WTF is up w/Toyota?

[Matt86es]

So I passed an NSX on my way to work today(I was late) and it got me started thinking about Japanese Sports Cars & that Toyota does not have a single sporty car in its entire current model line. Does anyone know when a new supra/celica/mr2 is going to come out? I'm just curious.

[Dave]

Sports cars do not sell well right now. Toyota is about to become the largest auto company in the world now that GM is in the shitter.

IS350 is a nice Sports Sedan.

[The Fast One!]

I think it's just toyota, i have never considered the celica or the mr2 a sporty car, only the supra, maybe they just don't care???

EDIT-forgot toyota owned lexus.

[Matt86es]

The old mr2s and celicas were definately "sporty", just not sports cars. My favorite was the 90-93 GT-4 Celica(AWD, turbo 200 hp 2.0L) Can anyone say Carlos Sainz's WRC Championship Car?

[Charlie]

The old mr2s and celicas were definately "sporty", just not sports cars. My favorite was the 90-93 All Trac Turbo Celica(AWD, turbo 200 hp 2.0L)

The MR2, and the final MR Spyder were definetly "sports cars" in the purest sense of the word. Low tech, lightweight rev happy cars with sharp edges and no real amenities. Of course, they didn't sell worth a shit.

The supra was an overweight sloppy pig GT car.

-Charlie

[hamann318is]

Honda dumped the NSX. All they have is the S2000.

[banorban]

if i never got an e30, i would have ended up with a 93 NA MR2, driving in E-stock hopefully. they are awesome cars.

toyota pwns you. end of story. like chuck norris

[Slick33]

Toyota cares more about environmentally friendly research and selling passenger cars and trucks than competing with Nissan, Mazda, Mitsubishi and Subaru.
And the MR2 was most definitely a sportscar. It wasn't as fast as it should've been, and it weighed more than I feel it should've (the 2nd gen body style, anyway), but for all intents and purposes, it was a sportscar alright. Definitely much more than the Supra (GT car, not sportscar) was.

[Iain]

Toyota only cares about selling refrigerators on wheels that have all the personality of a dead raccoon but are half as fun and dynamically involving.

There is a 5L V8 version of the new Lexus IS slated for release mid-06. I'm sure it'll be just as bland and boring as everything else Toyota has spewed from their bowels in the last 15 years.

[Matt86es]

I guess a better question would be why get involved in Formula 1 if you don't make any sports cars? I don't think that the win on sunday sell on monday approach works with camrys.

[uofom3]

The MR2, and the final MR Spyder were definetly "sports cars" in the purest sense of the word. Low tech, lightweight rev happy cars with sharp edges and no real amenities. Of course, they didn't sell worth a shit.

The supra was an overweight sloppy pig GT car.

-Charlie

exactly - the last generation MR2 was a very good car... fun to drive and everything that you want a sportscar to be.

The supra is a piece of shit. It doesn't take a lot of smarts to wedge an enormous turbo into a huge motor and turn the boost up to hell and run 10 second quarters - and that isn't even THAT fast... they are cars popularized by the fast and the furious, nothing else needs to be said

[Garageaholic]

I think it's just toyota, i have never considered the celica or the mr2 a sporty car, only the supra, maybe they just don't care???

EDIT-forgot toyota owned lexus.

I think that toyota is trying to take a different approach. Especially nowadays with the oil prices so high, I think that they're trying to advertise gas efficient everyday driving cars more than sport cars. Besides they have alot of competition from Mitsubishi, Honda, Nissan and a wide array of other jap automakers.

[A_325i]

man ive wanted a supra well before fast and furious came out....why do you think the supra is a peice of shit?...because it was glamorized in a movie?...wtf have you guys ever driven a supra? i doubt it...what do you think of a 300zx? well the supra is almost the same god damn thing with a different body and interior...supras have some handling issues from there wheight yes but those are easily remedied with few modifications honestly...what is your problem with supras how can you judge a car that youve never driven. i personally think the supra is a badass car and i cant wait to get one....

[Iain]

man ive wanted a supra well before fast and furious came out....why do you think the supra is a peice of shit?...because it was glamorized in a movie?...wtf have you guys ever driven a supra? i doubt it...what do you think of a 300zx? well the supra is almost the same god damn thing with a different body and interior...supras have some handling issues from there wheight yes but those are easily remedied with few modifications honestly...what is your problem with supras how can you judge a car that youve never driven. i personally think the supra is a badass car and i cant wait to get one....

Through my job, I've driven plenty of them and my opinion stays the same:

They are a steel erection. A porcine land barge with a mean right hook.

I've had the pleasure of trialling everything from an auto NA targa top, to a single-turbo monster rolling over 450rwkW and my opinion is that, sure, they look hot (in a rotund 1990s way... kinda like Pamela Anderson) but they handle and brake like a water bed.

Same goes for Mitsubishi 3000GT (or GTO as it was known in some markets) and that horrible mistake known as a Z32 300ZX.

GT-R Skyline and FD RX-7 for teh JDM w1n.

[uofom3]

man ive wanted a supra well before fast and furious came out....why do you think the supra is a peice of shit?...because it was glamorized in a movie?...wtf have you guys ever driven a supra? i doubt it...what do you think of a 300zx? well the supra is almost the same god damn thing with a different body and interior...supras have some handling issues from there wheight yes but those are easily remedied with few modifications honestly...what is your problem with supras how can you judge a car that youve never driven. i personally think the supra is a badass car and i cant wait to get one....

Thats fine... and i'm sure you did want a supra before it was popularized by that movie. Fine. but that does not change the car. it is HEAVY. VERY HEAVY. out of the box, it is not special. If its not turbo'd, its going to be painfully slow. If it is turbo'd, it can be fast in a straight line, but once you get going that fast, you have to STOP. stopping that much mass takes distance/time, and to improve that takes $$$. Also when you're thinking about performance, starting with an overweight car is just not a good idea IMO. On top of that i just don't think it looks that good. It makes a great drag car, but i'm not a big fan of straight line racing so that might explain why i'm not too into it.

the 3z has the same problem. its heavy, seriously underpowered without a turbo, and has horrible fit/finish. The brakes off those cars make great upgrades for 240's, but horrible starting point for a car that sized, especially with engine upgrades.

I'm comparing stock to stock cars, with enough money anything can be modified to suit a given need.

As far as driving, no, i have not driven the 300 but i have driven the supra and i was not impressed. If you want to go around corners neither are a great solution...

cheers,
ted