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Old 04-06-2015, 12:07 PM   #35
DarkSunrise
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The affordable lightweight RWD sports car market is not very popular in the US. Cars like the Miata, S2000, MR-S/MR2, and RX8 never sold very well and only one of those four is still being produced today. Companies like Toyota and Subaru realize this. That's why Toyota set a modest sales target of 20k FR-S's in the US for 2013. People keep trying to pin the FR-S/BRZ as sales failures, but I would guess their sales are roughly inline with corporate expectations. Make no mistake - the Twins were never going to out-sell Mustangs and Camaros in the US, and it would be foolish to have expected them to.

The typical American hears the term "affordable RWD sports car" and envisions a pony car -- a coupe that (1) looks good, (2) out-accelerates a V6 Camry, and (3) costs under $30k. The Mustang and Camaro hit all of those marks perfectly. The Mustang and Camaro both sell significant volumes in the US. Americans don't care if the Camaro and Mustang are bigger and heavier than a Camry, as long as they look sporty, go fast and grip well.

I'd say affordable RWD sports coupes (inclusive of pony cars) are nowhere near being money losers. But affordable RWD sports cars (in the spirit of lightweight British roadsters) probably are.
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