Toyota Suspends Sales of 8 Models

[Ironhorse]

Interesting how Toyota has a lot of Apple-like fanboys, even though their product quality appears to have steadily declined over the last years. Toyota has been (undeservingly) riding their own old coat tails for a while now.

[IliketoPuck]

I own a Mac and a Toyota.....what is the correlation % between these two and fanboy fanaticism level?

[IliketoPuck]

Its also kind of funny that people can even consider supporting American made/ Windows based computers given how crappy they have been for the last two decades.

Toyota, Honda etc. might not have the best record in the last couple years, but they sure as hell have a better record than ANY American company over the last 20. Is there really any better way to compare this than to simply look at which companies needed to take handouts from the government. Ford is the only American company that didn't have to, but they were pretty damn close.

As for Apples and PC's.....that discussion is apples and oranges to me. Forgive the pun, but if I wanted a computer that randomly crashed, repeatedly needs virus protection and had a terrible OS, then of course I would buy into the PC kool-aid market. But the PC Mac debate doesn't belong in this thread so I won't continue. I'm happy with my Mac, I'm sure people are happy with their PC's.

[burn_this_city]

I'm pretty sure the Japanese government gave their auto industry a handout. What kind of car do you have puck?

[IliketoPuck]

I will give you three guesses

[IliketoPuck]

I have a 09 Corolla S. It's a great little car, nice looks, good on gas, reasonably peppy but it won't win any races. I have really enjoyed owning it for the last year and a half.

[burn_this_city]

It really depends on preference. My girlfriend got a 2010 corolla for a loaner while her mazda 3 was in the shop. The wipers didnt work right so enterprise gave her a pontiac g6. She loved the g6 in comparison. Said it drove much nicer and didnt feel as cheap and sluggish as the corolla. I think the quality difference is negligiable now, both will probably last 250,000 km without major repair.

[pylon]

This really could have happened to any manufacturer, and by the sounds of it, it is an issue with a subcontracted part. I just hope this doesn't hurt Toyota like the Audi 5000 60 minutes debacle, which was somehwat similar being an accelerator issue, which in the end was proven to be nothing more that shoddy journalism. But, this could prove to be a massive blow to Toyota resale in the coming months. Who heard the 911 call of the Lexus with the stuck accelerator that careened over a cliff with a full passenger load?

link: http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=f8b_1254173935

As someone in the car business, toyota is known as the company that ,"Builds cars for people that hate cars." Toyota makes reliable boring cars. Appliances to get around with next to no personality. The Maytag of automobiles. That is a fine, if you just want dull point A to B product, but anyone who enjoys any type of performance or driving enjoyment, typically will not buy a Toyota.

[IliketoPuck]

Hehe, my little corolla begs to differ.

- great on gas
- nice looks
- reliability (so far...thanks for the faulty part subcontractors)

I wasn't in the market for a 280 hp monster. If I wanted performance I would buy a g35x and triple my gas bill and speeding ticket count.

What I wanted was a car that my Fiance would feel comfortable driving, something that looked good and didn't have to get a parking pass for the neighbor hood Shell station.

[Ironhorse]

Originally Posted by IliketoPuck

Hehe, my little corolla begs to differ.

- great on gas
- nice looks
- reliability (so far...thanks for the faulty part subcontractors)

I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But I digress...

[pylon]

If you drove pretty much anything european from the last decade, you would be pretty surprised on what you are missing out on.

[Bill Bumface]

Can we please agree to stop saying Corollas look good in this thread?

[IliketoPuck]

I guess it's all in the price point and personal preferrence.

I think the Corolla S is a great looking car, especially in the blue color I have it.

I won't buy American so that rules out any of those cars.

Just graduated from U of C so I wasn't really in the market for a higher priced European car.

So that leaves cars under 25k that are not American made.

I test drove every offering in that class a year and a half ago and the Corolla was the one that came out on the top of my personal list.

Hulk why do I get the feeling that if it isn't an el Camino it isn't good looking to you?

[Table 5]

I loved the old Corollas, but the last decade has been pretty damn boring.
These were my faves.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:To..._Carib_002.JPG

I guess building up brand equity somehow equates to fanboism now???

I think Toyota and Apple is a pretty bad comparison. One places much more emphasis on design, cutting edge tech, and advancing the user experience....while the other tends to keep things as mainstream as possible, but makes sure there is high level of quality (or atleast used to!). One is build for the young tech/design savy geek, while the other is targeted at accountants and those who want more of the same. I respect both, but pretty different strategies.

[IliketoPuck]

How is that not a good looking car. Please tell me.

[Table 5]

Eh, I'm a Toyota fan and even I don't like that car's design very much. There's way too much bubbly vanilla action going on in cars these days....

[IliketoPuck]

That's a pretty generic statement. So you are a fan of a more classic design I assume...something like this?

[Table 5]

That car has some personality at least. So sure, I like it's design better!

I prefer this old hatchback though....

[IliketoPuck]

Haha it also comes with a free one of these:

[Bring_Back_Shantz]

Originally Posted by IliketoPuck

Hulk why do I get the feeling that if it isn't an el Camino it isn't good looking to you?

Knowing Hulk as I do, I'm going to say, it's hilarious that a guy who drives a Corolla is making fun of his sense of style as it relates to cars.