Quote:
Originally Posted by UtahSleeper
While there is a decline, all they really need to do as do the standard facelift stuff to get interest back. Everything I have read is that FI is not an option and I really don't see a reason for them to since you can buy a twin and FI it for less then what the OEM would nail you for. Plus, with that market this car appeals to, a 32 to 35k sports car is probably not going to move very well since they are not moving very quick at 25k.
Same thing happened to the RX8.
http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2011/01...s-figures.html
The S2000 didn't have stellar numbers either:
Honda S2000 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Really, it's expected. I agree though that if the play with the tune and exhaust, with a small facelift, they can potentially revive interest in the car with people that don't own one already. Or, release a race prepped version and cut out things like AC, stereo or some other crap and try to get the car closer to 20k. Yes, it would be gimmicky, but it would save some people here time lol. |
I guess where you and I differ is, I don't really see a continuing market for this car.
- The people who wanted a cheap, lightweight RWD car pretty much bought one already (or as Tcoat mentioned, any stragglers will go to the used market).
- Most of the guys waiting on the fence now are holding out for significantly more power, which I think only FI can address.
- I think FI can be a viable option if they can figure out another high volume platform to adapt the FI engine to. I think that could be a lightweight 86-based RWD sedan that would have much more universal appeal (i.e., sales volume) than the coupe. We know Toyota has given this some thought and done some preliminary development work on.
- Alternatively, perhaps the FI engine could be shoehorned into the upcoming Scion iM hatch to create a Speed3/FoST type competitor, which should also generate significant sales.
I think the mild power bump and facelift that you're describing is low risk in terms of development cost, but that's largely the route Honda and Mazda took with the S2000 and RX-8, and those cars didn't fare so well.
From what I've seen, the coupes in the market that stand the test of time and can justify their own development cost are largely tied to some sedan variant, such as the BMW coupes/sedans, Audi, MB, Infiniti, etc. I think that's a big reason why stand-alone sports cars like the RX-7/RX-8, S2000, 240sx, etc. have failed. The only time sports cars are profitable enough as stand-alone platforms are when the company itself is dedicated primarily to making sports cars, e.g., Porsche, Lambo, Ferrari.