Community Question: Does Chevrolet Need A Mazda Miata Fighter?
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Mazda last night unveiled the highly anticipated 2016 ND-generation Miata at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in California. For years the Miata has been a hot-selling, fun to drive, affordable sportscar with a dedicated and loyal following, making the unveiling of an all-new model kind of a big deal. Mazda’s small sports car has been a huge success, so what if Chevrolet entered the segment?
The new Miata sticks to the same formula as its predecessors. A small four-cylinder engine will rest under the hood up front, with a six-speed manual transmission in the middle sending power to the rear-wheels. It will also be about 220 lbs lighter than the model it replaces, tipping the scales at a rumored 2,250 lbs. Only a soft-top model has been announced so far and the price is expected to not stray too far from the 2015 model’s $24,765 asking price.
The last General Motors rear-wheel drive sportscar was the Pontiac Solstice and its platform mate, the Saturn Sky. Sales of those models weren’t bad, but didn’t blow expectations out of the water either. The idea was revived in the way of the Chevrolet Code 130R concept from the 2012 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The concept was a touch larger than the Subaru BRZ/Scion FR-S and was powered by the modest 150 horsepower 1.4-liter turbo engine from the Cruze. It wasn’t a soft-top like the Miata, but fit the sportscar bill.
Unfortunately, we haven’t heard much about the code 130R since its debut. Chevrolet may have been worried the car would rob sales from the Camaro, or they may have been put off by the underwhelming sales the BRZ and FR-S have experienced. Do you think Chevy needs an answer to the Miata? Would be different or similar to the Code 130 R? Give us a shout in the comments below.
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I miss the Solstice and Sky. I would say yes. But it wouldn’t really compete with the Miata, since GM would drop an 8-speed automatic transmission and 2.0T into it. The Miata is a track day car. It’s purist. It’s what you buy when you want to actually compete on a track against other wealthy amateurs. Still, I miss that Sky.
Yes, Chevy needs such a car. Camaro draws older buyers, mainly Boomers, who will be ageing out soon leaving The General with a sales shortfall on par with the 1990s implosion of Olds. (Oldsmobile was doing great in 1989 but had a pool of aging buyers)
Beretta years back was able to tap younger buyers; Sky, to a lesser degree–Chevy needs to attract Millennials with a inexpensive model because these will become life long fans.
Alpha was built to deliver Kappa, Sigma, and Zeta all in one. If GM doesn’t close the loop, it’s an epic missed opportunity.
Solstice and Sky were the best selling roadsters in America – you could make a badge out of selling Solstice in Buick dealerships atop Alpha… and paving the way for a true Z4 rival in Cadillac.
I own a Sky Red Line because five years after its demise, it smokes Porsche Boxster S’s (of today!) and only cost me $11,000 used.
Chevrolet doesn’t need a Mazda fighter, but GM does. It needs to give young kids a reason to go into Buick-GMC dealerships… and Buick isn’t closing the deal there. Call it Pontiac, call it Opel GT, nobody cares. It just needs to happen.
I rather like theTRU.140S with 2.0T with 250 hp at least as Chevrolet, and why not a Buick and Cadillac as high end to face Audi TT for example and an Opel manta with the addition of a diesel engine to face the Peugeot RCZ.
Well here is the deal here. I being a owner of sports cars for over 30 years know a little about this segment. Also I have spent time with people from GM that have explained the challenges here with car like this and the past Kappa.
Let me make this clear I would love to have an smaller sport car from GM as I too miss the Kappa and Fiero cars. But let me outline the challenges here.
#1 A lower priced lower volume sports car is one of the most difficult cars to build and keep in production of any car you can do.
#2 Sports cars like this have many fans and admirers but generally limited number of buyers as they are often a 2nd or third car to those who can afford them.
#3 Often they suffer compromise due to cost savings. The Fiero the many shared parts and the Kappa with the lack of trunk and interior space in a somewhat larger body. Sharing this on a Kappa will still offer some compromises that may hurt the car as development cost would still be high and with low volume and lower prices will hamper making money with the car.
#4 Cars in this class normally last 5-10 years and fade away. The Kappa would have died even if GM was solvent as sales were very low at the end. Even cars like the RX7 and MR2 died. The MR2 died twice as it is difficult to make a second gen on these cars at this price with the high cost of development.
#5 If GM does this car it would need to sell it globally. The Miata has limited sales in each market to keep up demand as they generally average 14,000 units here over the years. But Global sales help keep the overall volumes up to cover the cost and keep the price down.
Now with that said I would love a car like this but in the end my heart may say this but my head tells me no.
Where GM needs to go is to build a smaller car [I would like RWD] RWD or FWD that can be bought for a lower than average price to make it affordable. Offer options and parts to make it tunable.
