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Sedans Toyota Corolla 2009 Toyota Corolla
3074 messages, Last post on Aug 04, 2009 at 6:36 PM
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Replying to: raychuang00 (Apr 11, 2008 10:52 am) It COULD be that we are on the verge of spiking compact car sales at the expense of the larger models, because of the gas prices. And IF that's the case, the folks downsizing could want more of the same features they are familiar with from their bigger cars, and I am sure Toyota will be only too happy to follow that gravy train. But spend money under the hood? I would be very surprised. Toyota knows Americans will settle for less. Corolla IS cruising for a bruising if they continue to follow this philosophy through another model update. It is very similar to what happened when the Americans let the Japanese have the market for cars (not trucks) beginning in the 80s.
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Replying to: cz75 (Apr 10, 2008 12:09 am) It only comes down to money. It's a business nothing more. It's not a beauty pagaent. The XRS is an ultra small volume trim in what is essentially a very very basic commuter / people mover. It's also no competition to the IS nor the 3-series or any other sport model just to complete the picture. Wasting more than a passing thought on it is a gross waste of time...and paper, in the case of the C&D article.
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Replying to: nippononly (Apr 11, 2008 12:24 pm) The simple answer is we in NA don't want our econo-boxes to have much content. Price if far far more important than either performance or content. We are much more willing to spend big bucks for midsized autos than for small autos. On the contrary in Europe and Japan they spend much more on their high volume small vehicles. If we want our econo-boxes to be $18000 -$20000 then we get a decontented model. If we want to spend $25000-$30000 for a Civic, Corola or Jetta then we will get more content.
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Replying to: kdhspyder (Apr 12, 2008 7:00 am) Then why does Toyota put options like high-zoot stereos, Bluetooth, navigation, and leather on the Corollla? Personally I don't need any of that "content" in an economy car. What I want are basic things like a comfortable driving position, a nice-looking interior with quality surfaces and controls, a roomy back seat, a good blend of ride and handling, and as many safety features standard as possible, including ABS, side curtain airbags (with good crash test scores to boot), and ESC. And of course good fuel economy and reliability. The Corolla delivers on the last two very well (well, we'll see about reliabiilty but history is in its favor.) The others, not as well. How about more focus on the basics and less on the "flash"?
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Replying to: backy (Apr 12, 2008 8:16 am)
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Replying to: jaxs1 (Apr 12, 2008 8:50 am) As for me, I'd rather the automakers focus on features like comfortable/adjustable driver's seats, roomy back seats, and crisp handling rather than fancy electronics that I can get elsewhere, for less money.
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Replying to: backy (Apr 12, 2008 8:58 am) Automakers are just slow to adopt new things. It took years of customer pressure before GM finally relented and will start installing bluetooth on most of their vehicles next year instead of pointing to their fee-based OnStar service as the handsfree solution. Automakers were slow to adopt CD players, so people had get third party changers until factory installed CD players became common. Then aux audio inputs were the next thing and now bluetooth. There are still some new cars that don't even have an aux jack, but it has become expected at this point. Bluetooth will also be expected soon. . So what if it isn't "standard" on every car? The cheapest cars don't have a/c and cruise control standard, but it's an option. Cars as cheap as the Nissan Versa now offer factory bluetooth as an option.
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Replying to: jaxs1 (Apr 12, 2008 9:07 am) I think automakers have their priorities skewed. But maybe it's not their fault. If buyers keep demanding electronic gizmo features like Bluetooth more than they do safety features, nice seats and controls, modern suspensions and accurate steering, etc., then whose fault is it? Not the automakers I guess. So we can get Bluetooth on the Corolla, whoopty-doo, but we have to rest our elbows on hard plastic and fight to get a comfy driving position. 
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In the paper this weekend, three different volume dealers have opened the floodgates. All '09 Corolla LE automatics, $1500 off MSRP (dealer discount) all in stock (about 70 cars between the 3). All '09 Corolla XRS automatic in stock, $2000 off MSRP. All '09 Corolla 5-speed base models in stock, MSRP $16,1, sale priced $14,448. No factory rebates so far, but you know those aren't far away, maybe a couple of months. |
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Replying to: backy (Apr 12, 2008 8:16 am) Why so many al a carte 'toys'? As noted above that's what generates buyer enthusiasm in the largest segment of buyers. Look at Ford's humping of SYNCH. It sells. They turnover of the SYNCH models is significantly shorter than the ones not equipped with it. There are a lot of safety-conscious buyers too but that equipment has all the excitement of a good biology text. I think that Toyota and others got quite a surprise when the Prius took off and a lot of the buzz was over 'Prius toys'. 'Flash' sells. As to why even offer the option of thses geegaws? I'm postulating that it's because Toyota expects that during this Gen's lifetime that fuel is going to skyrocket and this segment will become the 'hot' one as more and more people try to downsize to save fuel costs. THEN at that point our econoboxes might begin to approach the Euro versions.
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