"Cheap sportscars don't sell"

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote:

93EXCivic wrote: I don't understand how a sports car is impractical (if you don't have a family). What do you people carry?

A sports car is a huge step up in space from a tank bag.

Seriously, night and day.

93EXCivic wrote: I don't understand how a sports car is impractical (if you don't have a family). What do you people carry?

When I was single I bought a 2 door focus and shortly thereafter drove it from Texas to Montana to elk hunt sleeping in the back on the way. I shot fairly nice 6x6 elk and bought a big cooler and brought the processed elk home to Texas. Sleeping in the seats on the way home sucked.
I had babies and moved on to a Volvo 245 which I used as a truck. Then a Honda odyssey that I also used as a truck. Then I got a crew cab truck that I've had for the past 5 years as my only car to do everything. When it came time to buy a fun car it was between the FRS and the Mazda2. I went with the 2 because it seats 5 and I have 4 kids and that means that I can drive it every day instead of just on the weekends. Now that I'm back in a hatch I'm reminded that 95% of everything that I want to do with my truck I can do having more fun with the 2. For me, a sports car would never have been the answer.
Just to invalidate what I just wrote, my wife drove an Audi TT for 6 of the years when we had little babies and it was a spectacular second family car.

My young ones shut down my 2-door car ownership when I could only afford one car. Now I'm looking to bring that back into my life. For similar money to the Toyobaru I can get a really nice Vette used. The only reasons I can imagine preventing me from getting the Vette are an incredibly low interest rate on the new cars and unreasonable insurance premiums. Are there enough people in the targeted market that can afford a 20k+ brand new car with insurance? I can see that with maybe two income households, but then the child logistics start to show up. All of those sports cars got away from cheap fast fun it seems that the profit is in the gadgets rather than in the car itself. It seems now more folks buy cars for gadgets than actual driving experience. That might have to do with long boring commutes on uninteresting roads...

ShadowSix wrote:

kreb wrote: It's all about emotions and rationalizations. If you put two unusable seats into a sports car it becomes more "usefull" If you spend $40,000 on a truck and never put anything in the back, it isn't seen as frivolous because it's "usefull" All three vehicles are functionally two-seaters, but only the sports-car driver's a narcicist

This. If everyone bought cars based almost entirely on practicality (as many here suggest) then I think almost everybody would be driving diesel wagons and hatches of varying sizes.

I drive a hardcore hatch (318ti) the way I have it set up, it is as practical as it is able to turn... in other words.. VERY

Just thinking about this some more, and here's a thought: We have a bunch of people here who like sports cars, but how many have purchased a brand-new sports car in the last five years?

How many brand new sports cars have been available in the past 5 years? 350/370Z ($30K+), MX-5, RX-8, Genesis Coupe, Porsches ($45K+), and exotics. Slim pickins.

We do have at least one though (that Canadian guy that pre-ordered a BRZ!).

Closest I've been is an '06 350Z purchased in '09.

I think car guys tend not to buy new cars. If you do your own mechanical work then a warranty is as much an impediment as a benefit. We're not worried about fixing stuff and, if we want to keep the warranty, there are a bunch of things we can't do to/with the car.

David S. Wallens wrote: Just thinking about this some more, and here's a thought: We have a bunch of people here who like sports cars, but how many have purchased a brand-new sports car in the last five years?

We purchased a new Solstice GXP in 07, then traded it for a new Solstice GXP coupe in 09.

I bought a new truck in 08 and a new hatch 2 months ago. I buy new cars, just not new sports cars. I'm saving that for when I'm old and don't want to drive fast any more, just like the guys who buy them now.

We can't afford new cars. We're wasting too much time on the internet! That's why guys who actually work want luxury cars. Actually working is hard!

ShadowSix wrote: Closest I've been is an '06 350Z purchased in '09. I think car guys tend not to buy new cars. If you do your own mechanical work then a warranty is as much an impediment as a benefit. We're not worried about fixing stuff and, if we want to keep the warranty, there are a bunch of things we can't do to/with the car.

I'm a car guy,.....and bike guy and here is why we bought new.

