Quote:
Originally Posted by NemesisPrime909
Also when did releasing special editions become a mortal sin?
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I hear your point - no one has to buy the car. We do have choices. However, there are three legitimate reasons to dislike this special edition:
1. It actually makes the car worse, as a sports car.
It adds weight without adding performance. It adds show without adding go. This makes it less of a performance car, and more of a tarted-up ricer, the kind people make fun of out in streets and parking lots around the world. There are lots of people who resent aftermarket body kits and excessive exhaust pipes on cars that can't deliver any more performance. The RS 1.0 is the equivalent of a fake "Type R" badge from the factory. Why would you expect that enthusiasts would be okay with a car like that?
2. It is a missed opportunity.
They *could have* released a special edition that actually had performance enhancing mods. The tS may not have more power, but it has better suspension, brakes, and chassis bits. All it needs is an aftermarket S/C or turbo to make it epic. The RS 1.0, on the other hand, is a joke from a performance perspective. It craps all over the car's mission as a light weight sports car, in favor of flashy bits of extra fat. It is an indicator that Toyota is favoring posers over enthusiasts. That is a bummer.
3. It shows that Toyota is following the unsuccessful path of the RX8 and the S2K.
It looks like they will do just what Honda and Mazda did, releasing a mid-cycle refresh with a minor power bump. Near the end of the run, they will release the best, most track focused car. At that point, the car will be a has-been, and will not get the sales it needs.
Some of us were hoping that they would learn from the past and instead follow a model more similar to Porsche and Jaguar, where they release the base car, and then add at least one higher performance variant as quickly as possible. This supports sales of the base model by keeping interest high, and pulls image or performance conscious buyers up into a higher price category. This strategy also leverages the platform by making it more interesting to a wider variety of folks. Ford and Chevy have had success with that in the Mustang, Camaro, and Corvette. Mercedes and BMW do it with the AMG and M cars. It is a proven way to sell performance cars.
Instead, it looks like Toyota will follow the "one size fits all" Japanese sports car model that was so unsuccessful in the past. That is a shame for the car, and it is a shame for those of us who don't want to wait three more years for the "good" version.
tl;dr: There are legitimate reasons to dislike the RS 1.0, even if we have a choice not to buy it.