Hachi-Roku Pricing Announced. Got 25K?

by Bertel Schmitt

Published: March 22nd, 2012

Long faces in hachi-roku land. Following a multi-year propaganda campaign, expectations for an “affordable” sports car collide with hard (currency) realities.

Toyota today announced dealer pricing for the 2013 Scion FR-S compact rear-wheel drive sports car. The FR-S (a.k.a. Toyota FT/GT86/86/Subaru BRZ) starts with a manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of $24,200 when equipped with a six-speed manual transmission, and $25,300 when equipped with a six-speed paddle shifted auto. Those who expected $19,000 or less: Save some more.

The car “will go on sale this spring” in the U.S., says Toyota. And not on August sixth or June 8th, as surmised by some bloggers who are fascinated by Asian numerology. First cars rolled off the line in Japan last week and should be in the U.S. some time in April.

There is one news outlet that is absolutely ecstatic about the pricing: USA Today. “We doubt anyone expected the starting price for the 2013 Scion FR-S to be this low,” says the paper.

#BertelSchmitt #FRS #FT-86 #Hachi-roku #Japan #Scion #Toyota

Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

More by Bertel Schmitt

Comments

Join the conversation

2 of 120 comments

Mktimes5 on Mar 22, 2012

Although the price is higher then I would of liked, I still think it is fair enough. This car is 100% Japanese built, can you even buy cars actually made in Japan anymore? I think that would make a car of this caliber have a special build quality that you would never find in its competitors like the Genesis or Mustang or at least I hope it would.

Like Reply
MattMan on Mar 23, 2012

This price is RIDICULOUS. The Ford Transit van starts at $22,035 and has way more interior space. Sabine Schmitz proved it's up to Track Day work. Why would anyone get an FR-S or BRZ when they can get a Ford Transit?

Like Reply

Recent Comments

ToolGuy First picture: I realize that opinions vary on the height of modern trucks, but that entry door on the building is 80 inches tall and hits just below the headlights. Does anyone really believe this is reasonable?Second picture: I do not believe that is a good parking spot to be able to access the bed storage. More specifically, how do you plan to unload topsoil with the truck parked like that? Maybe you kids are taller than me.
ToolGuy The other day I attempted to check the engine oil in one of my old embarrassing vehicles and I guess the red shop towel I used wasn't genuine Snap-on (lots of counterfeits floating around) plus my driveway isn't completely level and long story short, the engine seized 3 minutes later.No more used cars for me, and nothing but dealer service from here on in (the journalists were right).
Doughboy Wow, Merc knocks it out of the park with their naming convention… again. /s
Doughboy I’ve seen car bras before, but never car beards. ZZ Top would be proud.
Bkojote Allright, actual person who knows trucks here, the article gets it a bit wrong.First off, the Maverick is not at all comparable to a Tacoma just because they're both Hybrids. Or lemme be blunt, the butch-est non-hybrid Maverick Tremor is suitable for 2/10 difficulty trails, a Trailhunter is for about 5/10 or maybe 6/10, just about the upper end of any stock vehicle you're buying from the factory. Aside from a Sasquatch Bronco or Rubicon Jeep Wrangler you're looking at something you're towing back if you want more capability (or perhaps something you /wish/ you were towing back.)Now, where the real world difference should play out is on the trail, where a lot of low speed crawling usually saps efficiency, especially when loaded to the gills. Real world MPG from a 4Runner is about 12-13mpg, So if this loaded-with-overlander-catalog Trailhunter is still pulling in the 20's - or even 18-19, that's a massive improvement.