Listen up Toyota... Options

[creamed_corn]

Get up off your conservative butts and make something fun. Right now you're the only car company out there with nothing even remotely sporty in your lineup.

There's a huge HUGE gap in the fun category between the $15,000 tC and the $35,000 IS.

What they need:

-proper two door, rear wheel drive sports car
-starting around $25,500
-2GR-FE plant to the tune of 300-320 horsepower (they'll wanna stay a little bit ahead of the Z and Mustang, knowing them).
-six speed close ratio gearbox, LSD standard, TCS optional
-Keep the weight reasonable at around 3300-3400lbs.
-I'd like to see gas mileage at around 22 city/30 highway. I'm gonna have a hard enough time keeping my foot off the gas as it is.

This is well within their reach and they need to do it. I've been living off my celica for too long. Ever since I got my new job I've been saving my money, just waiting for a car like this. I just can't bring myself to defect to another company, and if this doesn't happen soon, I'm going to be picking up an MR Sypder next summer.

[uberschall]

ha, i hate to continue, but....

i did some thinking. toyota's current catchphrase is "moving forward" and i think that says everything we need to know. thats what they do at toyota. move forward. constantly. they don't re-draft old ideas, reinvent old models, or do something they stopped a second time. with the exception of the fj cruiser (the only retro-themed car i think they've ever made), when toyota stops making a car, they stop making that car.

unlike the big three, who continually rename and reinvent cars to try and find new audiences (ex: escort into focus, old mustang look onto new mustang, charger from 2-dr muscle to 4-dr flab, etc.), toyota, honda, and all their peers stick with things that work. the camry, corolla, 4runner, accord, civic, and plenty of others have remained unchanged (in name and category) for decades.

toyota continues to make the camry, for example, because it makes them money, keeps with their reputation for quality and somber performance, and solid sales. they axed the celica because it wasn't the car they wanted it to be anymore. i don't think they'll ever try to reinvent it because they're "moving forward."

i have to say though, neoklis has a really good point about the racing thing....they really don't have a flagship sportscar to ride the coattails of a successful racing team. i suppose it's mostly the truck market they're trying to take.

good talk, guys. what a thread jack, though. sorry about that.