Totally OT, but does anyone here know why manufacturers keep discontinuing all of their cool cars?

Here is a list of a few that I can think of off hand.....

300ZX
240SX
Prelude
Supra
3000GT
Stealth
RX-7

 

300ZX too expensive and too big
240SX nobody bought the damn things because they had truck engines
Prelude replaced with something else.
Supra too expensive and too big
3000GT too expensive and too big
Stealth ditto
RX-7 got too expensive and nobody bought them because the engines go boom.

 

If you could have ONE of those cars, which would it be?

I'd go with a Supra....turboed of course.

 

I would guess it's because there's not enough support.


.....add camaro to that list

 

Im almost positive there is still Camaros... Or if they stopped producting them, I'm sure they will come back. Muscle car tradition?

 

300ZX/240SX - Evolved into the Fairlazy (350Z)
Prelude - Didn't sell too well, market combined with the Integra = RSX w/ 3 trims. Base, Type-S and Type-R.
Supra - There's rumors it's coming back
RX-7 - It's evolving, RX-8?

 

Camaro is discontinued after 2002 I believe

My pick would be RX7...one of the most beautiful designs to come from Japan, engine reliability would be a problem

 

240SX = S15 Silvia

 

350z is on a completely new platform. Nothing related to either car other than the Z name.
Supra is coming back but again on a completely new platform.

Both cars above are on new lighter/smaller platforms better suited to the current market.

RX-7 is coming back as the R8 or something. 4-door rotary engine. Odd looking thing.

 

1 simple reason....they are not making money of those cars. I would love to see RX7 in the market again, even though it needs engine rebuilt every 5 years.

 

One word SUVs !

 

right you are !!
Sports car death list....scroll down

 

Supra or RX7 for me. I used to have a RX7 back in 1989. I absolutely love the rotary engine. Reliability isn't horrible, but obviously less than the other cars mentioned.

 

I believe a major ingredient in discontinuing these autos is the high cost of insuring such sporty cars. The principal market has always been young drivers, who drive them like most youths do, hard, fast, racing, etc. But these same young drivers often can’t afford to buy insurance for them, so they eventually become poor sellers.

If old people drove this cars the insurance rates would go down. But, alas, then the kids would buy them again and we would go back to where we are now.

That’s why it’s a good thing whenever old people drive Maximas. It keeps insurance rates in check.

 

True true true and now since SUVs are so popular their insurence is going up meaning they won't be so popular for long..
and as a fact, The Mitsubishi Montero Sport holds the title as having the highest insurence because it has a 40% roll over probability.
I can't wait for the Lancer Evolution VIII to come out next year!

 

the 300z ws $42,000 when it exited the scene,
nissan went way away from how they entered the auto market.
they 240sx/silvia is still very popular in japan, they even
kick skyline *** from time to time. wish we got the turbo
sr20 instead of the ka24 engine. honda tried to make the
prelude into a luxery sport coupe/ streetfighter. and the
integra is not the rsx, but the rsx is not availble in type-r.
only in type-s. the supra is supposed to return in two years.
and so is the rx-7. the rx-8 is a seperate car. the rx-8 is
not a traditional sports car. it seats 4 full sized adults.
it was called the renesis. but the public was more familiar
with the rx brand. and it will not be turbo. but the rx-7 will be turbo. there is even talk about it being triple rotor.

 

So what's wrong with new platforms? The Maxima of today doesn't share the same platform as the Maxima of yesteryears nor will it share it with the future - yet, it's still a Maxima.

It's all about evolution.

 

Camaros and Firebirds - no more. Ford Probe. Chevy Nova.

 

The RSX is the Integra and yes there is a Type-R, albeit not in the US market.

 

I could barely understand his sentence thing..

 

Why discontinued?
Dropping sales volume.
High insurance.
Stupid Ugly Vehicle boom in market share.

Why will sports cars come back?
Market opportunities exist.
People are used to spending more on vehicles now (luxury brands and SUVs).
Gen-X'ers are making more money.
People want exciting cars.
Nissan, Mazda, and Toyota are re-filling the gaps in their product lines that the discontinued sports cars left. New platforms help show off new technologies, drawing people to their brands.

 

Acura RSX (US Market) = Honda Integra (Japan)

And it comes in the base, Type-S and Type-R trims. 160, 200 and 220hp respectively.

Good enough?

 

300ZX
Poor sales in 1996 as well as OBD-II compliance hindered performance (down from 300hp to 280hp for the 96 model). By all accounts, OBD-II compliance killed the 300zx generation...but, later revived by the 350z.

240SX
Poor sales due to weak performance. Plus, it was rather expensive for what you got.

Prelude
Poor sales due to more popular and less expensive civic and integra.

Supra
Poor sales in 97 and 98 in addition to rising costs. The 96 Supra TT ran close to $55K. The 97 model went for $45K and made a lot of 96 Supra owners mad. Only 200 or so 1998 Model Year Supras were sold. There's a high probability the Supra will be back for the 2004 or 2005 model year, based on the 350z's sales. However, it'll be reincarnated in one of two basic forms:
- a Lexus with a Twin Turbo 4.3L v8... and going at more than $70K
- a Toyota with a NA inline6 in much like the 2000GT of yore.

3000GT/Stealth
Price.

RX-7
Heat problems and OBD-II compliance.

Camaro/Firebird
Falling sales, according to GM. Plus, the Holden is replacing it, for the most part.

 

The Mazda RX7 and Nissan Z started at $3995. They and the rest ended up bloated, turboed, silly, excessive at 39,995( the 3000GT got over $50k!!). The market collapsed because they all got too expensive. That's why the MR2 and particularly Miata are so successful - reasonable price (though the Miata is escalating fast). It's also why the Max is such a steal!

