remember-when-japanese-cars-were-really-cool

[1K2GO]

Toyota 2000GT

Surprised no one mentioned the grandaddy of all japanese exotics. 'The Japanese Jaguar' You can see influences of this car in virtually every japanese sports car since, including the Z's, LFA, BRZ/FR-S etc.

 

[Andr3w]

Has anyone watched the anime, Initial D?

 

[RYU]

Has anyone watched the anime, Initial D?

Of course!

To anyone that hasn't.. do yourself a favor and stream it from Netflix. It's in English.

 

[FF Drifter]

The English is awful =( I'd much rather read the subtitles on a poorly encoded Japanese rip... or even better just watch the HK-made movie (which I thought was pretty good and captured the essence of the series). But yes, very cool Japanese cars in the series. The few Stage 5 episodes I've seen so far are very good too. I believe there should be an NSX in an upcoming episode of Stage 5.

 

[jond]

The LFA is still pretty cool.

The 370Z, BRZ, WRX, and GTR aren't bad either.

 

[kaede]

Are you kidding? The LFA original retail was $375,000. There are still new ones available even now. By and large, it is a grossly overpriced, artificially inflated car without a market niche. Lexus is just Lexus, a luxury brand that sells cars from $30k to $110K normally. The LFA was hyped to be all sold out at the beginning but later confessed to be still available and they are still available. If ISF is a $65k car, there is no reason why the LFA could not be a $120k car and represents the flagship of the marque. Instead, the car got all the "state of the art" stuffs that do not translate to superior performance but just a big fat price tag. The GTR does it for $85k. If it takes Lexus $375k to beat/match the Ferrari counterpart, then it is already a big failure. I am sure the LFA is an awesome to the max kind of car. But is it $375k Lexus kind of awesome? For people that who can buy the LFA with their pocket changes, will they pursuit the car further by paying more and more in the future to make it a million dollar car? A "steal" for $450K? I just don't see it.
The Toyota clearly had a wrong marketing strategy with the LFA. They should have made a $120k Lexus LFA with their superior know-how, quality and value to showcase the marque's philosophy. I am sure the $120k LFA would have been just as capable in performance as the $375k but it would be much more visible and representing to propel the market share. The $375k LFA is only known among car nuts like us and so far I have not seen one on the road. I call that "halo" car effort wasted.

My bad for mentioning a differed price. I was quoting the Canadian price which was going for around $450k. The nurburgring version is also going for around $450k USD if i remembered correctly. Do i think it is largely overpriced? Ya, but that is because they can as well. The reasoning behind why there are still availability of the car is exactly as you say, its a lexus, and if people wanted fast, they'd go with a godzilla. If they wanted supercar, they'd be thinking Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Mclarens etc. And if people had crazy money they'd go for Konigseggs, Bugattis, Paganis etc. Because it's a Lexus, people don't pay attention as much. The LFA was never really marketed to the general public, if they did they would've lowered the MSRP and produce much more than 500 units. However, i think the LFA did it's job, an ultra rare, overpriced, high performing halo car for the brand. And yes, while i agree that if they made a $120k LFA it'll probably still be as good or even better than the $375k counterpart, I believe the LFA will hold its place in the market and in enthusiasts' hearts.

Again, if you compare the LFA with the NSX (including the new 2nd gen NSX that's coming out), what's the big difference? Both when they came out it is highly overpriced when compared to the original line-up of vehicles (yes, the new NSX is going to be cheaper than the LFA because it is going to be a production vehicle vs limited production). Both have had some interesting and innovative ideas and technology. Both sales number sucks because of their branding (NSX being a production car for basically decade and a half? Numbers weren't that impressive besides the first couple of years). Again, yes i agree that the LFA is a bit more outrageous in terms of pricing, and not as innovative as the original NSX, and wouldn't be able to beat a lot of other supercar counterparts like how the NSX spat in the faces of the 348 and porshces, but i think it will for sure hold its value and place. Lets hope they do go around in a couple of years to create a baby LFA that'll only cost $120k and offers 90% of what the original LFA has :biggrin:

If the economy continues to improve for supercars I have a feeling the LFA will hold it's value or even appreciate.

15yrs from now is when I feel that car will grow into it's full potential in both awareness of what it is, and market value.

If I had the $$ i'd buy one now

+1!!!

 

[RYU]

The NSX vs. LFA comparo is an interesting one.

I remember a 1990 300ZX TT was roughly $33k (please correct me if i'm wrong). The 1991 NSX was approx $65k (again, pls correct me if i'm wrong). That's double the price.

Now, the everyday supercars we know of like the GTR is $90-100k? The LFA is $375k? That's triple the price+ but i'd argue the appetite for Supercars in conjunction with the target market's increased purchasing power makes the comparison a bit of stretch but maybe also relevant.

I had a love hate relationship with the LFA. I loved it before it came out. I hated it when it finally did and still think the interior is claustrophobic. Yet, after reading much more about the car and the manufacturing challenges/hurdles and the fine attention to detail and just sheer engineering muscle that went into it... I sure as hell want one now.

It is no comparison to an equivalently priced F-Car at all. Not even close in my book especially in terms of build quality and refinement. I hope it yields dividends for Toyota in the coming 20yrs. I would love to see that technology trickle down into a car like the GT86 someday.

 

[Osiris_x11]

FWIW...

1991
$60k NSX
$30k Legend
$15k Accord

2005
$90k NSX
$45k RL
$22.5k Accord

2013/2014
$130k NSX-v2 (purported MSRP)
$55k RL
$27.5k Accord


Interesting math, ehhh'!

(based on past trends, the forthcoming NSX-v2 should be ~$110k'ish...)

 

[s2020]

If the economy continues to improve for supercars I have a feeling the LFA will hold it's value or even appreciate.

15yrs from now is when I feel that car will grow into it's full potential in both awareness of what it is, and market value.

If I had the $$ i'd buy one now

went to an exotic car gathering a couple of months back.
we had 30 odd cars: Ferraris, McLarens, Vipers, and one LF-A. Everyone was in awe of the LF-A. the 458s, Californias, MP4s, etcs didn't get a second glance.

 

[NYCNSX]

Not to sound like an old man, but they certainly do not make them like they used to. Just to show how big a fan I am of 90's era Japanese cars, I have owned the following(I may have a problem):
2 1991 MR2 Turbos
1 1991 300ZX Turbo
1 2003 S2000 (I know not 90's but close)
2 1993 SC300 5 Spds
8 various years MKIV Supra turbos
1 2000 NSX (90's styling)
1 1999 Civic Si

Never had any desire to buy a Mitsu 3000GT. Came close to picking up a RX7 but decided it just wasn't worth dealing with the rotary reliability issues and passed. I would like to own a Toyota 2000 GT one day though.

 

[jond]

Interesting math, ehhh'!

(based on past trends, the forthcoming NSX-v2 should be ~$110k'ish...)

If you compare to home prices, the window sticker in my 1997 NA2 NSX is the exact same as the median 2 story home price in 1997.
Therefore, the new NSX would be around $190,000 or so?


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