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Javelin
Javelin SuperDork
12/2/11 9:45 p.m.

Parts-bin strut. It's impossible to make the BRZFRSGT86T AWD. The engine and trans are too far back. The axles would have to come out of the front cylinders.

MitchellC
MitchellC SuperDork
12/2/11 10:32 p.m.
NOHOME wrote: Well, if the base model is $24k in the USA, then you can expect the "In my driveway price" to be just under $40k in Canada. We typically pay about 5k more for a car than the US price and we get a 13% tax plus the rest of the crap. What is a nice car at 30k is not so nice at 38k. It was fun for a while!

The USA price is actually less than I expected. I think that $24k is more than fair considering what is being offered.

mr2peak
mr2peak Reader
12/2/11 11:52 p.m.
RexSeven wrote:
HStockSolo wrote: Front suspension: The bottom of the strut is awfully high--like they are leaving room for a CV shaft.
Subaru has said repeatedly that there will not be an AWD version of the BRZ- the transmission is located behind the front axle line. The strut itself might have been cribbed from the Subaru parts bin, which would explain why the bottom of it is so high up.

The front suspension is supposed to be MRS parts, rear is Impreza parts-bin.

hotchocolate
hotchocolate New Reader
12/3/11 12:16 a.m.

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2011/11/finally-ttac-gets-its-hands-on-the-ft86-and-its-chief-engineer/

I found this interview interesting. These parts i found funny:

“Mr. Toyoda almost continuously participated in the development of this car. Not as President, but as a test driver. Usually, when they say that the president of a company is test driving a prototype car, then it is mostly ceremonial. Mr. Toyoda’s participation was not simply ceremonial. He was a serious test driver and had some pretty tough comments. In some phases of the development. he said: “If that is the best you can do, why not quit now.”

In the grand scheme of things, Akio Toyoda had been polite. Stronger words came from Hiromu Naruse, Toyota’s chief test driver who found an untimely death by crashing his LFA into a BMW 3series on a rural highway close to the Nürburgring. Tada remembers:

“When Naruse-san was still alive, he participated in the tests many time and gave us some quite harsh comments, like: ‘This is a miserable car. You are doing very poorly.’

NOHOME
NOHOME HalfDork
12/3/11 6:23 a.m.
MitchellC wrote:
NOHOME wrote: Well, if the base model is $24k in the USA, then you can expect the "In my driveway price" to be just under $40k in Canada. We typically pay about 5k more for a car than the US price and we get a 13% tax plus the rest of the crap. What is a nice car at 30k is not so nice at 38k. It was fun for a while!
The USA price is actually less than I expected. I think that $24k is more than fair considering what is being offered.

I can't disagree that the 24 is good value. However, Canadians have to pay a premium for being a smaller marketplace with higher taxes. For example, you dont buy a Miata in Canada for less than 40k. Good as those cars are, they cant deliver 40k worth of value.

Lets see where this thing comes out in rality. The 24 was based on twitering from Japan; more rumour than fact. I do see this car competing against the Miata in a lot of ways, so I am guessing the pricing should reflect that.

Looks like I will be driving a Mazda 3 for the next 10 years!

thestig99
thestig99 Reader
12/3/11 7:18 a.m.

So when are these supposed to hit dealers? Anyone want to buy a super clean Miata for, say, $24k?

NOHOME
NOHOME HalfDork
12/3/11 8:50 a.m.

Are these even comming to Canada? Local Toyota never heard of it?! Where do they hire these guys from?

bravenrace
bravenrace SuperDork
12/5/11 6:28 a.m.
bravenrace wrote: Max torque at 6600 RPM - yikes! Still nothing about fuel mileage...

Now Inside Line says max torque is 151 lb ft at 4500 RPM.

z31maniac
z31maniac SuperDork
12/5/11 7:41 a.m.
NOHOME wrote: Are these even comming to Canada? Local Toyota never heard of it?! Where do they hire these guys from?

Cars salesmen, for the most part, are not car people.

They are just salesmen.

fritzsch
fritzsch Reader
12/5/11 9:18 a.m.

Why would they ever make Satnav standard :(

rotard
rotard Reader
12/5/11 9:24 a.m.
fritzsch wrote: Why would they ever make Satnav standard :(

They're in the business of selling cars. This community is in the minority and will not really make an impact on how well this car moves off the lot.

bravenrace
bravenrace SuperDork
12/5/11 9:27 a.m.

In reply to rotard:

While I agree with you, I also still think something like satnav should always be optional. I don't want it and would never willingly pay for it. In fact, it may end up being the sole reason I don't buy one of these cars.

fritzsch
fritzsch Reader
12/5/11 9:32 a.m.

