5dr Xle Fwd 7-passenger 4 Dr Van Automatic Gasoline 3.3l 24-valve Mpfi Dohc V Ta on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Mystery shoppers love Infiniti, hate Tesla

Infiniti, followed by Lexus tied with Mercedes-Benz took the top two spots for best sales experience according to mystery shoppers from the latest Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index, while EV manufacturer Tesla recorded the lowest overall score. Not surprisingly, premium brands dominated the top ranks. Including the three already mentioned, luxury brands occupied seven of the top ten spots and included Audi, BMW, Porsche, and the only American brand to crack the upper echelon, Cadillac. Toyota, Volkswagen, and Nissan rounded out the first ten positions. The news for domestic automakers isn't good. Aside from Caddy, the only other star-spangled automaker to score above the industry average is Chrysler. The rest of FCA, most of GM, and all of Ford fell below the line. But Pied Piper's mystery shoppers handed Tesla the biggest walloping – the company is ten full points below the next lowest brand, Volvo, and its score of 86 is 17 below the average of 103. It's baffling, considering the company's touted direct-sales model. "Tesla leaves me scratching my head," Fred O'Hagan, Pied Piper's president and CEO, told Wards Auto. "They own all of their stores, so you would think each one would be doing the same thing. But they're not. Tesla is consistent in its inconsistencies." O'Hagan added that there's a "huge variation" in Tesla's store-to-store effectiveness, and that in some cases, shoppers found showroom workers that acted more like "museum curators," Wards Auto reports. It might be popular to call Tesla the Apple of the car world, but based on Pied Piper's work, the brand has a long way to go to emulate the uniform shopping experience of an Apple Store. The news might be bad for Tesla, but even for the brands that scored below average, there's cause for celebration. Only Tesla and Mini lost points in this year's rankings, and only Mercedes and Lincoln held steady. Every other brand, including Infiniti, which topped the index for the first time, gained at least one point. The biggest improvements belong to Porsche, Land Rover, and Mitsubishi, which all jumped five points. Pied Piper's annual Prospect Satisfaction Index uses mystery shoppers – over 6,100 this year – from across the country to assess dealers and generate rankings from over 50 individual factors. News Source: Pied Piper via WardsAuto Green Audi BMW Cadillac Chrysler Infiniti Lexus Mercedes-Benz Nissan Tesla Toyota Car Buying Car Dealers study

Toyota bringing updated Avensis to Geneva

The upper end of Toyota's sedan lineup in America may be all about the Camry and Avalon, but that's not the case everywhere in the world. Back home in Japan, Toyota offers the Crown and the Mark X. But in Europe, it all comes down to the Avensis. And the Japanese automaker is about to roll out an updated version at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show. The Avensis, for those unfamiliar, is Toyota's challenger to the likes of the Ford Mondeo (which we know as the Fusion) and the Volkswagen Passat, available in both sedan and wagon forms. It was first introduced in 1997 and is currently in its third iteration, but what you see here is not the fourth-generation model but an update on the MkIII that hit the European market in 2009. Full details on the refreshed model have yet to be disclosed, but the new Avensis clearly benefits from revised styling – carried out at the company's design studio in the South of France, with production to continue at the Burnaston plant in the UK. Expect a revised interior, updated equipment and a new engine range to also be part of the mix when the new Avensis is revealed in full early next month in Switzerland. TOYOTA TO REVEAL NEW AVENSIS AT THE GENEVA MOTOR SHOW Toyota will reveal the new Avensis at the Geneva motor show (3 – 15 March), the latest development of its contender in the European mid-size (D-segment) car market. New Avensis has been styled at Toyota's ED2 design studio in the South of France and developed by the company's R&D centre in Brussels. It will be built by Toyota Manufacturing UK at the Burnaston car plant, near Derby. The new model will deliver innovations in comfort and safety and will feature a new range of engines that promise both performance and efficiency. Avensis has been designed to appeal to fleet and private customers alike. Toyota will present new Avensis and host a press conference on its stand at the Geneva motor show at 12:15 on 3 March. Featured Gallery 2016 Toyota Avensis News Source: Toyota Geneva Motor Show Toyota Wagon Sedan 2015 Geneva Motor Show toyota avensis

Oh, Kei Go: Toyota set to enter JDM minicar market?

Toyota is looking to get bigger... by going smaller. The Japanese automaker is looking to enter the kei car market, a popular segment in its homeland. Kei cars are small vehicles with restrictions on length (11.15 feet), width (4.86 feet), engine size (660 cubic centimeters) and power output (63 horsepower). Currently, Toyota is the only Japanese automaker not producing vehicles for this segment, but that is set to change, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.
Thanks to its relationship with Daihatsu, Toyota can jump right into the kei car game. Daihatsu is one of the largest producer of kei vehicles and it is currently owned by Toyota.
Although kei cars are restricted in terms of size and power, they are not restricted by technology. Automakers utilize different drive configurations, powertrains and amenities to keep their cars fresh. Daihatsu and Toyota plan to work together to produce Toyota-branded kei cars. The two companies will utilize Toyota's knowledge of electric and hybrid systems to produce efficient little vehicles for the Japanese market.