What happened to the Japanese coupé?

[Blitz187]

Isnt the GT-R a 2+2? I always thought a coupe was a car with two doors and two seats. I could be horribly wrong though...

 

[Famine]

Isnt the GT-R a 2+2? I always thought a coupe was a car with two doors and two seats. I could be horribly wrong though...

In general terms, no. A coupe is any car with a sharply plunging rear roofline and without a B-pillar, regardless of seats. Traditional coupes also have a boot/trunk which is separate from the passenger compartment, but coupe-styled hatchbacks (where you can reach through the boot/trunk opening and smack people in the head) are also coupes if they meet the earlier definitions.

the Floormat Quagmire

Brilliant cars, them.

 

[TheCracker]

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.

No, car is still on schedule for 2012 model year last I heard. Toyota denied rumors of car being canceled.

From what i've read they're expected in 2013 now due to the economic conditions at the moment.

 

[Blitz187]

In general terms, no. A coupe is any car with a sharply plunging rear roofline and without a B-pillar, regardless of seats. Traditional coupes also have a boot/trunk which is separate from the passenger compartment, but coupe-styled hatchbacks (where you can reach through the boot/trunk opening and smack people in the head) are also coupes if they meet the earlier definitions.

Ah, that clears things up. Thanks! 👍

 

[Nielsen]

Don't forget about the Subaru version of the FT either, the Subaru 216a:

Maybe they'll call it an SVX or something!

Is this one confirmed to be manufactured?

 

[Pupik]

Floormat Quagmire

You'd get 11 points in Boggle for that one.

 

[niky]

There's a reason all those cool sporty cars aren't made anymore - they stopped making money.

This.

People who want sports coupes can afford bigger and better metal now... the Ford Mustang, the Camaro, the 370Z, the Genesis, etcetera.

People who can't afford these cars simply aren't buying frivolities like the Celica, MX3 or the Integra... at least not in volumes that make them worth producing versus "hot" versions of the Civic or the Mazda3.

That said, new MX3 please.

 

[Punknoodle]

This.

People who want sports coupes can afford bigger and better metal now... the Ford Mustang, the Camaro, the 370Z, the Genesis, etcetera.

People who can't afford these cars simply aren't buying frivolities like the Celica, MX3 or the Integra... at least not in volumes that make them worth producing versus "hot" versions of the Civic or the Mazda3.

That said, new MX3 please.

Better metal? That's pretty subjective, I know I rate a Type R Teg higher than a Mustang

 

[jet1991]

In general terms, no. A coupe is any car with a sharply plunging rear roofline and without a B-pillar, regardless of seats. Traditional coupes also have a boot/trunk which is separate from the passenger compartment, but coupe-styled hatchbacks (where you can reach through the boot/trunk opening and smack people in the head) are also coupes if they meet the earlier definitions.



Brilliant cars, them.

This is a coupe right?

There is always some cars that doesn`t completely the definition of a body style but are still considered to have that bodystyle. Take the c3 Corvette for example. Massive B-pillar but it`s still a coupe. And it doesn`t have a trunk\boot (that`s the same thing right?) The car in that picture isn`t mine for those who were wondering.

And I also miss proper japanese cars. The Japanese doesn`t make cars anymore, they make shopping trolleys. With a few (very few) exceptions of course. 👍 to the Miata even though all but the first gen cars are ugly.

And I`m sorry for my lack of proper english and clumsy wording. I`m not from a English speaking country.

 

[NissanSkylineN1]

Here's a new Subaru based on the FT-86
http://www.roadandtrack.com/future-cars/spy-photos/spied!-subaru-ft-86-sti-coupe

 

[Famine]

This is a coupe right?

Yes.

Take the c3 Corvette for example. Massive B-pillar...

Where?

I see an A-pillar and a C-pillar, but no B-pillar...

 

[Tornado]

Brilliant cars, them.

You'd get 11 points in Boggle for that one.

Did I miss something?

 

[niky]

Better metal? That's pretty subjective, I know I rate a Type R Teg higher than a Mustang

Better. Meaning "more expensive and rear wheel drive, because everyone knows real sports cars are rear wheel drive." A misguided notion, but that's exactly what customers are thinking, sadly.

Having a front-wheel drive sports car doesn't exactly scream "exclusive". It's the snobbery and imagery associated with rear wheel drive cars that allows makers to charge a premium and still sell oodles of them.

You can't charge huge money for a new Integra Type R. Not when a buyer can get 99% of the performance and twice the practicality in a four or five door Civic Type R.

This isn't a slant against economy-car based sports coupes, but manufacturers build cars that make them money. And there's just no money in that segment nowadays.

 

[jet1991]

Yes.



Where?

I see an A-pillar and a C-pillar, but no B-pillar...

After searching wikipedia i found this:

I thought the second pillar was named the B-pillar even if it was the rearmost pillar. Well a coupe it is then.

 

[Punknoodle]

I thought the second pillar was named the B-pillar even if it was the rearmost pillar. Well a coupe it is then.

I would love to see what you had in mind then if you were thinking a coupe had no rear pillar at all

 

[NLxAROSA]

Nissan was also planning to manufacture this as the spiritual successor of the 200SX:

Not sure if it's cancelled or not though (above pic is a concept).

 

[Jim Prower]

Nissan was also planning to manufacture this as the spiritual successor of the 200SX:

Not sure if it's cancelled or not though (above pic is a concept).

...ohhh, snap.

Too bad it's likely to be MR and QR series engines. or is that FR?

 

[Sniffs]

Something Prower forgot to point out: any coupe in the US is considered a sports car, and is charged mega insurance accordingly. there's something about less than 4 doors...

all I know is I see a grand total of one coupe every day. an accord. no vans, utility or mini, only one or two hatches, just pickups up the yinyang.

