[bofa]

Originally Posted by Sabastian

I don't really think Motorsports history adds to the price that much, especially when it comes to road cars produced by mainstream manufacturers, and I don't think Mazda is a charging a premium because some people choose to track their cars. Mazda charges what it does based on what their analysis shows the market can handle.

To answer your question, "What about the car costs over 20-21k?" Well, I would point to the things you mentioned: RWD (which means low sales volume and fewer possibilities for platform sharing), 200hp, 6sp, and LSD. If this car were priced at $20-21k, it would be the cheapest 200hp car on the market, and considering the fact that the FT-86 is being built on an all-new, unique, RWD platform, I really don't see that happening. Furthermore, do you really think Toyota can build a low-volume, RWD, 200hp coupe for as much as Honda charges for a Civic EX sedan ($20,505) or a Focus hatch with alloys ($21,100)?

I notice you keep mentioning the Genesis Coupe 2.0T in your arguments, but I believe that Hyundai is the exception, rather than the rule, when it comes to value. Hyundai consistently undercuts Toyota and Subaru across their respective lineups, and I expect that trend to continue with the FT-86. Oh sure, I'd love for the base FT-86 to start at ~$20k, but I think the days of the $20k sports coupe died when Honda upped the price on the Civic Si Coupe a couple years back.

I have to say though... you can't really discount the Hyundai pricing argument since they decided to brand this a Scion. If it was a Toyota, I could see the price being a couple thousand more, without hesitation. Not only because of the brand recognition, but also because of the pricing structure used by Toyota (no pure price).