February Auto sales will be a disaster

Global sales of *everything* have flushed. We may be looking at the D word yet

 

Should hopefully show some life again once spring time nears and people start looking around again. Its never much fun browsing a lot in 20 degree weather with 30mph winds haha

 

And HERE are the official numbers from CNN Money, with even Toyota down 40%. Note the comment about "no end in sight". Anyone still think the Prius will go above $31,000 in price? They better start marking everything down. Even the new Venza is overpriced, with MRSPs as high as $39,000.

 

Had a chance to sit in a new Venza at the dealership. Nice, but IMHO $8 G's too much

 

More detailed Toyota numbers, direct from Toyota.

Hmmm....bomb seems a bit strong. Kind of early to say one way or the other, though Camrys and Corrollas are still the big sellers. As Jayman said, it's not a bad car/crossover, just seems overpriced for what is essentially a Camry wagon.

 

Perhaps you need a better phrase. Many of our younger members think it's a good thing when something "is the bomb".

Tom

 

If I ruled the world, the Rav4 would have stayed smaller, the Venza would be a bit smaller (no 3rd seat) and have better rear visibility, and both would already have hybrid versions. I do agree that if the intent was to slot something between RAV4 and Highlander, they seem to have missed.

My sister just bought a Forester though she originally wanted to get a hybrid. The Highlander was too expensive and the Escape was a bit trucky and too hard for my elderly aunt to get in and out of, among other things. Plus, there weren't really any hybrid Escapes on the dealer lots. The new Forester seems to have them both beat on price and features for that price, if you ignore the small MPG differences. I would probably trade my HyCam in today, if there was a good crossover hybrid for a reasonable price and better than 30 MPG.

 

The Venza is not "The Bomb" it will bomb, tank, crash and burn, etc. I just can't see it being a sales success because it targets the same market as the RAV4 but falls short on versatility.

It is slightly longer and wider than the RAV4 but only seats 5
It has less cargo room that the RAV4 due to the lower roofline
It has a larger turning circle than the RAV4
It gets the same fuel economy as the RAV4
It costs more than the RAV4

It is not a wagon, it is far to high off the ground (8.1 inches vs 7.5 inches for the RAV4)

It is simply a different looking vehicle for the same market. I must say to me it is very odd looking in person (To short for the ground clearance) This vehicle only makes sense if it is a replacement for the RAV4.

 

Oddly enough, around here they are flying off lots

 

No, I see it with my own eyes. Not quite a month ago, they had 7 Venza's, now they have 2. So unless they traded them with another dealership, they sold them

During the same period, many times more Yaris and Corolla's disappeared.

Quite frankly, I could care less if the Venza, Tundra, Sequoia bomb. I have zero vested interest in Toyota

 

was at dealership today getting lost key replaced ($249!!) and had son with me who had cabin fever (took 45 minutes which was faster than the estimated 60 minutes) so we were just wandering around the lot so he could burn off breakfast and there was 16 new Pri's sitting on the lot.

this is the same dealer that i waited on for both of my Pri's. so weird to see so many new ones ready to go.

but will say, there were two new Pri's sitting up front in the "pickup" area where newly sold cars are put while waiting for owners to pick them up

 

Venza competes with Mazda CX7 which sells very well here even though it runs on Premium petrol.
Not everyone wants more utility, some want more style. I like it.