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Toyota's are fracking boring ass cars, and have zero cool factor. I swear, everybody in the neighborhood I live in owns a Toyo, and are mostly driven by old and retired people, or families.
Also a lot of people don't realize that many Asian people, and people that are natives of Europe are for some reason extremely loyal to Toyota and will never ever consider an American car, either because they don't trust American cars still, and never will, or because they simple don't like America and what it stands for (Seriously). Not even Honda claims the top choice. I see it all the time, and it doesn't matter which neighborhood I am.
The Asian neighborhoods in San Diego are filled with Toyota and Nissan cars on the street and driveways of peoples homes. Older Eastern Europeans, or Middle Easterners, also love Toyota's, BMW, and Mercedes. Zero American cars I tell you, ZERO!
This also might just be a California thing, since I don't know how other cities differ, especially the ones in the Mid West and Southern States where the people seem to be more patriotic and will only drive a GM or Ford vehicle.
I don't know, but honestly Toyota's reputation is still tainted IMO even after all that has happened in the last couple of years to them with the recalls and quality control issues they have been having. They've grown so big, that they became a GM at it's worst. I really don't see what's so great about Toyota's besides for there so called reliability factor, just read up on many consumer reviews online regarding Toyo's in the past 4 to 5 years, and you will find that they are not the great reliable, well built cars like they used to be back in the hey day of the 90's, instead they had constant dash rattles, transmission problems, electrical probs etc. They're generic blobs rolling down the street these days with no sense of innovation or creativity. Plus the older Camry's and Corrolla's were made with better materials and less things went wrong with them vs the latest gen models that are cheaper feeling. Plus the market has caught up to the brand and some other cars have surpassed it such as the Kia Optima and Hyundai Sonata which is considered the "New Camry" among car buyers.
Even Mazda's are better vehicles, but boy oh boy does Toyota really know how to market there cars, it's always about MPG's MPG's and more MPG's and that's pretty much it. Consumers fall for it and are suckered in by their expired reputation about being so reliable. They advertise to the ignorant consumer that knows absolutely nothing about cars and how to change the oil on it, or even worse, how to even check the oil level! They are simply appliances on wheels to get to work and back home in a jiffy.
You can't get any blander than a Toyota.
Guess i qualify for the retired family guy who owns 2 Toyotas, They maybe bland to you but then again i'm not trying to look cool or trying to impress any one by the type of car i drive i just want an inexpensive reliable appliance that gets me from point A to point b with comfort and a minimum of fuss and bother, Toyotas will do that for me for 300K miles.
Toyotas are not to every ones liking but for average people on a tight budget they are good value for money..
As you are obviously not a fan of Toyotas maybe you could show us some examples of what you think are good daily family transportation alternatives....
Guess i qualify for the retired family guy who owns 2 Toyotas, They maybe bland to you but then again i'm not trying to look cool or trying to impress any one by the type of car i drive i just want an inexpensive reliable appliance that gets me from point A to point b with comfort and a minimum of fuss and bother, Toyotas will do that for me for 300K miles.
Toyotas are not to every ones liking but for average people on a tight budget they are good value for money..
As you are obviously not a fan of Toyotas maybe you could show us some examples of what you think are good daily family transportation alternatives....
Mazda 3 which is an awesome car BTW which has a better fit and finish than both the Accord and Camry.
Kia Forte/Optima surprisingly, the Korean brands have truly improved the most out of anyone for that matter and I would seriously consider them.
Chevy Malibu
I do not recommend the Accord nor the Civic, you can get better cars with more value for the money, plus the older gen Honda's models were better made.
Stay away from Chrysler vehicles! Well that's my suggestion
Nissan Maxima which is really nice, and personally one of the sexiest mid size cars around.
Honestly, the majority of all new cars from foreign to domestic will pretty much give you hardly any problems at all. Being that they are all so well engineered and built, America has caught up in the quality and reliability department more than ever in the last 5-6 years.
So it's a toss up, just pick and choose what you like.
