Quote:
Originally Posted by Rampage
Toyota will likely keep the line alive for 6 years even with declining sales (which was predictable as most here have mentioned). Look at their most recent sports and sporty car models for evidence. I am sure that with the initial success of the twins they have long since surpassed the break even point on the R&D on the car so everything since then is profit. The majority of drivers today are more concerned with gadgets, gizmos, big power and comfort. The twins buck all those trends so there is not going to be mass appeal for them. Most buyers will think the twins are overpriced for what you are getting because of the lack of gadgets, gizmos, big power and comfort. Hell. many of the post on this forum show that a lot of FT86 buyers agree with them. It takes a special breed to appreciate these cars for what they do offer that other vehicles do not. Unfortunately, for the longevity of true sports cars, the number of those type of drivers is very limited.
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You have no idea what it costs to R&D a car from idea to production. With R&D, tooling up a plant, certification, training people to build it and marketing they're not even close to break even yet. Cars cost asstons of money to develop. There isn't that much margin on a new car, especially a cheap sports car.