Why Scion FR-S Sales Have Plunged

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by wbradley

50 yrs old here. First car I ever bought was fuel injected (85 GTI).Jacked up muscle cars not my style.

Tcoat drove old cars, even for his time. His age was more in the Smokey and the bandit screaming golden eagle GinoTrans Am era.

Gino Vanelli does Greypower commercials now Lol.

Pre Gino my friend, pre Gino!
And I never was a fan of big gold chains and rings so never was a Trans Am fan.

[Dadhawk]

Originally Posted by Zanwald

How old are you two..

Originally Posted by Tcoat

55

Same here. Of course, I've been 55 since I was 18 which may not help!

[donoman]

I guess the wife analogy isn't so good. It's more of a girlfriend analogy since I have a 2 car garage...

[totopo]

Originally Posted by Simisimi

We've all heard this before. DO something about it! You can have a ridiculously fast car that handles better than cars costing 4x the money by investing in more power. $10K to 12K gets you well over 300HP with the tires to make you smile. It's a platform. A canvas to create from. But you need to be in a position to void your warranty. Gotta pay to play. And the play with this car is pretty reasonable vs. other options. Oh, and I can stick my kids in the back to cheer for me as we zoom onto the Interstate and kill mustangs at red lights. Mind you I am very clear that we are not breaking laws. Boost in a BRZ/FRS is like ice cream on apple pie. It's not required but sure is better.

I wonder what % of owners actully mod the engine to produce more power. everyone makes it sound so trouble free and easy. There is a reason people like to look at production cars as is, or with very minimal mods. Warantees are super important to a lot of people. People who can only own one car and have to use it to drive to work everyday. If it breaks down, its not just some minor annoyance. It is money, and tons of time trying to figure out how to get to work and how to get it fixed and to and from the shop.

Its not so easy to "just add some power". if you void the warantee and make the car unreliable, really, whats the benefit of it over a used car, which is much cheaper? What advatage does it have over a used s2k? Or e36? Or flying miata?

[Quentin]

Some people just don't want an old car. I searched high and low for an e36 M3 before my FR-S. They are almost all ragged out and the ones that aren't are being bought up by collectors. 15 year old cars come with 15 year old car problems... especially when you are daily driving them.


Sent from Tandy 400

[PhantomX]

Originally Posted by totopo

if you void the warantee and make the car unreliable, really, whats the benefit of it over a used car, which is much cheaper? What advatage does it have over a used s2k? Or e36? Or flying miata?

That's not an apples to apples comparison. Used vs new. Now, if you were to say "What advantages does it have over a new Miata?" then it would be a legitimate comparison.

[totopo]

Originally Posted by PhantomX

That's not an apples to apples comparison. Used vs new. Now, if you were to say "What advantages does it have over a new Miata?" then it would be a legitimate comparison.

I agree with you, If you void the warranty, what is the advantage? Im not comparing a new frs and a used miata, but a modded miata and a modded frs. My argument is against everyone who says it is easy to aftermarket add power to the frs. So if you say a modded frs compares favorably to a Mustang, I say, what advantage does that frs have over an s2k?

[PhantomX]

Originally Posted by totopo

If you void the warrante, what is the advantage? Most lay people couldn't tell you the difference between a tc and frs if their lives depended on it.

How about a used FR-S/BRZ vs used Miata, E36, S2000? That sounds more fair.

I'm curious, myself.

[totopo]

Originally Posted by PhantomX

How about a used FR-S/BRZ vs used Miata, E36, S2000? That sounds more fair.

I'm curious, myself.

a used s2k will beat the crap out of the fr-s at a track. it has double wishbones all around, which makes it easier to mod. I would say the engine is a ton more reliable than the fr-s engine.

The e36 will not be as reliable, but it will be tons faster, especially in the m configuration.

That's kind of why I asked the question. The only benefit I can really see is a warranty. And if you keep the warranty, then stop telling people it is so easy to add power.

[torqdork]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Dude, you haven't met my wife!

Damn you, I almost fell off my Pride Pursuit XL laughing.

Originally Posted by Dadhawk

Same here. Of course, I've been 55 since I was 18 which may not help!

Guess I have it backwards as usual having been stuck on 18 since I was 55.

[Antairez]

Thats great news, if there are too many people driving the frs on the road I myself wouldn't consider the car anymore. I like it to be special

[paulca]

Originally Posted by daiheadjai

I have to agree with NOHOME on this one.
This flat-4 sounds exactly like it's named - I remember early comments about it sounding like a tractor.

Coming from just a humble 1zz-fe (albeit with a slightly better exhaust on the Celica than on the Corolla it was shared with), I was amazed how uninspiring the stock exhaust note was.

Which is why I promptly went and got a new exhaust and filter/intake.
I am one of those who hopes the next gen will utilize a Toyota engine instead of a Subaru engine...

Unless Toyota make a flat 4 or a very compact flat 6 it won't fit. Not unless they raise the bonnet a good 3 or 4 inches, which will require raising the driving seat a few inches, redsigning the suspension and most of the chassis as a result.

I don't mind the exhaust note. Maybe it could be a bit deeper at higher revs and less "tight" sounding, but it's not a big deal. I like the noise it makes when you floor it in 6th at 40mph.

I do wish it didn't sound like a bag of ball bearings at low revs. I mean long before you are labouring it, it sounds rattly and metallic.

Not liking the whole car because of how the exhaust sounds, seems silly to me.

[Mim]

Originally Posted by wbradley

Back on topic, sales will slow as many people who desire the vehicle will already have bought it. If economics allows for a next generation, it will hopefully motivate those people to trade up. It will also allow the designers to address what was missing that would have appealed to more buyers if they properly analyze consumer feedback. I think Scion should offer 2 spec levels like Subaru did but that might not sit well with Subaru. Maybe Subaru can launch a model with some sort of power enhancement, but not more than maybe 225 HP, perhaps an FA25.

This always struck me as kinda strange as just about every other market in the world has at least two trim's for the 86. In Australia we have a GT poverty version, roughly in line with the FRS, and then a full cream heavly loaded (take it or leave it) spec'd GTS.

On that note the vast majority (I see on the road) are the GTS variant and on the other hand it's Subaru that went with a Mono spec here.

With the decline in sales I'd be interested in seeing how they manage that at the Gunma plant in Japan. Are they still making the same number of cars, and just shiping more to other countires, or are they cutting production and fitting other cars onto the line, like the more WRX's.

[Quentin]

https://kaizenfactor.wordpress.com/2...ty-is-limited/

(Mind you, this article is from 2012... Before Subaru had started building Crosstrek XV's on the Gunma main line)

The twins already made up just a portion of the capacity on that line. It wasn't a dedicated line. That is the whole reason that I don't see Subaru or Toyota fretting about keeping sales especially high or adding variations. It is an assembly line that is flush with newer, more profitable product than the twins. Their product planning has a minimum number that they want to build and that is all that we are likely to see produced. This isn't like a domestic plant where they keep pushing metal and heavily discounting on the dealer end. They are pumping out WRXs, Foresters, and XVs that they can't keep on the lots. Until more capacity is dedicated to the twins, it will remain a niche.


Sent from Tandy 400