Toys4RJill

You can be such a killjoy sometimes (not being disrespectful here in any way)....anyone who likes/loves cars should be able to appreciate something high end without a luxury badge slapped on it. My 04 4R with the V8, hydraulic suspension, soft close rear door, and full time 4wd with rear air is sort of like that...Toyota stripped some of that with my 21 model but added nice stuff like optitron and other such stuff..see the joy Steve...the enthusiasm...

G90 in Canada offers a special order V6...but standard V8...never seen anyone do it that way.

SW17LS

I totally appreciate the vehicle, Im just looking through the lens of the industry as a business. Buyers don't look to Kia when they want cars that are exclusive, and something isn't exclusive just because not many people buy them. In order for something to be exclusive, you need to have people who want it and yet can't have it.

Perhaps "exclusive" is the wrong word. "Rare" or perhaps "unusual" is a better description. Your 4 Runner is an unusual vehicle, but its not exclusive.

mmarshall

While I understand the business aspect of not offering what is clearly not selling (or, at least, is not selling in the numbers that the bean-counters would like)...there are also sometimes credible reasons to keep slow-selling vehicles in production for the few who DO want them. For an example, Chrysler kept the Prowler in production even as a very slow-seller, as Ford did with the GT and Mazda with the Millenia....there are other example sas well. One could argue that, partly as a result, Chrysler went bankrupt...yet Ford managed to avoid bankruptcy doing the same thing.

There is also the question if it also involves actually shutting down a plant, or just one of several vehicles produced at that plant. Auto companies need to sell vehicles to stay in business.....even, in some cases, to their own workers......and workers who get laid off at plants, collecting unemployment, generally cannot afford new vehicles...from their own company of any other.

SW17LS

To be clear, the Ford GT was not a slow selling car, it was/is an extremely expensive supercar. Not comparable with the Mazda Millennia or Plymouth Prowler lol

Its a business, you have to have enough people who want them to make it worth it to sell them here. For 300 people a year, clearly Kia decided it was not worth it.

mmarshall

Of course it was a slow seller. How many people do you know can just walk into a showroom and plunk down 200K (in markups) for one.....don't hold your breath. I've seen them actually marked up that high.

Jill brought up some good points, though....just because a sedan does not sell in Camry or Accord numbers doesn't necessarily mean it should be canned. As she herself asked......"What do you expect.........20,000?"

We've seen that in the past......automakers drop products on the excuses of "low sales", and then are caught flat-footed when demand for those products rises again.

Gas prices have been very low and stable in the U.S. for several years....but a new administration is starting to take some actions which could threaten that. We can't discuss them at length because of CL's political ban, but they could very easily force gas prices up again shortly.

Toys4RJill

All good. 👍

mmarshall

How is it unusual? It's one of the top-selling truck-based SUVs that's not in the full-sized Tahoe/Suburban and Ford Expedition class.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

V8's are now rare, period. A mercedes e class, hardly a low end car, has a 4 cylinder turbo base engine that most people get. An available 6 cylinder turbo (e450) is VERY fast. They do have a v8 turbo version, but that's hugely expensive and so fast that it becomes more 'yeah, but whats the point?'.

As for the genesis/hyundai/kia twin turbo v8 (in 3.3 and new 3.5 versions), respectfully, if you've not experienced one, you have no idea. And before you say again the LS has more horsepower, again, until you drive one you have no idea. My genesis g90 3.3ttv6 is QUICK. In 'eco' or 'normal' mode the shifts/response isn't as quick as in sport mode, but it will still leave most everything in the dust from a traffic stop. My lc500 is surely quicker, but not right from the start, the lexus 5.0 v8 has to get up some revs to get going. Both awesome engines.

The land cruiser, which sells in such low numbers they just canceled it you mean?

i think it will be gone within 2 years.

slow is relative. Slow compared to a toyota camry? Sure. But for a super car, the ford GT as sold WELL.

Please don't skirt around the no politics rules by writing about politics and then adding you can't go further.

mmarshall

Is any of that surprising? We've all discussed, on Car Chat, about how smaller turbo engines are going to replace larger N/A ones. One of the most obvious cases, of course, is right on my own Encore GX.


Probably. Like you, I'd lay better than 50/50 odds on it. Doug Demuro might (?) wish he had kept his...it could become a classic.


OK, fine, I'll drop that subject...but I didn't see what little I wrote as getting into politics, at least to that extent.

SW17LS

As with the discussion about the Corvette, we have to have a talk about what it means when you say something is a slow seller. It means demand is low and people don't want to buy it. No the Corvette is not a slow seller nor was the Ford GT. You dont get MSRP markups on a vehicle with poor demand.

Thats not going to increase demand for a full sized flagship luxury car with same as SUV fuel economy. Gas prices are as low as they are because of demand drops brought about by the pandemic. Fuel prices will absolutely go up as demand goes up, but in this case thats a good thing. The low fuel prices are a sign of weakness in our economy.

stasek

My wife doesn’t know it yet, but both of these cars are on a short list to replace the aging ‘08 LS. Either one would be joining the “exclusive” TourX 😂.

Wandl

Lol have a stable of cars that are discontinued? To be honest, I LOVED driving the TourX wagon, such a unique look...my wife shot me down however.

The Kia K900 was heavily considered as part a friend's purchase, it did lack the looks + had more brand stigma, but it was honestly a supple ride that had modern amneties (360 camera, safety systems, CarPlay). It is unfortunate they are discontinuing it but makes sense in a SUV-heavy North American market. The Toyota Land Cruiser sold ~300 units/month as well (at least it is a SUV - faces same issue on someone spending almost $90k on a Toyota like $65k on a Kia).

stasek

Luckily, my wife is pretty easy going when it comes to cars. She hated the idea of the TourX, but after driving it, she’s warmed up to it. Same thing with my short stint with the Stinger - like a lit of people, she was like - “a KIA???” Again, changed her mind after driving it.

Toys4RJill

Did it change her mind to actually “keep” it?

stasek

That was supposed to be my car - I had a discussion about it about a year ago. Due to games the dealer was playing, I wound up returning it.