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Originally Posted by SD ///M4
So just to really come full circle, what's the latest on the smaller, Z3 successor?  |
Dead, just as the two-door UKL MINI vehicles that actually made it to market and failed to make an impact are are.
These are segments which are most likely not coming back - at least not like the glory days from 80s/90s/00s. The "every-man's" sport cars that are left are mostly iconic cars - Miata, Nissan Z, Chevrolet - that have a cult following and remain healthy (though the first two have seen their market shrink drastically over the years as well). BMW moved their Z product up market each generation and never established the long term, repeat buyer those I mention above have. They've got a new "Z5" coming, made plausible as a business case only through the partnership with Toyota, but even that fresh product won't likely reignite sales in a significant way (and I would say the same too for the Supra, most likely).
The era of the SUV has really opened up possibilities - and buyer's eyes - to vehicles that are sporting while still offering some utility. Furthermore, the SUV has also stolen a lot the "status symbol thunder" from sports cars and sporty coupes as well. Yesterdays sports car buyer and, in some part, sports coupe buyer is more apt to purchase either a statement SUV or "four door coupe" in today's market.
The SUV has largely claimed the station wagon form factor in the US - its now about as niche as they come. I could see the same thing happening to two-door vehicles over the next ten to fifteen years. And those with only two seats seem to be the most vulnerable. At the higher end of the spectrum, luxury coupes and sports cars may well thrive due to their intrinsic high-margin business model. But at the lower end, people just don't seem to be interested much anymore. So Z1, Z2, Z3, whatever you might call them - not happening.