Falcon wagon officially dead and buried
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From: Noddy on 28 Mar 2010 18:20 "Daryl Walford" <dwalford(a)internode.on.net> wrote in message news:4bafd3a4$0$8847$c3e8da3(a)news.astraweb.com... > A mate visiting from Qld for the wedding a couple of weeks ago hired a new > Corolla, being a rental it was the base model but the only equipment it > lacked was cruise control, it was an excellent car and if you check the > new price its not much more expensive than equivalent Jap cars and you get > the price difference back when it was time to trade it. > RRP Prices for base model manual hatchbacks from manufacturers web sites. > Corolla $24,797 > Mazda 3 $24,419 > Honda Civic $23,999 > Nissan Tiida $20,612 > Impreza $23,990 > Hyundai Elantra and I30 are about $4000-4500 cheaper, I30 is about $1000 > more than the Elantra. > Honda Jazz is much smaller so in a different size class. > The Corolla is the most expensive but there is sfa in it and equipment > levels on current models are very comparable. > If I was buying a car in that class I'd buy the Impreza, it would probably > be the least fuel efficient of the lot but I like the AWD and the quality > feel of the things especially the superior paint quality. There's the difference right there. If you get in something like a Civic, an Impreza or a Mazda 3, they *feel* like nice, well built cars. Get in the Corolla and it feels a *lot* cheaper and nastier despite being more expensive than anything else in it's class. There's nothing actually *wrong* with the things other than the fact that you get a nicer car from almost anyone else. The Corolla these days is pretty agricultural. -- Regards, Noddy.
From: Daryl Walford on 28 Mar 2010 18:26 On 29/03/2010 7:52 AM, hippo wrote: > D Walford wrote: >> >> On 27/03/2010 5:32 PM, Noddy wrote: >> >>> >>> I can remember when the BA came out I owned a pretty nice EFII Fairmont, > and >>> I went down to my local dealer interested in trading it in on a new BA full >>> Monty. After a 15 minute test drive I was *so* disappointed with the BA > that >>> I got back in the EF, told myself that it was a *much* better car and went >>> home. >> >> Mate has owned a series 2 BA for a couple of years, he had a problem >> with the central locking and a rattle in the exhaust but no other >> problems and he is very hard on cars? >> >> Daryl >> >> > > So maybe the moral of the story is, > "Buy a Falcon, treat it like a taxi and all will be well." > Could be, the mate with the BA is American and back in the States all his cars were from GM, he even owned a 57 Vette but since his been here he hasn't bought a single GM product because he doesn't like any of them. He is very hard on his cars and only fixes things if they break and then only if he can't put up with the fault, no such thing as regular servicing but despite his abuse his Falcon is reliable. His previous car was an AU11 which his son now has and he did say recently that he thought the AU was a better car than the BA. Daryl
From: Daryl Walford on 28 Mar 2010 19:43 On 29/03/2010 9:20 AM, Noddy wrote: > "Daryl Walford"<dwalford(a)internode.on.net> wrote in message > news:4bafd3a4$0$8847$c3e8da3(a)news.astraweb.com... > >> A mate visiting from Qld for the wedding a couple of weeks ago hired a new >> Corolla, being a rental it was the base model but the only equipment it >> lacked was cruise control, it was an excellent car and if you check the >> new price its not much more expensive than equivalent Jap cars and you get >> the price difference back when it was time to trade it. >> RRP Prices for base model manual hatchbacks from manufacturers web sites. >> Corolla $24,797 >> Mazda 3 $24,419 >> Honda Civic $23,999 >> Nissan Tiida $20,612 >> Impreza $23,990 >> Hyundai Elantra and I30 are about $4000-4500 cheaper, I30 is about $1000 >> more than the Elantra. >> Honda Jazz is much smaller so in a different size class. >> The Corolla is the most expensive but there is sfa in it and equipment >> levels on current models are very comparable. >> If I was buying a car in that class I'd buy the Impreza, it would probably >> be the least fuel efficient of the lot but I like the AWD and the quality >> feel of the things especially the superior paint quality. > > There's the difference right there. IMO the Impreza is not just better than the Corolla, its better made than all of the competition. > > If you get in something like a Civic, an Impreza or a Mazda 3, they *feel* > like nice, well built cars. Get in the Corolla and it feels a *lot* cheaper > and nastier despite being more expensive than anything else in it's class. > There's nothing actually *wrong* with the things other than the fact that > you get a nicer car from almost anyone else. > > The Corolla these days is pretty agricultural. The hired one the mate had recently was far from agricultural, its as good as any of the competition with all the latest safety electronics etc, there is no reason why it is more expensive but that doesn't seem to bother buyers as it still outsells the competition by a very big margin, if it was a "agricultural" as you say no one would pay the premium price. About the only feature missing that I thought should be standard is cruise control. Daryl
