Toyota delays new Corolla until 2008
Automotive News reported yesterday that Toyota has decided to leave the current Corolla on the market for an extra year and delay its replacement until 2008. This will be the current generation's sixth year on the market, which is a record and breaks the company's long-standing tradition of redesigning vehicles after their fifth model year.
Toyota cites the redistribution of engineering resources to ensure a smooth launch for the redesigned Camry as the main reason for the delay. Other automotive news outlets are speculating that the real reason is because Honda's new Civic has forced Toyota to go back to the drawing board.
For our part, we believe Toyota. The Honda Civic is currently enjoying a 17.1% increase in sales through the first six months of 2006 and has moved 165,056 units. Despite the Honda's critical success, the Corolla continues to steam roll its competition, including the new Civic, with a 38.7% increase in sales during the first half of the year, selling nearly 200,000 units. Clearly the Corolla can hold its own for one more year, which gives Toyota 365 more days to build a better Civic slayer.
[Source: Automotive News via The Detroit News]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Bonita Fernandez 9:24AM (7/11/2006)
Anyone who follows Toyota's philosophy knows how conservative they are. That new Civic coupe is one sharp little car.
Toyota's claim to fame is not to invent the mousetrap, but rather to continually come out with a better mousetrap. Since the Corolla has enjoyed 30+ years of success and over 25 million units in worldwide sales, it is reasonable to assume the next generation Corolla will be heavily Lexus-influenced and take away even more sales from Honda.
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Ted 9:26AM (7/11/2006)
Hard to believe that lackluster vehicle "steam rolls" anything, but then again people are buying the styling abortion that is the 2007 Camry.
Apparently boring has become the norm.
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Seb 9:27AM (7/11/2006)
Right now I drive a 2003 Corolla. This car has been a model of reliability. All I've done is fluid changes and tire rotations, and it still drives like the day I took it off the lot.
In the 3.5 years I've owned it, it's value has depreciated by a little under 4 grand. While not the sportiest, or best looking car of the sub-compact segment, it is a tremendous value. The peace of mind alone is worth the minimal cost of ownership if you ask me.
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Steve 9:36AM (7/11/2006)
So the current gen Corolla's will be on the market for six years? That's nothing...the current Nissan Sentra B15 platform has been out seven years.
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Elliott 9:38AM (7/11/2006)
I must have transformed into a Mazda fanboy. All I read was, "We need more time to copy features from the Mazda3".
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SherbornSean 9:41AM (7/11/2006)
The contention that the current Corolla is beating Civic in sales is wrong -- the 200K figure for the first half of 06 includes Matrix (and probably Vibe).
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A.K. Maloney 9:42AM (7/11/2006)
To poster #2..I agree, it is hard to believe that a Corolla steam rolls anything. What John Neff forgot to consider in the Corolla's nearly 200,000 sales were the fleet units that Toyota has pushed. I have to disagree with John Neff on this one and say that the new Civic did force Toyota back to the drawing board.
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pavster 9:47AM (7/11/2006)
#2, I used to feel exactly as you about Toyota. Then I actually started to need to drive, instead of driving only when I want to. After an extensive search, I ended up with a Lexus GS. What a car!
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Lisa 9:58AM (7/11/2006)
I own a 2003 Toyota Corolla that I bought brand new.
It has been reliable, it averages 40 mpg at over 6000 feet elevation. with oil changes and tire rotation. The car has by far surpassed the Honda Civic that I had before it. It is a Sport model and not the fanciest car on the road but I am thrilled with it considering it holds it's value and runs great. I would not call it boring after I purchased mine several people stopped me asking questions and then they went out and bought one.It is not a BMW but I get better milage. SO the Toyota has paid for its self in many ways! With fuel prices rising I will be watching the 2008.
Happy Toyota Owner!
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Lisa 10:00AM (7/11/2006)
Oh buy the way Lexus is made by TOYOTA!
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Gardiner Westbound 10:06AM (7/11/2006)
It's not difficult to understand why the Corolla is selling so well vis-a-vis the Civic. Honda is a victim of it's own greed. As good as the new Civic is, after about five price increases since introduction it's over-priced.
