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Originally Posted by Jordo!
1. Does this forum represent exactly 1% of all possible car buyers or even sports car buyers -- I have no idea, but the answer is you (we) are a very small minority.
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4. News of the FT-86 is everywhere and the most frequently occuring comment is: "I hope it's not all show, no go." not "I sure hope this thing doesn't have a turbo".
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That's a self-defeating argument. If we're a small vocal minority, why would it matter that the same vocal minority hopes "it's not all show, no go"? Answer? It doesn't matter.
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2. How do I know that -- answer: There are almost no new cars in production that reflect your fervent wishes for a lightweight NA sports car. Why? THERE IS ALMOST NO MARKET FOR IT.
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Which cars have survived, even with the return of the pony cars: Four door "rally cars" with turbos.
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And guess what, Mitsubishi is mulling killing the Evolution altogether. Why? Because 300hp and AWD isn't enough to convince ppl to spend $30k on a car that gets maybe 25 mpg.
http://www.autocar.co.uk/blogs/autoc...s-no-more.aspx
Don't think you're grasping how much the market is changing. The appeal of a lightweight NA sports car (as opposed to a 300+hp car like the Evo) isn't just that you can pretend to be a Tofu-delivery man. When you design a car around a smaller displacement and make it lightweight, it's also going to be more fuel efficient. With rising CAFE standards, CO2 taxes (in Europe), and a dramatic shift in market towards fuel economy over performance, making another 370Z/S2000 is a losing proposition.
In the face of 370 sales dropping like a rock, and companies like Mitsubishi pondering killing performance-oriented models, it's even a miracle that Toyota would make a 200hp RWD coupe, let alone some boosted 300hp Supra-successor.