Why Scion FR-S Sales Have Plunged

[Mr.Impreza]

I honestly don't see a second gen for this car. It's too niche...even with 250hp & don't forget, with increase in power, will need to an increase in price which won't help this car out in anyway.

I think this car was the last of it's kind to offer what many of us 90's JDM car lovers wanted and got.

The future is obvious...paddle shifting hybrid CVT cars. There is not much room for these type of cars in the industry anymore.

[tehwegz]

Originally Posted by Mr.Impreza

I honestly don't see a second gen for this car. It's too niche...even with 250hp & don't forget, with increase in power, will need to an increase in price which won't help this car out in anyway.

I think this car was the last of it's kind to offer what many of us 90's JDM car lovers wanted and got.

The future is obvious...paddle shifting hybrid CVT cars. There is not much room for these type of cars in the industry anymore.

Damn you make it sound so bleak. But it is a harsh reality given how most people are sheep and want to go through life without lifting so much as a finger (in case of paddle shifting, mere twitching will do) because apparently that's luxury. Also, is there an app for that?


http://www.autoevolution.com/news/se...med-87671.html


^Might be hope yet if there are more people like that at Toyota.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by tehwegz

Damn you make it sound so bleak. But it is a harsh reality given how most people are sheep and want to go through life without lifting so much as a finger (in case of paddle shifting, mere twitching will do) because apparently that's luxury. Also, is there an app for that?


http://www.autoevolution.com/news/se...med-87671.html


^Might be hope yet if there are more people like that at Toyota.

Dude! We have seen all that before and 99.8% of it is pure speculation and just plain click bait. Most of the threads on this subject devolve into an argument about more power. There is zero official statements about a next gen no matter how may "Insiders" are allegedly quoted.
Not trying to be a jerk (I am one so don't need to try) but you may want to take a look at some other threads (hell even this one goes into detail if you read it all) before starting this whole thing up again.

[PhantomX]

Originally Posted by tehwegz

Turbo. So throw in '15 WRX motor pretty much.


Another 50hp on top of that in a pinch. JDM FA20T's already making 296hp @ 5600rpm and 295lb-ft at 2000-4800rpm stock.

They've been pretty persistent that it will never get FI. At best, if they succeed, they will manage to pull an additional 50HP (and hopefully more torque) from their R&D'ing in the near future, like they claimed a few times they're trying to do, even if it means dropping the FA20 entirely.

[FRSBRZGT86FAN]

Originally Posted by Ddreder

I am still holding out for the Nissan IDX.. But if all else fails I might just trade in my FRS for the new ND Miata. It is starting to grow on me..

Originally Posted by Shark_Bait88

You'll be waiting for awhile then http://jalopnik.com/nissan-steps-bac...s-o-1681814044

Was just about to say that, the person who himself said he was the only person interested in a true "mass" affordable drivers car at Nissan had left to work at Cadillac/GMs V program. Apparently he said in an interview with another magazine that he had to pull a leg and an arm just to get the engineering department to look at the eau rouge, iDX and blade glider. The accountants might be back in control or it might all be a trick to just wow everyone if it suddenly appears.

[M12Power]

Originally Posted by Mr.Impreza

I honestly don't see a second gen for this car. It's too niche...even with 250hp & don't forget, with increase in power, will need to an increase in price which won't help this car out in anyway.

I think this car was the last of it's kind to offer what many of us 90's JDM car lovers wanted and got.

The future is obvious...paddle shifting hybrid CVT cars. There is not much room for these type of cars in the industry anymore.

The future is all-electric, self-driving cars. As sad as that may be, it's the hard reality. There will be no such thing as "driving" anymore as we will just be passengers.

As for 2nd gen for the twins, I don't see why not. AFAIK, Nissan is continuing with the Z, and Mazda just revamped the MX-5 entirely. Granted those are strictly two-seaters, but they're still niche cars, and I doubt they're selling better than the twins.

What I would like to see in the 2nd gen is a slightly more upscale interior with better fit and finish. The car is quick enough, but a bit more power (while keeping it NA) never hurts, either, and Toyota should stopping selling it under the Scion brand in the US...

[ET86]

The car just isn't practical enough. It makes a hell of a second car or a nice first car for a teenager but for most adults with a family the car just isn't enough.

[jvincent]

Since when has a 2+2 sports car ever been considered a practical choice? I got mine when our eldest left for school, so we wouldn't need to be carrying as many people around. The fold down rear seats let me carry a passenger and two sets of golf.clubs. That's all the practicality I need.

[Deep Six]

Never say never. The initial R&D costs have by now been amortized into the sales of "Gen 1". The US market is power crazed and switching or adding the option of an FA20T would not be as expensive as starting from scratch.

An extra 50 hp would be nice but having 250 foot pounds of torque would be transformational. Look at how quickly a 4C goes 0-60.

This is not a personal statement to offend the purists out there about whether or not the car "needs" more power, so don't even start with the "must not know how to drive if 200 hp isn't enough" crap. This is about the potential for broadening the targeted audience and like every other manufacturer's decisions a gamble at best.

[Deep Six]

Originally Posted by M12Power

The future is all-electric, self-driving cars. As sad as that may be, it's the hard reality. There will be no such thing as "driving" anymore as we will just be passengers.

I would disagree, people were saying the same thing 5 years ago and look at the billions of dollars being spent to manufacture the most amazing collection of performance vehicles history has ever seen. Thankfully across the entire price point spectrum!

[Mr.Impreza]

Originally Posted by Deep Six

I would disagree, people were saying the same thing 5 years ago and look at the billions of dollars being spent to manufacture the most amazing collection of performance vehicles history has ever seen. Thankfully across the entire price point spectrum!

Yeah but look at hyper cars and many exotic cars and the new Porsche GT3....they are all becoming paddle shift only without an option of a manual

[FRSupra]

Originally Posted by Mr.Impreza

I think this car was the last of it's kind to offer what many of us 90's JDM car lovers wanted and got.

We speak the same language.

[GreenMonster]

Originally Posted by Mr.Impreza

...even with 250hp & don't forget, with increase in power, will need to an increase in price which won't help this car out in anyway.

Yep... and a lot of the "mawr power" people will now have a new issue to complain about. "too expensive".

The car is what it is. A cheap sports car that does 8/10s of cars costing tens of thousands more.

[PhantomX]

Originally Posted by SlowButFun

I'm on the fence now about keeping an FR-S I just took on trade, due primarily to problems many are having trying to get an extra 40 HP and 50 or so lbs feet of torque out of the stock motor.

People can deny reality if they wish, but the recent HP/Torque wars affect the marketability & sales of all vehicles related to the "sports" or "sporty" categories, not just "muscle" cars.

If Toyota keeps denying this in the form of ignoring it, sales will continue to drop.

QED

Based on what? We sold five of our FR-S in a matter of less than a month, and the sixth sold within a week of it being pulled out of the piles of snowed in cars on the lot and into the showroom. I've even met with customers who upgraded to the latest model. One of them had a family member come by the next week, buying one for themselves. My dealership's issue is more of having enough allocated to us and available to keep up with the demand than trying to get rid of them.

As far as I'm concerned, your claim is unsubstantial. I already explained the more serious issue. Scion's monospec sales model isn't exactly helping, but it also doesn't help when the majority of sales consultants and dealerships don't really believe in the brand, therefore not willing to market them to ensure the masses are aware of their existence. Who knows? Maybe if they actually started believing in the brand and marketed it, on top of more "purists" like me and other genuinely interested parties, there would be more indecisive idiots like you who would buy the car, trade/sell it, then come back to it again. That would count as 2 sales for the FR-S.