 

[Kylehnat]

This.

No, THIS:

People who can't afford these cars simply aren't buying frivolities like the Celica, MX3 or the Integra... at least not in volumes that make them worth producing versus "hot" versions of the Civic or the Mazda3.

I think the hot-hatch movement has done more than enough to doom the cutie-coupe segment. When a 250+ hp 4-door can be had for ~$20,000, there is no reason to consider spending $20,000 on a 2-door coupe, which has less interior space and less cargo space. Having a "hatch" also sticks it to the insurance man .

 

[Famine]

Oddly, the original MX-3 had more interior space and cargo space than the 323 it was based on. Or its successor.

But yes, "coupe" or "sportscar" generally costs more for insurance than "hatchback", with a couple of caveats. If your coupe/sportscar is based on a hatchback - like the new Scirocco with the Golf V - they will have a different accident rate (usually, and hopefully, lower - coupe/sportscar drivers tend to be enthusiasts and able, hatchback drivers can be anyone and include kids, "those women" [you know the ones], old people and company car drivers) but the same repair costs due to their more mass-market underpinnings which can offset the bodystyle to the actuaries.

Though insurance is bloody random anyway.

 

[Jim Prower]

Something Prower forgot to point out: any coupe in the US is considered a sports car, and is charged mega insurance accordingly. there's something about less than 4 doors...

all I know is I see a grand total of one coupe every day. an accord. no vans, utility or mini, only one or two hatches, just pickups up the yinyang.

I'm paying $70 and change a month for mine. Same - a few dollars less, actually - than the less powerful, automatic, far older, and worth far less four-door '88 Nova. Funny how that works...

I see quite a few coupes, actually. Sure there's lots of pickups, but a sickeningly large number of people around here own Monte Carlos. There's also lots of Civic Coupes, and other little Japanese and Korean 2-doors. I suppose you could count all the gen IV F-bodies and Mustangs, as well...though that encroaches on sports car territory.

 

[Famine]

I'm paying $70 and change a month for mine.

Equivalent of $50 a month here for the Accord Type-R. A bit less for each of the MX-3 and the E39.

 

[Sniffs]

Prower: your probably full coverage and have enough time in driving to get major rate reductions. I've gotta wait another decade to be able to afford full coverage anywhere near the same rate I'm paying now (I only have 15 years in, and had to swap companies to get even a basic rate reduction)

as for cars? there's very few even of domestics, let alone coupes. it's almost all pickups out here, 'cause of the idiot DOT that doesn't plow in the winter till they feel like it

 

[Jay.]

Showing cars that companies are planning for production for 2011/2012 doesn't change the fact that you can go to a showroom today and your selection is very limited. There are only a handful out there today.

 

[TVC]

They made them FWD and raised the prices of the RWD ones.

 

[niky]

They made them FWD and raised the prices of the RWD ones.

Actually... it's more like the FWD ones were so good, they killed off the RWD ones in the same price range.

It's expensive to engineer a small rear-wheel drive coupe/cabrio platform if you have no small rear-wheel drive sedans to share the platform and development costs with.

Mazda does it with the MX-5 because they're suckers for wasting money... and being the best-selling sportscar of all time means the MX-5 is worth developing for them, as a halo car.

Toyota did it with the MR2/MR-S, but they still used Corolla engines and transverse drive to cut costs. Still didn't save the car.

Nissan's Silvia was the last bastion of compact front-engined rear-wheel drive in Japanese sports coupes... but against the cheaper to produce and engineer Honda Integra and Toyota Celica? Didn't stand a chance. R.I.P.

 

[TVC]

Actually... it's more like the FWD ones were so good, they killed off the RWD ones in the same price range.

It's expensive to engineer a small rear-wheel drive coupe/cabrio platform if you have no small rear-wheel drive sedans to share the platform and development costs with.

Mazda does it with the MX-5 because they're suckers for wasting money... and being the best-selling sportscar of all time means the MX-5 is worth developing for them, as a halo car.

Toyota did it with the MR2/MR-S, but they still used Corolla engines and transverse drive to cut costs. Still didn't save the car.

Nissan's Silvia was the last bastion of compact front-engined rear-wheel drive in Japanese sports coupes... but against the cheaper to produce and engineer Honda Integra and Toyota Celica? Didn't stand a chance. R.I.P.

Yeah exactly. They realized that people would buy them for about the same price if they were FWD but they would also get more money because basically everything about a FWD car costs less.

It seems that the low price RWD coupe is coming back. But I guess we'll have to wait to see if that is true.

 

[niky]

Difficult... I know Toyota has made that promise, and Nissan was flirting with it, but it seems that every time they promise a budget RWD coupe, it creeps steadily upmarket looking for buyers... by the time it's released, I won't be surprised if the FT86 is more expensive than an MX-5!

 

[a6m5]

Difficult... I know Toyota has made that promise, and Nissan was flirting with it, but it seems that every time they promise a budget RWD coupe, it creeps steadily upmarket looking for buyers... by the time it's released, I won't be surprised if the FT86 is more expensive than an MX-5!

So true. If they take a barebone, go-kart approach, it might be perfect by the time it reaches the showroom!

 

[eSZee]

Difficult... I know Toyota has made that promise, and Nissan was flirting with it, but it seems that every time they promise a budget RWD coupe, it creeps steadily upmarket looking for buyers... by the time it's released, I won't be surprised if the FT86 is more expensive than an MX-5!

It will be, it's supposed to start at 27,000 or 29,000, something like that.

From what i've read they're expected in 2013 now due to the economic conditions at the moment.

No, those rumors are false.