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-   -   Subaru BRZ Fastest Car Off Dealer Lots in May (https://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9159)

Hachiroku 06-19-2012 03:50 PM

Subaru BRZ Fastest Car Off Dealer Lots in May
 
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Via NY Times:
Quote:

Buoyed by positive press and tight supplies, the rear-wheel-drive Subaru BRZ spent the least time in American showrooms than any car in May, according to Edmunds.

The service tracked the days to turn, commonly known as churn rate, for the coupe in May, its first month of sales. Demand for the 271 units sold by dealers translated to a churn rate of four days, Edmunds said. The Scion FR-S, which was co-developed with the BRZ, experienced a five-day churn.

With so much competition for so few BRZs — initial interest from customers in Japan was four times higher than the automaker’s projections — how could Subaru so severely underestimate demand for the coupe?

One conclusion seems to be a lack of certainty by Fuji Heavy Industries, Subaru’s parent, that a brand built around all-wheel-drive capability could readily stretch to accommodate a lightweight, rear-drive sports car.

“The BRZ being rear-wheel drive, we made a conservative production request,” Michael McHale, a spokesman for Subaru of America, said in a telephone interview. “We pegged our allotment roughly to sales of the WRX,” he said, referencing the brand’s rally-oriented all-wheel-drive sports car.

That conservative approach has led to gripes from every market where the BRZ would be sold. “There are only so many that can be built in the year, and if you want more, you have to take from another market,” Mr. McHale added. “And nobody wants to give up their allocation.”

Contrary to most Japanese automakers, who have been shipping production overseas to preserve their profit margins in the face of a strong yen, Fuji Heavy Industries intends to increase domestic production in the fiscal year ending in March 2013. Subaru has not announced its 2013 production targets for the BRZ, but American dealerships are expected to receive 6,000 units by the end of 2012.

- http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2012...t-off-the-lot/

Draco-REX 06-19-2012 03:59 PM

And think of all the people that said the BRZ would never sell because it wan't turbo or AWD. LOL!

M-17 06-19-2012 04:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Draco-REX (Post 266593)
And think of all the people that said the BRZ would never sell because it wan't turbo or AWD. LOL!

+1

They can all suck some lemons. :paddle:

Tainen 06-19-2012 04:01 PM

hahaha! That terrible, horrible nasioc thread comes to mind :)

blu_ 06-19-2012 04:05 PM

Yeah that whole Subaru WRX fanbois --> BRZ hatered thing is basically just people either incapable of seeing past what they personally get a kick out of, or insecurity IMO.

MannyO 06-19-2012 04:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Draco-REX (Post 266593)
And think of all the people that said the BRZ would never sell because it wan't turbo or AWD. LOL!

^^:word:^^

5hairpins 06-19-2012 04:07 PM

anybody else find it odd that the Scion took 5 days in May but wasn't on sale officially until June?

DarrenDriven 06-19-2012 04:10 PM

Yeah... although I know that there were a few dozen legit sales in May on top of the First 86 program.

Draco-REX 06-19-2012 04:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 5hairpins (Post 266606)
anybody else find it odd that the Scion took 5 days in May but wasn't on sale officially until June?

Some dealerships got their cars early, and there were the First86 as well.

Giccin 06-19-2012 04:51 PM

All the turbo and AWD talk reminds me of reading "Night Imports" photo comments whenever the site admin puts one up.

The sales figures and demand shows the up. :)

Still annoying to read though. :D

86design 06-19-2012 05:13 PM

went to my first car show at a toyota dealership this past saturday and I couldn't believe what i was hearing from the sales guys at that dealership..

Sales guy "excuse me! did you change your front bumper?"

Me "no why?"

Sales guy "Oh cause we sell the FRS and i thought that the FRS was the same as the BRZ, so i thought that was an aftermarket bumper"

Me " ohhh no no the BRZ is alittle different from the FRS"

Sales guy "I'm sorry but your BRZ looks like it WANTS TO BE A FRS!"

Me "hmmmm OKAY THANKS!"

Also heard from there sales manager that walked by my BRZ say "no wonder you dont see that many of them.....they look ugly!"


