Ike

Looks at Zoom's link the VW sold about 70k Golfs, and according to Mazda UK the Mazda 3 sold about 10k units and Mazda as a whole fell a little short of 50k units total in 2004. My point, the car market in the UK is VERY different from here and the average middleclass person can't really afford a sportscar.

RX-Hachi

Even more impressive then is that Mazda holds 50% of the Japanese domestic sports car market according to this article:
http://www.japanesecarfans.com/news....2/mazda/1.html

sti_eric

How are we supposed to be "impressed" by that? Tell me what the competition is, then maybe I'll be impressed. While you're collecting that data, I'll take a little stab at what the competition might be.

First, some ridiculous number (like 95%) of new vehicles sold in Japan are Japanese, so we will ignore anything that is not from Japan. So, as far as sports cars from Japanese manufacturers go:

Isuzu - none
Suzuki - none
Toyota - none
Mazda - RX-8 and MX-5
Honda - S2000
Nissan - 350Z
Mitsubishi - maybe the Eclipse
Subaru - none

So that leaves a total of 4, maybe 5 vehicles. Is the fact that the combined sales of 2 of the vehicles equals 50% of all sales all that impressive? It's a shame that the Japanese vehicles that put the "sports" in sports car (WRX/STi/Evo) are probably not included in the list, even though they outperform all the other "sports cars".

I'll see if I can dig up some actual sales numbers in Japan (probably won't be able to).

RX-Hachi

Do I detect a hint of jealousy? 50% is impressive any way you want to look at it.

And there is a very affluent population in certain parts of Japan, cars like Porsche, BMW, Mercedes, and Lotus etc. are not uncommon. Most of the imports are either Luxury or Sports Cars. I've seen plenty of European makes in Tokyo, but American cars are almost non-existent.

But even if we look at just the domestics, you missed a few, and who's to say the STi and EVO weren't counted.

Daihatsu - Copen
Isuzu - none
Suzuki - Cappuccino
Toyota - MR-S (MR-2), Soarer (Lexus SC430)
Mazda - RX-8 and MX-5
Honda - S2000, NSX
Nissan - 350Z, (maybe Skyline coupe/G35)
Mitsubishi - maybe the Eclipse, (maybe the Lan EVO)
Subaru - none, (maybe the WRX STi)

sti_eric

Well, now, that's just stupid. I'm jealous??? What exactly am I jealous of? First, the two cars sitting in my garage right now are a 2004 STi and a 2004 RX-8. Second, how can I be jealous of a car manufacturer? Do I manufacture cars?

You posted a statistic with no data to back it up, then say that we should all be "impressed" by it. I am trying to dig into the data behind it, since you obviously won't post any factual data.

As for your list...the article you posted was obviously talking about new car sales. The Cappuccino stopped being built in 1997. NSX production was very limited, and production stopped last year. The MR-2 sold terribly and production was stopped after MY2005. To call the Daihatsu Copen a sports car with its 64hp engine and 12 second 0-60 time is laughable. I'll give you the SC430, but I'd think they'd only sell a couple hundred a year in Japan. After thinking about it, I'm almost positive that the Eclipse, Lancer, and Impreza are not counted as "sports cars"

I am saying it. Do you have any data proving otherwise (since you are the one saying that we should be "impressed" with your statistic)? I believe this scenario is the most likely:

MX-5 + RX-8 = 50% of the Japanese "sports car" market
S2000 + 350Z/Skyline + SC430 + handful of Europeans = the other 50%

Makes sense, especially since the cars on the second line are all more expensive than the Mazdas. Again, there is nothing to be impressed about.

You guys make me laugh, though. On one hand, there is this thread, where I should be impressed because the RX-8 is a top-selling "sports car". On the other hand, there are multiple active threads where people are discussing the rarity of the RX-8 and how it makes them feel special because there are no other RX-8s around. So, which one is it? Is it a top-selling sports car or is it super rare?

zoom44

i dont care whether its rare and never have expressed that opinion. i would rather there was one around every corner. Some peopel would like it to be rare so thre are lots of different opinions on that matter. There isnt a "you guys" . But we arent talking about in the US.

i didnt define the segments in the UK. the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders did. SMMT does huge amounts of Data collection and analysis for the industry and reports what they find.

Thats what i started this thread about. The report shows that Mazda has a huge market share in the segment. The UK Market itself is not large but the share of market is still impressive. The 2004 stats show the RX-8 was the top seller in its segment in the UK. Why you are being hostile about that i cant fathom.

Mazda is a small company. for it to capture the largest market share in a segment when it only has a total of 4% of the market in the first place is prettty impressive to alot of people hence the multiple news articles about it. by posting this thread no one was tryiny to coerce any opinion from YOU whatsoever,you certainly dont have to be impressed but it is fact none the less.

Mazda's own market stats for 2004 http://www.mazda.com/investors/04hok...4/pdf/11ro.pdf

as far as your "sports car" implication goes ill leave you with my previous post on the subject

zoom44

actually the copen is a sports car (i googled it cause i had never heard of it before)

read the performance and handling in this review http://www.parkers.co.uk/choosing/ca...id=1170&page=2

or any other review or google hit about it=classic sports car

RX-Hachi

Except for maybe the Cappuccino, all the cars I mentioned were still for sale when the article was written. It's not Mazda's fault if the other makers' attempts fall short, all the more reason why Mazda is the sports car leader in Japan and the UK.

Like zoom44 said, nobody cares if you are impressed or not. I don't get your hostile attitude either, we're simply sharing information from a given source. You, on the other hand, are offering nothing other than your own unfounded conjecture.

If you don't like what the article states, don't complain to me, go complain to the source.

sti_eric

Where is the hostile attitude? Let me remind you that you were the one who had to resort to personal attacks by calling me "jealous". My mistake in thinking that this forum was a place to openly discuss ideas and the other side of the story. I was unaware that only pro-Mazda comments were allowed and that everything else is deemed "hostile".

I gave my reasons why I didn't think your statistic was impressive. You are unable to provide any data to back up your statistic (e.g. 2005 sales figures). We can let the people reading this thread decide whatever they want to believe.

Unfortunately, you were the one who claimed that we should all be "impressed" by the statistic. So, I am looking to you to provide data backing up your claim that we should all be impressed.

RX-Hachi

Nope, all I simply did was respond to RotoRocket's comment about market share. If 13% is impressive for the UK, then 50% is even more impressive for Japan. I pointed out my source, simple as that. (I'm not trying to prove anything, so I don't need to provide any statistics.)

You were the one who then got all hostile and bent out of shape for some reason, just because the article didn't have detailed statistics. If you don't want to believe the article, fine - I really don't give a damn.