"But Toyota is stale and huge and haunted. Their cars are so boring looking that anyone who appreciates car body design has to somehow change the reality they're in to even take a peek at them."
Yeah but Toyota is going after the middle market so their cars have to be understated looking but at the same have some kind of style them(ala 07 Camry.)
A company like Mitsubishi or Mazda are not going for the middle market so those 2 companies could take more chances with styling than say Toyota can.
"Edmunds review of the new Yaris is very unfavorable Sometimes, Edmunds editors just do not represent most of the Americans. If you kinda check out the rating of Yaris, it is 9.5 which is pretty good."
Well apparently if Edmunds review of the Yaris is unfavorable than than Consumer Reports's review of the Yaris agrees with Edmunds review of the Yaris since the Yaris scores too low in CR's tests to be reccomended.
wasn't this the guy that almost single-handedly launched Scion? This is a blow to Toyota, and for them to appoint a Japanese exec in his place (head of Toyota North America) as they did is a bad idea. They need someone here who really gets the U.S. culture AND the Toyota corporate culture. 1 for 2 aint good enough..."
Yeah but it was a shock that Press even left the company I mean who did Toyota actually have in line in terms of an American who works for them that could have filled the void of Press? I'll agree though Toyota does need somebody that understands what the NA car market demands and get the Toyota culture too to fill the void left behind by Press. Is the new guy the answer who is taking Press's place the answer? maybe/maybe not.
"And for Jim Press to leave, I am SURE it wasn't the money. I am afraid it might have been because he saw the company losing focus."
Yeah but even with that said Toyota is in alot better as a company as a whole is in alot better condition than Chrysler is right now.
Well I'll correct that statement as I do believe Lexus, probably does make the finest luxury automobiles in the world.
But honestly looking at it from a Toyota, only perspective I do not understand why their cars sell so well. In many cases they are no better than the competition and are just plain bland. :confuse:
I guess they got the receipt right though. :surprise:
Yeah but Nissan's quality has fallen drastically even in Consumer Reports is near the bottom of the charts but Infinti is still near the top of the reliability charts I think in CR.
I don't understand it. :confuse: One can about buy a G35 sedan for a loaded camry price. :confuse:
Well The Aura isn't exactly lighting up the sales charts. I have sat in one and it seems well made and well crafted on the interior but the styling is not for me.
True it's not doing as well as I thought it would. Iblame GM, management for that as they need to offer a competitive 4 cylinder/6-speed tranny combo to hit toyota, hard. It wouldn't hurt to get a "real" hybrid system in the Aura, as well. I'd like to see them drop the 3.5 V6 and add the 4-cylinder with about 200 hp. and VVT. The 3.6 HF V6 needs a boost in power like 270 hp. matching the SUV's as well.
"I don't understand it. One can about buy a G35 sedan for a loaded camry price."
I don't think many people would compare the Camry XLE V6(which is the loaded up Camry) with a Infiniti G35 because they are 2 very different cars. Most of the Camry that Toyota sells are the LE(4cyl)trimmed Camry. The LE is basically a well equipped Camry which comes with A/C, power/steering/brakes/windows/locks, am/fm stereo. The CE is the starter trim Camry which I don;t think comes with A/C or power window doors/locks. All trims of the Camry go like this in particular order(CE, LE, SE(sport model), and XLE.)Toyota also offers the Camry Hybrid as you know. I wonder how much sales on a % basis that the Camry XLE V6 makes up of total Camry sales anyway. I don't think Toyota sells many XLE Camry V6's.
"True it's not doing as well as I thought it would. Iblame GM, management for that as they need to offer a competitive 4 cylinder/6-speed tranny combo to hit toyota, hard."
I;m not sure if a Saturn product could hit Toyota hard but an excellent Chevy Malibu could hit Toyota hard though because Chevy is mass market just like the Toyota brand while Saturn is more of just a niche brand right now.
I agree though a 4 cyl Aura would improve Aura sales as a whole though but I;m not sure how much a Hybrid model Aura would improve sales for the Aura as a whole though.
>Toyota was not having quality issues like lets in 1997 that are having now its just that Toyota has much more of a bigger line-up in the US than it did 10 years ago.
I'm not sure what you are saying.
>Plus, the 07 Camry and 07 Tundra are brand new and they are going to have quality issues in their first year of bodystyle.
First year models are never an excuse. If they aren't ready to bring out, then don't Beta test on the public.
>Toyota spreads the resources into so many different vehicles because its so much bigger in terms of its size line-up in the US.
Toyota has taken on too much and overstepped its capabilities.
And you can get a CE with a stick shift, saving another $1000 or so. I don't recall if a stick shift LE is technically available, but good luck finding one if so.
I noticed that for the new '08 Accord, Honda has dropped the VP trim, so as to better align with trims of the Camry. Someone at least thinks Toyota is worth competing with toe to toe.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
"And you can get a CE with a stick shift, saving another $1000 or so. I don't recall if a stick shift LE is technically available, but good luck finding one if so."
Yes, I got a CE manual. At the time I picked mine up, they also had an LE stick.
