Silvia S16

Pharmacist

Unlikely to be any more new sports cars models in the near future. Not enough demand. Gas prices are increasing, and the economy is still in recession. In addition, there are rising environmental concerns about pollution, greenhouse gases, diminishing oil reserves, etc......

Small fuel efficient cars, hybrids, electric cars, etc.... are gonna be the future of the auto industry. Sports cars unfortunately may become more and more niche and only few models will survive as limited production high priced cars for the rich. We gotta be grateful Nissan actually went ahead with production of the z34, especially when its main rivals toyota and honda are abandoning the performance/sports car niche, and the american car companies are semi-bankrupt.

zigzagz94

I have to respecfully disagree with you. The turbo 4cyl hyundai genesis coupe gets 30mpg, cost 22k, and doesn't even have direct injection yet. The GC is not a light car either at 3300lbs. Drop some weight and add DI and the combnined mpg could improve. Small, lightweight, 4cyl engine sportscars can still be popular in the future of the auto industry.

As far as not enough demand, well Ford sold over 91,000 mustangs in 2008 (most v6's). That was right before a model refresh and during one of the worst recessions in history. To put that in perspective Mitsubishi only sold 97,000 cars total.

So you see the demand for cheap,RWD, coupes is there as the sales of Mustangs and genesis coupes have demonstrated. Also add to that fact Toyota has already confirmed that they will be introducing their own (with the help of Subaru) small, rwd, coupe in the next few years and the possibility of a nissan entry into that segment becomes more believable.

Pharmacist

I thought the Toyobaru was dead. Is it still on? Also, Nissan already has a cheap rwd coupe, that's the 370! Introducing another one may create redundancy in their line up, not to mention that if it was a cheaper model, there's the risk it may claw away from sales of the 370.

Also, there is the issue of practicality. None of these cars is particularly practical. The only market is either people rich enough to afford a second car as a weekend toy, or young single newly grads (like myself) who have no wife or kids or any excess baggage. Sales volume will always be limited compared to other models, with a higher marginal cost than the average sedan or suv. For sports cars to be profitable, there will always be a hefty markup by the manufacturer, so they probably won't get too affordable, definitely not Corolla or Civic affordability.

It does puzzle me however, as to why anyone (let alone 90000 people) buy a V6 Crustang?

zigzagz94

It Lives! Toyota Confirms Sports Car Project With Subaru is On "Fast Track" | Motortrend News & Auto Blog - Wide Open Throttle

Toyobaru is still on and has apparently been put on a fast track for production by new President Akio Toyoda:

"I am happy to announce this morning that Toyota plans to build an exciting, fun-to-drive, affordable sports car and launch it within the next few years. I am very excited about it, and I plan to fast-track it," he said.

A 30-40k 370Z isn't cheap to most people. The toyobaru and the proposed silvia are supposed to be priced at the sub to mid 20k mark. Think of them as more practical 2+2 coupe versions of the miata. And we all know how well the completely impractical miata sells.

Having a sub 370z RWD sports car in the line up will steal sales away from the FWD sporty coupes like the eclipse, civic si, etc. Plus it will bring in new customers to nissan who can then graduate to a more expensive Z just as Z owners aspire to own the GT-R. This three sports car tier type of system worked perfectly well for nissan in the past and there is no reason it won't work now.