Quote:
Originally Posted by Ryephile
Honda S2000 is probably a great example. Yes, the entry price is higher, but it also had a big thing going for it; it came out well before the current turbo DI era [so the pressure for mega-huge power from the internet fan-bois wasn't there], and it had the massive bragging rights of being by far the highest HP/L n/a production engine with a killer 9k RPM redline. The engine sold the car, but it helped that it was a convertible, dead sexy, and was a blast to drive.
As I see it, the engine in the FR-S isn't the primary selling point; it's its low CoG location, flat-4 quirkiness, and "me-too" Nurburgring chassis tuning. IMO those points aren't as easy to get excited about as what the S2000 did when it arrived. Nevertheless, the S2000 sold consistently in the tens of thousands a year for quite a while. If the FR-S/BRZ combo can match that, it'll be a success, IMO.
I also dug up an old press tidbit on the Oizumi plant the cars will be built at. Here's the full article.
So, they're spending $500 Million USD on bumping up capacity by 70k/year, but adding the FR-S/BRZ, Legacy, Impreza, and Forester to the lines. If we divide by 4 the extra capacity, that puts the FR-S/BRZ right at 17.5k/year, which seems plausible when compared to the S2000 production numbers. |
while those selling points might be able to push a few sales, i think the greatness about this car is that it isnt about selling points. its about a car. lets also not forget when the s2k was selling that many cars. we are in a significantly different economic environment. also riding the wave of growing honda fan boys who can now afford a real car had to play a factor.
on another note you should be aware that while miatas list for entirely too much that isnt nearly what they sell for. that isnt going to be the case with the scion.
i think it will be a relatively low production car if the price is set above 24k but thats okay because it seems that it has already done what it was created to do. generate talk about toyota as a sports car company.