Originally Posted by
Dirk Diggler
I am with you usually about Toyota. Its reputation is well earned and it's always interesting to hear about your past experiences working with them vs Hyundai. However, I think getting rid of the Yaris and axing their economy division, Scion, is going to bite them in the azz in the future.
Tis possible my friend. I think if they had a crystal ball, they would maybe have still axed Scion, but kept their poverty models. Maybe. Hard to predict what an auto company will do.
Originally Posted by
Dirk Diggler
I think we can all agree here, that the numbers show millennials simply don't have the purchasing power their parents did back in the 80s and 90s, not even close. Toyota will eventually have less and less people that can afford a hybrid RAV4 or a Tundra. I hope one of the executives notices this and thinks to themselves "Why did we get rid of all our affordable vehicles?
If an American Toyota official saw this thread, it would be some nerd bean counter, or some nerd lawyer that doesn't give a rip about anything but their next bonus. Or maybe some nerd engineer that would have little to no authority to do anything about it. If the right Japanese Toyota guy saw this, they'd get frustrated in short order reading Engrish.
Originally Posted by
Dirk Diggler
40% of Americans can't afford our cheapest car now and that % is only going to continue to grow. What can we do to address this?"
Voting conservatives into positions of authority, ones that believe in the FREE MARKET would be a start. Not the "jam stuff down your throat that WE say is good for you while we take our private jets to luxury resortland" MARKET. I'm fine with rich people flying in private jets to luxury resortland. But I resent those same rich people preaching down to me about making green choices and forcing me into green crap that I don't want, while they blow carbon into the air at levels I'll never come close to no matter what ICE vehicle I own.
Originally Posted by
Dirk Diggler
Would it really be financially unfeasible at this point, for Toyota to have a TRULY entry level vehicle in their lineup? KIA and Hyundai can certainly afford it. Why not Toyota? I think its a bad call on their part.
I agree with you there. I think it is probably due to a lack of a crystal ball that Toyota has not had or retained a poverty model.
Originally Posted by
Dirk Diggler
Man, what I would give for Mitsubishi to license out the old Yaris and slap their badge on it like Pontiac did with the Toyota Matrix. That was probably the most reliable vehicle Pontiac ever put their name on lol.
How about this, what if Toyota took over the Mirage, but focused on keeping it cheap and or cheaper. The price would still swell from Mark's historic low purchase(s), but it should still be the least expensive car on the market. Maybe it could quickly become Toyota's poverty model, put them back in that channel quickly, and possibly improve it some ... but of course, they'd have to retain a manual transmission or forget the whole thing. Retain the 3-cylinder pure ICE simple engine, develop a cheapo hybrid with no gobment incentives to buy, sell them based on their development and production costs and see what their take rates are.
I hope Tata and other EV vehicle manufacturers sell ZILLIONS of EVs in Kalifornia in the next 10 months. I predict next summer will be an eye opener.
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View my fuel log 2020 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 42.4 mpg (US) ... 18.0 km/L ... 5.5 L/100 km ... 51.0 mpg (Imp)