…the car is for getting to where things are going to happen, the journey is just something to put up with.

WRONG!

as i said, this corolla actually HANDLES BETTER than the ford focus now!

the fact that in slate gray, my corolla truly does look like a mini-Lexus from the front and in profile makes me PROUD to drive it too. i DO ENJOY driving it, ALL THE TIME.

after deciding against the ‘02 model, i briefly considered the mazda3. with a platform that superceded the german designed focus’, it supposedly handled even better.

but the looks of the mazda3 did not really turn me on. and mazdas do not have the bulletproof reliability of toyotas.

BTW, I think the Corolla in particular has done an awful lot to make economical cars more appealing to the mass of car buyers. Most folks don’t think of compacts as little tinny cars anymore. The Corolla, and other well designed compact vehicles such as the Elantra and Civic, come with a level of safety and features that were equivalent to most midsized vehicles of five years ago. That’s an amazing achievement given how decontented all these vehicles were back in 2002.

Good analysis Steven, and imo, you are completely correct!
in 2002, i considered trading my ‘00 focus for a new corolla. finally decided against it, due to the design being decent but meh! and the dealer not willing to deal very much. i basically just dismissed corollas then.

in 2005, it just happened that my bank was auctioning a 2003 corolla LE, and i picked it up after getting a great price.

it quickly GREW ON ME. it looked A WHOLE WORLD BETTER than the ‘02. altho’ i knew the “wood trim” was fake plastic, it DID look good. and IT DOES impress passengers who don’t know it’s fake. along with the dash lighting and other features, the car actually looks like a mini-Lexus! (not true of ‘04 and later models, with re-positioned logo and cheaper looking grill).

unlike ALL other compacts that focus on boyracerish style, this corolla looks far more mature and UPSCALE. the classy C-pillar directly links it to larger Camries and even (yes)Lexuses. (this holds true even with the later models)

and yes, i did get 40 mpg, in MIXED driving. (which does drop to low/mid-30s on trips when i can’t keep it below 75-80 mph.)

the ONLY thing the focus had this car didn’t, was superior handling on the twisties. but a mere tire and wheel upgrade not only fixed that, but put my corolla AHEAD now! (granted, the stock focus would’ve benefited too with a like upgrade.)(and the fat tires have cost me a few mpg.)

people who diss the corolla simply DON’T UNDERSTAND. they assume everybody wants a small car to be a boyracer. and/or LOOK like an econobox.

the corolla is the super econobox that LOOKS LIKE a mini luxury car. an unbeatable combination that explains its sales success, DESPITE being ‘long in the tooth.’

I live in the same area, I’ve seen a few new xB’s and one xD in the Ghent area of Norfolk. Ironcially, they are all being piloted by middle aged or older individuals. THe only scion I see many young people in is the Tc. I do see a few more yarises and fits running around though and a lot of Honda Elements.

On a side note, I think that the corolla will continue to sell well as many people think the yaris is too small to be safe and don’t look at Scions.

Hopefully Toyota doesn’t make a mess of the Corolla with it’s next redesign. The last two generations of Camry have been worse vehicles than their predecessors. De-contented like crazy.

40 mpg + 250,000 miles + comfortable ride = 300,000+ sales

Now most of the Corollas won’t ever actually reach a 40 mpg level, and most will sell well before the driver ever even sees 150k…. but, the Corolla is still seen as a top value when it comes to reliable and comfortable transportation.

The current generation Corolla, and the late generation Camry, are also two of the most widely accepted car designs of the last ten years. There are very few cars that can appeal to certain 25 year olds and 80 year olds, and these just happen to be two of them.

BTW, I think the Corolla in particular has done an awful lot to make economical cars more appealing to the mass of car buyers. Most folks don’t think of compacts as little tinny cars anymore. The Corolla, and other well designed compact vehicles such as the Elantra and Civic, come with a level of safety and features that were equivalent to most midsized vehicles of five years ago. That’s an amazing achievement given hhow decontented all these vehicles were back in 2002.

