What happened to the Japanese coupé?

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Nielsen

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In the eighties and nineties almost every big Japanese car manufacturer had a sports coupé or similar in their line up. Today there are hardly any. Toyota discontinued the Celica, Supra and MR2. Honda discontinued the NSX, Integra, Prelude and S2000 which may be out of category here. Subaru never gave the SVX a second chance. Nissan had several competitors too but at least they still offer the 370Z and GT-R.

Today, Mitsubishi and Subaru have their own little fight with the Lancer Evolution and Impreza WRX STI but these are totallly different cars compared to what we saw in the past. Honda Civic Type R is also a fair competitor but in the end, they are all family friendly cars with enhanced technology.

What really happened to the Japanese sports cars with only Nissan doing an effort to keep the Japanese coupé alive?

It has all become really boring if you ask me. :indiff:
 
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They also all had a small coupe or coupe-style hatchback too - Sera, Paseo, CR-X, del Sol, 100NX, MX-3, FTO (incidentally, you missed the GTO out).

Today? Nothing.
 
Yes, I totally forgot Mitsubishi's 3000GT, FTO and Eclipse. It only makes the present situation even worse. Also the Mazda RX-7 but they still have the RX-8.
 
Does the RX-8 count? I know technically it's a 4 door, but realistically it's a coupe.
 
daan
Does the RX-8 count? I know technically it's a 4 door, but realistically it's a coupe.
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Yes I think it does. I just included it in my previous post. There were so many that it's hard to remember them all in one go and today we can count them on a few fingers.
 
Here's one:

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But no you're right. Toyota have even stopped making that lumpy 3dr Camry thing for the US market. Strange.
 
Famine
They also all had a small coupe or coupe-style hatchback too - Sera, Paseo, CR-X, del Sol, 100NX, MX-3, FTO (incidentally, you missed the GTO out).

Today? Nothing.
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Cough...
sacarfan-spoon-crz-10.jpg
 
Some thing is wrong going with Japan economy. Not just vehicles but their video games economy is at risk too.

But man it's hard to find a Japanese car that can does 0-60mph in 4.6s like the Supra Turbocharged. Seems they are not interested in Sports car anymore, nevertheless, the Supra, Skyline-GTR and the NSX will remain a legend in the Japanese Sports car history.

Why can't they revive them again with the same style but a modern mechanics and technologies? :(
 
Rue
Cough...
sacarfan-spoon-crz-10.jpg
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Right, we're going to see how it sells. We'll see how it sells next to cars like the Fiesta and Mazda 2 which are more practical, cost effective, and infinitely less smug. There's a reason all those cool sporty cars aren't made anymore - they stopped making money.

But then again, it might do well.

As for sporty cars, Nissan still has the 370, Honda doesn't have any halo sports car anymore, I don't even know what Toyota is making, and Mazda has the sporting soul of them all, making the Miata and RX8 and various Mazdaspeed versions here and there. If it means anything, Hyundai makes the Genesis coupe.
 
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you forgot the LF-A and the lexus coupe

But yes a sad story indeed
 
I think the Camry, economy and environment happened to them... It's probably just too expensive for them to develop a competitive sports coupe that doesn't just look negligent of the environment, lest their image be hurt too much or something.

That and people want reliable cars that only get them from A to B.
 
Philly
I think the Camry, economy and environment happened to them... It's probably just too expensive for them to develop a competitive sports coupe that doesn't just look negligent of the environment, lest their image be hurt too much or something.

That and people want reliable cars that only get them from A to B.
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Toyota definitely caters specifically to the "appliance" crowd. My mom's Corolla, for all it's newness, is even painted Dishwasher White.
 
Out of all the ones you've mentioned, I was particularly saddened to see the S2000 being discontinued. I miss the 90s japanese coupes. I used to have a soft spot for the 240SX back then.
 
Event
he mentioned the 370Z which is a sports coupe. The G37 is a luxury coupe ;)
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Yes, while our Infiniti G37 is a luxury coupe (though certainly sporty), the car in the picture is a Nissan Skyline 370GT.;)
 
astrosdude91
Have you forgotten about this already?
03-toyota-ft-86-concept-press.jpg
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I have never seen it before to be honest. Looks promising though.

astrosdude91
Yes, while our Infiniti G37 is a luxury coupe (though certainly sporty), the car in the picture is a Nissan Skyline 370GT.;)
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I may be wrong but I always considered the GT-R as the true successor to the old Skyline. The new Skyline is like a totally different car even though it is a powerful coupé. I may also add that I'm referreing to sport coupé cars and not coupé versions of larger cars like the Honda Accord and new Skyline.
 
