Can anyone tell me why toyota went from having the likes of the MKIV supra, and Mr2 turbo, to having NO real performance machines? I realize their target is the general public but I've pondered why they do not have a single high performance car in their lineup?! Every other car manufacturer, save Kia/hyundai, has a high performance car!
Why, toyota, why?
- Thread starter suprahabsfan
- Start date
Because they weren't selling too well. At the end of each of those car runs the sales drop dramatically. They were looking at the $$$$ it is all a business. At least they are getting back in the game right now though.
Exactly as everyone has already posted... Sports/performance cars were not making them any money. (I asked the director of Toyota Australia when we had a function there, and that was his answer 
)
Lexus has stepped up to the plate with the likes of the LF-A, etc, which are pretty bloody cool...
However, if you were a true Toyota fan, you would be aware of the TRD Aurion and Hilux
http://www.toyota.com.au/TRD/#main/home
)Lexus has stepped up to the plate with the likes of the LF-A, etc, which are pretty bloody cool...
However, if you were a true Toyota fan, you would be aware of the TRD Aurion and Hilux
http://www.toyota.com.au/TRD/#main/home
LilMissMkIII;997512 said:However, if you were a true Toyota fan, you would be aware of the TRD Aurion and Hilux
http://www.toyota.com.au/TRD/#main/home
If they're produced over here, that would be sweeeeettt....
High performance cars aren't cool anymore.
We've had the Sports car trend in the Late 80's to 90's, then the SUV craze, now it's the Hybrid's turn.
Toyota are just pandering to what sales.
We've had the Sports car trend in the Late 80's to 90's, then the SUV craze, now it's the Hybrid's turn.
Toyota are just pandering to what sales.
Oh well, more reasons to buy 80's and 90's cars . I've never really been wowed by cars 2000+ anyway... seems like they just got taller and more doors. Like, look at the height of a stock 4x4 MKIII next to most these new sports cars, they are about the same height. Lower your MKIII and your actually looks low and sporty.
. I've never really been wowed by cars 2000+ anyway... seems like they just got taller and more doors. Like, look at the height of a stock 4x4 MKIII next to most these new sports cars, they are about the same height. Lower your MKIII and your actually looks low and sporty.
i've been wondering the same thing, why doesn't toyota have something similar to Nissan's 350z and the new gt-r. seems like if nissan can find a market for them (the 350 at least, i see them everywhere) then toyta can turn a profit on a few, too.
yep...
Been saying it for a while now. The three main japanese sports cars, (at least in this country, as we never got the skyline) the Supra, Z , and RX-7 have all been reborn...except for the Supra.
The Evo, WRX/STi, 350Z, ect ALL sell well enough for me to see em all the time, where the FUCK is Toyota's response?
Now if they took the Matrix, turboed it, and offered the fucking AWD version in a stick shift I'd be all over it. Hell, the new Corolla is actually pretty peppy...
Been saying it for a while now. The three main japanese sports cars, (at least in this country, as we never got the skyline) the Supra, Z , and RX-7 have all been reborn...except for the Supra.
The Evo, WRX/STi, 350Z, ect ALL sell well enough for me to see em all the time, where the FUCK is Toyota's response?
Now if they took the Matrix, turboed it, and offered the fucking AWD version in a stick shift I'd be all over it. Hell, the new Corolla is actually pretty peppy...
Toyota can't make what we would want (in terms of performance) at a price that their target market could afford. Everybody talks about why Toyota doesn't make sports cars...... why? So we can buy them in 10 years at 10% of the original retail selling price? The people who can easily afford it don't want a sports car, they want a luxury car or a suv. Why do you think Scion does so well? Because it's so cheap, it sells just because it looks cool, and it gets good gas mileage. Making cars that just look cool is more profitable for Toyota then making fast cars that become a factory warranty NIGHTMARE, like the WRX was/is. Toyota would loose their ass on a car that competes with the WRX or 350Z, because it would be so damn expensive that it wouldn't sell.
