So last month the Scion FR-S managed to sell only 770 units. For comparison sake the Mustang moved nearly 11 thousand units. The FR-S was a car that was lauded and praised by the sophisticrates in the automotive media as practically the second coming of the sports car just a few years ago. Some in the media even went so far as to make comparisons to Porsche.

Meanwhile in Realville USA the car never really caught on, . . . at all. Oh sure it had some impressive sales numbers when it first came out as nearly all new sports coupes will. But within a year we were starting to see some serious slow down in the number of units sold per month. At only 770 units sold last month it was down 30.7% year over year. It's average monthly sales have struggled to get over 1000 units per month for quite some time now.

I don't think its any secret to those of us here that are sports coupe enthusiasts what caused the failure of the FR-S. Quite simply it is too much money for not enough car. The average price tag on an FR-S is 28 to 30 grand and for that you get a lack luster torqueless wonder of an engine that doesn't even generate as much torque as the 2.5 powered tC using a Camry motor. The interior is bargain basement cheap and lacks any sort of refinement what so ever. It's practically a throw back to the fox body Mustang days. Heck even the fox car had a better interior. Despite all of this it is priced in a range comparable to a well appointed V6 or Ecoboost Mustang, both of which can easily outperform the FR-S and both of which have far better interiors. Even the live axle S197 Mustang V6 bested the FR-S on a road race course.

At 18 to 20 grand the FR-S would be appropriately priced for the car you get in return. At 28 to 30 grand its a complete rip off and obviously the buying public is well aware of this. I give the car two years tops and it will likely be dropped. Yet another sports coupe failure from Toyota.

 

I agree that price is what killed this car. I test drove one a while back, and while it was a car that you can have some fun in, there was a major lack of power and was worth to me half of what they wanted for it.

Now if they actually got ballsy and put the turbo motor from the WRX STI in it, and didnt cheap out on it then there would be a car worth talking about.

 

Bingo and bingo!

 

Pics? Of the fail

 

I tend to agree that the car should have come with the WRX motor from the start. Either that or the V6 from the Camry. I think if they had done that, however, Toyota would then have wanted 35 to 38 grand for your average FR-S and the car would have been right back in the same situation. Customers would be asked to pay Mustang GT / Camaro SS price tags for a car that wouldn't deliver that level of performance. The Japanese have never seemed to figure out what exactly the words "bang for the buck" means and have always priced their sports car offerings higher than the cars are actually worth. I don't know, maybe in the rest of the world just having a sporty looking car is worth more money. Here in America, however, your sporty looking car better deliver the goods or don't bother.

 

I think the FRS/BRZ is also the victim of bad timing. The market is moving towards fuel-efficient crossover vehicles. Those few of us left that want a sporty coupe are in the midst of a horsepower war. If they had come out ten years ago, there would've been a more viable market. The only sporty car that can get away with less horsepower today is the Miata because it fills a niche; the FRS/BRZ has to compete with cars that offer MUCH more horsepower for not a lot more money.

 

I think that could definitely be a factor in it. I often wonder, however, if Toyota as a company just fundamentally does not understand the American concept of a sports coupe and how to deliver it. You take for instance the so called "performance car" offering from Lexus. The entry level RC200 is an inline 4 cylinder engine that starts at $39,995 and offers a performance level that would easily get smoked by either the Ecoboost or V6 Mustang. To even get a comparable performance level to an entry level Mustang, however, you have to go with the RC350 which has a starting price of $42,780. I'm sorry but I wouldn't pay the extra 12 to 15 grand to get entry level Mustang performance from a performance Lexus.

Now if you want Mustang GT performance from Lexus you have to go with the RC F which offers a 5.0 V8 but it also has a starting price of $62,805. Even at that it offers performance that is only as good as a standard Mustang GT. How much is that GT350 again? lol For that matter at 62 grand you are squarely in Corvette territory price wise for a car that absolutely will not deliver Corvette performance.

So I would say that Lexus needs to stick with what Lexus is good at which is luxury sedans, not sports coupes. But on the other hand I can distinctly recall when they wanted Mustang GT prices for a Celica GTS back in the 90's and the Celica was by no means going to perform on Mustang GT levels. So this is nothing new for Toyota. I think they just don't get it.

 

The MX5 works because it's a go kart and weighs almost nothing, so it doesn't need a ton of power. The FR-S and family aren't as light or as nimble. The FR-S has almost the same torque as an MX5, but 400 pounds heavier. The MX5 is the faster car as well, so even without the handling you get more straight line performance from the Mazda...and I believe they both come in around the same price as well.