Sensitive chap here.... Sorry but Loeb to WRC2 is a joke..
Printable View
I agree with Doon. You are a rally nut, so a fiesta or c3 to you is relevant to the sport.
If you were to ask the next 100 people you meet what cars compete in the wrc, I would imagine not even 10% of them would know. To most people a fiesta or c3 is a car to pop down the shop in, an no more than that.
I bought a Fiesta MK8 ST-Line cause WRC one got me in love.
Citroen involvement is and has often been a puzzle in WRC. They havent sold a real hot-hatch for years and now their car philosophy is 'Comfort is Cool'.
For sure, No, because a road Yaris is a small grocery-getter for women and elderly people, with nothing to boast with- not with appearance, not with dynamics. Toyota in general sells good, because they have a reputation of being cheap to buy and even cheaper to maintain. And brand reputation from motorsport also helps, but not with Yaris sales...remarkably. And when you take away all the taxes, dealership fees etc, then one sold Yaris probably doesn`t cover the used tires for one car per event...
Great car, fun to drive. I had the previous generation (red edition), but 5-speed gearbox was using lots of fuel on highways. It should be better with the 6-speed gearbox. Swapped it for an ST (not the new generation) at the beginning of the year.
Back on topic, I believe that the sales of cars are influenced by rallying, yes... I'm starting to see Hyundai I30 N-versions quite a lot, more than similar sportier versions of other manufacturers. Also when Subaru stopped rallying, people stopped buying Subaru Impreza's, even while they were still made for a few years, and another generation came after it.
It would be interesting to see a wide ranging questionnaire on why people have bought a fiesta st, Yaris GRMN, Hyundai i30n or a c3. I doubt rallying would be the biggest reason, in fact quite small I would imagine. Maybe more with a special edition like the Yaris, but less so with a c3.
Subaru's stopped selling so well because the 2.5 engine in post 2006 models have inherent design flaws, not reliable and compared to more modern competition bad fuel economy, high rates of car tax (in UK at least).
I have 2003 model, have done for 11years, many people on Subaru forums have not bought newer ones for reasons I've mentioned above.
I would like to see this data too. For many years I believe TV shows like Top Gear, and Youtube videos made by the likes of Chris Harris, EVO magazine etc, are the ones helping influencing the purchase of hot-hatchbacks, not rallying. Standard run of the mill hatchback purchases are, in the vast majority, definitely not influenced by rallying.