I did not want a power drivers seat, but it would be nice to have the keyless. But it was not worth the extra $$$ to get it, especially because if I wanted keyless bad enough, I could add it for about $200.
That LE stick is a VERY rare puppy. Might be worth picking up for the collector's value. ;-)
SE sticks, OTOH, are out there too. You might have to dig just a little bit to find one, but it will be an easier search than finding an LE stick in your color of choice.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
Can you search all Toyota dealers in the USA for a particular vehicle? I know Mercedes website has that feature. It is great, as I would fly to Florida if the price was right on a vehicle I wanted.
But honestly looking at it from a Toyota, only perspective I do not understand why their cars sell so well. In many cases they are no better than the competition and are just plain bland.
From a car enthusiasts pov all the Toyota's are somewhat bland. In every segment there is another vehicle with sharper styling or better handling. But this is only about money, dinero, moola, cash in hand.
Great styling or wonderful handling only appeals to a limited clientele. The great styling one buyer sees is an absolute turnoff for another buyer. The great handling of a Mazda Speed appeals to a very very small segment, even in the Mazda family.
The reality is that Toyota's marketing is a lot sharper than everyone else's. They understand this market better than anyother vehicle maker and they actively attempt to hog the center of it. That's where the volume is and that's where all the money is.
In an asset-intensive industy such as steel, vehicles or pharmaceuticals volume is the No 1 priority to being profitable. If it costs $1Billion to bring a vehicle to market and $1 Billion to build a plant to build it then it sells 500,000 units in 5 yrs the 'cost' applied to these 500K units is $4000 per unit. However if 2 million vehicles are sold in 5 yrs such as the Camry or Corolla then the 'cost' applied to each of these units is only $1000.
Can you search all Toyota dealers in the USA for a particular vehicle? I know Mercedes website has that feature. It is great, as I would fly to Florida if the price was right on a vehicle I wanted.
Yes and No. Within a given region yes you can look at the entire region's inventory. We do it multiple times every day. We can also look at neighboring regions in the eastern part of the US...except SET ( NC to Miami ) and GST ( AL to TX ) which are privately-owned distributorships outside the Toyota system.
Not sure. I always registered to my address in Alaska. I maintain that residence and vote there. I can see no advantage to being a CA resident. Only disadvantages. My wife is the resident and holds the property in this state.
Toyota Scrambles To Fix Problem in 592,100 Sienna Minivans
DETROIT — Toyota Motor USA, which is still recovering from the drubbing it took last week by Consumer Reports, has issued a "warranty enhancement" for a problem with 2004-'06 Sienna minivans. The issue is not a recall.
click the link below to read the rest of the story:
imidazol97, perhaps you can explain to me what a "warranty enhancement" is ???? If it smells like a recall, looks like a recall, well I guess now it's a "warranty enhancement" OMG, only Toyota would be able to get a way with this !!!! Well one thing we can say imidazol97, they blew the dust off of the old playbook from the 90's if you know what I mean ??????
>perhaps you can explain to me what a "warranty enhancement" is ???? If it smells like a recall, looks like a recall, well I guess now it's a "warranty enhancement"
Looks like a recall for a problem. These are the kinds of things that dealers fixed during the mandatory service visits they required of the cars owners during the 80s and 90s and customers never knew there were fixes for problems performed on their cars.
Maybe CR can issue a clarification on this for us! They'll have some kind of excuse for the failure to mitigate the public relations nightmare that's catching Toyota.
Warranty Enhancement? Sounds like the same double-talk the politicians in New Jersey use about selling the turnpike and calling it "asset monetization."
don't recall have to meet a certain criteria? That affect the vehicle's operation or safety? Things like engine sludge, tranny freeze or some wires might rub together and caught fire?
When Toyota had gel/sludge problems they came out with a Special Policy Adjustment. Later they extended the powertrain warranties. Sludge doesn't sound like a safety issue to me, unless it's your engine that seizes on the Interstate I guess.
I suppose if you call every big problem a recall, people may start ignoring them, and the safety issues may not get addressed. Then again, are Sienna doors opening in traffic due to the weld failures?
imidazol97: Looks like a recall for a problem. These are the kinds of things that dealers fixed during the mandatory service visits they required of the cars owners during the 80s and 90s and customers never knew there were fixes for problems performed on their cars.
Except that such "swaps" would still show up in the company's warranty expenses - someone has to pay for it; the dealer certainly isn't eating the parts and labor costs - and Toyota and Honda have historically had lower warranty expenses than the domestics.
Which shows that, even with all of the clandestine part-swapping going on in the dealer service bays, they still have had superior reliability.
Incidentally, if this were the only reason (or, at least, the main one) for superior Toyota and Honda quality, one wonders why the Big Three didn't just start this practice themselves instead of investing billions to revamp their factories, work processes and new-vehicle testing procedures.
The parts-swap approach is much cheaper, faster and would also make the dealers happy (they get reimbursed for more warranty work).
imidazol97: Maybe CR can issue a clarification on this for us! They'll have some kind of excuse for the failure to mitigate the public relations nightmare that's catching Toyota.
In response to recent Toyota quality glitches, the magazine downgraded the reliability ratings of affected models, and said it would no longer automatically assume that new Toyotas would be reliable, based on prior past good results.
