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News, Analysis and EditorialToyota
Has Four of July 2004's Hottest Selling Top Ten; Honda, BMW, and DaimlerChrysler
- Each Two
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Toyota Has Four of July 2004's Hottest Selling Top Ten; Honda, BMW, and DaimlerChrysler - Each Two
The Wall Street Journal reports that Toyota Motor Corporation manufactures four of the ten hottest selling automobiles in the U.S. in July 2004. These four include one in the Scion line - the Scion xB, two in the Toyota line - the Prius and the Sienna, and one in the Lexus line - the LX 470.1
The Scion xB is designed to meet the needs and tastes of today's young adults, although baby boomers have taken to it as well. It is a Consumer Reports' 2004 Quick Pick with a predicted reliability in the second highest category.2
The Prius, Toyota's environmentally friendly hybrid that is powered by both battery and gas, was the fastest mover in July,1 as it was in February through June.3,4,5,6,7 The Journal reports that the 2004 Prius has been the hottest selling vehicle model for ten consecutive months.
Toyota reports that sales of the Prius in July 2004 were up 667% over July 2003, per sales day (or, as usually expressed, on a daily selling rate basis).8
The extraordinary popularity of the 2004 edition of the Prius is likely a consequence of several factors. (1) The 2004 Prius is a mid-size sedan. (2) It has new power-train technology that delivers greater acceleration and more miles per gallon.9 (3) It is a Consumer Reports' 2004 Top Pick10 and 2004 Quick Pick11, with a CR predicted reliability in the highest category.10,11,12
The Journal reports that the average number of days that the Prius was on U.S. dealership lots in June was 6; the second hottest model had an average lot stay nearly double that of the Prius. However, Toyota sales people state that the wait for a Prius in many parts of the U.S. is six months to one year; consequently, even the national average of a six-day lot period fails to measure how much demand for this vehicle outstrips supply.
To bring supply more into balance with demand, Toyota plans to increase production of the Prius by 50% from August 2004 to July 2005.9 Also, in early 2005, the hybrid sport utility vehicle RX 400h should be available, although demand for this latest Lexus is anticipated to be sizable in its own right.
Toyota's minivan, the Sienna, was, as well, on the Hottest Ten lists for February through June.3,4,5,6,7 The Sienna is another of Consumer Reports' 2004 Top Picks, with a predicted reliability in the highest category.10
Honda Motor Company manufactures two of the ten hottest selling automobiles in the U.S. in July 2004. Both are in the Acura line - the TSX and the TL.1 The TSX is one of the successors to the Integra and is based on the smaller Accord sold in Europe and Japan. The TL is based on the larger Accord sold in the U.S. The 1995-1999 Reliability Percentrank average for the U.S. sold Integra is .91 and that for the U.S. sold Accord is .90.13
For the past quarter century, Toyota and Honda have dominated vehicle reliability, as well as other measures of quality.
The two hottest ten models by BMW are the BMW 6 Series and the Mini Cooper; the two by DaimlerChrysler are the Chrysler 300 and the Mercedes-Benz SL-Class. The Reliability Percentrank averages for the BMW line are erratic,13 those for the Mercedes-Benz line - mediocre,13 those for the Chrysler line - poor,13 and CR's predicted reliability of the Mini Cooper is in the lowest category.14 In short, these are not prime candidates for a long spotlight life.
1 "Hot Off the Lot," Wall Street Journal, August 11, 2004, p. D4
2 Consumer Reports, August 2004, p. 51
3 "Hot Off the Lot," Wall Street Journal, July 14, 2004, p. D2
4 "Hot Off the Lot," Wall Street Journal, June 9, 2004, p. D9
5 "Hot Off the Lot," Wall Street Journal, May 12, 2004, p. D3
6 "Hot Off the Lot," Wall Street Journal, April 7, 2004, p. D2
7 "Hot Off the Lot," Wall Street Journal, March 10, 2004, p. D12
8 "Toyota Announces Best-Ever July Sales: Achieves 200K Sales for Third Time in Past 12 Months," August 3, 2004, at http://pressroom.toyota.com/photo_library/display_print.html?id=20040803c
9 "Toyota Announces 50-Percent Boost in 2005 Prius Hybrid Production To Meet Unprecedented Demand," at http://pressroom.toyota.com/photo_library/display_print.html?id=20040803b
10 "Top Picks 2004," Consumer Reports, April 2004, pp. 8,9
11 "CR Quick Recommendations," Consumer Reports, May 2004, p. 53
12"Vehicle Profiles: A User's Guide," Consumer Reports, April 2004, p. 73
14"Vehicle Profiles: A User's Guide," Consumer Reports, April 2004, p. 62
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