Kind of curious. how many ft86s have been sold, year to date?

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10766

It's a little behind, total numbers as follows in the USA
FR-S: 43,806
http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2012/05...s-figures.html
BRZ: 20,235
http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2012/05...s-figures.html

Worldwide they surpassed 100,000 units within the past year, initial goals were 100k per year but it seems like reception has been lukewarm in Europe, exact figures aren't known as many regions don't publish them. I would not be confident claiming >160k without some evidence as we near the end of year 3.

On the topic of the engine, I'm personally impressed at what they've done, this engine meets worldwide emissions standards putting out 100hp/l naturally aspirated in an affordable package with economy car fuel economy, that's a goddamn feat of engineering not marketing fucking with you 'holding out for a better model'. If they didn't need D4-S they would have gladly left it off the car and knocked a thousand bucks+ off the sticker, but then we'd be down to the 160 hp range (at that point: Miata). And now we get Subaru Direct Injection turbos, this car was a slam dunk imo, it will be a long time before we see another one.

Sounds like the twins already matched or surpassed the S2000 in lifetime US sales (66K).

2016 should bring a face-lift to the FR-S, same power but maybe revised standard equipment. Then, perhaps another 4 years on sale, to be replaced by a completely new car around 2020.

Over 60K by now.

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10766

Plus Juan. LOL, all facty and shit.

They have blown away every Japanese sports car in the past 15 years with regards to production numbers with the sole exception being the first ~3 years of the NB Miata.

inb4 some 4 door sedan or hopped up econobox who's sales numbers are lumped in with the base model (*cough*imprezza*cough*civic*cough*genesis)

350z was arguably more successful. It sold close to 80K units in the US between 2002-2004, and another 80K between 2005-2008. Though the 370z failed spectacularly in terms of sales. It's sad that after 13 years, Nissan still hasn't followed up with a new lightweight RWD platform.

As a marketing professional, this.

This is pretty much the mentality of everyone in marketing/PR. You can't get too mad at marketing and PR folks for always beating around the bush, because they often have to be non-committal for legal reasons. Can't go promising something that hasn't been through all the red tape yet.

SACHS Dampers FTW!

Reading comments on threads like this really speaks to the age, or perhaps the education, of many Toyobaru owners. There seems to be an incredibly poor understanding of how things work within major corporations, who is privy to what sort of information, and how new products are developed/introduced.

There's far too much unfounded speculation and incredibly generalized assumptions based off of societal misconceptions/stuff you might learn in movies.

You take that back! Frozen was an awesome movie!

Still haven't seen it. I really enjoyed Big Hero 6 though!

But The Great Mouse Detective is still the best Disney movie.:thumbsup:

You're right, Nissan's '03 and '04 sales outpaced Toyobaru's '13 & '14
http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2011/01...s-figures.html

36k & 30k vs. 26k & 21k

And it's likely that the '05 & '06 sales will outpace '15 & '16 but I would expect similar dropoffs. I'm not surprised at all by the Toyobaru's sales trends, the RX-8, S2000, and NC Miata all follow similar trends to the 350Z, and now add the Toyobaru to the dataset.

It's also arguable that Nissan has had any lightweight RWD platforms since the 240sx, at it's lightest the 350z clocks in ~3,200 lbs...

Edit: Also worth noting Nissan had more resources to dump into chassis, suspension, styling and interior as the powertrain is sourced from their trucks and larger sedans/utility vehicles which seemed to fit the American market at the time (muscle car strategy, big beefy utilitarian powertrain stuffed into a small body).