That hardly sounds like excuse making, to me.
Excuse making would be, "We talked to Toyota's chief engineer, and he said it only affected 100 models, all of which mysteriously ended up in our survey, so we're throwing out those results," while not making similar efforts to find out the reasons behind the poor results for other auto makers.
The simple fact is that Toyota has slipped with key models; the surveys caught said slippage; and the magazine honestly reported what its own readers had found.
If anything, this INCREASES the credibility of Consumer Reports, and handily refutes the silly myths about the magazine being on the Toyota payroll.
Last Tuesday the Toyota Tundra was kicked off the Consumer Reports "Recommended" list for achieving below average predicted reliability scores from its own owners. It appears, however, that the Tundra's week is about to get worse. With the help of Mike Levine from Pickuptruck.com, we're following two separate stories about Tundra quality issues that have surfaced recently. The first involves the Tundra's transmission, with at least ten owners at TundraSolutions.com reporting that their trannies experience rough shifts that make the truck feel like it's riding over rumble strips. The 'rumble strip' transmission issue has been acknowledged by Toyota North America and traced back to the torque converter not disengaging properly. Owners report having their transmissions replaced with new or remanufactured ones, though Toyota told Levine that going forward the automaker would only replace the torque converter itself. Toyota did not say, however, how many trucks are affected, just that the transmission problem is not a safety or design issue.
The second quality issue sprouted up this past weekend, also on TundraSolutions.com, and involves tailgates that have been failing or, in some cases, even falling off. The most common experience seems to be the tailgate itself forming cracks and the metal buckling when under load. One owner reported that his tailgate failed when loading an ATV into the bed for the very first time. The tailgate being such an integral part of owning a truck, members of TS have begun an online petition, which they hope will force Toyota to recognize the issue and do something about it.
Did Toyota promptly step up to admit there were sludge problems or was it that the customer didn't know how to change the oil properly at the recommended interval and that the customer did something wrong?
I read the link that Rocky provided and part of the link also says Toyota is recalling 470,000 cars in Japan? Does recalling cars ever stop for Toyota I mean everytime you turn around they are recalling cars? It looks like Toyota is becoming the GM of the 1980's here quaility wise which is terrible. I mean Toyota recalling cars left and right goes totally goes against what they are about.
As a Mazda owner currently I could take shots at Toyota because Toyota fans look down do low at Mazda its ridicolus but it just looks like Toyota is not taking the time to examine parts that they put on their cars before the go on the cars and that is leading to numerous recalls by them maybe. I mean can't a part be examined on a dyno to see how its going to hold up over a long period?
"imidazol97, perhaps you can explain to me what a "warranty enhancement" is ???? If it smells like a recall, looks like a recall, well I guess now it's a "warranty enhancement" OMG, only Toyota would be able to get a way with this !!!! Well one thing we can say imidazol97, they blew the dust off of the old playbook from the 90's if you know what I mean ??????"
rocky, it doesn't matter if its a recall or warranty enhancement Toyota still has to pay money out of their own pocket if they have to fix this problem for somebody that has a 2004-2006 Sienna. I don't have a problem with Toyota's warranty enhncement as long as Toyota's fixes the problem with the owners of the Sienna that are having this problem.
Toyota has played the PR book on these lately. I like the snap ring issue where they opened up a discussion on Edmunds to keep the people notified. This is the company that stonewalled on sludge. There are still people being stonewalled on hesitation/flare/drive-by-wire. And here if we call it a little boo-boo, it won't be the same as a problem.
it's not like Toyota has a cash-flow problem. I read on one of these threads here on Edmunds today that Toyota has what, $200B in cash reserves. Did I read that right? I think they should slow the stupid production lines down a tad.
Employ some of Dr.Deming's "just-in-time" philosophies and try getting things accurate again. There's never been a better time to buy a Mitsubishi, Nissan, Honda, Mazda, GM, Ford, Suzuki, Volvo, Subaru, Chrysler, Hyundai, Kia or Diahatsu.
Oh, Toyota owns Diahatsu. Toyota is losing their competitive advantage by growing their britches too much too fast. Ohhhh!
I understand they didn't handle the whole sludge thing very well but that was like their first huge problem that they had with a batch of cars/models from their late 90/early 00's run of models so I'll give them a pass on that but their recalls of late I am not giving them a pass for.
"There are still people being stonewalled on hesitation/flare/drive-by-wire."
What cars have a flare/hesitation/drive by wire problem? I don;t know what you are talking about when you are talking about a hesitation/flare/drive by wire problems. Can you please exaplain clearly please?
Last Tuesday the Toyota Tundra was kicked off the Consumer Reports "Recommended" list for achieving below average predicted reliability scores from its own owners. It appears, however, that the Tundra's week is about to get worse. With the help of Mike Levine from Pickuptruck.com, we're following two separate stories about Tundra quality issues that have surfaced recently. The first involves the Tundra's transmission, with at least ten owners at TundraSolutions.com reporting that their trannies experience rough shifts that make the truck feel like it's riding over rumble strips. The 'rumble strip' transmission issue has been acknowledged by Toyota North America and traced back to the torque converter not disengaging properly. Owners report having their transmissions replaced with new or remanufactured ones, though Toyota told Levine that going forward the automaker would only replace the torque converter itself. Toyota did not say, however, how many trucks are affected, just that the transmission problem is not a safety or design issue.
