Avalon has allway's been sort of targeted to a much more older segment(opps hope my parent's arnt reading this and the avalon buyer's are looking for more room than the current Toyota Camry provides ..The look's of the new avalon is sort of a cross blend of the Honda accord rear end (door's) with a mixed blend of the cad cts(front end) ..The styling sort of look's like the lexus es330 which the avalon has allways shared the under pinings from however the avalon is a tad bigger than the Es from lexus and cheaper too..I too like the new design bring's back curves to otherwise boring bigger car .It look's like the flagship from infinity (the q45). Avalon's look on the outside is pretty nice too just make sure dvd based nav is standard on all line's xl and xls and you have a winner on best full sized car.
I used to work as an inspector down at a vehicle port yard here in Vancouver BC inspecting Toyota and Lexus vehicles. So naturally any vehicle that came from Japan had to go through our port before it was either shipped to the local dealerships, or rail car shipped accross Canada to other destinations. Also, any Toyota products that were built in North America were rail car shipped to here to be then trucked to the local dealerships. I got to know all of the Lexus models quite well, on top of the Toyota models. For a luxury vehicle I sure really enjoy the Lexus. Very well appointed obviously. And even if you didn't know Lexus was owned by Toyota, after looking at Lexus for a while, you could sure tell it was a Toyota product. They share so much in common in terms of things like lines, aesthetics, body features, badging type things, etc. After a while the ES 330 began looking like what it really is - a fancy Camry with a different grill and more luxury. But even after viewing all of the Lexus models I have to say the Avalon strikes me differently and I like it better than comparable Lexus models. Now Lexus is nice. But I really really enjoy the way the Avalon not only currently looks, but also how well it's interior is designed. The JBL sound system kicks arse(Ok - I admit it - I had to give it a quick listen). I think the interior and how it's display is set up.
I would definately take the Avalon over an ES 330. I am willing to bet that picture doesn't do the new Avalon justice. I'm sure it'll be a great car like it currently is. It's a shame not too many of them sell. I guess people would rather pay for a Lexus name as opposed to the Toyota name when the get into the Avalon price bracket even though the Avalon could be re-badged with a Lexus grill and no one would know the difference considering how many components Toyota and Lexus share with each other.
Well said in my opinion, it ends up being a choice between value or status. Or as I say reputation or pi$$ing on the post for the country club set.
Larry
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2004 Tundra V8 Limited Access Cab 4X4, Michelin 265/65/R17 LTX-AT2's, Auto Dim Comp/Temp Mirror, Aero Turbine #2525 muffler, Access Roll Up Cover, Optima D31A battery, Multi-Vex adaptive outside mirrors, Eclipse AVN5510 Nav unit and Sirius SIR-ECL1 tuner, as of 10/07 pictures in my photo gallery
If a combo of all these whizz bangs met their claims you'd have to siphon gas out of your tank every second day and sell the excess horsepower on the third????
If your engine doesn't consume ANY oil it will seize???
Some people should not be allowed access to tools without books!!!
I used to work as an inspector down at a vehicle port yard here in Vancouver BC inspecting Toyota and Lexus vehicles. So naturally any vehicle that came from Japan had to go through our port before it was either shipped to the local dealerships, or rail car shipped accross Canada to other destinations. Also, any Toyota products that were built in North America were rail car shipped to here to be then trucked to the local dealerships. I got to know all of the Lexus models quite well, on top of the Toyota models. For a luxury vehicle I sure really enjoy the Lexus. Very well appointed obviously. And even if you didn't know Lexus was owned by Toyota, after looking at Lexus for a while, you could sure tell it was a Toyota product. They share so much in common in terms of things like lines, aesthetics, body features, badging type things, etc. After a while the ES 330 began looking like what it really is - a fancy Camry with a different grill and more luxury. But even after viewing all of the Lexus models I have to say the Avalon strikes me differently and I like it better than comparable Lexus models. Now Lexus is nice. But I really really enjoy the way the Avalon not only currently looks, but also how well it's interior is designed. The JBL sound system kicks arse(Ok - I admit it - I had to give it a quick listen). I think the interior and how it's display is set up.
I would definately take the Avalon over an ES 330. I am willing to bet that picture doesn't do the new Avalon justice. I'm sure it'll be a great car like it currently is. It's a shame not too many of them sell. I guess people would rather pay for a Lexus name as opposed to the Toyota name when the get into the Avalon price bracket even though the Avalon could be re-badged with a Lexus grill and no one would know the difference considering how many components Toyota and Lexus share with each other.
IMO one big thing the Lexus has over the Toyota is the dealership. You would hopefully be getting the primo treatment from the Lexus dealer rather than fighting with the Toyota dealer. Fighting with the dealer is the biggest pain ever. You will hopefully get better service too. To some people I'll bet that is worth the extra cost.
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IMO one big thing the Lexus has over the Toyota is the dealership. You would hopefully be getting the primo treatment from the Lexus dealer rather than fighting with the Toyota dealer. Fighting with the dealer is the biggest pain ever. You will hopefully get better service too. To some people I'll bet that is worth the extra cost.
To be honest lexus service aint any better my boss drives a new 2004 lx470 and his transmission needed to be replaced they didnt provide him a loner car because there were out of service loner's and he doesnt like the treament he get's from them either..Seem's lexus and toyota have similar issues as i myself have told off one Toyota service deptment manager he can be hearing from the toyota main office due to his dealership total disregard to service at all I know a few people too and hey if i aint treated right i'll make sure toyota know's which dealership's dont need to sell there product..My advice lead follow or get out of way..
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Tint 20% rear, 30% front
To be honest lexus service aint any better my boss drives a new 2004 lx470 and his transmission needed to be replaced they didnt provide him a loner car because there were out of service loner's and he doesnt like the treament he get's from them either..Seem's lexus and toyota have similar issues as i myself have told off one Toyota service deptment manager he can be hearing from the toyota main office due to his dealership total disregard to service at all I know a few people too and hey if i aint treated right i'll make sure toyota know's which dealership's dont need to sell there product..My advice lead follow or get out of way..
its proably the dealership
the longo lexus dealership treat customers better, from what i heard
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This new avalon is vastly improved vs the 2000 second gen change over that was often ugly and boxey to a lot of former avalon buyer's and they didnt care for the new look.My parent have a 99 avalon that was purchased new and it's been a great car for them if i recall the 3.0 liter v6 has 129k on miles and has been running very strong and still quiet as the day they purchased it. This new avalon has a lot of serious upgrades and the styling look's improved and so does the power plant i am glad toyota took some styling upgrades and made the avalon more sporty because the 2000 looked really out of place..great job toyota on your new flagship sedan
Glad to see a redesign after a bad review in MoterTrend..
The current model was raked below the domestics which surprised me but I guess it is a aging platform? Anyway the new model looks conservativly good, typical Toyota. The advancements (280 HP, others) are amazing but beg a couple big questions. 1) With such a premium package how much are they going to charge? 2) Will people want a poor mans Lexus? I think they will, only if its sold at a deep discount to a comparable Lexus. 3) Is this platform shared with Lexus like the Camry/ES330? I would bet its simmilar to the next gen GS300/400 that debuted at the Paris auto show. Just trying to stimulate conversation, look forward to any responses. Hope this car gives Nissan/Infiniti a run for their money!