Jap sports (and sporty) cars going extinct......

[airshaq20]

Im not really into Jap cars......but.........
Before the millenium, we had:


-Mitsubishi 3000GT
-Toyota Supra
-Nissan Skyline GT-R's
-Honda/Acura NSX
-Nissan 300ZX
-Mazda RX-7
-Toyota MR2
and others......

Now the Celica and MR2 is on its last year of production.....
Even Honda was affected and discontinued the Prelude, Integra and del Sol......


At present, we only have:

NSX (bare no one can afford)
RX8 (from RX7)
350z/G35 (from the old Z)
Evo (econo car with a fancy engine)
WRX

and for the affordable ones:
Mits. Eclipse
Acura RSX

Most of these aren't selling as good - Is the sports compact going extinct?

[ILuvDetailing]

SUVs are in. People want more utility in their vehicles.

[USDM Legacy GT]

I think the trend right now is going AWD and turbo charged for the U.S. market. Most car manufacturers are coming out with either turbo charged compact cars or AWD sport luxury cars. Dodge came out with the SRT4, Acura has the new AWD RL, Ford has the the new AWD Five Hundred, Mitsubishi has the EVO and AWD is standard on all Subarus.

[gaijin]

At present, we only have:

NSX (bare no one can afford)
RX8 (from RX7)
350z/G35 (from the old Z)
Evo (econo car with a fancy engine)
WRX

and for the affordable ones:
Mits. Eclipse
Acura RSX

Most of these aren't selling as good - Is the sports compact going extinct?

Being in Japan for quite some time, the trend here is towards eco-friendly and hybrid engines. There are many concept cars being introduced to the public which rely on hybrid engines topped up by performance (power, fuel consumption, CO2 emission reduction, etc.).

[badkuk]

tingin ko weather-weather lang yan. time will come magkakasawaan din sa SUVs n stuff. alam mo naman, where there's a demand, motor companies will jump in to make a profit, este, supply the right kinds of cars. Though in the near future e medyo sa fuel efficient o hybrid cars ang trend. gas prices are insane! ung 100 mo, tatlong litro lang? gudness...

[nicolodeon]

I agree with gaijin. The Japanese people have been eco-concious for many years now, that's why the trend, as gaijin had mentioned, is towards eco-friendly and hybrid cars. I also think that, due to the current...economic recession (if one could call it that), has an effect on the buying public. Also, some of the cars really never had good sales figures e.g. the 3000GT of Mitsubishi.

[nugundam93]

poor RB26DETT. another one of those eco-friendly measure casualties.

[ILuvDetailing]

Now why aren't there hybrid cars here?

[nicolodeon]

Why are there no hybrid cars here? Well, it could be due to to many factors, like, our society might not be ready or open to those types of vehicles. It also could be because our automobile-owning public are not ready yet for this type of technology. Then, there is also the danger that if those vehicles are sold here, the sales of he distributor could suffer because, like the rest of the motoring public around the world, we still believe in the "efficiency" of a near-100 year old technology we call the internal combustion engine. Lastly, in the past, what did the Philippine society thought of Pinoy inventors who proposed these types of automobiles? They were laughed at and tagged as nut-cases.

[Skywalker]

The SUVs killed the sports cars....

May nabasa akong article tungkol dito at ang laki profit margin sa SUV kaya doon ibinuhos ang attention ng mga car manufacturers.

Nag-iiba na nga ang trend ngayon dahil mahal na ang gas kaya dahan dahan nang pumapasok ang hybrids, small cars at diesel sa US. Pansin nyo sa Europe, mas uso ang diesel at small cars.

[ghosthunter]

Now why aren't there hybrid cars here?

matter of marketing.

main problem is the public's notion of hybrids being vulnerable to floods and hard/expensive to maintain because of the two propulsion systems onboard.

IMHO, in metro-manila's stop & go traffic alone, hybrid cars can greatly reduce the pollution problem and gasoline/diesel consumption of the average motorist in one move.

