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But the Avalon is actaully styled to appeal to a much older crowd that doesn't take huge movements very well.Just as the really small cars are gerared to a much younger crowd.Such is marketing.I also would put Hyandai as eqaul to Hopnda or toyta from people i know that have tried them;improving but not there.Ford id going to have a trough time getting offf the truck making with their cost to compete esepcailly with the competitio in cars getting so tough. They still have to rely on trucks and SUVs for the real profits because of their cost.
But the Avalon is actaully styled to appeal to a much older crowd that doesn't take huge movements very well.Just as the really small cars are gerared to a much younger crowd.Such is marketing.I also would put Hyandai as eqaul to Hopnda or toyta from people i know that have tried them;improving but not there.Ford id going to have a trough time getting offf the truck making with their cost to compete esepcailly with the competitio in cars getting so tough. They still have to rely on trucks and SUVs for the real profits because of their cost.
You're talking out of your ass. Ford has been profiting off its new cars and crossovers because not only are people opting for the higher priced trims, but Ford has managed to consolidate engines and platforms that allows them to greatly reduce development costs for new vehicles. Thanks to this, transaction prices are up across the board. Ford no longer relies solely on trucks for profit.
Look at the Flex. It sells in small numbers, but 40% of the sales are the Limited Edition trim which starts at $38K. 50% buy the refrigerator option that tacks on another $700 alone. The new Titanium trim will start over $40K. The Flex's development costs were spread among half a dozen other vehicles that rode/ride on the D3 platform, including the Taurus and upcoming Explorer. Ford went from a $10 billion loss to a $2 billion profit in one year. They're doing something right.
There is no excuse for the Avalon. Toyota's handling of it shows that they are lost. Chasing the senior citizen segment doesn't work...Buick and Olds can tell you that. The thing is, GM figured it out with Buick, but Toyota still doesn't have a freaking clue.
Toyota should take lessons from the ENTIRE industry. Their "reliability" (which I call BS) claims wont sell cars forever. The current (and last few years) Toyota lineup is a snoozefest. Ugly, slow, bad-handling, overpriced, ticky-tacky GARBAGE. Seriously, just sat in the new 4Runner the other week. The stupid thing was well over 40K and reminded me inside of a 1998 Ford Escort (materials wise). Toyota has fallen way off the map, I wont even give them the slightest chance of ever winning me back as a buyer.
Meanwhile, companies like Hyundai, Ford, GM, etc, are making huge strides in reliability, and their designs actually turn heads, not create yawns (like Toyota).
Hyundai is where Toyota was 10 years ago, while Toyota is where General Motors was 30 years ago. We have all pointed out Toyota's glaring quality issues in the past, and now slower sales and massive incentives are starting to reflect that decline. Toyota stock is down to where it was at the depths of the '08 recession, and even lower than during UA fiasco.
There is no excuse for the Avalon. Toyota's handling of it shows that they are lost. Chasing the senior citizen segment doesn't work...Buick and Olds can tell you that. The thing is, GM figured it out with Buick, but Toyota still doesn't have a freaking clue.
Makes perfect sense to me. If I were a car manufacturer, I'd want to have a lineup that includes at least one product that appeals to every major demographic. The mistake is doing what Buick and Oldsmobile did, which is focus your entire brand on one segment of the population. Toyota isn't doing that.
Makes perfect sense to me. If I were a car manufacturer, I'd want to have a lineup that includes at least one product that appeals to every major demographic. The mistake is doing what Buick and Oldsmobile did, which is focus your entire brand on one segment of the population. Toyota isn't doing that.
That'd be great and all if the rest of Toyota's cars didn't also have numb handling, floaty rides, and vanilla exteriors. The average age of Toyota buyers continues to creep into AARP territory, while other brands like Buick are luring younger buyers with the LaCrosse, Enclave, and Regal. The Camry had a refresh last year that basically changed the grille and a couple other small details. Meanwhile all other competitors have done major overhauls. Same thing with the Corolla; the '09 refresh hardly changed a thing. Those are the bread and butter cars they are letting languish. Now they are resorting to fleet sales and incentives to move metal...history truly repeats itself.
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