- #369 of 1078
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Re: Drove one tonight... [rogeliov]
by mary99
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Nov 26, 2008 (7:21 pm)
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Replying to: rogeliov (Nov 26, 2008 5:44 pm)
All the articles and press releases say the Venza's target market is the baby boomer, and those are far from geriatric and far from yuppies with kids at home.
I'd much rather have a generic MP3 player connection than a specialized iPod one. If I were into name brands like iPod I probably wouldn't be buying a Toyota in the first place.
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- #371 of 1078
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Re: Drove one tonight... [rogeliov]
by kdhspyder
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Nov 26, 2008 (8:54 pm)
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Replying to: rogeliov (Nov 26, 2008 5:44 pm)
From Toyota's own words it's primarily directed to Boomers coming out of Sequoias, 4Runners, Siennas, Explorers, Tahoes, etc. They want some room in back but they don't need the seating space that they needed when the family was full of kids and their friends. This group, and I can tell you from direct contact, has little or no knowledge of downloaded music.
The secondary goal with the less expensive 4 cyl model is young families with their first on the way where the mother-to-be is in a sports coup of some type or an old clunker from college. Ths will be their first new family vehicle together. This group is prolly 50/50 between iPODs and MP3 players.
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- #372 of 1078
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Re: A Toyota Sales Person Observations [seatoyotasales]
by kdhspyder
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Nov 26, 2008 (8:56 pm)
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Replying to: seatoyotasales (Nov 26, 2008 6:17 pm)
'Hell Freezes Over' version?
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- #373 of 1078
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Re: Drove one tonight... [mary99]
by tourguide
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Nov 26, 2008 (8:59 pm)
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Replying to: mary99 (Nov 26, 2008 7:21 pm)
I'd much rather have a generic MP3 player connection than a specialized iPod one.
I see absolutely no reason why both can't be provided. At the very least, the option to have the ipod integration should be offered for heaven sake. This was an error IMO.
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- #374 of 1078
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Re: Drove one tonight... [mary99]
by rogeliov
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Nov 26, 2008 (9:17 pm)
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Replying to: mary99 (Nov 26, 2008 7:21 pm)
Mary, my point was that regardless who this vehicle is targeted to, they should have incorporated both type of connectors into the vehicle. They did it on the Scions which sell for under 20k but couldn't put it on a 37k plus vehicle?
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- #375 of 1078
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Re: Drove one tonight... [kdhspyder]
by rogeliov
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Nov 26, 2008 (9:20 pm)
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Replying to: kdhspyder (Nov 26, 2008 8:54 pm)
A lot of these boomers have grandkids with iPods. What are they going to tell Johnny or Susy or Roberto when they want to listen to their iPods on Grandpa's Venza?
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- #376 of 1078
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Re: A Toyota Sales Person Observations [seatoyotasales]
by qs933
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Nov 27, 2008 (12:28 am)
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Replying to: seatoyotasales (Nov 26, 2008 6:17 pm)
The JBL in the Venza sounds better than the one in the 4-runnner.
Thanks, that's encouraging. I'm looking forward to trying it out myself.
Regarding an iPod input versus a generic AUX in, I was also disappointed that Toyota went with just the latter. I would love to be able to control my iPod from the steering wheel controls.
However, I can also understand why Toyota wouldn't include one. Some guesses:
- Added cost to allow the audio system to control the iPod (yes it's software, but software costs money to develop)
- Added cost of the proprietary connector (and maybe Apple charges a licensing fee for the connector?)
- Added complexity -- you can support today's iPods, but will Toyota support future iPods as Apple changes their firmware or adds new models? A good example is the 2nd Gen iPod touch and 4th Gen nano that no longer support charging via the method that most older iPods use.
- The target market just doesn't see it as being all that important.
I'm probably an anomaly from a demographic standpoint for the Venza. I'm a "millennial" and probably younger than Toyota's target market. I'll use my iPod with the aux in or burn MP3 CDs.
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- #377 of 1078
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Re: Drove one tonight... [rogeliov]
by kdhspyder
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Nov 27, 2008 (4:28 am)
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Replying to: rogeliov (Nov 26, 2008 9:20 pm)
If enough buyers demand an iPOD connection then the vehicle will get one. This is one of those details that gets studied to death then the decision is made to go one way or another in order to eliminate variability and keep costs down.
I don't have a problem with it because I have an MP3 and just by chance this fits my profile perfectly. Except for the fact that I will be driving my Prius for the another 4-5 yrs the Venza is the vehicle that I would look at first in the entire line up....when it gets a hybrid option hopefully in 2-3 yrs.
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- #378 of 1078
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Re: Drove one tonight... [rogeliov]
by md_outback
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Nov 27, 2008 (7:38 am)
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Replying to: rogeliov (Nov 26, 2008 5:44 pm)
Wow, judging from the responses on this forum alone, Toyota seems to have hit the nail on the head. Some say the Venza is targeted at young buyers with lots of kids still in car seats. Others say it was built for empty-nester boomers. Still others say it is a well-timed entry for those who want to move from their giant SUVs to something a bit more practical. Next we'll probably hear from the iPod-loving Scion xB owner who wants something that makes them feel more mature now that they have moved to suburbia. Personally, I like the Venza because it will handle a bit better than an SUV (maybe even handle very well when some performance-oriented tires become available), has reasonable cargo room for those trips to Home Depot, has a decent back seat when it's our turn to drive with our adult friends, it has available AWD for rain and snow and handling in general, it will be reliable, it ain't entirely ugly (hopefully there will soon be some sharp-looking, after-market replacement grills), it will probably be pretty safe in a crash, performs very well with the V6, gets better mpg than most other 268 hp vehicles (or wait for the I-4 for even better mpg), is priced reasonably compared with everything else offering the same size, performance and equipment levels and you can get one painted black. And though I am soon to become a grandpa, I usually burn my favorite iTune playlists onto a CD and play them in all of my cars, so I don't need a direct iPod connection. What's not to like? Happy Thanksgiving.
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