disappointed in the aftermarket

[TrashCan Monster]

If the OP wants to up the "fun to drive" factor, just get suspension. All these little bolt ons have marginal gains when hp/$ is brought into the equation

[PHXDEMON]

I can't help but LOL @ someone buying an underpowered FWD car with an AUTO tranny and then complain about lack of performance.

[PHXDEMON]

The car is a ton of fun to daily with a proper transmission and some suspension work.

[why?]

Originally Posted by cali yaris

Of course you can, you just won't pay for a one-off (and I don't blame you). I got one made. When I looked at production costs versus the number of Yaris owners that would really pony up the money (and not just say they would), I backed off.

EVERY parts project I've done for this car so far has undersold, some pretty badly. That's either me making bad stuff, or something going on with the integrity of the buyers. Take your pick.

The vast majority of Yaris owners are simply not going to spend a lot of money on this car. It's not a criticism of anyone, it's just the truth, based on my own business experience.

Originally Posted by Astroman

I would spend the $$$ Garm, if I had it. I think that some of us are just poor bastards. A few parts I've gotten were used at a discount so its the only reason I was able to afford them, and the seller was offering a great deal. My biggest expense for the Yaris was over $1,100, and it was all cosmetic (new front end from that wreck I had last winter, and I went to you of course )

I'm way happier with the aftermarket support than I was in 2006 when I first got my Yaris. About the only thing out there was strut bars or springs at the time.

Also, I'm VERY happy with my automatic transmission and am impressed with it's performance compared to almost every other auto I've owned/driven. Yea it sucks there's zero aftermarket for it, but I needed a new car and mine came well equipped. Problem was the yaris just came out in WA state when I got mine, and the closest manual was in Alaska at a $2k price premium.

I agree, I think my wishlist for MI is something like $2000, but I'm still looking for a job that can pay my bills, never mind buy me goodies. I think I finally found one though.

The other thing about the Civic scene is the suspension. The scene definitely didn't truly blow up until you could get them second or third hand for cheap, but that independent rear suspension was a huge impact as well. It is amazing how the import scene almost dropped the newer Civics when they changed the rear suspension.

The Echo didn't help in the US, since we only got the absolute ugliest version, and not even a hatch. The used Yarii are just getting to the point of cheap to pick up and mess with, so who knows, maybe the aftermarket could see an influx of people with some cash to spend.