 

"and the
integra is not the rsx, but the rsx is not availble in type-r.
only in type-s."

 

The MR2 was also a victim of the early-mid 90s excess...it got discontinued after 95 or something and was succeeded in 2000 by the MR Spyder that got back to its roots

 

if the rsx is availible in Type-r, but not in the us. then the sivia is the 240sx, but not availible in the us. the rsx was supposed to replace the integra and the prelude. but only replaced the integra. and why do we care. it's not a sprts car, it's a sports coupe, and it's not a damn maxima.

 

That part i don't know, i didn't say it

Neither the Silvia nor the 240sx is sold in the US market these days. The RSX is in both markets and the Type-R will soon be introduced in the US - There's a big difference in the way you compared these cars. The RSX was never supposed to be a replacement for the Prelude, i stated that the market for these two cars was combined.

As for the debacle on "why do we care" is because it was asked and i answered, you responded and i corrected you.

 

That was the part I was confused about

 

Not just an Integra in Japan, Integra everywhere else
in fact Acura doesn't even exist in Europe, Asia and Austrailia.
Depressing how America gets treated like a special ed student' "here's an Acura they're nice expensive cars; what? no oh course they're not like hondas! Acuras are completely different cars..."
Why do companies "make" high-end brands? To make us feel better than other people?
Nissan=Infiniti, Honda=Acura, Toyota=Lexus and soon to be Toyota=(sorta)SCION I don't understand their reasoning but if they sell cars and if they like being evil, then that's just how the cookie crumbles. ---End of Rant---

 

It's all about branding and marketing. What do you think of when you think of Honda? Economy? Reliability? But not luxury.....right?

That's why they released their luxury line under "Acura". It was a huge success immediately.

 

Of course it's all about branding and marketing, unfortunately however they just take the American people for fools. Almost everything here is a marketing game, and to the dismay of most - a lot of people fall for it.

Where i come from, Honda is Honda, Toyota is Toyota, etc. Take a new generation Skyline for example. If you were to buy it in other parts of the country it's still a Nissan and you'd get it from a Nissan dealership. Now if you were to buy a Sentra from the same dealership guess what happens? Yes, you get all the good service from the same outfit.

Now go back to the US market, if you buy a Nissan you're basically at the bottom of the food chain - bad service, etc, etc. Now get a "Infiniti" G35 and voila! there goes the red carpet service.

And yes, i do think Luxury when i hear "Honda". It just depends which particular model.

 

Kam, why do you think it will be based on the 4.3 V8 and not the Inline 6 from the IS300? Or something similar to that?

 

Speaking of SUVs(Stupid Ugly Vehicles), have you guys seen Porsche's attempt at one? The Cayenne... OMG now that's ugly!!

 

i understand what you said. my statment was from rumor about the rsx was supposed to replace both cars. the original name was supposed to be like the interlude. but the idea was scraped. and all of honda's product will move to the type-s. it's the next letter. there is no significant change in product. the new Nsx will be type-r with a type-s to follow in two years as well as the euro accord, which is not sold here or japan. but like i said earlier, non of these cars are maxima's, so why bother. All i want is a GTS motor in my max.

 

the reason that that Nissan, Honda, and Toyota came up with luxury brands was because back than people were buying a lot of japanese cars...so the US gov't limited a certain amount of cars a japanese car company could import....so they came up with a luxury brand..which is like a different brand name...this way they can import more cars...why do you think that Infiniti, Lexus, and Acura only exists in America...
The RSX is not replacing the Prelude...the Accord Coupe is filling that spot...

 

It's just rumours i've heard. Originally, the rumours were about the 4.0l v8.

and if toyota wants to market a supercar (much like the NSX) it would almost have to put some crazy engine in it and badge it as a lexus.

Personally, i don't see the 2jz-ge from the is300 (or even the old 2jz-gte) being reincarnated into the next supra. They'd have to make the car react the same with the engine to get the same boyish grin that comes from driving a Twin turbo supra... and if they did that, it'd be basically a supra replicated and modernized... there's a problem with that though... the Supra died because of high prices and low sales.

I would love to have a supra though... strong, well equipped cars. in 95, Toyota had something for car lovers at every price:
- celica gt at the lower end of the $20K
- mr2 turbo at the mid-higher end of $20K
- the Supra at $45K

 

Another reason why the 90's was a disaster to japanese sports car was that Japan's economy was very strong in the early to mid 90's creating an unfavorable yen to dollar exchange rate. I can remember seeing a 40k sticker on MR2, 300Z, supra, and Mistu 3000 VR-4. For a short time it looked like the Japanese were going to buy america.

 

The MR2 as you guys know it went from 1990 RIGHT THROUGH to 1999, THEN the MRs took over, big mistake dropping the turbo

Cheers
KiwiMR2

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Driven EF9
[B]
Personally, i don't see the 2jz-ge from the is300 (or even the old 2jz-gte) being reincarnated into the next supra. They'd have to make the car react the same with the engine to get the same boyish grin that comes from driving a Twin turbo supra... and if they did that, it'd be basically a supra replicated and modernized... there's a problem with that though... the Supra died because of high prices and low sales.

I don't understand how the Supra was so expensive (not talking insurance) $55k one year? Just say the new one will have the same IS300 engine, and they decided to slap on a turbo for a little why would it cost so much? turbos are 4k on average? So wouldn't that be 4k more than the N/A version IS300? Now the IS300 is about 30k, turbo would be like 35 area? I think it would work.