TOYOTA CITY, Japan -- Throughout Toyota's global operations, managers are scrambling to cut costs in the wake of record losses.
But at Toyota's Tsutsumi plant, managers have the opposite problem: meeting demand for the third generation of the Prius, which has become an instant hit in Japan and is rolling into American showrooms now.
The Prius plant has brought back overtime -- a rarity these days, given Japan's weak economy -- and recruited workers from Toyota factories across the country. . . ."
That's no surprise--there's ALWAYS a list of people who HAVE to have the latest and greatest of EVERYTHING right away.
The REAL question is, how soon will they fill that demand? Back in the day, Toyota was green with envy as Honda spent FIVE YEARS with backlogged orders for the Odyssey minivan--selling every one of them at LEAST at list price, and quite often above list.
Honda built up production and demand cooled, and now it's just another car--but FIVE YEARS? Why did Toyota not have similar demand for their (probably equally good) Sienna? Why did not more of those Honda buyers just say "screw it, Toyota has vans in stock and I don't have to play games" and buy a Sienna?
FIVE YEARS. Now, THAT'S a car for the history books.
It's not that there's an initial demand; there will always be an initial demand. What counts is how quickly--or not--that initial demand fizzles out and the car becomes just another car on the market.
The one we saw wasn't equally good. The engine was located behind the driver and front passenger, taking space in the cabin. We went with a Dodge Caravan.
Nothing. I'm pretty sure the production limitation has been the traction batteries and the Georgetown KY plant makes the Camry hybrid.
When we visited the Georgetown plant in October, 2008, they reported that they would be providing the tooling for the Mississippi plant. But I think it makes more sense for them to make the first USA Prius and once they reach capacity, then look at opening the Mississippi plant.
I've not liked where Toyota put the engines in the Sierra and the later Sienna. The Chrysler vans handle well, have an excellent engine (well, the chrysler V6 anyway) and are comfortable for the passengers. The new Prius looks to be extremely nice with many improvements over the already-great 2nd gen and I'm sure it will be a big seller. More power but better fuel economy, some new fancy options that used to be only on Lexus, and updated styling. What's not to like? I'm glad they kept the basic form, though, so it still looks like a prius.
You did not see a Sienna, you were looking at the Previa. (I know--I owned one, a 1993 model.)
The Previa's last year in the US was 1997. Come the 1998 model year, Toyota brought forth the Sienna--which was (and is) essentially a big Camry wagon, much like the Odyssey is a big Accord wagon.
So Toyota BEAT Honda to the market, and still Honda had five years of incredible sales figures and prices for the Odyssey. I have no doubt the Sienna was just as good overall, and yet that didn't slow down Honda sales one bit. People were STILL happy to wait months and months to grab an Odyssey.
I don't get it. I got an Odyssey, paid almost sticker price for it on
9/12/01 (got the freshly updated 02 model), but I didn't have to wait for it. Had I had to wait, I would absolutely have spent my time browsing at the Toyota store.
Toyota is in an even BETTER position today with respect to the Prius; not only is it a hot car, there really isn't anything on the market that competes. Maybe the Fusion hybrid, but Toyota buyers aren't going to browse the Ford offerings; they probably will browse the Honda offerings, but I will say--being a Honda guy from way back, and currently driving an 07 Prius--that Honda has NOTHING to compare to the Prius. That's why I say Toyota is in better shape today than Honda was with the minivans.
So we'll see if Toyota can parlay that into a long run of waiting lists and high prices. The game is Toyota's to lose.
The later Sienna is every bit a big Camry wagon as the Honda Odyssey is a big Accord wagon, and they both compare directly in overall concept (including engine placement) to the grandfather Dodge minivan. They are all based on front wheel drive family sedan platforms.
I have never heard of a Toyota Sierra. Can you post a link to such a beast?
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