Overall, the Corolla is arguably the most mainstream compact in America today and in time, it may even outsell the Camry if Toyota decides to push the later model to a higher price class. As time goes on, Camrys are now becoming more like the Buicks of days yore and the Corolla is gradually becoming the equivalent to a Chevy.

Certain manufacturers have a rational supply chain, others have a less rational supply chain.

The reply that said that the sales floor is made up of a couple of true professionals and lots of newbies that don’t last is completely accurate.

I think that the numbers for the sports cars/convertibles might be seasonally higher as the dealership I was at really backed off them for winter. SER’s and 350z’s were almost never in stock during the winter months. It’s never easy to accurately predict demand and those days in stock number is all dependant on the sales rate at the moment. If they slapped a rebate of 5k on an Element do you think it’d still be 100+ days?

Most dealers are geared towards the instant gratification crowd – I tend to keep my cars a long time, so I can wait for exactly what I want.

Of course, a huge discount could change my mind.

Sure the slaesguys were probably lying or couldn’t care less, but it seems like in the Pacific NW, supplies are better controlled.

I suspect that part of the reason for the slow launch of the 2008 Taurus was that huge discount for those who took the old version instead. Ford seems to have realized the error of their ways and has back way off on the incentives for the Five Hundred while putting some on the Taurus.

It is a shame that Ford is doing such a horrible job of marketing it’s top sedan as the car represents one of the best values on the market today, just as the original Taurus did in 1985.

I realize the lack of selection is a drawback when it comes to showing up and leaving with the car but is it going to keep people from buying? I haven’t driven away with the configuration/color I wanted with my last 3 purchases. They always involved a dealer swap with a final test drive of the actual vehicle.

Touareg needs a refreshening, Passat and Jetta need to be rethought completely and not priced at a premium to domestics/japanese. Golf needs a more frugal powerplant.

This inventory data, however, highlights one reason why Ford and GM need to consolidate dealers. A 102-day supply of Tauruses based on sales numbers last month gives 4 Tauruses to each dealer. Whereas, say, an estimated 45-day supply of Camrys gives each Toyota dealer over 20 Camrys. The ability to find what you want is still a critical component. And I guarantee they won’t have your configuration among the 4 Tauruses or 1.5 Enclaves or 3 Acadias on the lot.

Qusus :

Mercedes – 41 days supply (no model breakout)

Audi – 73 cars, 35 trucks (Q7) VW – 110 days cars, 94 trucks (Touareg)

BMW- 21 to 25 days

Porsche – 46 cars, 22 trucks (Cayenne)

VW – 109 total 

Can you believe it, I am still waiting by the phone and no call. I guess Ford will sell you a car if your name is Phil or Greg, but they don’t have a Paul in their marketing profile.

Do you happen to have the numbers for the German automakers as well? I’m primarily wondering how VW is doing…

Cicero :
A 27-day supply of Lexus cars? What’s the story here? Does Toyota intentionally squeeze the pipe or are the cars selling faster than Toyota can build them?

In the first 10 months of this year, Lexus sold 269,775 vehicles in the U.S. As a comparison, Cadillac sold 176,249 vehicles in the same amount of time and VW of America sold 271,577 VWs, Audis, and Bentleys combined.

It’s called good inventory management. They don’t build product that they can’t sell. One of the benefits of operating flexible production lines is that it is possible to adjust production in response to demand, rather than just building it in the hopes that they will come.

Lexus and BMW are both masters of efficiently managing inventories. It’s one of the key reasons that they are so profitable, and why their retail sales prices and residuals tend to remain high.

Sales people generally make more money selling a used car than they do a new car. As for the Detroit dealerships, in generally they are still moving a respectable number of trucks and SUVs. So between used vehicles and trucks the few good Detroit branded salespeople are making an ok living.

Just as in real estate, there is a small core of experienced professional automotive salespeople who do ok for themselves and have a loyal customer base. Then there is the revolving door of newbies who don’t last.