BRZ/FR-S Hachi-Roku Beats All Cars In Off-The-Lot Race
Some bloggers see the BRZ/FR-S (hereinafter hachi-roku) pocket racers as the second coming of Christ, others declared them as declassed by the Hyundai Genesis, the Mazda Miata PRHT (pfft), and of course by the Ford Mustang GT. The hachi-roku may not be the fastest around the race track with Jack Baruth on the wheel and an AWOL timing device. There is one race which they consistently win: The race off dealers’ lots.
Both hachi-roku continue to be on the top of Edmunds’s list of quickest-selling vehicles. The limited-volume FR-S and BRZ monopolized the top ranks of the fastest-sellers list since they went on sale in the spring. An average hachi-roku sells in about 11 days, says Edmunds. An average car graces the lot for 58 days. An average GM full-size truck would be a whole different story ...
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.
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I'm actually surprised the X6 and LX 570 have an average of 18. In the case of the latter, its smaller, 4Runner-based brother, the GX 460, could stand to borrow some of those sales figures, as it is quickly becoming irrelevant to the Lexus brand. I can't even imagine how it will take to the spindle grille. As much as I like the car, I think Lexus needs to discontinue it and build something car-based, with the agility of a truck and the ability to seat seven, a la Acura MDX, Audi Q7, BMW X5 and Mercedes-Benz GL.
The main thing all those cars have in common, besides maybe the Hyundais and the CR-V, is that they sell in relatively low volumes. As someone mentioned, the dealers and manufacturers are better at making sure demand is closer matched to supply, compared to say 2007. Here in the Bay Area, I'd expect to see tons of Hachi-Rokus and I don't think I've seen a single one. I do, however, see an appropriate number of A3s. Other than the Elantra and the CR-V, I don't see any of the cars on this list that often. I only saw a Veloster on the road for the first time last week, and have only ever seen one X6 on the road. It seems like some of the ricers wrecking the Toyobarus because they don't know how to drive a RWD car will probably raise everyone else's insurance rates. The first line is always "and then I turned the traction control off..."