[Heatwave3]

Hiace was never replaced by the Sienna. It was actually the Previa that was replaced by the Sienna.

It appears you didn't read my earlier email. I'm the one that posted that the HiAce was replaced by the Previa in the late 80's which was sunsequently replaced with the Camry-based Sienna. To simplify I condensed the transition from HiAce to the Sienna in the US.

200 series LX is up here in Canada. Landcrusiers were always availabe in Canada before the LX450 was introuced. I am looking at a new Suv. We have a imported 200 series Landcruiser here in GTA..so yeah it does matter to me.

Why would what we have in the US matter to canada. You appear to get different products than the US and if your view is accurate that the LC is a better product than it should outsell the Sequoia and all you wishes for a long availability for the LC in canada will surely come true. OTOH, it gave up the ghost in the US market a long time ago.

There are only three thing thats Sequioa does in IMO that are better than the 200 series. Everything is better in 200 series from there on including the details. Fold flat seats, artificial high 10,000 tow capacity and interior room are what the Sequioa excels at...you should be driving a minivan if you don't need to tow. To me the interior size of the Sequioa is too big for my needs and I have no need for fold flat seats...plus the rear floor is now higher.

Convince enough of your canadian brethren to buy the LC over the sequoia and I'm sure you'll be able to fill several future garages with a brand new LC.

What really concerns me is how cheap the interior is made and lack of details compared to 1st gen Sequioa or Landcruiser and that is where my biggest beef is against the Sequioa. Come on..a spray painted dash and poor built quality and a cheap silver driver side...all this in $55,000 SUV is a shame.

Agreed, I wish it was of a nicer finish with more natural materials. For me that's a minor trade-off but I can understand how that would turn off some potential buyers...particularly those that are counting #s of vents and concerned about bolt covers.

Personally. I would give up a little in advertised towing capacity and rather have pull out rear seats that the hideous interior quality of the Sequioa's $55k pricetag...in that I would much rather see a better interior.

Personally, I would prefer a higher tow rating and fold flat seats without the inconvenience of dragging a 3rd row seat out of the back on my hands and knees. I'm confident that Toyota did their market research which would suggest that my personal preferences are probably in line with the majority of American consumers whereas your's were not supported by the customer data.

The Sequioa was never intended to replace the 100 series or 200 series Toyota SUVs. The Sequioa is not a premium product from Toyota. The LS, SC, 200 series are all premium markup products from Toyota. Premium products get the all the interior details, latest techonology, lowest defect of parts, high quality manufacturing facilities and are made closest to spec. There is a reason why Toyota Landcruiser engine was built in Japan whereas the Sequioa was made in Alabama.

Don't click your heels three times...you might end up in Kansas, Dorothy.

The intention of the Seqiuoa was to establish a full size SUV for the north america market and in that it does very well. But to suggest the Sequioa was designed to replace the LC is wrong as the needs and income levels are much different in that LC income is close to $250k which is double that of the average Sequioa owner. Also the LX is in $340k range. A whole different buyer than the average Sequioa owner.

As I said, that will be filled with an upscale version of the Sequoia as they refine the platform over the next decade and transition the LC to a ROW product. If you're fortunate, toyota will categorize canada as ROW.

As for sales. The 200 series will sell just a many (if not a few more) units this year than they did 10 years ago when the 80 series was available and I think that is around 12-15k. I will gurantee you that Toyota will not sell as many Sequioa's this year (2008) then they did in 2001 (around 60k units) when 1st gen was introduced.

Perhaps but my guess is they don't break 10,000 total LC/LX in the US, particularly if they end up offering incentives which will likely favor the Sequoia and not be offered on the LX.