2008 Corolla

Oh, and if you go to the Japanese country site there are more pictures.

I note that the new Corolla will be available with CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission)

Is this a first for Toyota?

No, Toyota hybrid vehicles have CVT's.

Toyota used to sell All-Trac versions of the Corolla in the U.S., they were not big sellers and were eventually discontinued.

True, but then again that was before the SUV craze and then high gas prices. Besides, IMHO, it was an ugly vehicle.

I wish they'd revert & make a liftback version again... I've been wishing that since I bought my 2nd Corolla in '90. I loved my '84 Corolla liftback!

Cathy

I'd like to see All-Trac versions of all models from the Corolla on up, or at least on wagons. I think they would offer a practical solution for people who want the additional traction offered by all wheel or four wheel drive without the added bulk that most SUV's add.

I'd like to see Corolla & Camry Wagons. I am in the process of replacing my 1991 Corolla DX Wagon (just crossed 100K), and I am settling for a RAV4 which is much less fuel efficient and has some (to me) sill things like the power seat! Sheesh, like how often do I have to adjust that, and all that extra bulk I am carrying along for the life of the car. And 6 CD changer? One is more than enough for me.

No wonder mpgs suffer with all that extra stuff as part of the car. I get 37mpg highway with my 15+ year old car, this one is rated at

30mpg highway, and that sounds perhaps optimistic.

It does have a bunch of safety features I do want (main reason for getting a new car) such as airbags, ABS, and ESC, so in that respect I guess the additional features will add some weight etc.

Didn't like the Matrix.

Esmail

I think the popularity of SUV's pretty much killed the market for station wagons ("estates" to our friends in Europe and "vans" to our friends in Japan) in the U.S. The Corolla used to offered with the All-Trac drivetrain in sedans and wagons, and the Camry was offered with All-Trac only in sedans. Subaru pretty much has the small wagon market all to itself now, even though their fuel mileage is not much better than small SUV's.

100% right .. in fact I was looking at the Legacy and Outback Wagons, and their mpg is similar or perhaps even slightly worse than the 2WD I4 RAV4.

I might have even bought one, if the dealership hadn't been so rotten, and Subaru corporate would have acknowledged my letter of complaint. I crossed Subaru off my list permanently.

I think the RAV4 will be more fun to drive anyway :-)

I've seen lots of customer satisfaction surveys, most of which are not available to the public. In general, customer loyalty to Toyota, Honda, Nissan, and Subaru brands are much higher than loyalty to the dealerships. In other words, people were likely to purchase another vehicle of the same brand, but not from the same dealership. Customer loyalty to dealerships was much higher at GM dealerships than at Toyota dealerships. I called on quite a few dealerships that sold brands other than Toyotas, and for the most part, stores that sold GM brands did a very good job with their customers.

Americans in general do not like liftbacks. The attitude is that if I'm going to have to open the back of the car to put something in give me a wagon or a SUV. They just have never caught on here.

Come to thing of it I don't remember seeing a liftback when I was digging around Toyotas Japanese site the other day. Xa and Matrix types yes but no liftbacks, but I could be wrong. And before someone says Prius, I think of it more as a hatchback.

Isn't a liftback the same as a hatchback??

Cathy

>

I'm confused too .. I just assumed it was the same.

I wonder why this would be. Maybe the brand loyalty because of the reliability, design, build, etc. Maybe GM needs to treat their customers well to keep them whereas Toyota, Honda, Nissan and Subaru keeps their customers more with their reviews, reputation, and product? Almost as if these vehicles sell themselves vs. GM - the people at the dealerships need to work harder to keep their customers.

-Dave

"Liftback" is what Toyota calls their hatchbacks.

IMO, a lot of Toyota, Honda, Nissan, and Subaru dealers developed arrogance in the late 1970's and through the 1980's because demand for those brands was greater than supply and they got away with "availability surcharges." Unfortunately, the manufacturer can only provide a suggested retail price and cannot dictate pricing to dealers.

Again, as a newbie to buying cars, I am just amazed what is involved and the maze of charges/ploys to increase the final price. I wonder if this will ever change. It's a huge purchase for most (certainly for me) and it has its worries already w/o all the extra games.

Makes me also wonder if the process is similar in Europe and other parts of the world.

Esmail

Good; I'm not nuts, & not terminology deficient. ;-)

Cathy