mr-s/mr-s and celica to be cancelled

[HW]

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=181303

that's really too bad. :( i like the styling of both of those cars.

[Jeff_DML]

I liked the 1st and 2nd gen versions of the MR2, never got the 3rd, underpowered convertible :dunno: Still only cheap mid engined rwd car that I can think of so I guess kind of a bummer.


not suprised by the celica, overlap now with the Scion Tc and even the corolla plus I dont think it was doing that well in sales compared to the RSX.

[racerdave]

The mr-s seemed like a fun little car... though in a tough segment, with two really good cars like the Miata and (slightly pricer) S2000.

The Celica simply got Scion'ed.

So with the Celica going away, what is Lotus going to do for Elise motors in the US? Will Toyota keep supplying them? Or will the supply dry up and they have to do to Honda or Mazda or something?

[The Roadstergal]

I liked the 1st and 2nd gen versions of the MR2, never got the 3rd

[mtbscott]

I owned two first gen MR-2's, a "regular" one and a supercharged model. Traded it in on a second gen Turbo. Very fun cars but the price kept escalating until a 1995 Turbo was up in the mid $30's, Yikes! I test drove one of the Spyders when they first came out. It feels really good, low powered but light and crisp handling. Very impractical though, no luggage space at all save two small cubbies behind the seats. Somehow it also got the reputation as a "chick" car and wasn't marketed very well by Toyota. I keep watching the used market on them and might have to buy when the price drops below $10K. The only Celica I wish I'd had was the 90-91 model with AWD and the same 200hp motor as the MR2 Turbo.

[Nick325xiT 5spd]

Hopefully they'll put an S2000 engine in it.

Or figure out how to get a Wankel in. That'd be ****ing awesome.

[blueguydotcom]

The mr-s seemed like a fun little car... though in a tough segment, with two really good cars like the Miata and (slightly pricer) S2000.

The Celica simply got Scion'ed.

So with the Celica going away, what is Lotus going to do for Elise motors in the US? Will Toyota keep supplying them? Or will the supply dry up and they have to do to Honda or Mazda or something?

That same engine is used in the hot corolla now too. And the matrix.

[racerdave]

Ah, good point. I guess because I have no interest in either one of them, I kind of forgot that... :)

[frog]

So with the Celica going away, what is Lotus going to do for Elise motors in the US? Will Toyota keep supplying them? Or will the supply dry up and they have to do to Honda or Mazda or something?

Due to a prior business connection, Lotus chose the Toyota powertrain for the Elise application. Would NOT have been my choice but there you go.

The Toyota is a VERY peaky little motor, with the power really kicking in above 6200 RPM, reminiscent of the old turbo lag some of you more seasoned boys may remember from the seventies and early eighties.

Makes it a kind of a pain to keep her in the sweet spot.

Now that the transmission is pointing the wrong way in the Elise, it feels even crappier than when it was in the Celica GTS.

If Toyota were smart, they could easily design their own version of the Elise, which would'nt be as severe and with performance approaching that of the Lotus.

And they'd sell 'em for $10 K less. :eeps:


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[TeamM3]

they already tried that, it was called the MR-S, they just don't get it which is a shame because Toyota builds quality equipment, but their design team sucks when it comes to sportscars

[frog]

They already tried that, it was called the MR-S, they just don't get it which is a shame because Toyota builds quality equipment, but their design team sucks when it comes to sportscars.

Believe that I just read something, that sales of this type of vehicle were down 26% from last year.

Just look what's been going on with the Z4. :rolleyes:

Who knows, Toyota could make it happen again. :D


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[Desertnate]

they already tried that, it was called the MR-S, they just don't get it which is a shame because Toyota builds quality equipment, but their design team sucks when it comes to sportscars

I don't know...I think they have just lost their way. These were darn good cars.

http://auto.consumerguide.com/images/autoreview/lrg/95812101990309LRG.jpg

http://www.carphotoalbums.com/photos/data/899/11toyota_mr2_07-med.jpg

[jgrgnt]

I don't know...I think they have just lost their way. These were darn good cars.

http://auto.consumerguide.com/images/autoreview/lrg/95812101990309LRG.jpg

http://www.carphotoalbums.com/photos/data/899/11toyota_mr2_07-med.jpg

I remember when the Supra first came out and absolutely blew away the competition. I think I still have those old Car And Driver issues. 0-60 in 4.6 seconds. :yikes:

