Toyota US May Sales Up 14%, Prius, Tundra Shine; Overtakes Ford

[jbartley]

Originally Posted by guitarlix

The Corolla selling well against the Mazda3 and the Civic is very puzzling to driving enthusiasts. We like good handling, balance and performance. Corolla drivers care about A -> B in a reliable, economical comfortable manner. I could never buy a Corolla but for many people, it's an established product for decades now and the safe choice.

some people do enjoy driving a shiny toaster, with no emotional appeal, to work and back. it's a sad life, but someone has to do it.

[guitarlix]

Originally Posted by jbartley

some people do enjoy driving a shiny toaster, with no emotional appeal, to work and back. it's a sad life, but someone has to do it.

What "emotional appeal" does the Cobalt have over the Corolla? Trust me, a lot of people who Corollas like their cars just fine. A reliable, economical car that just works has its own appeal.

[HoosierRon]

Originally Posted by guitarlix

What "emotional appeal" does the Cobalt have over the Corolla?

I have no idea.

[guitarlix]

Nice try with the flashy SS. Still zero difference for me. The Cobalt looks as dated as the Corolla. (the Cobalt's design reminds me of the Midwest for some odd reason).

I wouldn't buy either car especially not based on appearance. They both look different from each other but they're both utterly bland.

[Chaz_23]

Goes to show the value of reputation. How can any GM car possibly gain any decent reputation when they're constantly changing the names of their cars? Where are the Regals, LeSabres, Centurys, SLs that do so well on long term dependability studies?

Originally Posted by guitarlix

The Corolla selling well against the Mazda3 and the Civic is very puzzling to driving enthusiasts. We like good handling, balance and performance. Corolla drivers care about A -> B in a reliable, economical comfortable manner. I could never buy a Corolla but for many people, it's an established product for decades now and the safe choice.

[fan]

About Aura...its sales figures may be acceptable if you consider:
It is not sold to fleets; only retail sales
No hagle pricing
~50% of Pontiac sales are fleet sales. So, that 12.000 figure for G6 it's about half retail.
Pontiac for example is a well established brand and it has far more dealerships than Saturn.
G6 had a mid-size precursor that sold decent(Grand Am). Aura had neither a good selling precursor, nor a well regarded one(L series).
Ford only sold 14.000 Fusions. Ford is a mainstream brand as powerfull as Chevy. Fusion is also a good car, comparable with Camry.

So, Aura is an excellent car but considering the above...breaking 10k retail sales would really be a great accomplishment for the near future.
Malibu and Impala are GM's cars that could do something about Camry. They'd better not screw up with the next Impala.

For May, both Toyota and GM sold 30k units more than last year. So, considering that demand is slowing in Japan, Toyota may not pass GM this year after all.

[mcool]

Originally Posted by magneto112

Just incredible how well the Camry, Corolla, and especially the Prius is doing now. 24K Prius is a crazy amount for one month!! Tundra seems like it will be well on its way to hitting 200K. Numbers been increasing every month since introduction.

32K for Lexus!?! Thats damn near unheard of for a luxury brand.

My company (a large media multinational) is now giving incentives out for hybrid purchases by employees, topped off by $4K for a Prius. It's an unbelievable mania over these cars!

40 years ago people would brag about the sound of their V8 under the hood, now it seems it's about showing off the neato graphic telling you the batteries are powering the car (despite the engine running almost constantly). I just got out of my first ride in a Prius, it's neat, but not for me. It totally is a darling of the fashion/techno/green-concsious here in L.A.

[telo]

Originally Posted by HoosierRon

I have no idea.

Though I agree that the Cobalt, though only slightly, is better looking then the Corolla, at least compare a four door base model to each other - any top of the line model will hopefully look better then the base. Maybe a Cobalt LTZ four door would be more appropriate of a comparison.

That being said, when is the Corolla being redesigned? Isn't it soon?

[I-Love-Pontiac]

A while back I was saying their success can't continue.

I overestimated the intelligence of the American consumer.

[FordFan]

This is bull****, Toyota is dumping everything they get their hands on to the fleet companies.

[Shotgun]

Originally Posted by FordFan

This is bull****, Toyota is dumping everything they get their hands on to the fleet companies.

Just like the others have done for years and continue to do. No news there...just more excuses.

[smk4565]

GM does change names a lot. I think because they let cars sit too long on the market and they get dated and a poor image, so they have to name change, then people don't know what it is, and have a perception that GM builds rental cars.

Toyota is looking strong. 50,000 Camrys in 1 month is impressive. And of course the Prius is up 98% and it is 3 years old, good thing GM doesn't want to make hybrids and wants to make a 16 mpg Chevy Traverse instead.

[GMusa]

Looks like Toyota is taking up all those fleet sales that GM and Ford are getting rid of! Bad choice Toyota.. look what it did to GM and Ford!

[I-Love-Pontiac]

Originally Posted by FordFan

This is bull****, Toyota is dumping everything they get their hands on to the fleet companies.

Good! Let them ruin their image.

[Geotpf]

Originally Posted by genjy

Lexus' older models got hit hard (LX, GS, SC). The new LX should be just around the corner... but I haven't heard much about the new GS and the new SC.

Yup. I've noticed a pattern in Lexus' sales-they have a massive boom-and-bust cycle-they boom whenever they redo them, then go flat quickly. They are smart enough to not redo them all at the same time, so thier sales (overall) have the same upward tilt that Toyota as a whole does, but they will have one model up 400% and another down 60%.

Unlike, say, the Corolla (I can't believe it still sells so well considering how old it is).