SPORTY CAR SALES IN THE USA - APRIL 2010

Attempting to reconcile sales figures of sporty cars with their enthusiast-generated reputation is an exercise in futility. What the market does with coupes, sports cars, and roadsters is 100% unpredictable. Not surprisingly, the introduction of a new Nissan Z car last year, the 370Z, created a difficult situation for the Mazda RX-8. But only three Mazda RX-8s were sold in Canada last month, a number you likely wouldn't have gauged to be so low.

One theme on which to base sales predictions would be newness. The BMW Z4 is newer than the Mercedes-Benz SLK and the Audi TT. Thus - at least in April 2010 in the USA - the BMW Z4 sold at a faster rate. The Audi A5 looks to be doing great, but keep in mind, sales of its most direct competitor (the BMW 3-Series coupe and convertible) are wrapped up in 3-Series sales, not to be split by body configuration. One won't deny, however, that the Audi A5 is a sales success and that, in this case too, new is like quick rise yeast. Old is even worse than unleavened.