I work at a Subaru dealership, we sell way more used STi's than we do new ones, hell we have 4 or 5 brand new STi's just sitting around with little to no interest other than the occasional tire kicker. You gotta remember in this segment price means alot, 24k vs 34k is a huge difference, its also why WRX's sell like hotcakes while the STi just sits all shiny and new. Part of the reason you see so many now is because these cars(350z, WRX/STi, evo, rx-8, s2k) have been out for a couple of years now and have appeared in the used market at prices that many enthusiasts with a halfway decent job can afford. Its just the vicious roller coaster of used sportscar/touring car prices, what toyota needs to do is jump in at the next big redesign of the major sporty rwd platforms, then it might have a fighting chance at building something that will be around for more than a year or two.Poodles;998085 said:
Guys, keep in mind that Toyota is at the top of the heap. This year, they overtook the top selling automobile manufacturer spot. Therefore, they don't need to compete in any market unless they want to. And realistically, we aren't going to be willing to pay to make them want to...
Well my two cents is. The guys at the head of Toyota actually are very smart. Lexus for the higher up with money. Toyota for the Middle class and Scion for the younger crowd . Any performance car is going to be either a Lexus or a Scion . The Toyota brand is the "Bread and Butter " of the trio . I think it is safe to say there will never be a true performance car with a toyota badge in the US. In Japan a different story Anyone looked at the Verossa thats the hottness
Toyota is following the pattern of American Demand, the fact is, the majority of cars wanted are gas efficient/hybrids. Until the demand for a 300hp toyota beast comes up, they are going to continute making what sells the most.
I understand that they don't...and won't sell as well as their standard cars....but how are nissan (especially with the new gtr), subaru, mitsubishi, honda and mazda doing it? Why wouldn't toyota make a few thousand of a high-performance sports car just to make a statement. Like the new GTR, not gonna make a lot of them but it sure is gonna make a statement. And as far as the lexus high performance cars, thats great but a lot of people don't even know that toyota and lexus are the same. All i'm saying is that if other companies are doing it why can't we?
suprahabsfan;999434 said:
Sorry to sound like an ass, but we are not Toyota, unless you work in their buisiness development/RandD center.
The 'Z' guys, skyline guys, S13 guys probably didn't have alot of input on putting the GTR on the market, and I'd presume not many of them can afford to own one. There will likely be no such thing as a Ricer Nissan GTR.
The Ford Mustang comes with a V6 for a reason.
You can buy a 260hp FF neon for around 33grand or so, and many other "sporty" cars for mere pennies, almost all of which are front wheel drive. Everyone I've talked to that knows diddly squat about cars is dead set on getting a front wheel drive and will hear nothing different. It's what the market wants... economy, gas milage, and a bit of fun on the side.
Those are not true sports cars, they're just 'sporty' family cars and econoboxes, and I'll hear nothing different. Front wheel drive was designed for one purpose: Economy. Any other use of it is just an engineering excercise. Wanna go fast? RWD. Want traction? AWD/4WD. FF layout cars are cheaper to design, cheaper to build, cheaper to buy.
There currently is little money to be made by RnDing a true rear drive front engine sports car from Toyota in the 25-35k market right now. The truth of the matter is that to beat an SRT-4 with a rear wheel drive car will cost alot more than $35000 to roll out of the factory.
The 50-70k market is where the real performance sits... and not many people are spending that much money to buy that kind of car. They want economy, luxury, ect. Going too fast around corners is not high on the list of the wants of 85% of new buyers.
Toyota could. They don't want to.suprahabsfan;999434 said:
The real question is, why are the other companies doing it?
The answer to that is, they are trying to increase their market share, and they'll try just about anything to be successful at it.
Toyota doesn't need to increase their market share - they are already the largest manufacturer of automobiles in the world. And they've gotten there with a reasonable strategy that is very well proven by now, so chances are they will play conservative and continue in the same vein.