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DJA 10:18AM (7/11/2006)
"2. Hard to believe that lackluster vehicle "steam rolls" anything, but then again people are buying the styling abortion that is the 2007 Camry.
Apparently boring has become the norm."
Some people just need a car that gets them to other places and back home again. They don't need a fun car. Nothing wrong with that. Few vehicles are the equal of the Corolla for that purpose. My wife had a Corolla for 15 years and only gave it up because the body finally turned into a reddish-brown powder.
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Jim in Tampa 10:25AM (7/11/2006)
I'm looking out the window of my office at a white 2005 Toyota Corolla LE and a blue 2006 Honda Civic LX parked next to each other. The Civic looks far more substantial, elegant and innovative than the Corolla.
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Danielle 10:31AM (7/11/2006)
I cant wait until 2008 for the new corolla. I am a happy Corolla owner I have a 1997 Corolla that has been to hell and back and it is still running. I have almost 300,000 miles on it and it will run me probally till the end of time. so what if people think they are boring cars they keep their value and are very reliable with great fuel economy with gas prices as high as they are all toyota owners will get the last laugh.
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apple_box 10:50AM (7/11/2006)
What folks generally don't consider when making a new car purchase is the safty and the age of a chassis. The new Civic has a new chassis and a safer one at that. And though the new Golf/Rabbit/Jetta/A3 is a few years old in the EU it rides on a newer safer chassis. All this including standard curtain airbags (Honda and VW). The Corolla may look new or newish and Toyota may upgrade to standard curtains or brake assist but it will still be a 6 year old chassis, 7 or more if you count developemental testing. I think we've come a ways in terms of safety over the past 7 years, and while the Corolla may be safe the competition (including Mazda on the Volvo/Ford chassis) is safer.
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Rob 11:04AM (7/11/2006)
While I've never thought the Corolla as particularly attractive (I much prefer the Civic in terms of looks) my aunt recently bought a new 2006 Corolla and after having the chance to drive it, I understand why people buy it. The interior, while simple (compared to my TL at least) is really well laid out and the car rides great. I also had a chance to drive a new Cobalt and I was really disappointed to see it didn't compare at all to the Corolla - its interior was horrible (even my sister's 2002 neon looks nicer) and it felt like it was made out of cardboard. I guess looks aren't everything after all!
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Ivan Rusich 11:15AM (7/11/2006)
We have bought the`03 Matrix XRS. What a GEM!!. Now, we have two of the 05s. Identical except mine is AWD. Just took an over 4000 mile vacation and averaged a comfortable 33.345 MPG. Had one ,years ago when still driving 170 miles per day round trip to work, that had 262,000 mills on it at tradein.
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Ryan 11:15AM (7/11/2006)
THE COROLLA IS SEX ON WHEELS
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djSyndrome 11:17AM (7/11/2006)
"I'm looking out the window of my office at a white 2005 Toyota Corolla LE and a blue 2006 Honda Civic LX parked next to each other. The Civic looks far more substantial, elegant and innovative than the Corolla."
The Civic is also a much newer design, so this is to be expected. Also, it's overpriced (as mentioned above), has a bizarre interior with poor-fitting plastics, and (for me at least), wasn't all that comfortable. I've owned four Hondas in the past and was looking forward to possibly purchasing a Civic for my wife, but after a test drive we were completely put off and are waiting for the next Corolla and Impreza.
And as for Corollas, I drive a 2003 Matrix XRS, which has given me 78,000 miles of fun motoring with zero repair bills. No, it's not a WRX, but I don't envy WRX owners' car payments, insurance costs or repair bills, either ;)
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JarryHames 12:09PM (7/11/2006)
We all know that Toyota is going back to the drawing board to rethink their boremobile. Honda did it with the Civic and Toyota will now do it for their Carolla. I'm glad that the Mazda3 made all car makers rethink their philosophy on small cars. We all know that Honda kicks Toyotas butt on vehicle that they both bring to market. Toyotas are just bland and damn good enough to appeal to the masses. The Mazda3 and Civic are much nicer looking vehicles for sure.
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