Quote:
Originally Posted by SneakyMilo
I do not see this vehicle being offered in a "budget" version with a lower end power plant. The reason? It just doesn't make financial sense to lower your entry level price to a lower margin point. In the US you already have a budget "sports coupe" in the form of the tC so you have a market option for customers who want a sporty car in out the door for $20K. I think Toyota's goal for this car is to bolster its budget youth brand offering with a higher margin car that draws in the older 20-somethings (people born during the original AE86 era) that have a little more cash to play with than the typical tC buyer.
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Well firstly, 20-somethings wouldn't remember when the A86 came out. If somebody's 29 now, they'd be born in 1982. The car went from 1983-87, so they'd be tiny kids. AE86 typically appeals to older people because of that, in their 30s.
Secondly, you're assuming that just because somebody has more disposable income, that they'd want to spend on it a much faster car. Sports car sales are declining if anything, which doesn't validate that assumption. It's more people in their early 20s that care about "I need this to beat car X." You get older, you get mortgages, kids, etc. Hence practicality comes into the equation.
Thirdly, if you're talking about people that want an updated AE86, the AE86 was never a fast car. The spirit of the car was that it's light and tossable, not that it'd beat a 'Stang on the drag. 250-260hp car isn't an AE86-successor anymore, that's encroaching Celica/Supra territory. From a brand identity perspective, it doesn't make sense.