Quote:
Originally Posted by DarkSunrise
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.
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I don't think that "failed" is the proper word. More like "discontinued" as per the manufacturer's plan.
People seem to have the impression that cars are developed, released, upgraded and discontinued based on some sort of year by year decision. This is not the case by far.
Car runs including upgrades and model year changes are planned for years and in some cases even decades. These marketing plans can be made before they are even off the drawing board.
I would bet that in a securely locked boardroom someplace in Japan is a timeline drawing of the FRS plans from initial release to end of run. This diagram will show every single proposed upgrade, special edition and model year change
already. There is very probably even an "end of model" year already chosen.
Now, market changes may have some influence upon these changes but they would have to be significant in order to have any impact.