Earlier today, we told you that one of the bosses at Toyota said that the sports-car market is shrinking so much that brands will have to partner to make the economics of selling sporty cars work.
Selling sports cars has always been a difficult proposition. We enthusiasts tend to despair as people continue to buy boring crossovers and SUVs (and even not-so-sporty sedans), but the truth is that most consumers aren’t car enthusiasts and are buying the best vehicle for their lifestyle. Not to mention there also car enthusiasts out there who can’t afford a sports car — especially if they can only afford one vehicle and they need something that provides utility and/or fuel economy.
That’s a somewhat long-winded way of saying that the sports-car segment will always be relatively small.
That being the case, what if Tomoya Takahashi, the president of Toyota Gazoo Racing, is right and brands need to pair up to keep sports cars alive? What brands should pair? Obviously Toyota is already pairing with Subaru on the GR86/BRZ and working with BMW for the current Supra.
Who else should pair up? Maybe Ford and Mazda can revisit history — remember the Mazda-badged Ford trucks and SUVs — to give the “zoom zoom” brand a long-hood, short-deck sports car that could slot above the Miata? Maybe Chevy can resurrect the Camaro yet again with help from, say, oh I don’t know, Honda?
For the purposes of this question, let’s go with partnerships that would only involve competing automakers, not brands that are part of the same company. So no imagining an luxury Mustang with a Lincoln badge.
What say you? Sound off below.
[Image: Toyota]
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