Friday. June 2, 2000 — North Shore News -

0 venroad

EIEN LTE

car market survives SUV onslaugit

- Fony Whitney
Contributing Writer
IT wasn’t too many
years ago that many
auto industry analysts were taking a dim view of
the future of sports cars in North America.

Buyers were flocking to SUVs and sports sedans and many
Japanese automakers were pulling sporty models cut of our mar-
ket. Part of the reason was the possibility of strict rollover legisla-
Gon in the US that would all but outlaw convertibles. This legis-
lation never really materialized and automakers came up with all
kinds of clever ways of enhancing safety in convertibles.

'. |. Nowadays, though, sports car buyers have never been better
served at every possible price point. Between the little Mazda
- Miata and products like the Aston Martin DB7 and Ferrari 360,
; there are modeds to suit just about every taste and bank balance.
oor} Most of the car action in recent times has come from
°- European manufacturers ~- some of whom had long been
thought to be incapable of producing performance roadsters at
y affordable prices. Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi, Jaguar
and even Volvo have entered the sports market with all-new
models over the last few years.

United States sales figures released by Chevrolet indicate just

successfisl many automakers have been with their n new sport-

THE Chevrolet Corvette is still the top seller at the higher
end of the sports car market.

sters. They also show,
perhaps unsurprisingly,
that the Chevrolet
Corvette is still the top
seller at the higher end
of the sports car market.
Although so much of
the sports car excitement
in recent times has been
generated by products
like the BMW 23,
Porsche Boxster, Audi
TT and Mercedes-Benz
SLK, the Corveite has
been recording steady
sales increases over the
years. In 1995,
Chevrolet sold 18,224
Vettes — a figure that
climbed to 29,606 by
1999. Interestingly, the
Corvette’s share of the
sports car market dropped slightly during that period — clearly
because of increasing numbers of models available in the upscale
market segment.

Next best seller in 1999 was the BMW Z3 with 19,604 sales
and after that came the Porsche Boxster with 11,964 rolling off
the dealers’ iets. Snapping at the Boxster’s heels was the
Mercedes-Benz SLK with 11,313 sold. Porsche also sold 7,898
fi its more expensive 91 i models in 1999 and Dodge sold 1,224

ers. Various other luxury sports car makers sold 2,055 units,
M ure that would include Jaguar, Ferrari and Aston Marin.

Overall, 93,664 luxury sports cars were sold in the U.S. last
year — almost double the 1995 level. This market really took oif
in 1996/1997 when the Z3, Boxster and SLK debuted.

While sports cars like this only represent around 1.1% of the
overali North American auto market, it is a significant figure
when considering the sticker prices of cars like this. Sports cars
are profitabl le products for automakers and they also attract cus-
tomers to dealerships, even though they may end buying a mini-
van or SUV. 1 often wonder how many parents who visit 2
Chrysler dealership to show their kids a Viper or Prowler, end up
buying a new family hauler.

What does the future hoid for upscale sports models? As long
as these products continue to sell, automakers wili be working on
future generations of 73s, SLKs, "PTs and Corvertes. We might
alse see one or ovo other manufacturers getting into this fucra-
tive market slot. How about VW, tor example, marketing a
replacement for the much-missed Corrado with a V-8 or V-12
engine? Certainly Jaguar is hard at work on a production version
of its F-Type which was such a success on the auto show circuit
earlier this year. And evervone who's scen Nissan’s concept recre-
ation of the legendary Z-car has been pleading for a production
version. There are almost certainly more sports cars on the way.

Tony Whitney's column appears courtesy of the B.C, Automobile
Dealers’ Association (BCADA).

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