Has The Affordable RWD Sports Coupe Become A Money Loser?

[HotLavaFRS]

Originally Posted by MokSpeed

Did somebody mention "Halo car"?

Nice Puma.

[fang_gt86]

Why so surprised about the dropping sales of the 86? Don't all Japanese sports cars comes and go? God bless America for the wide open roads and cheap horse power!

I'm sure Toyota/Subaru did their homework and knew exactly how this car will go. That's why there's not a whole lot of trims. Especially in the power department. Why bother spending a huge amount on R&D for different trims for a model that's expected to last no longer than a decade.

I'm happy to own and experience the 86 as it is. Can't really ask for more. Its got the look and hugs corners like that of a Porsche. The feeling of gliding through those tight corners and not having to worry much on braking wet my pants every time (in a good way).

No doubt the 86 will go the way of the dodo eventually. However, I'm sure it will leave its mark as one of the best Japanese light weight RWD sports car of all time.

[gramicci101]

Originally Posted by HotLavaFRS

Nice Puma.

What in sam hell is a Puma?!

[Tromatic]

Why do people work so hard to find faults with this car? The people who actually love the thing are a small minority, with the rest either hating the car or never actually driving the thing because it's in pieces in the garage.

[jvincent]

Originally Posted by Tromatic

Why do people work so hard to find faults with this car?

People love to bitch.

Personally, I love my car. It would have been fine the way it left the factory, but I'm making better by modding it.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by gramicci101

What in sam hell is a Puma?!

A big cat with a vast range, the adaptable cougar (Puma concolor) is found across a variety of habitats. The New World mammal is recognized as six distinct subspecies (with a possible seventh in Florida). Five inhabit Latin America. The sixth lives in North America, including in the hills of Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States

Or...

The vehicle from the game Halo pictured above.

[86geek]

Originally Posted by fang_gt86

However, I'm sure it will leave its mark as one of the best Japanese light weight RWD sports car of all time.

Well said....F'k all the other muscle cars! LmaO!

[gramicci101]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

A big cat with a vast range, the adaptable cougar (Puma concolor) is found across a variety of habitats. The New World mammal is recognized as six distinct subspecies (with a possible seventh in Florida). Five inhabit Latin America. The sixth lives in North America, including in the hills of Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States

Or...

The vehicle from the game Halo pictured above.

Sigh. You need to watch Red vs. Blue, Season 1, Episode 2. It's five minutes long, you should look it up.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by gramicci101

Sigh. You need to watch Red vs. Blue, Season 1, Episode 2. It's five minutes long, you should look it up.

But I agree that it doesn't look like a Warthog and is named wrong!

[gramicci101]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

But I agree that it doesn't look like a Warthog and is named wrong!

But what about the two towhooks? They look like tusks.

[strat61caster]

Originally Posted by gramicci101

But what about the two towhooks? They look like tusks.

Like a Walrus

Edit: I'd go gay for Geoff Ramsey.

[MokSpeed]

Originally Posted by Rampage

I absolutely agree with everything you said with the exception of this. The fabled Supra and FD35 were not that powerful. They have been placed on a pedestal that they only partly deserve due to street lore and Initial D.

Fixed. This is how it applies to me!

[FRiSson]

After three years with the FR-S/86, my original reasons for buying the car have held true.
Despite the selling of this car as a track and drifting car, my priorities are different.
The things that really matter to me are four things.

1) RWD: It reminds me every moment (after years with sporty front wheel drive cars): how great rear-wheel-drive is. The car communicates with the front and the rear, without fucking it up by trying to combine them both, or by adding AWD.

2) MT: Less than 5% of cars sold are manuals. I feel like I am driving a sofa everytime I drive an automatic.

3) Precise Steering: Even the best sporty hatches or expensive sedans telegraph the steering to you. Not so in the FR-S. You sense the steering through your hands, and you feel the reaction of the steering even before you see it.

4) Lightweight: Even small cars are heavy these days, and the fancy suspension systems on many cars make car feel ponderous and remote. Even the best sporty sedans may react quickly but it feels unreal and computer-aided.

I remember what fighter pilots said when jets started using sophisticated avionics to help fly increasingly complex airplanes. They lamented that the F4 Phantom was the last pure "piloted plane". Sometimes I think that the 86 may be one of the last "driven" cars. Despite its lack of power, I would rather have the 86 than a Ferrari with its dual clutch automatic, or the GT-R with its computer aided launch algorithm.

[vividracing]

Just wondering, if the OP thinks an affordable RWB sports coupe is a money loser, what does that make the Camaro, Challenger and especially the Mustang now that it has independent rear suspension? Call them muscle cars but once you get an IRS you all of a sudden have a track car.

-RyanG