The small coupe dilemma

"El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First!" (lightningzone) 10/25/2014 at 16:18 • Filed to: None

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What happened?

I actually know what happened during the carpocalypse, so don't try smart ass comments.

We had this.

And that.

And even that.

And it was funny, but both of the American coupes wanted to be like the Z4 coupe. Sure, they weren't as good, but at least they were trying. They were chasing some finesse and refinement. Now they gave up. They went back at building rolling hot dogs.

And BMW itself got lazy and stopped offering more Z4 versions, like a coupe and a wagon.

Ford of Europe tried to get approval to begin working on a production version of the Reflex coupe concept, but Alan Mulally said "no soup for you", fearing that a European car would affect Ford's precious Mustang.

So the Reflex...

...and its Visos, wagon twin, remain just a dream.

Going forward a few years, we end up today, with this.

A new hope, but this car, that seemed to spawn a segment rejuvenation, has its fair share of obstacles. From numbers obsessed people, to competitors who said they'd like to build a car like that, but are backing down(I'm looking at you, Nissan) and frictions between Toyota and Subaru.

I'm not sure how much influence that car will have over competition, if the segment will get rejuvenated or even if we will see another Z coupe, but the lightweight, fun and RWD sport coupe is the car, the world deserves.

Even if may not be the one it needs right now.

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! 10/25/2014 at 16:23

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Most people who are buying a sporty little 2-seater want a convertible.

StingrayJake > El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! 10/25/2014 at 16:24

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What... Everybody doesn't love heavy Merican muscle? Even when two of the three major players in the market have cars that look very similar?

Cé hé sin > El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! 10/25/2014 at 16:25

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Coupés sell for about two years and then fall away rapidly. That doesn't pay and so they're disappearing.

Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney > El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! 10/25/2014 at 16:37

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Nobody buys them, that's what happened. 4-seat coupes are a hard enough sell to the modern buyer; 2-seat coupes are nearly impossible. Graduated insurance rates don't help, either.

El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! > Cé hé sin 10/25/2014 at 16:38

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That's why you can launch the coupe, a more powerful version of the coupe after 1 year, a roadster after another year and a wagon after another year. By the time you introduced the wagon, you can already apply a mid life refresh to the original coupe, and so on. And wasn't flexible platforms meant to make sports coupes less expensive to develop?

Cé hé sin > El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! 10/25/2014 at 16:46

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Platforms are supposed to make it feasible to develop umpteen new variations on a theme like the multitude of Minis but there seems for some makers to be a place called stop. Peugeot make the RCZ but it's had its two years and PSA have said that enough is enough and they won't be replacing it. Other makers do seem to make coupés work though- BMW have theirs and there's the Audi TT.

El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! > StingrayJake 10/25/2014 at 16:58

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Not Jezza.

SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) > El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! 10/25/2014 at 17:59

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This perfectly sums up how I feel about American cars built between the early 70s and... well, now. Excluding the Ford GT, of course.

Axial > El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! 10/25/2014 at 19:56

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Call it the Ford Probe.

Axial > El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! 10/25/2014 at 19:57

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All I want out of a rejuvenated small coupe segment is a successor to the Fiero. And it has to look similar, or no sale!