30th May 2015, 06:51

So you are all a Toyota family for decades. I agree with the quality in the past. But to me today they are between just average to below in quality. I liked low production made in Japan. I think the materials and quality has dropped. If someone bought 11 domestics of the same model, they would have a domestic fixation if there was a comment made. My one side of the family is Mopar or no car for decades. Same scenario. Their parents had them one after another. And all 3 of their kids drive them no matter what. One after another. I have seen nothing like it. I have bought many imports and domestics. So the label doesn't apply.

I would much rather have a German car than a Toyota today. They have always been more to maintain. But you get a high quality ride typically, with great handling. This is the area that Lexus lacks. This is the model in the review. BMW prides themselves in this area.

My favorite is Audi at the moment. There is a great aftermarket facility near us that changes the exhaust and tuning for great performance. I have driven 911s, and the handling and braking excel. So if it costs more to maintain; it's worth the cost of admission. What is inexcusable is engine sludging issues from a poor block design. Not lack of oil changes. Or trans that fail premature and electrical issues. These are just swept under the mat. Toyota and Honda have had issues.

My Mopar side of the family are so hooked into a name. So I have seen how sentimentality is even with domestics as well. There are so many great cars to choose from today. Why not branch out for a new experience?

31st May 2015, 04:49

The problems we had with the GM cars we had when I was a kid were inexcusably bad. As in I very distinctly remember one Sunday we went to church, and Dad wanted to talk to one of his Sunday school class members and the window would not roll down. The Buick I mentioned was actually bought back by the dealer as it was so problematic.

There was the mention of Toyotas having problems mentioned on this site. True. But far less of them than other brands, and that's why they are usually at the top of the reliability charts.

As far as Audi - sorry but in general VW group - who owns Audi - makes some pretty poor quality cars in terms of reliability. I have known way, way too many people who owned these cars and had awful problems with them. No way I would ever trust anything made by that parent company.

As of next year my Toyota truck turns 20. It's not exciting, nor does it have a great interior. It's starting to look aged and worn out. But it just goes and goes and goes. That's what you call quality. It's not fussy. It just works and does so for years and years. I think that's what most people who have this agenda against Toyota will never get: they don't make exciting cars. But they know how to make cars and trucks that will get you to where you want to go for literally decades, without much more than oil changes and spark plugs.

As mentioned I bought a Chevy Volt last year. I did so because I liked the car. GM took a chance, devoted some resources, made a real effort and delivered the goods. I love this car. More than any car I've owned. But in the back of my mind I wondered: why didn't they spend this sort of effort on their cars of the past, because they really and truly made some awful cars. When I was in high school, the driver's ed car was a Chevy Corsica. Remember those? Man that car was a pile of crap. The rear panel above the seats for the speakers was covered in cheap carpet and the speakers were underneath. The whole car reeked of cheapness. I haven't seen any of those cars on the road... In years. They were simply cheap cars, made as cheaply as possible. It's good GM stopped making cars like that.

31st May 2015, 22:38

I think your description about Toyota running forever is a too spartan one. There is no such thing as a quality Toyota built after 2006. In the past 10 years, this company has lost its compass. Still they are pretty well built cars for the first 50000 miles or so, but then the issues start showing up.

The worst, is that the interior quality has been going downhill compared with the competition.

And the ugly part is that Toyota doesn't care about safety. Toyota consistently ranks at the bottom when it comes to new crash tests such as the small overlap test. They are the worst in industry. This company is only about making money, without interest in pleasing the consumers.

Go with Honda if you want a car from a Japanese company that hasn't fall asleep in the last 10 years.

1st Jun 2015, 02:00

I like GM, but don't relish imposing at work, friends or family by plugging in at 35 miles. A simple solution is buy a motorcycle for MPG.

Buy roll up windows, it's likely what the Tacoma has. Losing an engine or a trans is major.

The topic has pretty much run its course. The original reviewer gave their impression of the Lexus. Since it is 2015, look at current reviews on current luxury models. There's some great choices today. 20 year old plus Hondas and Toyotas, I agree with better quality. Not today though. Luxury buyers are different than the segment you are discussing. They expect more luxury and appointments. And less issues spending that kind of money.

1st Jun 2015, 17:33

Same here, we had our share of LeSabres, a 98 Regency, and a Monte Carlo.

These were all from the early-mid eighties. Basic maintenance was the only money we spent in the course of ownership.

1st Jun 2015, 19:20

It's interesting to me that this comment about how Toyota has stopped making quality cars and trucks past a certain time keeps cropping up. Previous comments claimed they stopped making good stuff in the 90s. Now a new claim is 2006. I'm sure that in a few more years it will be past 2012... 2014... and so on. I distinctly recall some ridiculous claims that when Toyota starting making trucks at their NUMII California plant that the "American parts" of the truck would fail or that anything made in the US by Toyota would be inferior to the ones imported from Japan. In reality the quality went UP.

As far as the Volt, I'll relay my personal experiences for those who don't know a great deal about these, as it seems to be the case here possibly as well. At this point charge stations are becoming commonplace - at least here in Cali. My workplace along with many others have several hundred 220 volt chargers. Of course anyone who buys either a Volt or an EV gets a home charger as well and hence it's easy.

The cost breakdown for me works out to about 80 cents a day (at work the charge is free and at home about 80 cents for the charge) - or around the equivalent of 2 gallons of gas in a very efficient car. Compared to 2 gallons of gas that's about 1/4 to 1/6th the cost of the same in gas. As of now I can get all the way to and from work. But even if I didn't, it has a conventional gas engine and the engine powers electric motors, and thus you still have almost immediate torque. No other manufacturer makes a car like this.

The Volt has been a VERY cheap car to own so far. It's also been one of the best cars I've owned, and as said - a FAR cry from the awful stuff GM used to build. So while some may have liked all of those X-body GM cars from the 80's... it's a good thing they don't make those kinds of cars anymore.