Posted Tuesday, August 31, 2021 at 9:21pm
The cynics among us thought the Subaru BRZ and its near identical Toyota twin, the GT 86, were doomed. Launched in 2013, these compact, lightweight, and modestly powered rear-drivers enjoyed agile handling and easy chuckability. They left us smitten, even if they seemed increasingly out of step as the years passed while the world tripped out on mega-horsepower and 23-inch wheel and tire combos.
Mercifully, the world isn’t as SUV-minded as we’d feared, and both cars eked out an existence. Seems the first generation of the Scion/Toyota/Subaru coupes led to 125,000 salesmen closing deals on them, which is an exhausting thought, but that number cleared the way for another generation. Those 125,000 buyers weren’t just any customers, but Toyota and Subaru’s youngest buyers. At barely 30 years old, those folks are right in the demographic erogenous zone that makes carmakers happy. The thinking being that these young customers will stay loyal to the brand for another 50 years.
