Originally Posted by Spartarus
I've been around plenty long enough to know that we're just going agree to disagree. I have a different perspective on the issue than you do.
I can also understand why you find it irritating. I find different things irritating.
So, I'll go briefly off topic to explain my perspective.
Points of comparison vary in importance. Some people find warranties important, some find them irrelevant. Warranties don't add value for everybody. I bought both my FRS and S2000 without warranties. The age and condition of the car is an expense factor for some, and an aesthetic factor for others.
The new to new price comparison is moot because the cars share no production years. I paid less for my S2000 than I did for my FRS. So did everybody else who sat down and compared them when the FRS was new... There were no new S2000's to compare prices with. The price point on the date of purchase is the only relevant price. It's an open market.
On a curious note, the cheapest used FRS's are now cheaper than the most expensive used S2000's. The market will eventually correct, and then the nature of the comparison will change. Perhaps the S will go the way of the NSX and jump way up in price... Perhaps the used FRS's will bottom out a 5K... Perhaps they will reverse...
Part of the nature of comparing used cars to new ones is your dollars can potentially go further with a used car. Just because you can buy more car for less money, doesn't mean two cars are incomparable. There are tradeoffs with both options. That's what comparisons are for. To figure out which tradeoffs you are willing to live with.
I'm willing to put up with a tiny, misshapen trunk and an old radio because I like the engine and transmission better.
Back on topic then:
I also disagree with the power vs price argument. There's a pervasive myth that adding power would automatically increase price. I don't think that's true.
The WRX starts in the exact same price range as the BRZ, with 4 doors, a turbo, and 60 more horsepower. It also, coincidentally, shares a version of the FA20. It would not have been an undue burden for Subaru/Toyota to drop in a 260 HP engine without changing the price. The price for a release series 1.0 or series.blue would nearly buy you an STI, which gets to drag around a little over 300 HP. Instead it buys you a cheap body kit and an exhaust. That's what the marketing people decided would work and sell. These are marketing decisions, not technical decisions.
If you listen to the feedback from the market, it's clear that the disappointing sales are a result of completely missing the mark on power. That's literally everybody's first comment. It's the first argument that gets made about the car. It's the white elephant that every journalist, owner, and prospective buyer has to deal with. It's clear that's what held it back. It's the first question you have to answer to every other enthusiast. Leaving the power alone is not automatic, it's a decision you have to justify to people.
If they had substantially improved on already available cars, nobody would hear a peep about the S2000, the Z cars, the Genesis, or the Mustang.
The thing that made the S2000 special when it was new is that is was cheaper than comparable cars, and it outperformed them. It wasn't just cheaper. People were looking for that kind of impact from the FT-86 platform, and they didn't get it.
It doesn't mean it's a bad car, it just means that the development people made a big mistake, and owners of the car are going to hear about it until long after they get sick of hearing about it.
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