You've never heard of the Toyota FT-86? I'm surprised. You didn't see that video with the FT-86 in Gran Turismo 5?

 
astrosdude91
You've never heard of the Toyota FT-86? I'm surprised. You didn't see that video with the FT-86 in Gran Turismo 5?
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The beginning of the video looks familar but it must have slipped my mind totally. Maybe it's because I rarely show interest in concept cars as I know they won't look quite as agressive when they go on sale. There are exceptions though.
 
Nielsen
I have never seen it before to be honest. Looks promising though.



I may be wrong but I always considered the GT-R as the true successor to the old Skyline. The new Skyline is like a totally different car even though it is a powerful coupé. I may also add that I'm referreing to sport coupé cars and not coupé versions of larger cars like the Honda Accord and new Skyline.
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The GT-R is a successor to the skyline gt-r. They split off the models where the GT-R isn't just a hot version of the skyline but it's own model.
 
People don't buy coupes unless they have some sort of significant performance advantage over other cars of similar size and price. 4-doors and hatches are simply more useful.

Let me expand upon this: In the U.S., just about every car had a 2-door version up until the late '80s. At that time, 4-door cars with adequate performance were showing up in manufacturers lineups, offering the extra utility with the same sportiness...one-by-one, the 2-door versions of various models dropped off, along with bespoke 2-doors like the Ford Thunderbird. I think the last coupe version of an otherwise Sedan U.S. car is the Cobalt...which goes away after the Cruze comes this fall...Okay, and the CTS. (That one's interesting, for, from the A-pillar back, it looks like an overgrown '80s Japanese 3-door...Particularly the AE86...) Otherwise, we got Camaro, Mustang, and Challenger, all three throwback musclecars to the days when you could actually get 2-door cars readily.

Then there's Europe. Not that there were many 2-door coupe or HT versions of cars to begin with, but just about the only 2-doors to come out of euro manufacturers nowadays, that I can think of off the top of my head (here comes someone from Europe who knows of one) are luxury GTs. I'm sorry: the Megane, C30, and Scirocco are swoopy 3-door hatchbacks, and Mercedes and VW can't hide the fact that their "coupes" are Sedans with rakish rear glass.

Having owned a compact sedan, and now coupe, I've gotta say that the utility of four doors simply can't be beat. It's a hassle to fold the seat forward on a 2-door or 3-door car, and even then, once you get in there...well, as my Sister so wisely put it, "It's small!"
 
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Toronado
It is entirely possible that the Floormat Quagmire and the related sales fallout from earlier this year killed off the chances of that car being made.
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No, car is still on schedule for 2012 model year last I heard. Toyota denied rumors of car being canceled.
 
I'm actually starting to warm up to the FT-86, but I wonder how dumbed down the production car will be...:nervous:
 
I think there were plans of making the FT-86 into the next gen Solara:yuck:, but I think Toyota changed their mind, and it's back to the original plan.

Don't forget about the Subaru version of the FT either, the Subaru 216a:
Subaru-216a-01-500x318.jpg


Maybe they'll call it an SVX or something!:D
 
2008sciontcrs40.jpg

Here's my contribution to the thread, but yeah, the trend has definitely shifted. I'm sure the FT-whatever car would still be sold in the States, considering the time & money they've already invested on the model. They sure could use the car in their line up, but honestly, I think the sports car buyers minds shifted from Toyota so long ago, that it will take Toyota much better sports car to build the sales in that segment back up. Of course, the car isn't even out yet, so it's a pure speculation on my part.

I think most of us started feeling the crunch right around when cars like Supra, 240SX/Silvias were going bye-bye. Toronado's right on on the Japanese economy though. Very disappointing.

On somewhat related note, I saw the new Evo on the street for the first time that I can remember(I know, I know :crazy:). That car looks pretty friggin sweet!
Smallhorses
Korean things are generally not looked upon favourably in Japan.
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I know I'm in Oregon, but I have yet to see anyone bragging "Made in South Korea" here either. :D
 

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