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Then again, Subaru has been known as quirky and hadn't really been mainstream until recent designs. Even then, those are mainstream "for a Subaru", and far from generic.
They use what looks like an old Kia Optima as the starting base, but that's not really fair - the new Optima is far from conventional looking.
Still, funny commercials.
The upcoming Optima is very flashy for a Kia (still haven't seen one in the flesh)...I don't know about unconventional though, doesn't seem to break any rules (save for the rule of good taste with the proposed faux fender vents).
OK, what demographic does this ad appeal to?
Pudgy young women and their incredibly boring parents?
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
I liked the Camry one where the dad had a funny/dorky laugh. There won't be a Camry ad showing "cool" owners...not many of those exist :shades:
But what the hey, I'm a minivan guy.
Question: Why don't these kids get a job and buy their own cars?
Subaru, that is.
Optima has some odd angles, so I prefer the Sonata. Thing is, most people I talk to prefer the Optima. The C-pillars ended up looking like Jag's new flagship, which is a fortunate coincidence for them.
Relax, guys, there are plenty of Aunt Ednas and Uncle Bobs out there who drive slowly from point A to point B and don't really ever screech the tires. Camry targets them and is still the #1 selling car in America.
The ad appeals to loyal Toyota owners who are middle aged because they were buying Toyota Tercels while their poor friends went broke putting GAS in their Hemi Cudas during the OPEC oil crisis.
Today they're loyal and buy Camrys again and again because Toyotas have been durable. They didn't expect that Tercel to last 200k miles, but it did.
Sure, I'd rather drive an M3. Of course. But maybe not if I was driving to the hospital with broken ribs. Toyotas have a velvet-smooth ride that actually appeals to some people.
Not everyone wants to drive a stiff sports sedan with rock-hard low-profile run-flat tires, folks!
After my first car got hit, I was able to use a spare car in the family - a Tempo. That got me going to find something else.
I can't stand the front end of the Sonata, I actually prefer the Kia. I don't see a resemblance to the 6-window XJ though.
Then I sold my '82 Tercel after 17 years of ownership. :P
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
Either way, a commendable effort for Kia, IMHO better looking than the Sonata.
The Kia has 200hp standard and better mpg to boot, so that along might sway me. For many it might come down to which one has a dealership closer by.
Remember, the ad went viral - Toyota got over 7 million hits on YouTube. For a commercial, no less.
Sales skyrocketed.
Sienna played wall flower to the Odyssey for years. Last month Toyota sold 9920 of them, up about 50% from a year before (and the old model scored higher in Consumer Reports).
Honda fell way behind at 7691 sales. Grand Caravan actually came in 2nd with 8057 sales. And both had good months!
Sienna prices are up about $2000 across the board, so Toyota is selling 50% more vans at higher prices to boot.
Total cash cow.
Sorry to anyone who doesn't like the Swagger Wagon ads, but the fact is - it's probably the most effective campaign of this century. No kidding.
But, this is the same Toyota that actually used Siad Fred and "I'm too sexy" for the camry back about 10 years ago. ALl for that amazing mid cycle refresh where they changed the taillights.
I always assumed they were being snarky there but maybe not...
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
People might have viewed those ads to laugh. It could be called a funny campaign, but swagger is something not contained in that vehicle. Lots of swag, maybe.
There must be less Kia dealers as a whole, so no doubt it will sell less unless it becomes a rental queen.
I'm not saying it has swagger, in fact the SE model is not the best seller (the LE is). I doubt the SE even comes in 2nd, probably the XLE.
They only started making them recently.
Aren't those used for some toll booths? I thought that's what they were for, no?
My take on the 'Swagger wagon' video is that it is entertaining in a non real world kind of way. I sent it to several others.
Those are classics; unfortunately back in the day I could barely afford the '82 Tercel sedan. It was a peppy 5 speed, great shifting, and light and tossable.
But, as you can see from the pic, I could have used the wagon.
My LE-8 was $25k, now they're in the $27k range.
Toyota put in a 4 banger model slotted below it in the price range, but even so, fitzmall.com no-haggle prices started at $20,999 when I last shopped and right now the cheapest van is $23,057, and that's a 2.7l 4 banger, where the old one was a V6!
Costliest one is now $41,271, and that's a street price, already discounted. They didn't break $40k after discounts before. $38-39k was loaded AWD before.
It's a pretty clear-cut $2000 across-the-board increase in price, at least. I think I'm actually under-estimating the increase, probably $2500.
Next time I'll look.
I tell ya, though, lots of commuters have bar codes on their cars. I guess it could be a bunch of loaner cars, but all of them? Doubtful.
Barcodes aren't used out here for anything other than rentals as far as I know - toll systems are RFID based and gated communities are like hens teeth. It's a hell of a coincidence that cars that are known to be fleet-dumped (boring domestic sedans, along with many Koreans and Toyotas) just happen to wear these and don't wear license plate frames.
Rentals have little tiny bar codes on the lower corner of the rear window. Probably 1/10th the size of a toll one, and in a place that would not be useful for a toll reader.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
I've had rentals with the barcode high on the front or rear windshield too. On the 7 series rental I had last year in Germany, there was one on the trunk next to the license plate. But mostly yeah, on a rear side window.
They try to make them as inconspicuous as possible these days because in places like Miami criminals were targeting visitors by identifying the rental sticker on their vehicle.
At home I have photos of 2 German rentals and a rental in Vegas...I'll have to look for the codes when I'm back.
My nice barcoded rentals - the normal cars I have rented didn't get me going enough to snap a pic:
Vegas - barcode horizontal low on rear quarter window
Germany rental #1 - barcode horizontal low on rear quarter door window (I actually washed this car, felt bad about dirtying it on unpaved roads)
Germany rental #2 - barcode vertical left of license plate
I've also noticed the bar codes on most rentals. I think I've even seen them scan them with the handheld scanners when I've dropped off the car.
I remember the 7 series was scanned when returned, but barely inspected. I had expected them to go over something like that with a magnifying glass.