The second quality issue sprouted up this past weekend, also on TundraSolutions.com, and involves tailgates that have been failing or, in some cases, even falling off. The most common experience seems to be the tailgate itself forming cracks and the metal buckling when under load. One owner reported that his tailgate failed when loading an ATV into the bed for the very first time. The tailgate being such an integral part of owning a truck, members of TS have begun an online petition, which they hope will force Toyota to recognize the issue and do something about it.
(From Autoblog)
HOLY SMOKES !!!!!! :surprise: I guess they can give the tailgates a "warranty enhancement" also !!!!! :surprise:
I will remember to keep my distance when following a Tundra, as I would prefer to not have a Tundra tailgate end up in my windshield. :surprise:
rocky, it doesn't matter if its a recall or warranty enhancement Toyota still has to pay money out of their own pocket if they have to fix this problem for somebody that has a 2004-2006 Sienna. I don't have a problem with Toyota's warranty enhancement as long as Toyota's fixes the problem with the owners of the Sienna that are having this problem.
I don't have a problem with it either. I however have to laugh at the language (wording) Toyota, uses to not have to call it a recall. It's obvious they have been experiencing more than just a glitch in quality. You can only be untruthful for so long before that mole hill turns into a mountain.
I have sympathy for those who buy the vehicles and have a problem other than trivial things. But I have to point out these are not unusual problems for most cars, most owners to have. Through the years certain, few people have laughed, poked fun at other car owners who have problems with cars even when those problems aren't extreme per CR's evaluation methods. The differences in problems per car for the average of consumers is minor among the groups especially those above the average of all vehicles. There are a few below who have a noticeable difference in average problems per car.
Some laughed a year or more back when I talked about regression to the mean for the Honda problems in Accords (and other models) and cars in general. But it is occuring.
I don't wish problem cars on anyone. I am looking lightly for a car, new or used, currently so I am aware of difficulty in getting realistic information about cars and problem cars.
Diahatsu(owned by Toyota)may no longer sell Diahatsu automobiles here in America but I had a Boeing workmate that drove a Diahatsu, a little white 3-door hatchback, very small in size. He decided to sell it in 1997 and I didn't want the car but had to ask him, "How do you like your little Diahatsu?"
"It's a great little vehicle but I'm planning to retire and don't need it anymore."
"Any reliability problems of any sort", I inquired.
"None at all, it's a great little car." If I understand the history correctly Diahatsu was a small Japanese carmaker that Toyota swallowed up and bought some ways back.
For what it's design is meant to be it is not a bad rig, really, it even looks kind of appealing. I've kept Diahatsu neatly tucked in the far back recesses of my mind ever since.
It does not appear to be a new car option any more though here in these United States.
I'm not in the new car market now at all but I'd look at a GM product or Ford or Saturn or Chrysler(with the great new Lifetime Powertrain Warranty)and their new Dodge Hornet possibly out by the end of '08 now(built by Chery of China) before I looked at a new Toyota. They've lost my trust as I happily motor about in my new '08 Mitsubishi Lancer GTS in Rally Red Metallic paint, CVT automatic transmission and foglights, bodykit, sunroof and 650-watt Rockford Fosgate stereo.
The Molly Hatchet essentials were blaring loudly yesterday whilst we cruised back in to the far crevasses of SE Arizona. We drove to a tiny little mountain town named Portal, AZ, which sits just to the east of the beautiful Chiricahua National Monument. The Monument contains some of the most interesting looking rock formations anywhere...they were formed by the Turkey Mountain volcanic blast. The Indians, whom we butted right out of their own land, yes, the Chiricahua Apaches of which Geronimo was a member, called the Chiricahua land and rock spires the "Land of Standing Up Rocks." They are breathtaking to look at because they appear to be teetering up on top of each other in precarious poses. Other rocks just stick up straight, like the Pipe Organ rocks.
I'm truly living in the old Wild, Wild West, gentlemen.
It[Daihatsu] does not appear to be a new car option any more though here in these United States.
Perhaps that's due to the brilliant marketing that caused them to name their main vehicle the "Charade". Something that means circus. Not a good connotation for a car.
a car manufacturer, but, and it's not that big of a butt, their reputation is not at all that bad. My workmate's 3-door hatch looked light and is a perfect candidate to have a 5-speed manual installed straight-from-the-factory for maximum fun and enjoyment.
That car looked so small and light that it's mpg would have had to be 40+ mpg. It looks smaller than nippon's Echo, which nets him 42 mpg at least IIRC. To me that is a rig worth considering, taking in to account the fact that the ghas-to-leeny futures traders have dug lining their pockets with our money in an artificial manner for years. And when you read that the oil companies are reaping profits in to the billions of dollars then you're paying probably $2.00/gallon more than you should be for ghast-o-leee-nnnyy.