Initially we bought new because I wanted a car with a warranty for the wife. I was being selfish because whenever her car would break (Audi...so A LOT) I had to drop all the fun stuff I was working on to fix that POS, so we sold that and bought the Solstice. Initially we looked at the NA, but I wanted the turbo since I drive whenever we go anywhere, so we ordered a new gxp vert.

After a couple of years I heard about the coupe, knew it was going to be in extremely limited numbers, so talked to our dealer about getting one. Since Pontiac folded during the process it got strange, as in we had no idea whether the car would be delivered or not, but we got it and that's all that mattered in the end. After buying that one I decided to keep it as a fun car and we got something else for her to DD....2003 Mach 1....no warranty but reliable as can be. We have done nothing but tires, brake pads, and oil changes in the last 50k plus miles.

Cotton wrote:

ShadowSix wrote: Closest I've been is an '06 350Z purchased in '09. I think car guys tend not to buy new cars. If you do your own mechanical work then a warranty is as much an impediment as a benefit. We're not worried about fixing stuff and, if we want to keep the warranty, there are a bunch of things we can't do to/with the car.

I'm a car guy,.....and bike guy and here is why we bought new. Initially we bought new because I wanted a car with a warranty for the wife. I was being selfish because whenever her car would break (Audi...so A LOT) I had to drop all the fun stuff I was working on to fix that POS, so we sold that and bought the Solstice. Initially we looked at the NA, but I wanted the turbo since I drive whenever we go anywhere, so we ordered a new gxp vert. After a couple of years I heard about the coupe, knew it was going to be in extremely limited numbers, so talked to our dealer about getting one. Since Pontiac folded during the process it got strange, as in we had no idea whether the car would be delivered or not, but we got it and that's all that mattered in the end. After buying that one I decided to keep it as a fun car and we got something else for her to DD....2003 Mach 1....no warranty but reliable as can be. We have done nothing but tires, brake pads, and oil changes in the last 50k plus miles.

Yeah, when I wrote that I wasn't thinking about those of us that have forty-eight cars. If I had the fleet that you do I'd probably want new DD's as well.

I'd love to have a GXP Coupe by the way. I've only ever seen two and they were gorgeous, good choice!

In reply to ShadowSix:

I'll never forget replacing the ignition switch on that Audi in the TN summer heat. It took forever because half the dash had to come out, airbag, cluster, etc.....I really hated that car and probably lost 2 pounds of sweat while replacing the switch.....so basically GM can thank Audi for the wife and I buying two new Pontiacs.

In reply to Cotton:

Pics of Mach 1? Pretty please? I want an 03/04 Mach 1 in the worst way. I love those. I was this close to buying a Blue one in 08 but it had a bad clutch issue on the test drive. The dealer claimed he was going to fix it and after two weeks of no news I bought the P71. Like 2 days later they called to say it was done. Needed a flywheel, clutch kit, fork, and rear main seal. Lawdy that was a gorgeous car though.

kreb wrote: We can't afford new cars. We're wasting too much time on the internet! That's why guys who actually work want luxury cars. Actually working is hard!

You know, we have had that discussion here at the office, too....

Javelin wrote: In reply to Cotton: Pics of Mach 1? Pretty please? I want an 03/04 Mach 1 in the *worst* way. I *love* those. I was *this* close to buying a Blue one in 08 but it had a bad clutch issue on the test drive. The dealer claimed he was going to fix it and after two weeks of no news I bought the P71. Like 2 days later they called to say it was done. Needed a flywheel, clutch kit, fork, and rear main seal. Lawdy that was a *gorgeous* car though.

I don't think I have any good ones, but need to get some. It's Azure blue, which was my favorite of the mach colors. We love it....it's been an excellent car and that's saying somthing because my wife is hard on cars.

Please promise me at least an email heads-up before you sell it, no matter when that may be.

i'm always amazed/saddened by walking through the parking lot at the giant new car auto shows, then see what everyone's checking out in person in the show itself. everybody's always crawling all over the interesting cars, yet the lot is always FULL of beige camrys and the lot