From: Noddy on 28 Mar 2010 20:06 "Daryl Walford" <dwalford(a)internode.on.net> wrote in message news:4bafe9b2$0$27857$c3e8da3(a)news.astraweb.com... > The hired one the mate had recently was far from agricultural, its as good > as any of the competition with all the latest safety electronics etc, I'm not saying it doesn't have the kit. I'm saying it's *rough* by comparison. Drive any of the others and then drive the Corolla and you'll see what I mean. > there is no reason why it is more expensive but that doesn't seem to > bother buyers as it still outsells the competition by a very big margin, > if it was a "agricultural" as you say no one would pay the premium price. Of course they would. People pay the premium price *because* it's a Toyota, and they believe Toyota to be something special compared to anything else. If you weren't interested in brand names and wanted the best car for your money then a Corolla wouldn't be on your shopping list, but then that's not as important to some people as the perception of "quality" that Toyota has. > About the only feature missing that I thought should be standard is cruise > control. To be fair I haven't driven the 2010 Corolla so I can't comment on how good or bad a car it may be. I don't expect it would be a bad car at all, but if it's anything like the previous model which I spent about a week in last year then there is no way I'd ever be interested in buying one when there are things like Civics, Impreza's and Mazda 3's available for less money. Personally I think one of the biggest factors in Toyota sales in this country is ignorance of the alternative options. For whatever reason, people largely seem to remain blissfully ignorant of what else is available in a given class and simply buy a Toyota as a matter of course. If doing so floats their boat then good on them, but I think it's a fairly stupid approach to car ownership myself. I'll be buying a new family car myself some time in the next few months, and the front runner at the moment is the Hyundai Santa Fe Hylander 2.2 turbo diesel. At 52 grand on the road some might say that's a lot of money for a Korean car, but I couldn't give a rats. I don't care where it's made or who makes it, as I'm interested in the *vehicle*, not the company. I also like the Toyota Kluger, but at close to 70 grand for the Grande model it's almost 20 thousand bucks more expensive than the Hyundai while offering significantly less in terms of equipment, and when you look at the things up close you can't see any difference in quality. -- Regards, Noddy.
From: Daryl Walford on 28 Mar 2010 23:10
On 29/03/2010 11:06 AM, Noddy wrote: > People pay the premium price *because* it's a Toyota, and they believe > Toyota to be something special compared to anything else. If you weren't > interested in brand names and wanted the best car for your money then a > Corolla wouldn't be on your shopping list, but then that's not as important > to some people as the perception of "quality" that Toyota has. > If value for money was your main criteria then anything Japanese would be dismissed in favour of a Korean car, resale isn't as good so whether or not they are better value over the life of the car is questionable but for new car buyers who change their cars every 5yrs or so that's not a big issue. >> About the only feature missing that I thought should be standard is cruise >> control. > > To be fair I haven't driven the 2010 Corolla so I can't comment on how good > or bad a car it may be. I don't expect it would be a bad car at all, but if > it's anything like the previous model which I spent about a week in last > year then there is no way I'd ever be interested in buying one when there > are things like Civics, Impreza's and Mazda 3's available for less money. > > Personally I think one of the biggest factors in Toyota sales in this > country is ignorance of the alternative options. For whatever reason, people > largely seem to remain blissfully ignorant of what else is available in a > given class and simply buy a Toyota as a matter of course. If doing so > floats their boat then good on them, but I think it's a fairly stupid > approach to car ownership myself. > If that was the case cars like the Mazda 3 wouldn't be selling as well as it is, that could be the case with the Civic and the Impreza but I suspect people don't check them out or buy them as they are perceived as being expensive to buy and own which isn't true. > I'll be buying a new family car myself some time in the next few months, and > the front runner at the moment is the Hyundai Santa Fe Hylander 2.2 turbo > diesel. At 52 grand on the road some might say that's a lot of money for a > Korean car, but I couldn't give a rats. I don't care where it's made or who > makes it, as I'm interested in the *vehicle*, not the company. > > I also like the Toyota Kluger, but at close to 70 grand for the Grande model > it's almost 20 thousand bucks more expensive than the Hyundai while offering > significantly less in terms of equipment, and when you look at the things up > close you can't see any difference in quality. What do you get in a Santa Fe that you don't get in a Kluger Grande? I also liked the Santa Fe but I liked the Forester more and its quite a bit cheaper. Daryl |