| protpibe |
04-02-2014 01:47 PM |
Quote:
Originally Posted by husker741
(Post 1643836)
Ah yes, because what you read on the internet is always true. Is 100k 86's on the road because of poor sales? Just because a few states in the US haven't sold well does not mean this car isn't selling. Those articles were bullshit. There were multiple threads explaining so.
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I don't think we're talking about the same articles. Here's an example of one that I was referencing.
Quote:
A senior Toyota official has revealed that poor sales of the GT 86 sports car meant that additional variants, such as the much-hyped convertible and a possible performance version, are likely to be ruled out.
Speaking with Auto Express, Toyota’s European R&D boss Gerald Killmann said the GT 86 was behind sales targets in all major markets, meaning the American-market Scion FR-S as well, and that this has created doubts towards developing further variants of the car.
"A faster version of that car would be at the top of most people's wish lists, but like the cabriolet, it is hard to justify a business case to push either model into production based on the current sales," Killmann said.
Killmann went on to explain that Toyota was unsure why the car wasn’t selling well, especially because most reviews have been quite positive (you can read our first drive report here).
There have been plenty of rumors pertaining to additional variants for the GT 86 and its FR-S twin. They include the aforementioned convertible, a new hybrid model and even a sedan. Sadly, it sounds like none of these will be coming.
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My interpretation is that it mainly applies to "global" sales. Typically when a manufacturer gauges the success of a model, they look at things other than just actual sales volume. Although actual volume is an important stat, they also focus very heavily on % of marketshare and "days supply" in inventory and pipelines. Right now there are 13's sitting on the lot next to 14's. That's not a good scenario at all which is compounded by the fact that this car had a huge amount of hype, positive reviews, and 13 was the first year of it's life cycle. If I had a hyped product that had awesome reviews but was left with excess inventory at the end of the year, I would for sure question the bridge between people who said they would buy vs those that actually did. Although I'm a huge enthusiast and love my twin, I have to wonder if the BRZ/FR-S is kind of like an answer to a question that the BUYING market never asked.
Now when you take all of that sales info, in my opinion, it's not hard to figure out why the Toyota mothership won't green light a supercharger. Why build a $10,000 accessory if we're having a hard time selling an ENTIRE CAR for $25,000? I'm actually still shocked that they released the BBK, but that's another matter.
Anyways, those are all just my own personal opinions that aren't based on much. Feel free to disagree or discuss :) :cheers: |
