Went to NAIAS yesterday. Photos.
 

Drove up to Detroit to see the FR-S and BRZ in person.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...s/IMG_2385.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...s/IMG_2359.jpg

"Nice" lady telling us all about the new Scion. No price. Yes, we asked. She is about 5'7" in heels. Car was a little bigger than I had imagined.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...s/IMG_2389.jpg

She had a little contest about the history of the FR-S and I won this.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...s/IMG_2402.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...s/IMG_2404.jpg


I have more pictures but most of them are the same angles. We were not allowed in the cars. Subaru PR guy said that there will be two strict and distinct trim levels to the BRZ and that a turbo "is not possible". He was adamant about that and stood and argued with a couple young guys about it for several minutes before walking away in disgust. I was just an interested eavesdropper. The young lady at the Scion display said that equipping the FR-S will be A la carte.

what was the history question?

And thanks for the pics

Probably something like what car was the inspiration for the FR-S?

Her: "What company is the parent company of Scion?"
Me: "Toyota"

Her: "What Toyota cars inspired the FR-S?"
Me: 2000GT, MR2, Corolla AE86.

Her: "Wow, you got them all." Hands me T-shirt. "Maybe you should be giving this presentation!"
Me: "OK" Reaching for mic as she scampers away.

:lol:

@OP, by any chance did you get to see the interior of either car? Know if the BRZ had the shitty HVAC knobs, or the cool digital jdm ones?

Aww nice shirt! lucky I can't wait to see the BRZ at least no news on the FRS here in DC

We need some FT86.com T-shirts!

Let WoW make the design and I'd buy one.

Good post, Rampage. :thumbsup:




Sorry to hear that the car looked bigger, tho. [insert "bang head" emoticon here]

We need a counter, a BRZ on a black shirt! XD

Wth.. they didn't give us any shirts at the LAAS.

WUT IS THIS!

Oh, and seeing the BRZ/FRS in person is soooooooooooooooooo much better isn't it? :)

That is the Limited model (Limited comes with rear wing), which has the nicer climate control knobs.

It wouldn't really make sense for Subaru to have the lower end model in the showroom. :iono:

Cuz they made that shirt for LA Scion event. I have that t-shirts along w hat & flash drive

To add, another big inspiration was the Toyota Sports 800 aka the "Toyota 8" with its FR layout and boxer engine.

Looks like it was a worthwhile trip. :thumbsup:

^you mean "YotaHachi"? Not toyota 8?

Should have been like gimme your number and I'll teach you all about it. lolol

It's funny that you mention the MR2 as a inspiration because it wasn't. It was the little ugly boxer engine car, the 800.

:word:

I mentioned the MR2 because there is a video that was produced about how the FT86 came about and one of the cars that they show in that video as an inspiration is a quick shot of a red MR2 Spyder. It is the video of the Toyota and Subaru guys in hard hats observing the FT86 assembly line.

^^It seems to me that it is Toyota's position that the MR2 is in the family tree of the FRS. Didn't I read that among the promotional info? Or did I get it out of the car magazines?

To be honest it really has no family lineage to anything Toyota. It is however very Subaru but hi who cares.

Few more photos. One shows the interior of the BRZ but it is not a good shot. The turntable on that display was large and you could not step up on it.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...s/IMG_2362.jpg

Shot of the BRZ placard with trim levels.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...s/IMG_2363.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...s/IMG_2360.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...s/IMG_2386.jpg


Lady getting my shirt to bring to me.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...s/IMG_2388.jpg

Interestingly, Subaru had small promotional pamphlets to hand out about the BRZ. Scion had nothing to hand out other than the few T-shirts you could compete for. I wonder if Subaru may get a head start on sales?

Rampage, did you get a sense that the brake lever is well-positioned for non-drift non-racer boi daily driving? Or will it be in the way?

Just wondering what you think on this.

AS long as you do not have it "ON" when you are driving it will not be a problem. :thumbsup:

Yeah that's more correct, thanks, I just translated it to English to show the similarity with the "Toyota 86" name.

While I agree that the AE86/800/2000GT/MR2/MR-S link is all marketing and trying to draw in the drift crowd and Toyota fanbois, you have to concede that Subaru would never have produced this car on its own. It goes against everything Subaru stood for and their whole marketing approach over the last two decades. It is not AWD. It does not have a turbo. Even the presenter at the Subaru stand stumbled around a bit while trying to explain the new direction.

I am OK with Toyota taking the credit for it coming to be.

Yes I agree, I'm just saying it's a stretch to link the FR-S to past Toyotas. I'm glad Toyota took the initiative to start this project with Subaru.

With all things relevant, this is as much Toyota as it is Subaru. Even with the frame, engine and transmission from Subaru, this car is a complete package with its sporty exterior, smooth lines and tuning from Toyota. Corporate involvement with FHI might be the main reason but we'll never know the truth.

If you figure they shouldn't link it to fun to drive Toyotas built in the past, should they link it to boring and bland FF Toyotas like Corolla, Yaris, Matrix, Celica Paseo... ;)

Back on topic... thanks for sharing! Both cars do look big, almost similar to a G37.

Yeah, they are not quite that big (my son has a G35) but they are similar in size to the 370Z physically (although the BRZ/FR-S look narrower...especially from the rear). I know the G37 and 370Z outweigh the FT86 twins by quite a bit. Both the BRZ and the FR-S are pretty substantial looking and I am surprised that they are reported to be under 2800LBs.

I like them but I am not sure that I like them enough to give up my Spyder. I guess a test drive sometime later this summer will be the deciding factor. Well....that and the MSRP.

You can keep both?

I have a ton of pics from thurs and yesterday as well to post. Almost got into the brz but just a few too many people :(

Currently in caro Mi with slow Internet so can't upload them all yet.