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Comments
The new one should change that, hopefully. It looks nice, but I think they should consider keeping the old one for fleet only, just to avoid dumping the new model in to fleets.
Toyota had a good month - up 7%, same as GM.
Camry, Prius V, and Yaris sales will pick up more as they ramp up to full speed production and get decent inventory, especially the V.
To be honest I'm surprised the sales slump ended so quickly, what was it, 6 months or so, starting when the tsunami hit. That's a quicker recovery than I expected.
The BRZ is rumored to start around $24k. Look for ADMs. :sick:
Wonder how Scion will price theirs? They have that no-haggle policy, supposedly, so it'll be interesting to see how they handle demand at first. I predict it will sell at or above MSRP for the first half year or so, if they price it aggressively like that.
This time around it seems more of a "Me too" than the original effort.
The old one was a classic design, I guess, but long in the tooth. My brother test drove one early this year and it has that issue where your head tosses back and forth due to the poor ride quality.
To be honest we both put it at the very bottom of our lists. I think it sells due to the $15,999 clearance prices.
This one seems more of a "me too" effort in the sense that it copies the Kia Sportage/Honda CR-V looks while the first one was brawnier, more original.
Not saying that this one will bomb tho, I think it will be very successful, and like you mentioned the rough "truckish" edges (and dismal fuel economy with the old Duratec) are probably gone with the new one.
Lexus: Made in America?
And lastly, Camry is getting exported from the US to S. Korea starting in january.
link title
As for Lexus Made in the USA, why not, since the USA buys them most? Common sense if you ask me.
So this new plant in MS will replace Fremont/NUMMI and supplant Ontario production.
I don't know if LS or other highline production could move over though, although the US consumes most of those too.
The RX and ES represent about 50% of the brand's sales in the US. Making them here makes so much sense.
I have a suspicion that the LS and maybe even the GS market values the precision implied by the "Made in Japan" status of that car, and it might be a selling point. Just as I can accept a made in USA C Class, but a made in USA S-class maybe not as much.
Good point. Plus I have no idea what else they build off those platforms in Japan. That market is so fragmented - There may be 6 different models built off the LS.
They would be better off moving to a central state that is interested in welcoming new businesses. Sounds like Japan is suffering from the same things that burden the USA. I have not read much about how well Lexus sells in Japan, since they opened those big fancy dealerships.
So no LS in Indiana or S-class built in Alabama in our life times.
They'd be crazy to set up shop in Cali. Nissan just left CA for TN, and it was one of the best business decisions Ghosn ever made.
As for Ghosn moving Nissan from CA to TN, that made sense in terms of the fact that they were moved closer to their manufacturing facilities. Saving money was icing on the cake.
One other thing to keep in mind is travel for the executives. LAX to Tokyo is a non-stop direct flight. I doubt one can fly direct from San Antonio.
Which by the way I parked next to a black Prius wagon looking thing without plates, brand new at our little grocery store. Is that the V model? I did not think they were out till next year?
It's already out. IMHO, it's a great wagon for city dwellers.
The one I saw was white which is not a good color to me but it still looked great for something with that kind of mileage.
I'll tell her she has a potential buyer in 8 years.
They're PZEVs. They don't stink.
You saw the V, then. I think they're off to a strong start:
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/toyota-reports-november-2011-sales-13484- 2183.html
I'm not sure, but it looks like they're bunching Prius and Prius V sales together? Even so, they were up a whopping 49%, and amazing start.
I was worried the V would cannibalize the regular Prius, clearly that is not the case. I would have guessed 20-30% or so. Let's see if they can sustain that sort of growth, it'll be hard.
Hasn't hurt the Lexus CT, either. The CT outsells every Scion, wow.
New Yaris also off to a very fantastic start, up 160%. I think it's the new interior, which no longer uses that hideous center mounted gauge pod.
New Camry was up 13%, on a high volume car that's good news.
New GS can't arrive soon enough. They may as well phase out the HS now that the CT is a hit.
Good news for the USA - North American Sienna, Camry, and Corolla production were all up for the month, and all 3 lead their class in sales YTD.
No major surprises, the new models are doing great, the old models are falling off. Lexus needs to hurry the GS and soon after that the IS.
In that case, it's clear:
Demand > Supply
Edit: searching locally, a local big dealership has 73 Prius but only 9 Vs. Could be that they're all selling as soon as they hit the ground.
I wish they broke it down by model.
I have tried to like the looks. Just no way it appeals to me. Maybe the V will grow on me. Just so tinker toy looking or worse a kids Transformer look. Poor visibility killed them from the beginning. I like to see out and around me. The Ford Flex is my idea of a perfectly designed vehicle. Just needs a diesel engine and it would be perfect.
You can see right through them with that little window. Hey, I'm in a low roadster, so I notice things like that.
What car is as easy to pass? Small, slow, and transparent. Shouldn't bother anyone.
I'm not even sure what you mean about poor visibility?
***
From the article:
"the new Prius v was the fastest turning car in our lineup"
Looks like they may have to adjust production, build more Vs.
I love how the immediate conclusion is that the driver hit the wrong pedal when it's anything but a Toyota.
My V will look a lot better with a canoe on top (although I may have to switch to inflatable kayaks that I can put inside, out of the slipstream). Hypermiling may wind up being a more fun hobby anyway.
Their form is pretty much determined by wind tunnels. Pure function.
Heck, nowadays even supercars are. The days where a designer had the freedom to use their pen freely are long gone.
That's they the Veyron and Enzo and Huayra are so hideous.
The kick up at the rear is for aerodynamic purposes, a lot of cars with spoilers produce a lower coefficient of drag.
Example image:
What speeds are needed for those aerodynamic ideas to have anything more than a negligible effect? Probably more than the average Prius will ever see...
You're talking about the C-pillar, though, that's different. I think without that it would look blander.
Audi put one on the A7. Imitation the sincerest form of flattery? :P
I sincerely doubt the A7 was trying to imitate a non-car. It's actually even dorkier there, as Audi has a couple decades of a certain window line, and mixed it up with that little blip.
I actually think Audi's styling has gone downhill in the past 5 years. Eyeliner on the headlights anyone? :surprise: I find the Q7 to be particularly ugly.
Toyota -- well almost any direction is an improvement.
The new C250 coupe has the upkick in the C-pillar, too, FWIW.
I'm sure it's fine on the Benz because the Mercedes has soul and character and is teutonic.
On the Prius it's faux character, totally different there. :P
Somehow that is not a double standard.
Look inside new Audi headlights and you will find an entire Hyundai's worth of "styling". Seriously, all the unnecessary swoops and curves, all within the fluidic sculpture light clusters themselves.
fin will say the IS' LEDs copied Audi, but not really, they just put a subtle, straight line under the lights. There's nothing subtle about Audi's.
Audi puts all kinds of triangles and trapezoids, and even made a commercial to imply they look like Christmas ornaments.
You can't make this stuff up!