# of cars in US Comparison

There were roughly 2700 BMW ///M Coupes sold in the U.S. in total

one example

The Nissan 350Z has been around for just over a year so far...

So far this year, (11 months) they have sold 34,604 of them. Last year, they sold 10,138

So if you consider there total number that have been sold (about 45,000), then you currently see about 15 times more Z's on the road then you will see Elise's after the first year of production.

Sounds pretty good to me, since I don't feel like I even see Z's that often...

How often do you see MR2 Spyders? They were imported roughly at 5000/year since 2000.

It'll be pretty rare to see one. 3000 is not that many. You really won't see many it rural America. You may see them in S. California or Miami area.

But also conisder that a big % of those 3000 will not be driven all that often. You're more likely to see one at a track day than you are to see one on the road.

But they won't be Ferrari rare to see. You'll see far less than the MINI and a few more than you see Bentleys.

I'd say to find a car that sold 1000 units in the U.S. last year and then you'd have a good comparison. I'd estimate 2/3rd of U.S. Elises will be weekend-only toys or track day instruments.

But who the hell knows......You will probably see a lot of them in the service lane at your local Lotus dealer unfortunately.

I posted earlier that about 10,000 s2000's and about 11,000 boxsters are sold in the US each year, the TT is probably in the same number range (40,000 worldwide is all I know)

Subaru was planning to sell about 3,500 STi's the first year, fairly similar to the number of Elises. They sold about 18,000 WRX's in the year they brought it to the US ('02 model sold in '01/02), after saying that it would be limited to 10,000.

Audi TT numbers>>>

Intro years were in the 6-7000 range and now sit at about 10-12000 range. So Lotus Elise at 3000 (max I have heard of for the first Fed Elise MY) is way down on the scale. But understand the Elise is classified in the 'cult' car area...really is not a high market segment car and has limited appeal in car market jargon. Having been involved heavily in the Audi TT market this cars appeals to male and female (70 % - 30%), is extremely driviable and comfortable, can mod the hell out of it, has great loyal following, is very unique looking (with many copiers out there) and has a fit and finish that most manufactures target (the head of the C6 vette program specifically said that the new vette target was the Audi TT interior level). Now look at the Elise...I look forward to a great sports car but it is a VERY limit market...just look at the demographics here on this forum...

also, there were roughly 2000 E46 M3 convertibles sold in its first year (2001), and ~3900 sold in 2002, and a similar number will be sold in 2003.

It will really depend on your location and profile of people in your area. Frukio said he rarily sees 350Z's, it seems like I see ten on the trip back and forth to work. MR spyder's will be about 2-3 per trip. S2k's around 6-7. TT's I don't see too often or maybe don't notice because they blend in with the VW's and M3's are 4-5 per day. My work is right in the middle of all the Car Dealers in North Scottsdale so I see a lot of the new higher line vehicles. When the Elises start arriving I expect to see them around here farily often because they are the only dealer in the state and it's about 3 miles away.

If I remember correctly there's some 17 million new cars sold every year. So it's less than .02%

There's more than 120 million cars in the US




BTW, MR2 could have been such a great car if it had a better engine. less than 2200 lbs, Rear engine, rear wheel drive, full convertible. Would have been a competitor with Elise if it had the 180 hp engine.

There were roughly 2700 BMW ///M Coupes sold in the U.S. in total ...

I see M-coupes about 2-3 times per week in LA

Probably a fair estimate for LA elise sightings a year from now. Certainly nowhere near as common as Boxsters, TTs

I think it just depends on the quirky area you're in. I live in Louisville Kentucky and I see M3 coupe's, Bentley's, Rolls, and yes, even a Maybach once a week....but some other cars like the Mr2 spyder I dont see much of at all. Oddball.

FederalElise said:

MR2, Rear engine,...

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Don't get that started again It's mid engined, but rear-mid engine not front-mid engined

OneFastMiata said:

I live in Louisville Kentucky and I see M3 coupe's, Bentley's, Rolls, and yes, even a Maybach once a week....

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I would of thought you only had '73 Ford pickups dragging tin cans with "Just Married (my sister)" in the back window

I put about 25,000 miles per year on my car driving around Southern California. You see quite a few rare cars, especially on weekends. Ferraris are not common, but I see them a fair amount (in fact, the guy down the block has one). I would say that Lamborghinis and Maseratis are much more uncommon.

My Elise will be out on the road a lot, if not as a daily driver, pretty close. I would expect to see others around town, since we live in a pretty affluent area. But I don't expect them to be common.

L8BRAKR said:

Don't get that started again It's mid engined, but rear-mid engine not front-mid engined

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sorry sorry, yeah, MR

YTD Boxster sales, through October, are 5318 units (Boxster and Boxster S), vs. 8665 for the same period last year. That's a 39% drop...

Roy

I live in Louisiana, so i expect people hanging out of their Z71 pickups yelling "Hey fella, what thu hell ya drivin!" I don't expect to see more than 1 or 2 around my area.

Can;t believe Porsche found 5318 people who wanted one!!

Chris