Toyota is no longer the standard of quality automobiles, that notion no longer sticks with it's competition surpassing them in all areas. That was true back in the early 90's when they were king at building reliable cars while there competition suffered badly by it, well flash forward 20 years later, and times have definitely changed for the better. Now consumers have multiple choices when it comes to buying a reliable new car, unlike before when really Toyota, and Honda were the only 2 brands, that came to many peoples minds of a well constructed reliable long term vehicle.
Thanks for the rational reply,, i thought you were going to recommend something from Fast and furious
Its going to be awhile before i go car shopping again but some of the Hyundai line up is looking very nice, that Genesis Coupe is getting my attention..
Numbers are fabricated to keep the shares up...investors are scrambling to find a way out....radiation from the parts factories are off the charts....the Toyota brand will do anything it takes to break even...even lying about radiation levels....
I have had a 2002 Lexus SC430 convertible for nine years and it has been a great car, but really, wtf cares which automaker is #1? And with an I told youso! exclamation. Then we have people arguing about coverups and cookie-cutters. This is one of the stupidest threads I've ever read.
BTW, my last six cars have been in order: Chevy, Mazda, Acura, Mercedes, Lexus, and as of last month: Jaguar. I've never been a fanboy of any particular manufacturer and don't understand those who are.
I bought a 2010 Fusion last year in hopes that Ford has caught up. I was wrong. In my one year of ownership I had the transmission rebuilt (it was already rebuilt from a recall) a engine leak and the whole thing rattled. I drive my cars very modestly, do not speed and stay on paved roads.
Compared to the Civic I owned from 95-2006 which gave me no problems and the same with my CRV I owned for about 5 years. My wifes family has driven nothing but Toyota and only time they are in the shop is when my mother in law decided to hit one of those annoying posts meant to keep trucks out of their neighborhood and for routine maintenance. I just bought a Toyota and very happy I did.
Also, for the cooker cutter look, I do not see many cars that look like Scions and FJ Cruisers (Land Rovers look slightly similar but those are hardly mainstream). Some newer smaller cars are starting to look like Scion but that is a competition copying them.
Just curious, what do you mean by cookie cutter? (Seriously, I have heard others refer to Toyota in this way, but do not understand it ) It's not like other cars are fashioned by hand or anything!
They are boring. They are the pizza hut order cheese pizza at the office party. No one would order it them selves, the maker is a chain store so no surprises. But no one is severely offended, like a Muslim with pork, vegetarean with meat, or a meatlover with veggies. So everyone settles.
They used to make the Supra, Celica, and MR2. I admit avionics did ok with adding a little spice to cars. But they feel like they are faking it to me and I can't even talk my wife into testdriving a toaster.
One thing experience I saw while looking at used toyotas. They are the leader of tan paint with tan interior cars. Does anyone actually go to a dealer and say, HEY, I want to order that car with tan/tan combo!
There reliability hasn't impressed me any. My father in law and mother in law, have driven nothing but toyotas, except for occasional German cars. But they always had a Lexus SUV. I think they are on the 4th one. Want to know when they buy a new one, when its around 75k miles and is in the shop overnight for an out of pocket expense. There most recent a hybrid has been in the shop at least 6 times for electrical issues.
I remember when they needed an alternators, when they were visiting. No private shop or autoparts store had on in stock only Toyota, so they had to extend until Tuesday to get it fixed, and cost $900. $900 repair, and 3 days of waiting for an alternater. Lol.
They make boring appliance cars which are overated in reliability. The ironic part people buy them for reliability, but they still get traded in about 5 years 100k for a new car.
I will admit the tacoma kills the competition in its class though. They did great with that vehicle. Only Toyota I would consider.
You could probably exchange the "Cookie Cutter" description to "Generic"
My experience with Toyotas has been one (01 Echo)that got 300K without needing any more input than regular maintenance,i finally sold it in perfect running condition because after a lifetime dealing with problematic American built cars i couldnt believe a car could be that reliable for that long.My second two Toyotas are an 05 Echo that is equally reliable as the first at 160K right now and a 08 Yaris that just went through 100K with no problems other than regular maintenance.Yes they are the epitome of generic and also bulletproof so far in their reliability.For now Toyotas are my car of choice and have never let me down,maybe i'll give Hyundai a try in about 6-8 years when i'll be car shopping again.
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) It's not like other cars are fashioned by hand or anything!