In that respect Diahatsu is not a Charade. Now, there's probably about as much a chance I'll buy a Charade as there is that Britney Spears won't do something horribly stupid in the last two months of 2007. So I will most definitely never experience the joys of Diahatsu in my car life.
"I'm not in the new car market now at all but I'd look at a GM product or Ford or Saturn or Chrysler(with the great new Lifetime Powertrain Warranty)and their new Dodge Hornet possibly out by the end of '08 now(built by Chery of China) before I looked at a new Toyota."
Chrysler has nothing that interests me really right now and I would not be intersted in a car like the Hornet. I have owned a 1998 Mazda 626 LX 4 cyl auto, a 2002 Acura CL(Base), and now a 2007 Mazda 6i sport value edition, I just don;t like compact cars. I rented a Chevy Cobalt after I totaled the Acura and before I got the Mazda 6 and it just not the cars(the Cobalt I am referring too) that I am used to driving. A car like the Hornet is a class/segment below of what I usually look at when I am buying a car.
Gm is starting to builds some good cars though I'll agree with you Gm warrants a look these days if they have the car that you are looking for that is. Ford is alot more miss for me than hit these days as far as product goes to me.
was a dumb name for the U.S. market, but the car itself was a real bargain for basic transport. Cheap to buy and ultra-reliable, not to mention pulling 40s for mpg.
I wonder if they still make them for the JDM. I should check that out some time. And yes, Daihatsu is a subsidiary of Toyota. They would hav made it here if they had had other models, I think.
Look at the Charade's contemporaries: the Festiva and the Metro. Kia still sells cars here but never the model the Festiva was based on. Likewise, Suzuki still sells cars here, but not the Swift the Metro was based on. There was a time for cars like that, but then the market demanded more from ALL the cars sold here, including the lower-end, no-frills models.
Speculation is surfacing here and there that Press and Farley were facing heat from above for the dilution of product quality that occured in the '00s when they worked so hard to rapidly expand market share. And having to spill $3000-4000 on every new Tundra sold all year just to launch the new model (which was supposed to compete on its own merits) probably wasn't all that popular either...
Just a few years after the launch of the Scion brand, the company already finds itself in the position of having to find its way back to the brand's roots. I fear that exploration will not find its target now that Press and Farley are gone.
Toyota's struggles right now demonstrate amply just how difficult it is to shine or stand out in such a saturated market.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
Comments
Yeah but Toyota is going after the middle market so their cars have to be understated looking but at the same have some kind of style them(ala 07 Camry.)
A company like Mitsubishi or Mazda are not going for the middle market so those 2 companies could take more chances with styling than say Toyota can.
Sometimes, Edmunds editors just do not represent most of the Americans. If you kinda check out the rating of Yaris, it is 9.5 which is pretty good."
Well apparently if Edmunds review of the Yaris is unfavorable than than Consumer Reports's review of the Yaris agrees with Edmunds review of the Yaris since the Yaris scores too low in CR's tests to be reccomended.
Yeah but it was a shock that Press even left the company I mean who did Toyota actually have in line in terms of an American who works for them that could have filled the void of Press? I'll agree though Toyota does need somebody that understands what the NA car market demands and get the Toyota culture too to fill the void left behind by Press. Is the new guy the answer who is taking Press's place the answer? maybe/maybe not.
"And for Jim Press to leave, I am SURE it wasn't the money. I am afraid it might have been because he saw the company losing focus."
Yeah but even with that said Toyota is in alot better as a company as a whole is in alot better condition than Chrysler is right now.
I think the Outlander could be the best looking car-like SUV in its respective segment.
But honestly looking at it from a Toyota, only perspective I do not understand why their cars sell so well. In many cases they are no better than the competition and are just plain bland. :confuse:
I guess they got the receipt right though. :surprise:
-Rocky
I don't understand it. :confuse: One can about buy a G35 sedan for a loaded camry price. :confuse:
Well The Aura isn't exactly lighting up the sales charts. I have sat in one and it seems well made and well crafted on the interior but the styling is not for me.
True it's not doing as well as I thought it would. Iblame GM, management for that as they need to offer a competitive 4 cylinder/6-speed tranny combo to hit toyota, hard. It wouldn't hurt to get a "real" hybrid system in the Aura, as well. I'd like to see them drop the 3.5 V6 and add the 4-cylinder with about 200 hp. and VVT. The 3.6 HF V6 needs a boost in power like 270 hp. matching the SUV's as well.
-Rocky
I'm sure it's alright, but it's no big deal. I guess the people agree.
DrFill
I don't think many people would compare the Camry XLE V6(which is the loaded up Camry) with a Infiniti G35 because they are 2 very different cars. Most of the Camry that Toyota sells are the LE(4cyl)trimmed Camry. The LE is basically a well equipped Camry which comes with A/C, power/steering/brakes/windows/locks, am/fm stereo. The CE is the starter trim Camry which I don;t think comes with A/C or power window doors/locks. All trims of the Camry go like this in particular order(CE, LE, SE(sport model), and XLE.)Toyota also offers the Camry Hybrid as you know. I wonder how much sales on a % basis that the Camry XLE V6 makes up of total Camry sales anyway. I don't think Toyota sells many XLE Camry V6's.
