Why aren't sports cars sold at dealers in Thailand?

[Topolcats]

Seen a few sports cars in thailand mostly EU...American cars are impractical outside of the USA, but even in the USA, EU sports cars sell more than US junk.

[pgrahmm]

Local dealers not want to deal with a niche market, they go for volume of meat and potato style

cars, in and out quick....

Probably not all that different from some of the dealers in the outlying/agricultural areas in the US....mostly trucks and more useful utility type vehicles.....

[ThaiSanookGuy]

Buying a "Sport" japanese can for the price of a real German car ? No thank you, luckily I am not born stupid...

[maynard420]

You can find all the good Stang, Vette, Charger, challenger, but they are all left hand drive, easy to adapt to driving that way, but a huge 367% import tax on gasoline engines with that much HP, mustang cobra 500 is 12 Million baht for a 2014 model, go look at www.one2car.com and they are all on there, even classic muscle cars.

Cheers.

[maynard420]

I have been coming to Thailand since 1999 and lived here in Bangkok the past 3 years. Since I have a 1970 Corvette Stingray stored back in the USA I have always been on the lookout for them here. I know there are some but I had never seen one myself until 2 weeks ago. My Girlfriend and I were driving to a National Park and we were about 70 Kilometers north of Bangkok when out of the blue I seen what appeared to be a 2014 Corvette. Being in heavy traffic and because it turned off the highway I didn't get a real good look at it. I am sure it cost the owner a pretty penny to ship it here, I kind of doubt that he could get one through a dealership here but again I am not sure.

You can get those cars in allot of dealerships in BKK and Pattaya, they are taxed 367%, 2014 Vette is 9 Million Baht for the top model.

[WarpSpeed]

Seen a few sports cars in thailand mostly EU...American cars are impractical outside of the USA, but even in the USA, EU sports cars sell more than US junk.

Nice nonsense troll..

[giddyup]

Buying a "Sport" japanese can for the price of a real German car ? No thank you, luckily I am not born stupid...

The Japanese have been making some of the most successful sports cars for close on 50 years. The Datsun 240Z, the Mazda MX5, Honda NSX, Mitsubishi 3000GT, Nissan Skyline GTR etc, so don't try and say the Japanese can't make a good sports car, you will just make yourself look silly.

[Anon999]

Toyota sell the GT 86 which you can find in showrooms. However, 2,740,000 baht is more than I'm prepared to pay for a car that cost half the amount in the UK.

[Anon999]

Buying a "Sport" japanese can for the price of a real German car ? No thank you, luckily I am not born stupid...

Obviously you've never driven a Japanese sports car. Many make a "real German car" look pretty dull.

[KhnomKhnom]

Because the cars you name are not sports cars.

There is a difference between sporty cars and real sports cars.

I suspect that the clamp on the practice of disassembling a car and reassembling it in Thailand to dodge taxes will damp down the big number of BMWs on the road.

Untill recently, those people with real money would go on to get the high end real sports cars. Those on the lower end buy the cheap Toyota or Honda, pay the lower tax, and then "soup them up" toward real sports car performance. Those two practices mean the middle level of sporty car have no interest here.

[streetlite]

I think Jeep Wranglers would sell well here.

[Farang99]

American 'sports' models don't seem to be widely sold in Europe, either. I don't think they're especially popular outside the US. Toyota stopped making the Supra ten years ago.

That's because Americans can't really build sports cars. The nearest approach was the Corvette, and that was fine in a straight line, but not so happy on corners.

[Don Mega]

American 'sports' models don't seem to be widely sold in Europe, either. I don't think they're especially popular outside the US. Toyota stopped making the Supra ten years ago.

That's because Americans can't really build sports cars. The nearest approach was the Corvette, and that was fine in a straight line, but not so happy on corners.

The C6 Corvette has lapped Nurburgring faster than a lot of euro and high end exotic stuff so I would assume they can do corners as well.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_N%C3%BCrburgring_Nordschleife_lap_times

[Rdrokit]

If the dealership sold sports cars they would have to service them. That would mean training mechanics and carrying parts. Not worth it to the dealership as they would sell only a few of them a year.

[giddyup]

Because the cars you name are not sports cars.

There is a difference between sporty cars and real sports cars.

I suspect that the clamp on the practice of disassembling a car and reassembling it in Thailand to dodge taxes will damp down the big number of BMWs on the road.

Untill recently, those people with real money would go on to get the high end real sports cars. Those on the lower end buy the cheap Toyota or Honda, pay the lower tax, and then "soup them up" toward real sports car performance. Those two practices mean the middle level of sporty car have no interest here.

