Do you think Mazda will have to step it up now?
 

With the BRZ/FR-S out and the convertible FR-S coming next year do you think Mazda will lose a majority of their Miata sales and have to step it up to be competitive?

Also, do you think other car manufacturers will produce cars to compete in this low weight, inexpensive sports car segment?

This is a terrible market for small sports cars. I think if Mazda will continue to be financially solvent (right now they're bleeding bad) they will need to focus on other things besides the Miata. But in a perfect world, I think that a lighter, better handling MX-5 would be a natural response to the FR-S, even if the two cars don't necessarily occupy the same segment.

From a racing perspective, both make great cheap club racers (but older Miatas will always be more popular because you can field a car for less than 15 grand out of pocket).

The FR-S is an interesting challenge to other carmakers, and whether they can build a small, light car in a time when everything is getting bigger and fatter.

It's crazy because I want a new or a few years old car that fit's in this niche. I feel like the closest car that does is not RWD. It's my 2011 Civic Si that weighs 100lbs more than the BRZ/FR-S. If it was RWD/AWD I'd keep it. So no, an Si is not in the same market and I def don't want a miata nor do I want the Chevy car supposedly in the works to compete in this market.

Although this may be a small market it is obviously not a small as anyone estimated or there would be plenty of BRZ/FR-S for all of us.

ND miata will be out late 2013 or early 2014 and it will weigh 2200lb with 160 hp. I want them to make a 2 seater coupe version at 2200lb. That would be so much fun and coupe costs less to build than a convertible. That means a miata coupe would cost less than $25000, base price of next gen miata. But chances are Mazda will not build a miata coupe.

I bet Mazda will go with a bit more power like closer to 200HP in the next miata, even though it will be lighter than the current generation, but I doubt it will be under 2200 pounds.

well they've been talking about adding the RX-7 back in there line up...but its been a "concept for 8 years now" so.....i dunno

That would be cool if it was a worthy successor. I don't know if they've made any progress with the Renesis Rotary Engine. Probably not.

i would love a miata coupe! and I certainly hope they do step it up and the 2+2 RWD sports coupe continues to thrive so we have more options in the future. I am still hoping they take one more go at the rotary and get a more fuel efficient solution. I just love rotaries! :) I did see where they took the 2.4 turbo motor out of ms6 and dropped it in a miata as a track edition. I bet that thing kills!!! I love the motor in my ms6 just not the body roll that comes with the chassis! :):burnrubber:

I definitely think Mazda has to step it up. There is no doubt that the FR-S/BR-Z could steal sales away from the Mazda Miata (not that Mazda sells tons of those cars), and I truly hope the rumored Mazda RX-7 comes to fruition. I am a huge RX-7 fan and would love to see the tradition continued. But the strong Japanese Yen is going to continue to make it very difficult on Japanese car companies. Mazda's new CX-5 crossover has been a huge success, and their Skyactiv Mazda 3 should sell very well if we see oil prices rise again. It is a fun driving car that easily gets 40+ mpg on the highway and is not a hybrid. If these cars do well it might help Mazda to support efforts like the Miata and RX-7.

There will never be a next generation RX7. It is dead as the Acura Integra.

The only cars we might see are..

Nissan Silvia
Toyota Supra
Acura NSX

+1 for the Miata coupe. I love the way the Miata drives, but I'm not a big fan of convertibles. Mazda's Skyactiv engines seem to have a lot of potential, and I'm looking forward to the next gen Miata.

I see no reason why they can't bring another rotary car to the table. They said that they had not given up on rotaries and that they would continue its development.

They just need to make it turbocharged again! Rotaries are torque-less wonders without forced induction. Not to mention the RX-8 was butt-ugly without the optional aero kit. If Mazda could make a 250-300hp turbocharged rotary in a modern platform that weighs the same or less than a 370Z they could have a winner! With the Skyactiv engines out breaking the 40mpg barrier, they won't have to worry about the RX-7 successor affecting their average fuel economy rating across the board, either; I just think they'd need to find a way to get the average fuel economy above 20mpg or else people will choke at the gas pump. Here's what they've been doing in past models; it's painful by modern standards:

http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...izazter/rx.jpg

I think it can fall both ways. If the sports car market in general become more active with the BRZ/FRS, with limited availability of the FT86 siblings, people just might flock to other sports cars. But it is hard to tell.

The truth is a lot more folks are WANTING the FRS/BRZ, but are currently not in the position to actually buy/finance a $29,000 OTD car. I think the real indicator and boost for the sales and health of sports cars in America is not in the public perception of them, but with banks increasing approval rates for finance, as well as gains in job market, and stability in the economy...

I mean before 2008, I can walk out the door with a $52,000 truck with almost no money down, but today, I was scrutinized pretty heavily before financing a $29,000 FRS with a pretty hefty down payment, despite the higher earnings than before 2008.

Yes and the fuel economy of the BRZ/FR-S, especially the automatic transmission 25/34 on a 200hp car.