"True it's not doing as well as I thought it would. Iblame GM, management for that as they need to offer a competitive 4 cylinder/6-speed tranny combo to hit toyota, hard."
I;m not sure if a Saturn product could hit Toyota hard but an excellent Chevy Malibu could hit Toyota hard though because Chevy is mass market just like the Toyota brand while Saturn is more of just a niche brand right now.
I agree though a 4 cyl Aura would improve Aura sales as a whole though but I;m not sure how much a Hybrid model Aura would improve sales for the Aura as a whole though.
I'm not sure what you are saying.
>Plus, the 07 Camry and 07 Tundra are brand new and they are going to have quality issues in their first year of bodystyle.
First year models are never an excuse. If they aren't ready to bring out, then don't Beta test on the public.
>Toyota spreads the resources into so many different vehicles because its so much bigger in terms of its size line-up in the US.
Toyota has taken on too much and overstepped its capabilities.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I noticed that for the new '08 Accord, Honda has dropped the VP trim, so as to better align with trims of the Camry. Someone at least thinks Toyota is worth competing with toe to toe.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
Yes, I got a CE manual. At the time I picked mine up, they also had an LE stick.
I did not want a power drivers seat, but it would be nice to have the keyless. But it was not worth the extra $$$ to get it, especially because if I wanted keyless bad enough, I could add it for about $200.
SE sticks, OTOH, are out there too. You might have to dig just a little bit to find one, but it will be an easier search than finding an LE stick in your color of choice.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
DrFill
From a car enthusiasts pov all the Toyota's are somewhat bland. In every segment there is another vehicle with sharper styling or better handling. But this is only about money, dinero, moola, cash in hand.
Great styling or wonderful handling only appeals to a limited clientele. The great styling one buyer sees is an absolute turnoff for another buyer. The great handling of a Mazda Speed appeals to a very very small segment, even in the Mazda family.
The reality is that Toyota's marketing is a lot sharper than everyone else's. They understand this market better than anyother vehicle maker and they actively attempt to hog the center of it. That's where the volume is and that's where all the money is.
In an asset-intensive industy such as steel, vehicles or pharmaceuticals volume is the No 1 priority to being profitable. If it costs $1Billion to bring a vehicle to market and $1 Billion to build a plant to build it then it sells 500,000 units in 5 yrs the 'cost' applied to these 500K units is $4000 per unit. However if 2 million vehicles are sold in 5 yrs such as the Camry or Corolla then the 'cost' applied to each of these units is only $1000.
Yes and No. Within a given region yes you can look at the entire region's inventory. We do it multiple times every day. We can also look at neighboring regions in the eastern part of the US...except SET ( NC to Miami ) and GST ( AL to TX ) which are privately-owned distributorships outside the Toyota system.
DrFill
Yes, but then if it is new, California won't let you bring it back and register it here, right?
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
DETROIT — Toyota Motor USA, which is still recovering from the drubbing it took last week by Consumer Reports, has issued a "warranty enhancement" for a problem with 2004-'06 Sienna minivans. The issue is not a recall.
click the link below to read the rest of the story:
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/News/articleId=123161
imidazol97, perhaps you can explain to me what a "warranty enhancement" is ???? If it smells like a recall, looks like a recall, well I guess now it's a "warranty enhancement"
OMG, only Toyota would be able to get a way with this !!!! Well one thing we can say imidazol97, they blew the dust off of the old playbook from the 90's if you know what I mean ??????
-Rocky
Looks like a recall for a problem. These are the kinds of things that dealers fixed during the mandatory service visits they required of the cars owners during the 80s and 90s and customers never knew there were fixes for problems performed on their cars.
Maybe CR can issue a clarification on this for us!
They'll have some kind of excuse for the failure to mitigate the public relations nightmare that's catching Toyota.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Maybe Toyo is going into the politics business and just practicing.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I suppose if you call every big problem a recall, people may start ignoring them, and the safety issues may not get addressed. Then again, are Sienna doors opening in traffic due to the weld failures?
Check out Straightline's Toyota Sienna door problems blog too.
Except that such "swaps" would still show up in the company's warranty expenses - someone has to pay for it; the dealer certainly isn't eating the parts and labor costs - and Toyota and Honda have historically had lower warranty expenses than the domestics.
Which shows that, even with all of the clandestine part-swapping going on in the dealer service bays, they still have had superior reliability.
Incidentally, if this were the only reason (or, at least, the main one) for superior Toyota and Honda quality, one wonders why the Big Three didn't just start this practice themselves instead of investing billions to revamp their factories, work processes and new-vehicle testing procedures.
The parts-swap approach is much cheaper, faster and would also make the dealers happy (they get reimbursed for more warranty work).
imidazol97: Maybe CR can issue a clarification on this for us! They'll have some kind of excuse for the failure to mitigate the public relations nightmare that's catching Toyota.
In response to recent Toyota quality glitches, the magazine downgraded the reliability ratings of affected models, and said it would no longer automatically assume that new Toyotas would be reliable, based on prior past good results.
That hardly sounds like excuse making, to me.
