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

[magneto112]

Originally Posted by unkillsam

I was under the impression that it came out fall 2002 but using 2003 that's still 6 years.

So, your whole point is just more apologetic rhetoric for Toyota. I am not defending GM here people, they need updates on their cars too. What I am saying is that the same people that Bash GM will give Toyota a free pass for doing the same exact thing.

Why do I feel like the only person that seems to understand this concept on this thread?????

I think you are assuming that Toyota is keeping the current Corolla around because you're thinking that "Toyota just can" without understanding why they didnt update it here but did so in every other market. Toyota delayed the Corolla in the US only because there main focus was to make sure the Tundra got the publicity it deserved and would not share the same spot light. The Corolla already has a stranglehold on the compact market, why let it get in the way of the Tundra release? What company would want two all new high selling vehicles to be introduced at the same time? They would be shooting themselves in the foot in the long run!! Just like VW did earlier this decade. They introduced a crap load of cars all at the same time. Sales went up a couple years, then plummetted the remainder of the years to a point that they werent making any profit. No brand wants that.

As for giving Toyota a free pass. Nah, not me. I think they are a highly competitive brand, but I'll be quick to state what I dont like about them.

I think I would agree with you if Toyota had countless examples of delaying a vehicle because of miscellaneous reasons. But considering the Corolla is basically the only example of Toyota delaying a vehicle for an extended period of time, then I cant agree with you. One example does not make a trend.

[Psionic Wibbly]

The toyota corolla was released earlier this year in various parts of the world including europe - where it is in a hatchback version and called the "auris"

http://www.toyota.co.uk/

and in australia where it is set to end the holden commodre's reign as australia's best selling car

http://www.toyota.com.au/toyota/main...54_402,00.html

this in fact gives toyota triple advantage:

1) does not interfere with the launch of the tundra

2) a whole year to get rid of quality issues. if there are any engineering defects like the tundra camsft failure or the problems with the camry transmission, they would have been detected and sorted out before the coroll makes its debut.

3) the existing corolla which has recouped its development costs several times over is still going gang busters and making for toyta shed loads of profits

[PhishPhood]

Originally Posted by steve333

Toyota delayed the Corolla when they saw the new Civic. They decided that the new model was too boring and went back to the drawing board.
Lets see GM do something like that!
And we are rapping the Cobalt because GM hasnt attempted to improve it, especially in areas it really needs it-interior quality, refinement, seat comfort, telescoping steering wheel.
The Corolla sells twice as many cars as the Cobalt. The Civic easily outsells the Cobalt even though its more expensive. The Mazda 3 would outsell it if they had more dealers.
The Cobalt is in dire need of improvements to keep it competitive until Delta II. Otherwise sales will tank, just like the Cavalier.

That's some journalists presumption but it's false. A vehicle maker cannot change on the fly like that - no vehicle maker even Toyota. Simply put the Corolla was delayed because it got in the way of the Tundra launch.

Plant personnel, dealers and Managers have seen the 'new' Corolla live in person over 12 months ago. It's almost exactly the same as the European version debuted last Fall. There was and is no change to it.

[PhishPhood]

Originally Posted by unkillsam

I was under the impression that it came out fall 2002 but using 2003 that's still 6 years.

So, your whole point is just more apologetic rhetoric for Toyota. I am not defending GM here people, they need updates on their cars too. What I am saying is that the same people that Bash GM will give Toyota a free pass for doing the same exact thing.

Why do I feel like the only person that seems to understand this concept on this thread?????

It hit the street on the Monday after the 2002 Super Bowl as an early 2003 model. It will be 6 y.o. on about Feb 1 2008.

[mkaresh]

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.

I was so shocked they sold 50,000 Camrys that I didn't notice the equally shocking numbers for the Corolla and Prius. Toyota sold nearly as many Corollas as Hyundai sold vehicles. Amazing.

[Geotpf]

Originally Posted by SCarFan

And that's what frustrates me. Toyota has made virtually zero effort to reach out to the "margins" over the past 5-10 years, with no real answer for cars like the WRX, Mazda3, or even the GTO. For a company as large, prolific, and successful as Toyota, totally neglecting the US market in this regard is just rude and shameful.

After the MR2 Spyder and last generation Celica bombed, they decided to stop losing money, and got out of the sports/sporty car segment, at least in the traditional sense. Basically, every car in Project Genesis (which were the Celica, MR2 Spyder, and Echo) bombed. The entire project bombed, very rare for Toyota, which made them realize they needed to go in another direction. So, they formed Scion, which is clearly a success. The closest thing they will offer to the vehicles you listed is a Scion tC with optional supercharger. This will not change.

Of course, they also discontinued the Supra previously, due to high costs, low sales, and increasing pollution standards which it was having difficulty meeting.