JDM pricing is always the debate, but I think it's because the average consumer interested in these products doesn't understand the costs of engineering quality as good as an Amuse product, Zele, Sunline, MCR, etc.
The R&D alone can be absurd but factor in simple business economics... let's say a part takes $30,000 for R&D and making a mold to produce the parts. On a 350Z the market might allow sales of 100 units to make back the production costs and make some profit. With a smaller market like the 370Z or G37, total unit sales might be only 30-40% of the volume of the older Z, simply there are less cars and less people modifying right now. If only 30-40% of the volume is there, there is simply no way to recoup the investment cost unless each piece is more expensive. Just simple economics really.
Take for example the GT-R, or even GT3 Porsche, tuning parts are limited editions because the audience is so small compared to other cars people often compare pricing to (Z/G, S2000, EVO, etc). It's a very hard comparison to make. This probably deserves a separate blog post because the topic comes up a lot. Just my two cents!
-Jeff
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