Honda NSX , Mitsubishi 3000GT, Mazda MX5, and NIssan 240Z to 360Z not sports cars? What the heck do you call a sports car then? What's this, a pickup?

Edited November 21, 2014 by giddyup

[WarpSpeed]

Buying a "Sport" japanese can for the price of a real German car ? No thank you, luckily I am not born stupid...

The Japanese have been making some of the most successful sports cars for close on 50 years. The Datsun 240Z, the Mazda MX5, Honda NSX, Mitsubishi 3000GT, Nissan Skyline GTR etc, so don't try and say the Japanese can't make a good sports car, you will just make yourself look silly.

Not to mention the RX7's and 8's.. Honda/Acura who can forget the NSX? Which will be making a comeback in hybrid form and the Integra TypeR has been out of production for almost 15 years now and is still one of the best ever for it's displacement and performance value, every generation of Z car, Infinity Q35 etc. Z car platform, and for Toyota the Lexus line, LFA for example as well, plenty of legitimate Japanese sports cars.

Edit: Ok, so I didn't read down far enough and I echoed your post above purely by accident..

Edited November 21, 2014 by WarpSpeed

[WarpSpeed]

American 'sports' models don't seem to be widely sold in Europe, either. I don't think they're especially popular outside the US. Toyota stopped making the Supra ten years ago.

That's because Americans can't really build sports cars. The nearest approach was the Corvette, and that was fine in a straight line, but not so happy on corners.

The C6 Corvette has lapped Nurburgring faster than a lot of euro and high end exotic stuff so I would assume they can do corners as well.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_N%C3%BCrburgring_Nordschleife_lap_times

Yeah the Euro weenies hate hearing that and until recently with the Porsche Hybrid now the fastest, the fastest sports car at the Nurburgring for the past several years was the Viper. There is a new SRT version of the Viper that has been shown this year in concept likely coming out and it is expected to take that record back. FYI they also forget who it was that pioneered magnetically adjustable suspension too, that was a GM/Cadillac invention.

Edited November 21, 2014 by WarpSpeed

[WarpSpeed]

Because the cars you name are not sports cars.

There is a difference between sporty cars and real sports cars.

I suspect that the clamp on the practice of disassembling a car and reassembling it in Thailand to dodge taxes will damp down the big number of BMWs on the road.

Untill recently, those people with real money would go on to get the high end real sports cars. Those on the lower end buy the cheap Toyota or Honda, pay the lower tax, and then "soup them up" toward real sports car performance. Those two practices mean the middle level of sporty car have no interest here.

Erm they are sports cars, they are not "super cars" which is what you're confusing them with. However the Corvette and the Viper are performance equivalent to super cars at sports car money and that is really impressive to any real enthusiast.

Edited November 21, 2014 by WarpSpeed

[Rdrokit]

Because the cars you name are not sports cars.

There is a difference between sporty cars and real sports cars.

I suspect that the clamp on the practice of disassembling a car and reassembling it in Thailand to dodge taxes will damp down the big number of BMWs on the road.

Untill recently, those people with real money would go on to get the high end real sports cars. Those on the lower end buy the cheap Toyota or Honda, pay the lower tax, and then "soup them up" toward real sports car performance. Those two practices mean the middle level of sporty car have no interest here.

Erm they are sports cars, they are not "super cars" which is what you're confusing them with. However the Corvette and the Viper are performance equivalent to super cars at sports car money and that is really impressive to any real enthusiast.

Not sure what the definition of a sports car is but for 3 years the 2010 Dodge Viper had the production lap record at Nurburgring at 7:12.13 until a 2013 Porsche 918 ran 6:57 and this year a GT-R Nismo ran 7:08.68. I think this year Dodge and Chevy will bring out the big guns and set some new records.

[pgrahmm]

Because the cars you name are not sports cars.

There is a difference between sporty cars and real sports cars.

I suspect that the clamp on the practice of disassembling a car and reassembling it in Thailand to dodge taxes will damp down the big number of BMWs on the road.

Untill recently, those people with real money would go on to get the high end real sports cars. Those on the lower end buy the cheap Toyota or Honda, pay the lower tax, and then "soup them up" toward real sports car performance. Those two practices mean the middle level of sporty car have no interest here.

Erm they are sports cars, they are not "super cars" which is what you're confusing them with. However the Corvette and the Viper are performance equivalent to super cars at sports car money and that is really impressive to any real enthusiast.

