new companys into festivas

[jaketlong11]

I have been thinking about the aftermarket for our cars. very small I know. but what if I or someone highly professional would email them or mail the company's our thoughts on opening they're products to our cars. I can think of a couple things I wish my car had but the company I want it from doesn't offer it. perhaps if some of us would group buy something a company made for our cars would insure them that we are not tire kickers or just messing around. thank you for your time, jake.

[TominMO]

I am wondering how much of a market this community could muster up. There are all kinds of people who drive Festys, but IMO the great majority just want a cheap reliable car and don't plan to trick them out, or even do a motor swap. Money is an issue for most Festivites. How much business is The Festiva Store getting, for example? Could nonamekid make a living doing just that, even with double or triple the product line? Any larger company would do their cost/benefit analysis and almost certainly decide it's not worth their time, unless it only involved a tiny tweak to an already-existing product. Again, IMO.

[bhazard]

Yup. Were a small community and the people here area cheap $@%!'s. There was already someone here making quality after market engine parts and offering engine building services for cheap (compared to most other legit businesses) and he was driven off.

[rmoltis]

Yup. Were a small community and the people here area cheap $@%!'s. There was already someone here making quality after market engine parts and offering engine building services for cheap (compared to most other legit businesses) and he was driven off.

I agree^^^

[harpon]

I've always wanted an electric motor n the back wheel/ wheels with a couple of batteries to drive it forward at parking lot speeds- parking lots, drive-ups, creeping traffic, emergency auxiliary power- think of the gas it would save, and that's also why we don't have that kind of thing.

[Advancedynamix]

The problem with low volume (under 1000 units) production is it's expensive. Most automotive parts require 1000 or more pieces to be made to cover tooling, networking and advertising costs. Most group buys for performance parts in this community only muster a dozen people or less. Anyone but a hobbyist with a passion for these cars would not waste time on less than 20 parts.
It's unfortunate that the performance potential of these cars has been shadowed by their economical value. This is one of the most capable road cars ever produced, but even when you lap Ferraris with one, nobody seems to take it seriously. That boggles my mind.

[azgtx]

Make up some new badges that say Ferraristiva and put a picture of an animal on the fender. That oughta do it.

[F3BZ]

in another way we're better off than than other owners of 25 year old bottom feeder cars. due to the pride clone model run till 2000, a large amount of kia oem parts are still available that fit our car. and unlike ford, the japanese makers seem to support their cars as long as parts inventory holds out. a good bit of mazda 323 parts were incorporated into the 121 and are still available from mazda. Mazda of Japan still warehouses parts for JDM festivas but the pickins are mighty slim. and even though ford stopped selling festiva parts in 2004, obsolete parts sources that bought out their inventory still have a of of mechanical and some body/trim pieces in their piles. and lastly, thanks to the cult of miata and the ubiquitousness of the immortal B engine, those of us doing transplants still have many options for vendors and power enhancement parts. just send money.

[TominMO]

This is one of the most capable road cars ever produced, but even when you lap Ferraris with one, nobody seems to take it seriously. That boggles my mind.

Shows how tough it is for most people to make a paradigm shift.

[SWRT]

Shows how tough it is for most people to make a paradigm shift.

I'm in it for the gas mileage But if there's cool stuff I'll add that.
I'm more interested in the car looking nice and being comfortable
than I am the performance aspect of this car. I've owned a lot of
Subaru's that handle great just being stock. I've always been more
interested in handling than speed and this car just doesn't have the
same feel as the Subaru's so the car's about economy for me. That
being said, I have no aversion to buying some cool parts that are made
for it, but yeah...I'm also cheap. It's an old car that I got for $600. I cant
see easily dropping $200 into it for some louvered hatch or something
that does nothing to increase the performance or fuel economy of the car.
I think part of the problem is the cost of these cars. If it was a $20,000 car
people wouldn't think twice about buying parts that cost hundreds of dollars
because the car was already a huge investment. Just my two cents

[sketchman]

From Dickmeyer's experience, you'll have to find a company that will show dyno sheets for every single part and sell them for nothing because reasonable prices don't even seem to help.

Or in other words, Xwhatever to the above.

[Advancedynamix]

I'm in it for the gas mileage But if there's cool stuff I'll add that.
I'm more interested in the car looking nice and being comfortable
than I am the performance aspect of this car. I've owned a lot of
Subaru's that handle great just being stock. I've always been more
interested in handling than speed and this car just doesn't have the
same feel as the Subaru's so the car's about economy for me. That
being said, I have no aversion to buying some cool parts that are made
for it, but yeah...I'm also cheap. It's an old car that I got for $600. I cant
see easily dropping $200 into it for some louvered hatch or something
that does nothing to increase the performance or fuel economy of the car.
I think part of the problem is the cost of these cars. If it was a $20,000 car
people wouldn't think twice about buying parts that cost hundreds of dollars
because the car was already a huge investment. Just my two cents

In stock trim they are nothing to write home about, in the handling department. However, with a set of properly set up shock absorbers and some modern performance tires, these cars become something completely different. The steering rack ratio also kills the feel of the car. If the Festiva had a faster rack option, and performance tuned suspension, wheels and brakes it would have been known as a handling icon.
The Festiva has become my standard for judging the roadholding ability of the cars I drive, and I drive some pretty trick cars on a regular basis.

[jaketlong11]

thanks for the input so what I got is that we need the guys who built they're cars and made them fast, incredible track and drag cars and start to publicize our passion and capability of our cars. then maybe auto parts makers would think twice about us. like maybe one of us could try to win bull run or one of those rally's. if I get my fabricating and design skills down I will show you guys what im making for my car and maybe I can get some parts for us..... I don't like giving up lol.

[TheFossMan]

I would love a turbo made for my 1.3L EFI

[sketchman]

Dickmeyer was talking custom turbos too.

The problem isn't showing the world what the cars could do. Companies will build it if it will sell. Problem is it won't sell to Festiva owners even at very reasonable prices.