Will stay special for a long time...

[Ahnuld]

Was discussing with a coworker my Sky RL order... I could see they were thinking old school saturn, so I showed them pics on the web. They were blown away, and mentioned they never seen/noticed a sky or solstice on the road!

And we've all discussed this before... that its very rare to see one. I drive through Philly every day and can count on one hand the number of times I've randomly seen a Sky... or a solstice for that matter.

So I got thinking.... what other niche car is out there that I can compare too to get a sense of "over time, will seeing a Sky still be a rare experience"

One connection I made...
How many Mini-coopers do you see on the road in the US? I rarely see them, or maybe just not paying attention to them. While they are reportedly making more than 200k a year, US imports have been kept around 25,000 to not flood the market and to keep resale value high (someone correct if that's off, its what I could find on the net).

So the Mini US numbers are more than twice per year of the sky, has been in US for 3 years now and I rarely see Minis. Considering mini ramp-up, lets say there are 60,000 minis on the US roads. For the sky, at 10,000 per year it will be SIX years before there will be that many Skys on the road! There are only a few thousand Skys out there now, and with current prod numbers don't expect that in the next few years skys will start popping up on the road everytime you go for a drive.

My summary...
The sky is gonna be near the top of the resale value list for a long time, and I really think for years to come it will be turning people's heads and gaining thier attention in conversations....
"Oh you own a sky!! Those cars are awesome, I've never really seen one up close. Let's go check it out".

And isn't that a part of why we bought these cars?

[ctyankee]

I see them all the time, all over the place.

[Ahnuld]

Originally Posted by ctyankee

I see them all the time, all over the place.

Kinda kills my whole theory.

Hmmm maybe its a Connecticut thing... Lots of young Stamford Investment Bankers cruising around in coopers?

Down here in Philly/Jersey... I dont see too many of them. I'm not saying its weeks before I see one... but they are still a rare bird.

[Antonio]

try coming up north in the state. There's a bunch up here.

[GPalmer]

Originally Posted by Ahnuld

One connection I made...
How many Mini-coopers do you see on the road in the US?

Jeez, seems like I have to kick them out of my way every time I stop and get out of my car. They're like June bugs around here in Florida...

[ctyankee]

Originally Posted by ctyankee

I see them all the time, all over the place.

Unfortunately, I live in Maryland outside of DC. Will never feel like home. Just the place I live and work.

[RMFNSKY]

St Louis area I have seen four, Two Sols and 2 Skys. Not counting mine of course.

[Ahnuld]

hmmm... maybe its Philly thing... or maybe I just dont look for them.... But I don't see many coopers around here at all.

We do have that rough and tough image that a Mini cooper doesnt fit into. We threw snowballs at Santa, remember?

I am in south Jersey, so its actually worse. I see a lot of '82 TransAms and Irocs.

[nscrbug]

I see lots of Sols...not too many Skys..in my area. I see a Mini everyday...my neighbor across the street from me has one and parks it in front of my house nearly every darn day. I kinda dig the Minis...might have been my choice if the Sky hadn't come along. Of course I would have gotten the convertible Mini...or a Bug convertible When I first got my 99 Bug...I got many stares just like I do with my Sky...back then, when it first re-emerged on the market in 1998...it was a 'niche' car, too. Not many around, and very unique-looking. Trying to get one back then, was just as difficult as it was getting a Sky...certain colors were considered 'rare' and dealers tacked on HUGE premiums to the MSRP price. I got lucky and ended up paying MSRP for my Bug...and I thought never again will I do that...yeah, right!

[reedred]

Many Minis around these parts! Enough that I barely notice them.

[marlboromike]

The only time I see a SKY is when our small group meets for Lunch.

[SKYtime]

I see a number of those Mini Coopers here in Delaware and Southeastern Pennsylvania. Not a lot, but I notice 'em every once in a while. Never liked those cars anyway.....

[Ernest]

Mini's are all over the place down here, just like a bunch of gnats!!

[chilipepperred777]

I see a lot of mini's here in Buck's County. I also see a white Sol, a silver sky and a red/tan when it goes in for service at the dealer.

I am so excited - deluke has my order number and I'm going to get my first event code tomorrow! Wish me luck and then look for me on the road soon - if you wave, I'll wave back!!! Just in time for mischief night or snow!!

Sue

[mikecronis]

Here in Denver, CO I see about 2 or 3 Minis per 20-mile commute daily. About 1 or 2 Sols per week, and about 1 Sky per week.

Most people here are realizing that you don't need SUVs for Denver highways because they're slow, gas-guzzling, and a gi-normously riddiculous trend. People WRONGLY think, "Oooh, you're going to Denver? You're gonna need an SUV." Wrong. Roads here are smooth, and SUVs handle snow poorly due to ultra-soft suspension settings for soccer-moms and top-heaviness. My Nissan Sentra GXE '96 with Blizzack knockoffs whips by while dinosaur SUVs get stuck in medians.

The Sky RL is gonna rock.

[SUNNY_SKY]

Originally Posted by Ahnuld

So I got thinking.... what other niche car is out there that I can compare too to get a sense of "over time, will seeing a Sky still be a rare experience"

Chrysler Crossfire
Plymouth Prowler
BMW Z8

All were roadsters that had limited production and/or are no longer in production.

[hotglue]

Saw my 5th Sky on the road today. This is in Houston.... in the past 5 months. Not a lot of Sky's out there. The one I saw today... personalized plates: KNOT HZ...Looked Sweet going down 45...anybody on the forum????

[1994SC2]

Lets see...

If we go with Prowler: Final Production number was 11,703 (includes all cars produced for sale in the United States or Canada and pilot cars)

If we go with Chevy SSR: Final Production number was 24,150

If we go with Dodge Viper: Somewhere around 15,500 to date

If we go with Lincoln Blackwood: Final Production number of 3,356

If we go with Pontiac Aztek: Somewhere around 120,000

So for one year of Skys we can come up the chance of seeing one on the road by combining about one third of SSR's production plus all the Blackwoods in the world. Sounds pretty rare to me.

[3window35]

I live in a rural area and I see a mini about once a week, not the same one. I have seen 2 skys in town, they were just passing through. I still get everybody looking at ours. We were in Kansas City Mo. last week and there was a mercedes amg v 12 turbo and we got more looks and had several people ask about our sky .

[cruzned]

Lots of minis here in Va. Bch. YOu can't go out anywhere and not see them, especially at autocross events. They are dominating our Tidewater sports car club and I love em, I guess because my wife has a blue and white one with custom stripes I did for here with blue morpho butterflies. As for the SSR, I have loved mine since Nov. 03 when I got her. I love that truck/roadster more than any vehicle ever. Hope to have a sky redline some day down the road too. Are you listening santa?

Seen three skys so far and only one waves

[foto tek]

I see at least one Sky or Sol everyday. Of course I drive all over Dallas an FT. Worth everyday. See Mini's all over too. Kinda like fire ants.