Excuse making would be, "We talked to Toyota's chief engineer, and he said it only affected 100 models, all of which mysteriously ended up in our survey, so we're throwing out those results," while not making similar efforts to find out the reasons behind the poor results for other auto makers.
The simple fact is that Toyota has slipped with key models; the surveys caught said slippage; and the magazine honestly reported what its own readers had found.
If anything, this INCREASES the credibility of Consumer Reports, and handily refutes the silly myths about the magazine being on the Toyota payroll.
My daughter's engine did exactly that - while she was passing in the Garden State Parkway. She's lucky to be alive. Yeah, I;d call it a safety issue.
She was driving a 99 Camry BTW.
Last Tuesday the Toyota Tundra was kicked off the Consumer Reports "Recommended" list for achieving below average predicted reliability scores from its own owners. It appears, however, that the Tundra's week is about to get worse. With the help of Mike Levine from Pickuptruck.com, we're following two separate stories about Tundra quality issues that have surfaced recently. The first involves the Tundra's transmission, with at least ten owners at TundraSolutions.com reporting that their trannies experience rough shifts that make the truck feel like it's riding over rumble strips. The 'rumble strip' transmission issue has been acknowledged by Toyota North America and traced back to the torque converter not disengaging properly. Owners report having their transmissions replaced with new or remanufactured ones, though Toyota told Levine that going forward the automaker would only replace the torque converter itself. Toyota did not say, however, how many trucks are affected, just that the transmission problem is not a safety or design issue.
The second quality issue sprouted up this past weekend, also on TundraSolutions.com, and involves tailgates that have been failing or, in some cases, even falling off. The most common experience seems to be the tailgate itself forming cracks and the metal buckling when under load. One owner reported that his tailgate failed when loading an ATV into the bed for the very first time. The tailgate being such an integral part of owning a truck, members of TS have begun an online petition, which they hope will force Toyota to recognize the issue and do something about it.
(From Autoblog)
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
As a Mazda owner currently I could take shots at Toyota because Toyota fans look down do low at Mazda its ridicolus but it just looks like Toyota is not taking the time to examine parts that they put on their cars before the go on the cars and that is leading to numerous recalls by them maybe. I mean can't a part be examined on a dyno to see how its going to hold up over a long period?
OMG, only Toyota would be able to get a way with this !!!! Well one thing we can say imidazol97, they blew the dust off of the old playbook from the 90's if you know what I mean ??????"
rocky, it doesn't matter if its a recall or warranty enhancement Toyota still has to pay money out of their own pocket if they have to fix this problem for somebody that has a 2004-2006 Sienna. I don't have a problem with Toyota's warranty enhncement as long as Toyota's fixes the problem with the owners of the Sienna that are having this problem.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Employ some of Dr.Deming's "just-in-time" philosophies and try getting things accurate again. There's never been a better time to buy a Mitsubishi, Nissan, Honda, Mazda, GM, Ford, Suzuki, Volvo, Subaru, Chrysler, Hyundai, Kia or Diahatsu.
Oh, Toyota owns Diahatsu. Toyota is losing their competitive advantage by growing their britches too much too fast. Ohhhh!
I'm digging it to the full, gentlemen.
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
I understand they didn't handle the whole sludge thing very well but that was like their first huge problem that they had with a batch of cars/models from their late 90/early 00's run of models so I'll give them a pass on that but their recalls of late I am not giving them a pass for.
"There are still people being stonewalled on hesitation/flare/drive-by-wire."
What cars have a flare/hesitation/drive by wire problem? I don;t know what you are talking about when you are talking about a hesitation/flare/drive by wire problems. Can you please exaplain clearly please?
Diahatsu doesn't even sell cars in the US. I wouldn't buy a Chrysler or a Suzuki either.
wwest, "2007 Toyota Camry Problems and Repairs" #4100, 16 Oct 2007 10:29 am!keywords=allin%3Amsgtext%20wwest
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Last Tuesday the Toyota Tundra was kicked off the Consumer Reports "Recommended" list for achieving below average predicted reliability scores from its own owners. It appears, however, that the Tundra's week is about to get worse. With the help of Mike Levine from Pickuptruck.com, we're following two separate stories about Tundra quality issues that have surfaced recently. The first involves the Tundra's transmission, with at least ten owners at TundraSolutions.com reporting that their trannies experience rough shifts that make the truck feel like it's riding over rumble strips. The 'rumble strip' transmission issue has been acknowledged by Toyota North America and traced back to the torque converter not disengaging properly. Owners report having their transmissions replaced with new or remanufactured ones, though Toyota told Levine that going forward the automaker would only replace the torque converter itself. Toyota did not say, however, how many trucks are affected, just that the transmission problem is not a safety or design issue.
The second quality issue sprouted up this past weekend, also on TundraSolutions.com, and involves tailgates that have been failing or, in some cases, even falling off. The most common experience seems to be the tailgate itself forming cracks and the metal buckling when under load. One owner reported that his tailgate failed when loading an ATV into the bed for the very first time. The tailgate being such an integral part of owning a truck, members of TS have begun an online petition, which they hope will force Toyota to recognize the issue and do something about it.