Not sure what the definition of a sports car is but for 3 years the 2010 Dodge Viper had the production lap record at Nurburgring at 7:12.13 until a 2013 Porsche 918 ran 6:57 and this year a GT-R Nismo ran 7:08.68. I think this year Dodge and Chevy will bring out the big guns and set some new records.

I'm not sure what the poster is looking at as a "valid" sports car....I've had the RX - driven the Viper at high speeds - had a GT3000X at my disposal and the Lexus 450.......people use to think the Lexus was not a "sports" car - but once through a few very twisty windy mountain roads in Norcal they were amazed with the engineering and handling/speed/smooth response - add to that how it caught the air and squatted down and hugged and vacuumed the road from 115MPH+ and really started coming into it's own.....tiny storage space in the rear as I use to haul my sports equipment around going to events - to me that qualifies as a "sports" car - well over and above any Camero/Challenger/Mustang - I'd take it any day over any of those.....also had some spirited fun with many of the "premium sports cars" with the Lexus.....held itself quite well......

Would also take it over a "Vette" - no disrespect intended - a few friends have them and just never caught my interest

In many ways I'd wished I held on to it - but don't need 3 vehicles sitting in storage......

Edited November 21, 2014 by pgrahmm

[seedy]

Honda NSX , Mitsubishi 3000GT, Mazda MX5, and NIssan 240Z to 360Z not sports cars? What the heck do you call a sports car then? What's this, a pickup?

Got to agree.

3000 GT VR4 - twin turbo V6, 6 speed, 4 WD - what's not to like.

And available in LOS.

[WarpSpeed]

Because the cars you name are not sports cars.

There is a difference between sporty cars and real sports cars.

I suspect that the clamp on the practice of disassembling a car and reassembling it in Thailand to dodge taxes will damp down the big number of BMWs on the road.

Untill recently, those people with real money would go on to get the high end real sports cars. Those on the lower end buy the cheap Toyota or Honda, pay the lower tax, and then "soup them up" toward real sports car performance. Those two practices mean the middle level of sporty car have no interest here.

Erm they are sports cars, they are not "super cars" which is what you're confusing them with. However the Corvette and the Viper are performance equivalent to super cars at sports car money and that is really impressive to any real enthusiast.

Not sure what the definition of a sports car is but for 3 years the 2010 Dodge Viper had the production lap record at Nurburgring at 7:12.13 until a 2013 Porsche 918 ran 6:57 and this year a GT-R Nismo ran 7:08.68. I think this year Dodge and Chevy will bring out the big guns and set some new records.

I'm not sure what the poster is looking at as a "valid" sports car....I've had the RX - driven the Viper at high speeds - had a GT3000X at my disposal and the Lexus 450.......people use to think the Lexus was not a "sports" car - but once through a few very twisty windy mountain roads in Norcal they were amazed with the engineering and handling/speed/smooth response - add to that how it caught the air and squatted down and hugged and vacuumed the road from 115MPH+ and really started coming into it's own.....tiny storage space in the rear as I use to haul my sports equipment around going to events - to me that qualifies as a "sports" car - well over and above any Camero/Challenger/Mustang - I'd take it any day over any of those.....also had some spirited fun with many of the "premium sports cars" with the Lexus.....held itself quite well......

Would also take it over a "Vette" - no disrespect intended - a few friends have them and just never caught my interest

In many ways I'd wished I held on to it - but don't need 3 vehicles sitting in storage......

Can't say I agree with this with any of the current models of those you speak. The new Vette for the past 2 years, the new Camaro and the new Stang are all formidable cars and especially in the coming year models, the Stang will have new independent suspension ought to be a real hoot to drive. The problem I saw with the Lexus is that they're too cheap looking and feeling inside, way too much plastic feel for a "high end" car and I can't stand their tiny paddle shifters nor the auto for that matter, need a good manual offering.

[WarpSpeed]

Honda NSX , Mitsubishi 3000GT, Mazda MX5, and NIssan 240Z to 360Z not sports cars? What the heck do you call a sports car then? What's this, a pickup?

Got to agree.

3000 GT VR4 - twin turbo V6, 6 speed, 4 WD - what's not to like.

And available in LOS.

One thing not to like is the maintenance, the timing belt replace on those is a real ball breaker and if it breaks it's another real kick in the nuts too it destroys everything internally. I'd not own one from there sadly it has undoubtedly been run to death and on it's last legs and probably held together with tie wire.

[Lancashirelad]

Take your pick:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfJZ_m3zyS0