WTF is an Avalon???

How many Camrys are imported and how do you tell one easily other than the VIN? tnx

The VIN shows County of assembly of all cars sold in the US. In the case of Toyota look for 'J' Japan, '2' Canada, '3' Mexico, '4' US of more than 40%, but leas than 75% American parts and '5' less than 40% American parts. Generally the Camrys sold today on the west cost are a 'J' the rest are a '4' or '5' with the majority currently being built presenting with a '5'

mike hunt

Henry Kolesnik wrote:

So it sounds to me like the best are made in Japan and those Toyotas are on the west coast. Do they make it ot Arizona?

Like any other car maker, Toyota sees an opportunity to sell cars for

2-3 times the price of a Corolla that only cost 50% more to make. I'm sure their profit margin on Avalons is much higher than your typical $15K Corolla. In a sense I agree with you that "Toyota" has traditionally meant function, quality and dependability above form, but it's a cultural phenomenon that Americans typically buy much more than they really need and then complain about the high cost of gas, insurance, etc. Toyota is simply filling the needs of a high profit market and you can hardly blame them for that. If we are dumb enough to buy "luxo-barges" then someone is surely willing to step in and fill that need. Personally, I would rather spend what I have worked hard to earn on other pursuits, no luxo-barges in my foreseeable future. Hopefully Toyota never loses its focus on quality, there are signs that lapses occur from time to time but in general I think the techniques they have developed over the past decades still serve them well in building good, dependable cars.

Mark

Avalon - In Arthurian legend, an island paradise in the western seas to which King Arthur went at his death.

Sounds like a luxo-barge to me... LOL

Actually the barges I worry about are the SUV's. That is why I bought a

300M and Avalon. They get decent mileage and if I am hit by a SUV I have a small chance of survival versus none at all in something smaller.

Some years ago, I tried a Buick Riviera with 12k miles on it. As I got in passenger side and pulled door closed, whole door panel fell off in my lap!

So, yep, Avalons are big boats BUT they are a Toyota. We've had 2 and wife wants an 05 in worst way. The 02 has about 45k on it so hard to part with the $$$ it'll take to switch. Probably wait till 06's are out Ron

The new Prius is even weirder! I got in with the fob in my pocket, pushed "Power" and nothing happened. But some key-shaped light in the panel kept flashing. I saw a little flap, pushed it with my finger and then decided THIS is where to put the fob. Neat. The gearshift knob is funky, too.

This is the future, eh?

hachiroku wrote in news:UUuke.19598$Y36.5302@trndny05:

Sheesh. If that's the future, I'm gonna go live with the Amish.

Have you heard of the Amish computer virus?:

"Greetings, You have just received the Amish Virus. Since we have no computers or electricity, you are on the honor system. Please delete all of your files. Thank thee."

You stand corrected..The Cressida and the Land Cruiser were neither small or inexpensive yet they were all Toyota. I love my 1995 Avalon with 154K miles and no Caddilac could match the past 10 plus years of excellent driving experiences with relatively little maintenance concerns. My 16 year old insists that I give her this car as her first car. Yep she's getting a TOYOTA. I'm shopping for an '05 to replace it.

Take a look at what the value is of a say 6-8 year old Caddie and similar Avalon. Then compare what the initial prices were. Scary what it costs to drive a Caddie.

The new ones may hold value better but.......

Ron

Yeah, but the Cressida was a Toyota. Maybe not inexpensive, but still a somewhat 'seat of the pants' car with the 3L inline 6 like the Supra.

Now, this may sound a bit weird, but Toyotas had a sort of a 'soul'; you could expect a certain feeling from any Toy you got into, no matter what. I can still see that in the Echo and the Matrix, somewhat still in the Camry, but the Prius and the Avalon have lost that. Not surprising in the Avalon, since it was designed and built solely in the US. I've driven them all; Corollas, Coronas, Crowns, Celicas, MR2s, Camrys (er, not the Cressida...), Tercels; they all had the same nature about them. The Avalon doesn't have that.

Oh, its all clear now. We have an "Art" here that about drove himsefl to death with his Avalon. Something about a crooked dash LOL

I heard about a customer in the L.A. region that was complaining that her car was haunted and that the "soul" would only appear in the rear-view mirror on her way home from work. Even after the service advisor, service manager, and district service manager politely explained what she was seeing, she demanded that the D.S.M. provide the explanation in writing because she was going to sue for "deceptive practices" if the ghost kept appearing. The D.S.M. provided the written explanation, and they never heard from the customer again, probably because even lawyers probably laughed her out of their offices.

LOL! Yeah, I've seen that 'ghost', too! Only I wasn't on LSD at the time!

Hey, Ray, BTW, do you recall George L. from Hampshire Toyota? I think he may have been there when you were the area rep. I believe at the time he may have been a service writer, possibly on 2nd shift.

I dealt with 2 people in the service dept at Hampshire but to be honest, I don't remember their names. George rings a bell. The service mgr was a quiet, thing guy, the service advisor/warranty administrator was a bigger, husky guy. I recall having lunch with the service advisor (George?) watching coverage of the Challenger accident.

George is a tall thin guy, about 50-55, droopy moustache almost like Jim's; very hard to read...you can tell when he's in a good mood, hard to tell otherwise. Either that or I just haven't pissed him off yet.

Interesting story about the Challenger. I was working in CT for the co. that made the EMU's ('spacesuits' for youse guys) and they were showing a TAPE of a shuttle launch. I looked at the tape and said, "One of these days, one of those is going to blow up!" Someone asked me why I said that and I explained the way the engines were made. In the 'old days' they made a part, tested it, made another, tested it, assembled them, tested the assembly, etc. With the new engines, they just assembled them and THEN tested them. Burned up 3 sets of motors that way. I got up to have a smoke, looked at the clock and it said 12:38.

Later, one of the guys at the table said "Good shot, man" and walked away. Another came up and said "You really know how to call 'em, don't you?" and also walked away. WTF???!!!!

A woman came back from home and said, "Isn't it a shame about that poor teacher?" HUH?!?! THEN they made the announcement over the PA system...