[rice_classic]

That is, admittedly, a significant extrapolation from a very limited sample (aka; 1).

There's also enterprise, thrifty, budget, avis, dollar rental etc; that all offer a mustang (or at least googling suggests they do).

Some googling also points to the fact that the V6 Mustang exists specifically for the fleet market segment even though it is available through retail (and improved over the last few years).

But, nonetheless... None of this means anything when discussing the principle of a "loss leader" in a thread titled: has the affordable RWD sports car become a money loser...over the last 60 years is that most affordable RWD sports cars were mostly intended to be loss-leaders.

The answer is NO. The car itself may not be profitable (with few exceptions) but a non-profitable affordable, rwd sports car can still lift margins for the company or the brand as a whole. The fact that Subaru/Toyota have one, Mazda is making a new Miata, Hyundai has one, Kia has been toying with one, Ford/Chevy has always had one and Nissan/Infiniti both support the platform suggests that an attainable RWD sports car is still financial benefit to the brand as a whole. Scion/Subaru/Toyota have also stated that the 86 is selling above targets, so it's hard to see doom an gloom when the manufacturer of the car says, "Well it's doing better than we planned on!"

This loss-leader model also applies to some super cars. The LFA is a massive loss on every sale for example. Heck it even applies in other industries... How many years did Amazon operate before turning a profit? How many Xbox 360s did MS sell and for how many years at a loss on each unit before that department became profitable (answer: lots). Ink-Jet printers are another example: sell the unit at no-margin or even a loss and make money on ink.