? I think all this price speculation is wishful thinking on the part of many members of this forum. I think that even at 40k on the road for a base spec, this makes it a cheap brand new car. Regardless of what second hand cars you think you can get for this price, there's not many brand new RWD sporty cars at this price point that are significantly better value.

Toyota will price the car based on maximising profits, hence its stated target market which we've all read about. It will not miss out on 5-10k profit per car to make it more accessible to enthusiasts unfortunately.

As for spending more than your annual income on a car, you will find that most people on high salaries will only spend a fraction of their income on their car. Case in point are several colleagues at my work. One is on around 600k a year, drives a Prius, one makes around 300k, drives an Aurion, another on around 300k and drives a little jap hatchback. The only person who drives something of value in the boss who's car is worth around 150k. He is making over 1mil. This is their individual incomes, not combined family. Just some fruit for thought

I didnt say that they should miss out on profit, but making 5k less per car, but selling 1000 more cars will yield you a greater over all profit. Key to success is to think long term rather than short term ;) Enthusiasts will buy it regardless of the price. People who don't know much or don't care about cars and see them as point a to point b devices will buy something chrap, practical, cheaper on insurance.

Can you recall the exchange rates from 15 years ago?

And all cars here cost at LEAST 20% more. 10-15% more yeah, we are a smaller market, but even that isn't a excuse, it doesn't cost THAT much more for shipping in smaller quantities here.. (or shipping in general, since USA makes a lot and ships out)

Best solution for Australia in general would be to have MORE factories here, giving more to the economy as well..

Yeah there should be more factories here.

I read somewhere that if Chinese cars get better in the future and begin to rival Korean/Japanese/American/European cars etc. in terms of quality, that could finally force other brands to sell cars cheaply in Australia to compete. The other way to have cars finally sold cheaper here is if lots of people complain/protest or petition. At least the luxury car tax is finally going to be removed soonish.

The reality is that most cars are sold here for at least 50% more than in the US and for luxury cars, the price difference is often double. The exception may be the under 25k segment, but for anything decent, this is the case. The reason for this? People are accustomed to paying more and will continue to do so. Is it fair? No, but its one of the realities of living downunder. I'm currently in LA at the moment and you would not believe what you can buy for 40-50k here. Look at comparative pricing for an S-Class, 7-series or anything German or exotic and you will see what I mean.

In regards to the government abolishing the LCT, this will not happy ANY time soon regardless of what you have have heard. It's a good cash cow for the government

I enough people complain about it, they cannot over charge. People WERE accustomed to paying more, when dollar was weaker, when Internet wasn't as available and all you knew was from either first hand experience or heresay.. Now that you can look up anything you want in a matter of seconds, accurately (most of the time), you want fair and equal treatment. Anything can be done and to say that people will simply continue to be accustomed to being ripped off, is just plain shortsighted or blind all together..
The businesses that see this (overall, not just automotive) and adjust to the changing world accordingly will flourish, the ones that don't will go the way of wow, Clive peeters and so many other ones that have went in to receivership. Long term profit is so much better than short term.
Tell me this sep, which company now owns more than 90% of Ferrari?

I agree that buyers are becoming more educated and have greater access to information but unfortunately you can't buy a car online from overseas the same way you may shop for electronics, clothing etc. In fact the government has pretty much eliminated any possibility of parallel importation of motor vehicles to protect local industry.

People have been aware of how badly we've been rorted on new cars in this country since time immemorial but what has changed? More and more european cars are being sold at overinflated every day..dont get me wrong, I totally agree with what your saying and as hopeful as I am that things will change, I'm not holding my breath.
I think as mentioned by a poster in this thread, hope may lie in increased competition from the Chinese pushing prices down.

In regards to Ferrari, Fiat owns most of it. They've had at least a 50% share for over 40 years. I don't see the relevance though