Why Scion FR-S Sales Have Plunged

[LucidMomentum]

Originally Posted by torqdork

Toyota policy maintains dealer stock of fastest moving parts for all vehicles produced in the most recent 25 years.

Time to buy those TRD FI kits!

[Wise]

Originally Posted by torqdork

Toyota policy maintains dealer stock of fastest moving parts for all vehicles produced in the most recent 25 years.

And if you're still rocking a twin in 2040 then I'm sure there'll be a few tasty options for engine and tranny swaps by then.

Cold Fusion Hybrids LOL

To be honest I think in the US, Australia and Europe traditional combustion engines will be outlawed by then. Climate change and all that jazz.

[strat61caster]

Originally Posted by fatoni

by the time parts are hard to find, your frs will be very old. thats the time when you sell is to some chump who wants to drift because they grew up hearing stories about how their dad had some hella flush 240 pos and they will be wanting to fulfill his legacy. then you go buy a new 1800 lb carbon sports car for 35k since technology will allow it.

totally right about wanting parts though. people that need a car to be unique moreso than need it to be fun to drive are silly to me. while i doubt it will have the culture of a miata or mustang, i hope it fairs as well as a 240 or something.

By the time parts are hard to find my car will either be scrap or a racecar, in all likelihood both at the same time.



Toyota's last affordable RWD sportscar doesn't exactly have a ton of support though: the MR-S. I don't have very high hopes for strong parts availability unless there's another surge in popularity or Subaru keeps the parts bin alive, market and history dictate we'll get a minor refresh in a year or two and then death in 3-4.

But as mentioned below, the DIYers are probably gaining more resources than losing them at this rate.

As for the 1,800 lb carbon sports car, I would contend that our progress will not be that substantial. After all, you could pick up a 2,800 lb, 200hp, NA, FR, world class handling sports car (with a hatch!) for less than a Toyobaru over a decade ago with a 944S badge on the back.

Originally Posted by Wise

We wont have to worry about as much about parts availability within the next ten years.

3D printing will help a lot for non metallic components.

3D printing for metallic components too, just a matter of time (<10 yrs?) before every machine shop has one right next to their mills and lathes.

One-off titanium printed A-arms? Intake manifold? Diff Case? Knuckle? If you've got the money they're yours.

http://titanium3dprinting.com/

Edit: They still haven't outlawed horse and carriage, the internal combustion engine will be in use long after we're all 6 feet under.

[torqdork]

Originally Posted by Wise

And if you're still rocking a twin in 2040 then I'm sure there'll be a few tasty options for engine and tranny swaps by then.

Cold Fusion Hybrids LOL

To be honest I think in the US, Australia and Europe traditional combustion engines will be outlawed by then. Climate change and all that jazz.

The world is hopefully becoming more aware of the greatest wealth transfer scam in human history by then.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/eart...ndal-ever.html

I'm hedging my bets and am ordering an all-new 2016 Prius in a few months not for so-called "climate change" considerations but for geopolitical chaos realities.

[EAGLE5]

Really? I mean, REALLY?

Originally Posted by torqdork

The world is hopefully becoming more aware of the greatest wealth transfer scam in human history by then.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/eart...ndal-ever.html

[torqdork]

Yes, the world is round after all.

http://www.climatedepot.com/2013/01/...tions-of-data/

[Wise]

Originally Posted by strat61caster

3D printing for metallic components too, just a matter of time (<10 yrs?) before every machine shop has one right next to their mills and lathes.

One-off titanium printed A-arms? Intake manifold? Diff Case? Knuckle? If you've got the money they're yours.

http://titanium3dprinting.com/

Edit: They still haven't outlawed horse and carriage, the internal combustion engine will be in use long after we're all 6 feet under.

Thanks for the link. Will have a read.

I'm sure there will be special licenses that can given for cars of notable historic and personal nostalgic value. But I doubt combustion engines will still be produced.

The average person will probably be able to drive an old gas running car, but I'm sure the registration costs will have a huge offset cost that the government will claim to go towards solar and fusion power.

[torqdork]

Originally Posted by Wise

I'm sure there will be special licenses that can given for cars of notable historic and personal nostalgic value. But I doubt combustion engines will still be produced.

The average person will probably be able to drive an old gas running car, but I'm sure the registration costs will have a huge offset cost that the government will claim to go towards solar and fusion power.

A bit Orwellian but spot on.

[Wise]

Originally Posted by torqdork

The world is hopefully becoming more aware of the greatest wealth transfer scam in human history by then.

Yep that'll happen the same time they admit that the Illuminati staged the 9/11 attacks and that all the dogs and monkeys that NASA sent into space came back super intelligent as part of Bigfoot's plot for world domination.

But don't worry. We'll all be driving 2.5 litre turbo AWD shooting break KERS Hybrid BRZ STI's by then.

[PhantomX]

Originally Posted by airjonny

Selling more will help make a case for allocating more to the platform and possibly can make special editions.

I doubt special editions will ever be an issue as the history on Scion vehicles show. As long as the car is still in production, there will be special editions.

As for allocation, it actually comes down to which dealership sells more. The more a dealership sells a particular model, the more will be allocated to them in the future. Supply and demand.

[Mr.Impreza]

Originally Posted by Jegan_V

The hp wars are a wet dream for the automotive blogging industry. In the real world which we all live in...this focus on so much power to me is an utter waste. My biggest problem with Mustang GTs and its ilk...yes its a great performance bargain but if you DD the car...despite the bargain if you never use this performance...isn't that a utter waste? After driving them several times I concluded it was really silly for me to ever own one of these really high hp/torque cars.

Enter this car. I always wanted a driver's car and amazingly it just happened to be a Subaru-Toyota joint venture the two auto companies I respect greatly. After a drive in this car I realized, its got enough power especially for a DD. Its also got enough power to be fun in many real world scenarios. The driving experience is undiluted and its clear the car was for a proper auto enthusiast because all the things that truly matter in driving were addressed. It'll never win on numbers, if numbers get your fancy buy a physics textbook, this car's job is to win your heart and it did mine.

Yep....I don't ever even take the FRS to full limits....

[Defuser]

Something worth considering is the shrinking middle class. While many of us see this car as quite "affordable", and others see it as "cheap", the truth is this car is not affordable or cheap for a large portion of society.

As we see more and more millenials getting poor paying jobs, unable to leave the nest and thereby eating into their parents' resources, trivial things like sports cars could become rare.

Smoke 'em while you've got 'em boys!

[torqdork]

Originally Posted by Defuser

Something worth considering is the shrinking middle class. While many of us see this car as quite "affordable", and others see it as "cheap", the truth is this car is not affordable or cheap for a large portion of society.

As we see more and more millenials getting poor paying jobs, unable to leave the nest and thereby eating into their parents' resources, trivial things like sports cars could become rare.

Smoke 'em while you've got 'em boys!

This, combined with over 40 million Americans owing over $1 Trillion in student loan debt.

http://www.gallup.com/opinion/chairm...mployment.aspx

http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2015...er-been-video/

What's helping to fuel auto sales is government pressure applied to captive finance lenders allowing manufacturers to increase MSRP's above the inflation rate. Subprime loans are up over 300% in the past three years. Soon there will be a flood of repos with taxpayers picking up the tab again.

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2015/01/...pun-into-gold/

[Defuser]

Originally Posted by torqdork

Subprime loans are up over 300% in the past three years. Soon there will be a flood of repos with taxpayers picking up the gap.

Subprime realestate loans fueled the 2008 financial meltdown. Hopefully auto's won't have as drastic an effect.