[TeamM3]

yeah, but unfortunately the Supra cost $50k+ and weighed a ton, they never sold many as a result, in factory stock form they don't handle all that well but are certainly fast in a straight line, like any turbo car they can be modded easy which with the power level that can be achieved (450hp+ easy) is their only real performance appeal

the 1st gen MR2 was a turd, 2nd gen was a much better design but cost too much, 3rd gen too underpowered and the early ones have body flex issues, now this year they finally put an LSD in it only to turn around and can it :dunno:

BMW lost its way along time ago, I don't really care for the styling on the Z4, but I only bought it for competition, rarely drive it on the street. The E46 M3 is a perfect example, only BMW would be dumb enough to use an 8" front wheel with a 225 wide tire on a 3400# car that still uses the same 20 yr old front suspension design - I'm surprised they didn't call it the John Deere Special Tractor Edition, it will plow the track all day long :tsk:

[The Roadstergal]

That's why the Miata's still selling. They made it an actual sports car with a tuneable sports suspension, and made it cheap. That's hard to beat.

[gojira-san]

I can't really speak for the MR-2s but I spent time with the Supra and Celica.

The original Supras were Celicas with the 6L engine in them instead of the 4L. From the front doors back it was pretty much the same car. My brother in law had a 2nd gen Supra, moved from one coast to the other twice. He sold it in California - 15 years old and 350,000 miles on the engine. Other than standard maintenance and wear components nothing else went wrong... oh except for replacing the rear hatch because of rust (a common problem).

I had an '82 Celica GTS that was a fun car (still RWD in those days.)

I agree with the comments that Toyota seemed to have lost their way with those cars. I drove a late model Celica a year or so ago and was underwhelmed. I also had a hard time fitting in it at 6' and 180 (and before you make age comments I am only about 10 pounds more now than I weighed in the 80s :) ) I never had that problem in the old one.

Toyota is making plenty of money in lots of other places so I wouldn't feel too bad for them. I know my wife will only buy Toyotas.

[jgrgnt]

yeah, but unfortunately the Supra cost $50k+ and weighed a ton, they never sold many as a result, in factory stock form they don't handle all that well but are certainly fast in a straight line, like any turbo car they can be modded easy which with the power level that can be achieved (450hp+ easy) is their only real performance appeal

The 1993 Supra Turbo was less than $40k. IIRC, only in subsequent years did the price skyrocket, only to be cut by almost $10k in the last model year.

Performance statistics from '93 seem to indicate the Supra was a good performer on the track. Motor Trend logged 68.5mph for the slalom run and 0.99gs on the skidpad, better than any other competitor at the time.

Wow, that was 11 years ago. Jeez, I feel old now. :(

[HW]

Due to a prior business connection, Lotus chose the Toyota powertrain for the Elise application. Would NOT have been my choice but there you go.

The Toyota is a VERY peaky little motor, with the power really kicking in above 6200 RPM, reminiscent of the old turbo lag some of you more seasoned boys may remember from the seventies and early eighties.

the celica gts engine is really hi-tech. has both variable valve timing and variable valve lift.

http://autozine.kyul.net/technical_school/engine/vvt_31.htm#VVTL-i

[HW]

If Toyota were smart, they could easily design their own version of the Elise, which would'nt be as severe and with performance approaching that of the Lotus.

And they'd sell 'em for $10 K less. :eeps:

not sure if the bonded alu space frame of the elise would be cheap to do. :dunno:

http://autozine.kyul.net/technical_school/chassis/tech_chassis2.htm#Aluminium%20Space%20Frame

[Matthew330Ci]

the celica gts engine is really hi-tech. has both variable valve timing and variable valve lift.

http://autozine.kyul.net/technical_school/engine/vvt_31.htm#VVTL-i

the honda b16a had both variable valve timing and lift since the late 80's.

honda > toyota

[Matthew330Ci]

i loved the supra's performance numbers but could never get over the somewhat odd, unbalanced, whale-ish, bulbous look.

[TeamM3]

i loved the supra's performance numbers but could never get over the somewhat odd, unbalanced, whale-ish, bulbous look.


and for such a large car it had almost no room inside of it, the two kiddyseats were virtually useless and the hatchback area could only hold 2 or 3 bags of groceries :eek:

fwiw, I seriously looked at one, all the dealers in Central Florida were asking around $55k, I bought a '93 Mazda RX7 TT new for $28k instead of a $32k Toyota MR2 Turbo several years earlier :dunno: