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[wu_dot_com]

on many aspect, Toyota made a huge mistake because they decided to brand the GT-86 as Scion for NA market.

This is where Subaru need to recognize a miss opportunity by Toyota and capitalize on the largest market in the world for this car. The NA marketing effort needs to be focus, it needs to be precise, and it need to be more. A golden opportunity has fallen into Subaru NA’s lap. They need to take it to the next level to secure their position as the affordable performance car segment leader.

[switchlanez]

^I don't see Subaru making the better equipped BRZ Premium being cheaper than the FR-S if that's what you're implying. Toyota has a 15% (17%?) stake in Subaru and they would have made some fundamental agreements so as to not to step on each other's toes/shoot each other in the foot.

Edit: Nevermind I see what you're saying. Thus far, Scion has done more marketing in the US + we've seen evidence of an upcoming commercial. I'm curious to see what Subaru comes out with but so far they're losing in the marketing game.

[wu_dot_com]

Originally Posted by switchlanez

^I don't see Subaru making the better equipped BRZ Premium being cheaper than the FR-S if that's what you're implying. Toyota has a 15% (17%?) stake in Subaru and they would have made some fundamental agreements so as to not to step on each other's toes/shoot each other in the foot.

that’s not what im saying at all.

what i am saying is that, toyota made a branding mistake of offering this car as a Scion. There are many people like myself who was dead set on getting a toyota GT86 until they made that announcement. i don’t want to bring up the old debate again.

What i am saying is that, Subaru have this great opportunity to out shine Toyota because they are not limited with trim restrain. In addition, they are not bog down with the stigma associated with Scion, which is perceived as being young and immature. As a result, I see Subaru have a potential of pleasing a wider range of potential buyer from grater income and social status spread. If Subaru market this car right, the BRZ have the potential to out sale the FR-S in the NA market.

With that being said, this is Subaru NA’s sales to lose if they don’t step up to the challenge.

[switchlanez]

^Yeah I realized what you said (see footnote in my prior post).

I agree the BRZ would appeal to a larger target demographic. But it'll be tough to sell to Subaru loyalists who generally don't seem to care for this car (they want utility, AWD, turbo). Scion's target demographic seems smaller but more focused on the crowd that is most likely to buy this type of car. Scion is amping this car up as their halo and Subaru is sticking to their "meat & potato" new AWD cars that are launching and the BRZ is just tagging along. Wish that weren't the case but I imagine it's more important for Subaru to maintain their AWD foothold in America (btw Suzuki>Subaru globally).

Also, compare how Scion vs. Subaru sales reps in general can articulate on this car. That's a good indication of how much each corporation will care to sell it.

[tachi1247]

Originally Posted by wu_dot_com

that’s not what im saying at all.

what i am saying is that, toyota made a branding mistake of offering this car as a Scion. There are many people like myself who was dead set on getting a toyota GT86 until they made that announcement. i don’t want to bring up the old debate again.

What i am saying is that, Subaru have this great opportunity to out shine Toyota because they are not limited with trim restrain. In addition, they are not bog down with the stigma associated with Scion, which is perceived as being young and immature. As a result, I see Subaru have a potential of pleasing a wider range of potential buyer from grater income and social status spread. If Subaru market this car right, the BRZ have the potential to out sale the FR-S in the NA market.

With that being said, this is Subaru NA’s sales to lose if they don’t step up to the challenge.

I was in same boat and i agree with what you are saying except that it was a mistake. Toyota needs subaru more at this point (to produce this car) than the other way around. I'm sure that it was negotiated that toyota would only sell a lower trim level as a scion in the NA market.

Originally Posted by switchlanez

^Yeah I realized what you said (see footnote in my prior post).

I agree the BRZ would appeal to a larger target demographic. But it'll be tough to sell to Subaru loyalists who generally don't seem to care for this car (they want utility, AWD, turbo).

They aren't trying to please the loyalists. They want to bring in new customers who wouldn't otherwise consider a subaru. As you indicated this car is nothing like what the typical subaru buyer purchases. Those people would have bought another subaru regardless of this car.

[switchlanez]

^Exactly. I was implying we can rule the loyalist crowd out. Reason I brought it up is because Subaru's recent commercials focus on brand loyalty. It'll be interesting to see how they change it up, if at all.


Edit: They're still applying the loyalty marketing formula to the BRZ in Japan...

[u2b]QjWaz4M4qy8[/u2b]

[Zgrinch]

Everyone,

I just got this information back from someone on the Dealer Advisory board.

The highlights are:

- Each dealership will be allotted a certain number of BRZ's for sale based on the amount of 2011 WRX/STI sales they had.

- SOA will only be producing 400 BRZ's a month.

- There is also a separate option of a special order. We expect to be able to process orders in mid to end of March. Currently, orders take between 7-10 weeks, but could be longer for the BRZ, unknown at this point.

- The price will be between $25k-$30k depending on the features, but we do not have exact pricing information as of yet.

- Initially, if you are open to a couple of different color/ trim options, then you will be more likely to get the BRZ quicker than pre-ordering.

That is the latest I have on my end. I guess the best news is we are all getting closer to the finish line on this rumor roller coaster.

[switchlanez]

^Hey, all that sounds more reasonable to me.

[OrbitalEllipses]

Originally Posted by switchlanez

^Hey, all that sounds more reasonable to me.

That sounds like how things are SUPPOSED to be. Dealer in CA is a lying POS, that is all.

[tranzformer]

Math time: 400 cars x 12 months = 4800 cars/year. 600 dealers. Averages to 8 cars per dealer per year. Some more. Some less. So say 6-10 cars per dealer per year. That sucks.

[Dave-ROR]

Originally Posted by tranzformer

Math time: 400 cars x 12 months = 4800 cars/year. 600 dealers. Averages to 8 cars per dealer per year. Some more. Some less. So say 6-10 cars per dealer per year. That sucks.

Better than 2 for the year, but still low.

Depending on how many get 0 monthly that could still fit in with the 0-2 a month I suppose

[Zgrinch]

Originally Posted by tranzformer

Math time: 400 cars x 12 months = 4800 cars/year. 600 dealers. Averages to 8 cars per dealer per year. Some more. Some less. So say 6-10 cars per dealer per year. That sucks.

Yes, but that number is only what they are allotted, you can, according to my source, indeed preorder.

[switchlanez]

^That's actually not that bad considering there are several dealerships in most metropolitan areas.

[tranzformer]

Originally Posted by switchlanez

^That's actually not that bad considering there are several dealerships in most metropolitan areas.

With more people interested in the car.


Would need to do research on number of Subaru dealers per population density.