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Originally Posted by NemesisPrime909
this may have been one of the most depressing posts i've seen on this site. But you're not wrong. it's why Mitsubishi only sells an suv and 3 crossovers now. Around here people adore the new Mustang and the Challenger.
So the question is, how do we keep Japanese sports cars alive in the US when the demographic is the way it is?
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Unfortunately, the only way is with buyers/demand, so unless people are willing to shell out the money then it isn't going to happen, and I don't see the landscape changing at all.
Japanese sports cars were all about tech back in the day. A light weight high revving four cylinder could beat a low tech V8 back in the 90's. Unfortunately for the Japanese, the American cars have finally caught up. They were also overbuilt, which made them the better tuning platform, but now that field has shifted to the American cars because they have tuning ability and displacement. Japanese cars were about driving performance and handling, and American cars were about drag racing, but now a Camaro LT1 1LE can best supercars around the Nurburgring. The Japanese heavyweights were so exotic before with their sequential twin turbo systems of the mid nineties or with their high revving motors like that of the S2000 with an amazingly high specific output, but now there is a flat-plane V8 in a GT350 revving to 8.5k rpms that sounds like a Ferrari.
Enter the 2000's and the Japanese sports cars began to get conservative and inexpensive, taking a step back, like the 350z, Eclipse, MR2 and RX8. There was a shift from front engine, rear wheel drive, GT-looking cars to rally cars. These STIs and Evos had the racing pedigree to give them street credit, while being capable of great 0-60 times and tuning potential. What is more, they were practical cars. They were four doors, so they comfortably fit all your friends, and they could actually operate as a good daily driver. They looked good with roof racks and could take a person to the ski slopes on the weekends and destroy a Camaro the next day, but alas, the tall wings and aggressive styling got old, and drifting was becoming more popular.
Drifting saw a resurgence of FR platforms, but at this point, there wasn't much available from the Japanese market. Many people used 350Zs or older, lighter Japanese cars to get the power-to-weight ratio right.
It seemed like this was also a time when cops were cracking down on street racing and modified vehicles, so people began to show their car and stance their car.
Another trend was the emergence of the luxury sports sedan. Used luxury cars were cheap and a little more reliable. A used M3 had the comfort of a luxury car, the sound and highway acceleration of a muscle car and the handling of some sports cars. These cars were tunable and made better daily drivers, while being understated than a loud looking sports car.
Between the need for power for drifting, the competition for luxury sports sedans, the introduction of E85 and the culmination of American cars finally getting some tech into their muscle cars, the horsepower wars began to take over, which was followed by the practical car battle--the hot hatch war.
So where does this leave Japanese sports cars?
Most Japanese sports cars haven't progressed enough (370z), are out of reach (NSX, GTR), are not Japanese enough (Supra), aren't hitting the mark enough (Civic Type R, STI) or are behind the competition (Miata, GT86) when it comes to most metrics of performance.
The best hand the Japanese can play to compete with the V8's is ease of tunability, which is what they are doing with the Supra and probably with the next 400Z. The other hand is to keep the weight down and offer something with engagement and finesse like the 86 or Civic Type R. Unfortunately, not enough people like the idea of driving a fast looking car that is slower than a SUV, so they have to find a way of making it an easy tuner car, or they need to out tech the competition with some type of hybrid systems. I wish a back-to-basics approach could work, but it can't in a market where people can only own one car, and if they have to pick for them or the family, it is more likely going to be a SUV.
This is seldom discussed, but the other problem is the dealer networks. Demand for sports cars is low, but so is production, and dealers take advantage of this by jacking up the price of sports cars. Mustangs will see this less than Supras, but even special and top editions of Mustangs will see markups. This hurts sports car sales that much more. Why would anyone pay the premium for a sports car when your average sedan or SUV has more power than most people need. A 2.0T Accord gets to 60 faster than a 86 by half a second.
This is turning into a long rant, but I don't think there is much wiggle room for Japanese sports cars to make a resurgence, especially in a downward turning economy. Safety, fuel economy, battery tech, driving aids, utility are all driving sales--not driver engagement and connection with driving; tuning into reality is the exact opposite of where society is going. Manual transmissions are dying. Petite sports cars are dying. Horsepower and performance are becoming cheaper and cheaper, more than most people need or want. Their end is not far from the horizon. I think the future for sports cars will be resined to boutique companies and classic restorations. Enjoy your 86 while you can.