Quote:
Originally Posted by Tcoat
Why do you feel it is doable? Because you want it? Why is it not already competitive? Toyota and Subaru gave the world the car that was asked for why would they be interested in changing it to please 20% of the very few people that bought it?
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You might be more of an expert here than I am but here's my reasoning:
I assume the Mazda MX-5 is a financial success and not a money lose for Mazda (although it might be I don't know). Due to this, I assume Mazda succeeded in delivering a lightweight, reasonably satisfactory performance sports car into market while turning a profit. So the argument of a modern light weight sports car that sells does is valid. So in effect, the MX-5 made everyone happy. The general consumers get a good looking sports car that can keep up with the times, and the hardcore car enthusiasts get a light weight sports car. Everyone's happy.
Now the reason why I believe the MX-5 ND is a success story is that they will try to respond to market demand while keeping on trying to cater for the sports car enthusiast. This is by introducing the right small increments needed to answer market demands. This is the same strategy followed by the 911 and Mclaren but on a different scale.
The FT86 on the other hand, is going on 7 years now and the incremental changes are too small to keep up with the market. Sales will go down because of this and the car will die. Next thing you know, there is no second generation FT86 which would be really sad.
Incremental meaningful changes to satisfy the overall market while keeping an eye on the very small segment of car enthusiasts that by themselves would not finance the existence of the vehicle but by playing it smart, enthusiast sports cars can continue to exist.