(From Autoblog)
HOLY SMOKES !!!!!! :surprise: I guess they can give the tailgates a "warranty enhancement" also !!!!! :surprise:
I will remember to keep my distance when following a Tundra, as I would prefer to not have a Tundra tailgate end up in my windshield. :surprise:
-Rocky
I don't have a problem with it either. I however have to laugh at the language (wording) Toyota, uses to not have to call it a recall. It's obvious they have been experiencing more than just a glitch in quality. You can only be
untruthful for so long before that mole hill turns into a mountain.
-Rocky
Some laughed a year or more back when I talked about regression to the mean for the Honda problems in Accords (and other models) and cars in general. But it is occuring.
I don't wish problem cars on anyone. I am looking lightly for a car, new or used, currently so I am aware of difficulty in getting realistic information about cars and problem cars.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
"It's a great little vehicle but I'm planning to retire and don't need it anymore."
"Any reliability problems of any sort", I inquired.
"None at all, it's a great little car." If I understand the history correctly Diahatsu was a small Japanese carmaker that Toyota swallowed up and bought some ways back.
For what it's design is meant to be it is not a bad rig, really, it even looks kind of appealing. I've kept Diahatsu neatly tucked in the far back recesses of my mind ever since.
It does not appear to be a new car option any more though here in these United States.
I'm not in the new car market now at all but I'd look at a GM product or Ford or Saturn or Chrysler(with the great new Lifetime Powertrain Warranty)and their new Dodge Hornet possibly out by the end of '08 now(built by Chery of China) before I looked at a new Toyota. They've lost my trust as I happily motor about in my new '08 Mitsubishi Lancer GTS in Rally Red Metallic paint, CVT automatic transmission and foglights, bodykit, sunroof and 650-watt Rockford Fosgate stereo.
The Molly Hatchet essentials were blaring loudly yesterday whilst we cruised back in to the far crevasses of SE Arizona. We drove to a tiny little mountain town named Portal, AZ, which sits just to the east of the beautiful Chiricahua National Monument. The Monument contains some of the most interesting looking rock formations anywhere...they were formed by the Turkey Mountain volcanic blast. The Indians, whom we butted right out of their own land, yes, the Chiricahua Apaches of which Geronimo was a member, called the Chiricahua land and rock spires the "Land of Standing Up Rocks." They are breathtaking to look at because they appear to be teetering up on top of each other in precarious poses. Other rocks just stick up straight, like the Pipe Organ rocks.
I'm truly living in the old Wild, Wild West, gentlemen.
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
It will indeed be interesting to see how all this turns out for Toyota. :surprise:
-Rocky
Perhaps that's due to the brilliant marketing that caused them to name their main vehicle the "Charade". Something that means circus. Not a good connotation for a car.
"I drive a Charade..."
That car looked so small and light that it's mpg would have had to be 40+ mpg. It looks smaller than nippon's Echo, which nets him 42 mpg at least IIRC. To me that is a rig worth considering, taking in to account the fact that the ghas-to-leeny futures traders have dug lining their pockets with our money in an artificial manner for years. And when you read that the oil companies are reaping profits in to the billions of dollars then you're paying probably $2.00/gallon more than you should be for ghast-o-leee-nnnyy.
In that respect Diahatsu is not a Charade. Now, there's probably about as much a chance I'll buy a Charade as there is that Britney Spears won't do something horribly stupid in the last two months of 2007.
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
Chrysler has nothing that interests me really right now and I would not be intersted in a car like the Hornet. I have owned a 1998 Mazda 626 LX 4 cyl auto, a 2002 Acura CL(Base), and now a 2007 Mazda 6i sport value edition, I just don;t like compact cars. I rented a Chevy Cobalt after I totaled the Acura and before I got the Mazda 6 and it just not the cars(the Cobalt I am referring too) that I am used to driving. A car like the Hornet is a class/segment below of what I usually look at when I am buying a car.
Gm is starting to builds some good cars though I'll agree with you Gm warrants a look these days if they have the car that you are looking for that is. Ford is alot more miss for me than hit these days as far as product goes to me.
I wonder if they still make them for the JDM. I should check that out some time. And yes, Daihatsu is a subsidiary of Toyota. They would hav made it here if they had had other models, I think.
Look at the Charade's contemporaries: the Festiva and the Metro. Kia still sells cars here but never the model the Festiva was based on. Likewise, Suzuki still sells cars here, but not the Swift the Metro was based on. There was a time for cars like that, but then the market demanded more from ALL the cars sold here, including the lower-end, no-frills models.
Speculation is surfacing here and there that Press and Farley were facing heat from above for the dilution of product quality that occured in the '00s when they worked so hard to rapidly expand market share. And having to spill $3000-4000 on every new Tundra sold all year just to launch the new model (which was supposed to compete on its own merits) probably wasn't all that popular either...
Just a few years after the launch of the Scion brand, the company already finds itself in the position of having to find its way back to the brand's roots. I fear that exploration will not find its target now that Press and Farley are gone.
Toyota's struggles right now demonstrate amply just how difficult it is to shine or stand out in such a saturated market.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)