Hybrid cars aren't limited to dinky little subcompacts. There are other types which includes the Honda CRV hybrid (gasoline-electric).

[niwde11]

hybrid cars are very expensive as of now(baka wala bumili dito). a hybrid car cost around US$30,000.00+(est) sa US while the crv cost US$20,000.00+. so imagine how will it cost here. mas mahal pa yata sya sa mits evo. so ang iisipin talaga ng phil. market paano ka nakatipid. i think secondary lang ang sa mga filipinos ang environment concern. but i heard the DTI is studying to lower the taxes on hybrid cars.

[squala]

There's this one comment from a certain car magazine on the Insight saying that you might even spend less on a Civic within 5 years. The extra premium for the hybrid car is more expensive than topping up the Civic with fuel given that span of time.

[gaijin]

hybrid cars are very expensive as of now(baka wala bumili dito). a hybrid car cost around US$30,000.00+(est) sa US

The Toyota Prius, which is being sold here in Japan for a little over JPY2m, is worth the money I reckon. As an incentive for hybrid car buyers, the government gives a much lower sales tax on hybrid cars compared to the standard automobile. Factor in the fuel consumption of about 30 kms/liter and being a low maintenance car, you could probably end up saving in the long run. And you are also helping clean the air.

[niwde11]

The Toyota Prius, which is being sold here in Japan for a little over JPY2m, is worth the money I reckon. As an incentive for hybrid car buyers, the government gives a much lower sales tax on hybrid cars compared to the standard automobile. Factor in the fuel consumption of about 30 kms/liter and being a low maintenance car, you could probably end up saving in the long run. And you are also helping clean the air.

i am for a hybrid car. in your place, it is offered on lowered taxes. hangat di binibigyan ng tax incentive dito yan sa pinas(just like the discontinued 10 seater rule here), i dont think magiging marketable sya. kailangan lang completitive price nya. btw, i like the hybrid civic(available na ba?) teka, OT na yata tayo.

[usokpower]

peoples car will never sell here. Whatever happened to toyota echos (the european car in 2000 ata), nissan veritas. I doubt if the honda jazz will make profit here. Pati kia prides and daihatsu vans di ganon kataas ang sales.

Well you know the answer pinoy kayabangan

[airshaq20]

I dont think gas consumption is the problem here in the US.....those cars consume less gas than the average american SUV.....

in addition...SUV is a different class from compact cars......that means a typical US auto buyer wont buy an SUV if he's into compact cars and vice versa.....unlike the philippines, they have different lifestyle and reasons why they buy their automobile....majority of american buyers buy their automobile based on the kind of job they do....

if they have to drive in the freeway for 20-30 miles a day to go to work, they would buy a reliable, gas-friendly car.....if they have kids, they would buy a van, a family mid-size sedan, etc....if you are in your teens or early 20's, single, typically, he/she would buy a small coupe or a compact sedan.....if you are into construction, engineering, etc, you would like to buy an SUV or truck.....

and if you're making good....most likely, you would buy german......

hybrid is new and not yet a proven technology (durability wise).......some benefits of owning a hybrid is:
1. $2000 tax deductible (claimed at year end)
2. use of High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lane
3. cleaner air
4. less gas consumption

but hybrid's are, again, a different class from sports compact market.....i mean..who's gonna put free-flow exhaust, turbocharger, chip, and other mods in a hybrid?

[mazdamazda]

There's this one comment from a certain car magazine on the Insight saying that you might even spend less on a Civic within 5 years. The extra premium for the hybrid car is more expensive than topping up the Civic with fuel given that span of time.

yup... it'll take you around 8-10 years to break-even with the TCO of using a standard civic. by then you would have replaced your Civic with a new one.

[mazdamazda]

Most of these aren't selling as good - Is the sports compact going extinct?

It is because the Japs are currently crazy over superminis...

[gaijin]

The Daihatsu Copen came out early last year. It has a 660cc engine with a lot of grunt that's really ideal for a single guy/girl driving in the city. The retractable roof gives it a distinct 'cool' look.