GM also needs to make it so a person who can afford this car at say $24K can still afford the insurance to. So many Turbo cars are out of reach of anyone 25 and younger.
I would like to see a 2+2 that is stylish, usable and affordable that young people would be attracted too, Make it so you can make it faster cheaply like the old CRX and even if they can’t afford to do the engine make the suspension so you can make it faster in the bends. I would call it Monza.
The fact is if they do a Miata competitor it would sell around 15K units yearly if you are lucky and if you sell more like the Fiero did you would limit demand in less than 5 years as you would have sold them to all the potential buyers.
Now with the 2+2 coupe it would be something you could sell up to 100,000 units or more yearly and even do variations on this like a hatch or sport wagon shooting brake.
I think a car like this with the 200 HP 4 cylinder would be cheap to buy and insure but still be fun to drive if the weight is keep under 3000 pounds. Also a Turbo option would make this a fun car to drive for those who can afford the insurance.
Lets face it the Cruze and Sonic are nice cars but the answer to this question Is not an SS on either.
But beware. Scion has tried this with FWD and failed. The new Toyota and Subaru both have has moderate sales but have not set the world on fire. It would take a lot of thought and risk here as it is not a slam dunk as many of us here would like to think it is. You have to get it all right but even if you do it cheap for the market the market for 25 year old and younger buyers are limited. It is not like it used to be where a kid in the 60’s in high school with a good job at the gas station and living at home could buy a Corvette or GTO. Those days are gone.
If I were to do a BMW like roadster I would really build one for Buick and place it I the $35K-45K range and make it more of a touring car. It would not compete with Corvette and it would be less for those who could not go higher for the Corvette. It would not be a balls to the wall but a car that you would drive up the PCH to SF for the weekend with the top down and the bags in the trunk.
I say hell yes they do. It should be a proper Miata competitor though. Based off of a shortened Alpha Platform, it should tout:
1.3t I4 with 150HP and 160-175LB-FT
1.8t I4 with 250HP and 265-280LB-FT
6-Speed Auto or 6-Speed Manual
Make it electric with high tech sound devices to make it driver select ably sound like any car you like. Bug eyed Sprite or C7 Corvette. Maybe even a fake shifter and clutch pedal. A 400 volt DC sound system would be fun to experiment with.
I own and enjoy a 2008 Saturn Sky Redline. The turbocharged 2.0 liter 5 speed manual is a fun to drive roadster. I would buy an updated General Motors Sky/Solstice .
It would be great to have, but as Mr. Durand said a long, long time ago, “GM is not in the business of making cars, it is in the business of making money”. So it will not happen as the bean counters insist on 100,000 units per year. 2 seat cars are low volume. It will be interesting to see how Fiat/Alfa does with its 2 seat sports car. If it were to happen, the car would need to be shared by other makes, i.e. Vauxhall, Opel, Holden .
I’m a boomer. I have had a Solstice for about 4 years, and reluctantly sold it this summer. I loved the car, but like most other boomers, it was getting harder and harder to get in and out of it.
GM should have an inexpensive, light, and almost Spartan sports car, but not for boomer generation. As BMW was the template for the ATS, Mazda, but most importantly the British Sports Cars off the 60s, should be the the template for any new sports car… Just as they were for Mazda. I had a MGB in 60s, and it still is my favorite car that I’ve ever owned.
The new generation needs this kind of car that leaves a lasting impression on them. It may not be a hot item runaway sales car, but it could, if done right, be gateway car for GM. Image, looks, price, and performance is every thing to an auto maker.
Most auto makers have tailored their models to the baby boomers. Now it’s time to look ahead, with the knowledge of history in the rear view mirror, and of their lucky, produce a modern day, inexpensive auto, like the 60s Mustang… a car that the boomers bought in the millions.
Unless they build a platform which possess the same architecture of kappa !!
If it is a true Miata competitor, I say do it! By “true competitor” I mean a 2,300 pound slot car with a scaled-down Cadillac ATS alpha chassis and its 272 hp 2.0T, and a fold-down top for $26,000. They have the technology and engineering, and we know there is a market that the Miata is not satisfying with their 160HP self-imposed limit. I would buy one in a heartbeat and park it beside my NC Miata.
I say not to Chevrolet, but yes to Buick. Buick sold the Opel GT and it was a nice little car. It had styling and road handling. There’s a curve in a highway that I haven’t been able to take as fast, and with confidence, as I could with my Opel GT, or my late 60’s Corvairs. That’s not because vehicles haven’t been available that could give me that same feeling, I just haven’t seen anything I desired, until the new Miata.
Please GM, if you build it? Would you insure that us long bodied gents and ladies don’t have to rub our hair or head on the roof. Give me some headroom,. And, give it to Buick with money enough to advertise it.
By the way, nice job and congratulations to the Opel design crew for a nicely designed (new and old) Opel GT.