In reply to rotard:

To me it just doesn't make sense to have that standard on a car like this.

In reply to bravenrace:

Agreed. and you see that as options some of these satnav things end up adding >$1000.

I heard there was some rumor of a stripper model maybe being produced at a later time, that would be nice

NOHOME
NOHOME HalfDork
12/5/11 9:33 a.m.
fritzsch wrote: Why would they ever make Satnav standard :(

One Caveman to the other:

"Wheels!" "Why the name ot T-Rex do they have to make WHEELS standard" "Whats wrong with skids?" "They worked well for centuries?" " I am not trading for anything with wheels!"

Time marches on...

rotard
rotard Reader
12/5/11 9:42 a.m.

A lot of people love satnav. They love tech. The target demographic for this car loves this kind of stuff.

fritzsch
fritzsch Reader
12/5/11 10:34 a.m.

My problem isnt necessarily the tech, a large part of it is an aesthetic thing. I like the clean simple look and a big glowing 17 inch screen the middle of my center console kinda ruins that. those small aftermarket things where you have a screen the slides out then flips up and is pretty small, those are pretty neat and dont really look different than a radio.

Also functionally deal with a radio on a touch screen vs knobs/buttons. You can't tell me the touch screen is easier to use. I don't believe you.

Edit: Admittedly on this car, the interior looks okay and the screen isnt massive, i just hope its able to be off with the car on, rather than like a menu being displayed

Javelin
Javelin SuperDork
12/5/11 10:41 a.m.
rotard wrote: A lot of people love satnav. They love tech. The target demographic for this car loves this kind of stuff.

The problem with in-car SatNav is that it's usually less tech than what you can buy in the store to suction-cup to the windshield, or even your smartphone app. It has to have wireless connectivity (or DVD's through the mail) to get updated, and many of them do not allow inputs while the car is being driven. I'd rather spend the money on the superior portable system than be saddled by an inferior version hard-wired to my car.

bravenrace
bravenrace SuperDork
12/5/11 10:42 a.m.

I've read repeatedly that they intended for this to be a true pure sports car for the driving enthusiast. Satnav doesn't fit with that in my opinion. Yes, it can help with driving, obviously, but part of a pure sports car is simplicity, and in that respect satnav fails.

ReverendDexter
ReverendDexter SuperDork
12/5/11 10:46 a.m.

In reply to fritzsch:

What'll really frustrate you is if you can find a pic of the dash from the uber-uber-base model that supposedly isn't coming stateside. Instead of being broken up by either the sat-nav screen or that ugly-ass stereo, it's just a smooth dash with 3 additional analog gauges (I don't know what the gauges are).

I saw something on /o/ last week, but I can't find anything on the googles this morning, so not hotlinked pleasure.

sachilles
sachilles Dork
12/5/11 10:52 a.m.

Many manufacturers combine things for economic savings. You may find that "satnav" is actually the full radio, hvac controls, satnav, carputer all rolled into one.

92CelicaHalfTrac
92CelicaHalfTrac SuperDork
12/5/11 10:54 a.m.

I will always want more gauges. I will never want more touch screen.

Unless i can tune on the fly via touch screen.

Hello m/o/r/o/n.

Joe Gearin
Joe Gearin Associate Publisher
12/5/11 11:00 a.m.

One of my major peeves with new cars is when the radio is integrated into the nav system.

Just give me a damn knob when I want to adjust the station, or volume. I hate having to take my eyes off the road to go through 3 menu screens in order to perform a simple task.

The more carmakers cater to the short attention span culture, the more dangerous modern cars get.

Want to scare yourself silly? Go for a drive with someone under 25 years old. Although the youngsters on this board are probably more driving-oriented, most kids can't concentrate for more than 5 minutes on actually driving. They are constantly texting, messing with their phone, screwing with a nav system, or fiddling with their I-Pod.

Ok, now I'm sounding like a grumpy old man....but in my day......

ReverendDexter
ReverendDexter SuperDork
12/5/11 11:05 a.m.

aut/o/bot, please

HiTempguy
HiTempguy SuperDork
12/5/11 11:14 a.m.

Decisions decisions... considering the Fiat 500 (while getting good mpg) is about as "impractical" as this, and the Veloster isn't really doing it for me, I might have to check one of these out if it comes in under $30k in Canada.

Here is to not holding my breath!

93EXCivic
93EXCivic SuperDork
12/5/11 11:52 a.m.

I thought only the Scion was going to have SatNav standard.

Either way when I am looking at getting a new car in a year or two, this pair and Abarth are on the list but if I can't stick my arm out the window of any of them I may not buy one.

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