After hearing that....I was just thinking in my head! yeah there might not be a lot of there but there's a reason! the BRZ beats the FRS with looks, interior and MOTORTRED Magazine :D haha

MattIsBuffalo 06-19-2012 05:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 86design (Post 266746)
After hearing that....I was just thinking in my head! yeah there might not be a lot of there but there's a reason! the BRZ beats the FRS with looks, interior and MOTORTRED Magazine :D haha

I personally like the FR-S better than the BRZ, but by no means would I say the BRZ is an ugly car... They look too similar that the small differences are hardly noticeable. Heck, if it weren't for the grill insert on the BRZ I would barely be able to tell a difference. Sounds to me like the salesmen were just being jackasses.

tripjammer 06-19-2012 06:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MattIsBuffalo (Post 266822)
I personally like the FR-S better than the BRZ, but by no means would I say the BRZ is an ugly car... They look too similar that the small differences are hardly noticeable. Heck, if it weren't for the grill insert on the BRZ I would barely be able to tell a difference. Sounds to me like the salesmen were just being jackasses.

Yeah the FR-S still have the better looking front bumper for the ugly headlights kill it vs the BRZ.

plumsauce 06-19-2012 06:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 86design (Post 266746)
Sales guy "I'm sorry but your BRZ looks like it WANTS TO BE A FRS!"

You should have said "I'm sorry but your FR-S looks like it wants to be a Toyota. At least my BRZ made it to North America without being rebranded as something nobody wants!"

Grimlock 06-19-2012 06:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Draco-REX (Post 266593)
And think of all the people that said the BRZ would never sell because it wan't turbo or AWD. LOL!

I think this is really a non-story. Nearly all of the cars that were sold in May were pre-orders. When the cars came in, the potential owners were called and then they came in to pick up their car.

No selling was needed, and no extra time on the lot was needed than for the potential owner to get to the dealership.

If there were no pre-orders this would be a much bigger deal.

Draco-REX 06-19-2012 06:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grimlock (Post 266931)
I think this is really a non-story. Nearly all of the cars that were sold in May were pre-orders. When the cars came in, the potential owners were called and then they came in to pick up their car.

No selling was needed, and no extra time on the lot was needed than for the potential owner to get to the dealership.

If there were no pre-orders this would be a much bigger deal.

True, but most Subaru dealerships have sold orders for all of their allotments. The one I got my BRZ from is getting 9. When I picked it up they had 8 orders. A week later they had sold the 9th and had 3 on wait-list for any cancellations.

DubGUy 06-19-2012 08:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 86design (Post 266746)
went to my first car show at a toyota dealership this past saturday and I couldn't believe what i was hearing from the sales guys at that dealership..

Sales guy "excuse me! did you change your front bumper?"

Me "no why?"

Sales guy "Oh cause we sell the FRS and i thought that the FRS was the same as the BRZ, so i thought that was an aftermarket bumper"

Me " ohhh no no the BRZ is alittle different from the FRS"

Sales guy "I'm sorry but your BRZ looks like it WANTS TO BE A FRS!"

Me "hmmmm OKAY THANKS!"

Also heard from there sales manager that walked by my BRZ say "no wonder you dont see that many of them.....they look ugly!"


After hearing that....I was just thinking in my head! yeah there might not be a lot of there but there's a reason! the BRZ beats the FRS with looks, interior and MOTORTRED Magazine :D haha


Way to keep your cool. :party0030:

DubGUy 06-19-2012 08:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by plumsauce (Post 266920)
You should have said "I'm sorry but your FR-S looks like it wants to be a Toyota. At least my BRZ made it to North America without being rebranded as something nobody wants!"

Nice comeback! :thumbup:

alluringreality 06-19-2012 08:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grimlock (Post 266931)
I think this is really a non-story.

While I do think it's possible these cars may stay in the top 10 for a few months, I think it's silly to draw any general conclusions at this point on how well the cars will sell, especially considering the Cadillac anomaly from January.

http://blog.truecar.com/2012/01/23/j...cle-inventory/

mkxr 06-19-2012 08:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 86design (Post 266746)
went to my first car show at a toyota dealership this past saturday and I couldn't believe what i was hearing from the sales guys at that dealership..

Sales guy "excuse me! did you change your front bumper?"

Me "no why?"

Sales guy "Oh cause we sell the FRS and i thought that the FRS was the same as the BRZ, so i thought that was an aftermarket bumper"

Me " ohhh no no the BRZ is alittle different from the FRS"

Sales guy "I'm sorry but your BRZ looks like it WANTS TO BE A FRS!"

Me "hmmmm OKAY THANKS!"

Also heard from there sales manager that walked by my BRZ say "no wonder you dont see that many of them.....they look ugly!"


