QOTD: Itching for a Haircut?
Sometimes the toy in the window is just a little too dear for the parent of a young child. Fast-forward a few decades and the shiny thing on the dealership floor is priced just north of what that same kid’s wallet can handle. Such is life.
But what if you and the OEM were able to strike a compromise — a reduction in power for a fairly significant drop in price?
Sometimes a compromise comes about without a late-night phone call to a CEO. Those can get awkward, after all. No need to mention names…
While a vehicle in its purest form — the guise intended from the outset of development — is a thing of beauty, sales considerations sometimes delivers a version that ticks most of the boxes; power might not be quite as abundant, but the reduction in price suddenly brings the model within range of less-monied buyers. Take the reborn Supra, for example. Last week we learned that, for 2021, Toyota will offer a 2.0-liter four-cylinder beneath the hood of its two-seater. Horsepower drops 24 percent from a 2020 inline-six model, weight falls 200 pounds, and the expected MSRP falls from a hair below $50k (for a 2020 model) to just north of $40k.
With 295 lb-ft of torque routed to the rear wheels of the slimmed-down coupe, spirited driving isn’t out of reach — and neither is the price for a new pool of would-be buyers. Other sporting models generally follow a different route, preferring instead to climb the power ladder after launch while draining more and more cash from the buyer’s wallet.
With this in mind, what model on sale today would you suddenly consider if the manufacturer offered a modest reduction in power and price?
[Image: Toyota]
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I'll take a base Mustang with a normal roofline, 5.0 and LX badges! If I am getting a Turbo Mustang I'd assume it have SVO badges and a twin turbo 3.5. Not really the spirit of the question, but IMHO you always check the more power box first and add other options as desired up to your budget unless I am buying an OG Boss Mustang...make mine the 302, not the 429.
I replaced my '89 Supra Turbo (232 HP) in '01 with a one year old very low mileage 185 HP Audi TT Quattro, which cost me about $8K less than a brand new Audi TT Quattro with 225 HP would have cost. That was a significant savings, but I regretted it for the ten years I owned the TT. That was the only time I bought a vehicle with less horsepower than my previous one; I learned my lesson.
I hear good things about the 1.5L Miata, and it'd be quick enough for around town. If it also translated to a lower base price, it'd be a nice option. I was also more interested when it had the 1.8 instead of the 1.4, but a Golf GT-Line (or whatever they wanted to call it) with all the GTI mechanical bits except for the engine would be nice, as it was still a plenty quick car in base form.
Civic SiR at 30k. 250-ish hp and torque.