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DETROIT -- New incentives are boosting Toyota’s U.S. sales big time in early March, and analysts forecast a 30 percent bounce for the full month.
After Toyota brand sales fell 10 percent in February as it struggled with safety recalls, on March 1 Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc. introduced 0 percent financing, subsidized leases and free maintenance incentives.
Most Americans watch American Idol too. Do you know what surveys like the one in the OP prove? That most Americans have bad taste. I would never buy a Ford. That's great that they didn't take bailout money the way GM and Chrysler did. But I still don't care for their products. I recently drove the Ford Taurus. A huge improvement over previous models, but still not as nice as a Camry, Accord, Altima or Sonata. The public is pretty gullible. They believe everything they see on TV or read in the news, never bothering to question it. The problems with Toyota are overblown IMO. Sure they have issues, but whenever I hear about these runaway cars, my first thought is why can't people put their car in neutral? If you can't stay calm in a crisis, maybe you shouldn't be behind the wheel in the first place.
Yeah... so they are taking huge losses in order to move vehicles. People aren't buying them for their quality but rather for the unbelievable deals, you must have missed that part.
Most Americans watch American Idol too. Do you know what surveys like the one in the OP prove? That most Americans have bad taste.
So... most Americans watch Idol, thus have bad taste... and the Camry was the number one selling car until the whole Toyota fiasco... so Camrys are for Americans with bad taste?
Yeah... so they are taking huge losses in order to move vehicles. People aren't buying them for their quality but rather for the unbelievable deals, you must have missed that part.
I doubt they are taking "huge losses" - less profit, certainly. Toyota hasn't dropped prices, just adjusted financing slightly lower (I bought in early Jan with 0.9%) and added some maintenance benefits.
If people believed that "Car Brand X" was very low quality or unsafe, I doubt they'd buy unless the price was cheap as well.
When a bought this last January, I looked at all the cars in the segment I wanted at the price I wanted, which included cars from GM, Ford, Toyota, Subaru, VW, Jeep. My comparison road tests led me to the Toyota as the best buy for my purposes. It's the first Toyota I've owned, and while it isn't as nice as the BMWs I've owned, it's great for the money and the use and, objectively, it compared very well in ride, handling, fit.
I recently drove the Ford Taurus. A huge improvement over previous models, but still not as nice as a Camry, Accord, Altima or Sonata.
Don't agree a single bit. Are you talking about the 2010 Taurus, or older ones? If older, I'll agree with you. The '10 Taurus has a much nicer interior than the Camry, Accord, and Altima (didn't get to sit in a new Sonata yet). Both the Accord and Camry interiors are overrated...they aren't as good as people claim they are if you actually compare them side-by-side.
I haven't driven a Taurus yet, but the actual ride is supposed to be much sportier than the Camry and slightly better than the Accord. The Taurus SHO leaves both in the dust.
I supposed I have a sort of brand loyalty. I remember my family having to purchase a new car every three years because of the built in obsolescence of American cars. I read DeLorean's book about the struggles he went through to get American auto management to cater to the needs of the public - how he felt he was beating his head against the wall in doing so.
You may say we have laws against collusion, but there was virtually no competition between American auto makers in those days, 'the public be damned' seemed their motto.
It was not until the Germans(who dropped the ball) and Japanese entered the U.S. market that our 'free enterprise' system had any competition. I am appreciative of the Japanese for continuing to make a superior product.
In school I learned that companies, including the auto industry, do a cost-benefit analysis regarding retooling. If the assembly line produces a few bad products (as they all do at times) what is the cost of just allowing it (paying off relatives of the maimed or deceased) rather than retooling the line? There are decisions to even allow a certain number of deaths because settlements may be cheaper in the long run than retooling factories.
The thing is, they ALL do it. I am not sure that the Prius is unique in this apart from the American manufacturers. There is just a lot of attention being paid.
Just the other day some impartial agency examined a 'run away' Prius and found nothing wrong with it and attributed the accident to driver error.
A year ago or so I remember hearing about some great record in car sales that Toyota broke. This, at the very time the American auto industry was attempting a comeback. Such a shame. I think there is a concerted propaganda effort to exaggerate this Toyota problem to steer people into purchasing domestic offerings.
I would like the records of American automakers to be impartially examined with the same scrutiny of Toyota's. Maybe then I will be convinced of the dire reality behind this scandal.
Prius owners are more loyal than owners of any car in history. This, coupled with the fact that upon their recommendations, many new owners were being 'hatched' daily - was a very hard pill for the American industry laggards to swallow. Something had to be done to stop them!
Voila - the runaway Prius! A media blitz!
Coincidence? You be the judge.
The Prius owners I know have had no problems with their cars.
Toyota will release a whole new group of eco-cars in the Prius line.
My next car will be one of these.
I personally like the Smart Car and if Toyota makes a small, easy to park, city car like this that is also a hybrid I will purchase it.
I have had many Toyotas in my life, and now drive a Subaru, which I also think highly of, but as I want a hybrid and have heard that Toyota is coming out with a Prius type engine that will also plug in for a smaller local driving radius, I am willing to wait.
I remember George W, back a few years ago, saying that we would not have an eco-friendly car for at least 10 years and that would be hydrogen powered. The next day Toyota released its Prius!
So far as I am concerned the U.S. politicians and industry have had too cozy a relationship, ending up screwing the public. I am a believer in capitalistic competition, not corporatism(which defines our current system).
My next car will be a Toyota for these many reasons.
Oh, and I do look at Consumer Reports, which has not changed its high evaluation of the Prius, which also is another indicator to me that there is a lot of hype/propaganda being pushed through our media these days.
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