After hearing that....I was just thinking in my head! yeah there might not be a lot of there but there's a reason! the BRZ beats the FRS with looks, interior and MOTORTRED Magazine :D haha

Someone from Scion should read this. People don't want to be treated poorly when they go to a dealership to look at or buy a car. Smug attitude from sales people like this is a turn-off, and I have walked away from a sale before because of something like this. I had a similar experience at the Chicago Auto Show, with the less-than-knowledgeable Scion staff just thinking and acting like they are all-that, and how I should feel blessed that they are even talking to me. When you walk in to a dealership, and someone tells you that the car you came in is ugly, that's not a good sales tactic.

micmic 06-20-2012 12:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tainen (Post 266598)
hahaha! That terrible, horrible nasioc thread comes to mind :)

Ok, I must have been under a rock, but I missed that post on NABISCO...

Could you post a link to it?

Tainen 06-20-2012 01:37 AM

if you have a few months to read, here it is:
http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show....php?t=1858777

But I can just sum up the whole thing for you.

"IT'S NOT AWD? WHAT A TERRIBLE CAR! IT WILL NEVER SELL AND IT'S A PIECE OF JUNK! AND NO TURBO AHH MEHHH GAWWWD IT WILL DO 0-60 IN DAYS NOT SECONDS LAWZ, ANYONE THAT WANTS A CAR THAT IS NOT TURBO AWD IS DUMB AND DOES NOT KNOW THE AMAZINGNESS OF SUBARU"

and like two or three people trying to defend the BRZ. hehe. And if you tried to logically point out that it was a true sports car (according to the real definition of a sports car) you'd get trolled from here to the moon. even though the WRX is just a 4 door economy car with a turbo on it. lol. :) I drove my 03 wrx for 8 years, and they still said I had no idea what I was talking about.

micmic 06-20-2012 02:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tainen (Post 267718)
if you have a few months to read, here it is:
http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show....php?t=1858777

But I can just sum up the whole thing for you.

Thanks for the link and the summary. I'm sure I'll enjoy the read on the train ride into work tomorrow. (and get a few laughs at the AWD ignorance out there...) I had a 2001 2.5RS coupe for four years and, while it was a blast in the snow, it was a tractor on the autocross course. All-in-all, I enjoyed the car, but traded up for a 2003.5 Mazdaspeed Protege and then a Type R; I was hooked on the R after only one lap around Grattan raceway and dumped the MSP within a month (I'd only had the MSP for 8 months). They'd probably flame the R as not being a true drivers car because it is wrong wheel drive.

My hope is that BRZ/FRS can capture the essense and driving experience of the R without having to put up will all of the BS (read: theft) that went along with owning an R. Aside from seriously modified cars (and a GT3), the R was one of the most enjoyable cars I've autocrossed or tracked. And, it wasn't the fastest by a long shot... ;)

Cheers!

Napoleon 06-20-2012 03:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tripjammer (Post 266913)
Yeah the FR-S still have the better looking front bumper for the ugly headlights kill it vs the BRZ.

The general shape of the grill opening is beautiful, it is the mustache that was not done well. If the mustache had less of an outward protrusion and more of a concave or flat appearance, it would look fantastic just like the teaser image below. The lighting makes the bumper look more pleasing. When this picture was revealed, I really thought the "mustache" part was either flat or concave. Did everyone share the same impression regarding this specific picture? After Subaru unveiled the production version, to me the FRS was more aesthetically easy on the eyes.

I still bought the BRZ. Do not let the pictures fool you, the mustache is not as bad as you think. You get over it after awhile. If everyone insists, then I am sure there will be aftermarket solutions available to all those who wish to modify their BRZ. Remember, it will be easier to change the bumper on a BRZ than it is to pimp an FRS to be like a BRZ/GT86--that is, if you fall under that category. Happy Modding!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5..._01_1-1108.jpg

catharsis 06-20-2012 03:37 AM

I for one actually think this is bad news. The fact that the BRZ is out selling the FRS will tell toyo/sub its ok. Go ahead and overload this thing to inflate the price. Next up they'll add moon roofs, and god knows what else and just jack up the price for no good reason.

Tman08 06-20-2012 10:34 AM

Here is the official sales numbers for the month:

http://media.subaru.com/index.php?s=43&item=327

271 were moved in May. That x12 puts it at only 3252 for the year give or take, but I'm sure there will be more BRZs out there this year.

As long as the roads aren't over saturated with them over the next 1-2yrs, the news is good. I expect though the FR-S to be the "volume car" of the two for sure.

Pscylo 06-21-2012 05:53 AM

Unless other makers step up thier game, and I am sure they will now, the roads will be saturated within 2 years with the twins. There is a market, its been relatively dormant for the past 5-6 years.

I look forward to seeing what they come up with. I love cars.

I know I purchased mine in May.


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