The Toyota Avalon is the flagship of the Toyota brand , at least on the passenger car side (the real flagship is hands-down the Land Cruiser). When the Avalon first supplanted the Camry XLE V6 in 1995, it was really nothing more than a tarted up, XL version of the Camry. But by the third-generation, Toyota was adventurous enough to give the Avalon its own unique exterior and interior styling. In my opinion, it was far more fashion forward than the current Camry.
The 2011 Toyota Avalon losses a lot of its uniqueness in this mid-cycle refresh. The new Avalon gets a new front clip, rear end treatment and a completely redesigned interior.
The new design finally brings the Avalon into compliance with Toyota’s current design language, called “Vibrant Clarity”.
The language includes such styling cues such as a rounded, bulbous hood; narrow, upswinged headlamps; a prominent grille; a large lower intake; curvaceous fender sculpting; and a two-level, “bustle-back” trunk.
The new front end works well on the Avalon; the look is conservative, yet modern enough for this stately cruiser. The side front fender sculpting is a bit jarring, because it flows right into a slab side profile. It can look odd depending on how the light is hitting the vehicle.
The side profile is still relatively unchanged from the current generation Avalon and that’s a good thing. The tall beltline, tasteful chrome elements and a fastback profile were all present on the last generation Avalon. The look is reminiscent of the same treatment found on the current Lexus GS.
The bustle-back rear end remains relatively unchanged from the last generation model.The newly redesigned tail lamps feature LED pipe lighting that function as the Avalon’s turn signals.
Where the Avalon really changes is inside the cabin. The sedan gets a new dash, center console and instrument cluster. Gone are all those ergonomic faux pas on the last model: “seriously, you put door covers on the radio controls Toyota?”
The front seats, center console armrest and door handles felt soft and well padded. The top dash is soft touch and the faux wood and metal garish looked convincing enough. The instrument cluster now features a binocular design. Toyota calls the new gauges and console controls “highly readable.” Good thing, considering that the median age of an Avalon buyer is 60 years old: no joke.
Toyota has simplified its content packaging to two trims, down from three. The base Avalon is pretty well equipped with leather seats, automatic climate control, a powered sunshade and reclining rear seats standard.
Interior cargo capacity, legroom and headroom are identical to the numbers found on last year’s model.
Internal underpinnings and the powertrain are mainly unchanged, though there’s a 1 mpg increase in city mileage (20 city/ 28 hwy).
The current generation Avalon is a part of Toyota’s sticky accelerator pedal recall and sales suspension. Bob Carter, group vice president and general manager of the Toyota brand, was quick to note that this new Avalon includes the redesigned accelerator pedal assembly and a brake override system as standard safety equipment.
The Avalon’s sales have tanked over recent years. In 2009, Toyota only sold one quarter the amount of Avalon’s it moved in 2005. Will the redesign help the Avalon tick up the sales charts? With a fully redesigned Nissan Maxima, Ford Taurus and soon-to-be Chrysler 300C as competition, the proposition seems unconvincing.
Overall, I know Toyota has longed-for a cohesive design theme, but I think the automaker has decidedly crushed what little soul the Avalon had by forging ahead with this plan.
This week’s podcast is very special for the simple fact that we have a third! Christopher Baccus is a Senior Digital Brand Strategist with Wunderman Team Detroit. For folks who are on twitter, you might have met Chris there or at his blog. This week, Chris, Joel and I center our topics around the theme of “A Better Tomorrow?”
Joel’s Garage:
This week, Joel is the proud, temporary, owner of a Chevrolet Traverse. We discuss its interior cargo space and its ability to “traverse” modern life’s common challenges.
This Week in Cars:
Chevrolet Malibu is a great car but sales disappoint. Do January’s Malibu sales point towards a brighter future for the nameplate? [link]
America’s version of Top Gear is still in the works, according to Adam Corolla. Will America finally get a quality auto enthusiast TV show? [link]
Dodge Avenger and Chrysler Sebring are to get new nameplates. We discuss some nameplates we’d love to see Chrysler revive. [link]
Clip of the Week:
We discuss Dodge’s “Man’s Last Stand” and its female developed counterpart spot. We also discuss Dodge’s general ad campaign, via the brand’s new ad firm Wieden+Kennedy. Chris also brings up a good point that Wieden+Kennedy did a great job reinvigorating Subaru’s ads in the early 1990’s.
Auto manufacturers are drawn to emerging markets for a number of reasons. Manufacturing is generally cheap in these countries, and this combines with economies of scale to allow for lower vehicle production costs. In general, countries with up-and-coming economies are a breeding ground for consumption spending. The new middle class is eager to get their hands on a means of transportation, as well as seeking out new status symbols. Overall, nations with developing economies are excellent places to produce goods while exporting said goods, as well as selling them locally. The BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) countries are the leaders in today’s emerging markets, and are ideally suited for auto manufacturing.
Russia has one of the most interesting histories when it comes to the market for cars and auto manufacturing. When Russia’s economy began to recover in the late 90s, the population was eager to gain motorized independence. Due to the horrible aftertaste left in consumer’s mouths, domestic automakers had a hard time selling any vehicles. Instead, people turned to used imports to satisfy their cravings, buying up nearly 500,000 pre-owned vehicles in 2002. One of the main reasons that old imports outsold new domestics was that old VWs and Hondas were just as modern as the vehicles being offered by Gaz and AutoVAZ. The government didn’t exactly enjoy seeing the domestic manufacturers struggling during the economic boom, so they took action.
At the end of 2002, the Russian government added a steep value added tax (VAT) and import duty to any foreign car sold within the country. For a short time, this band-aid stuck, and the domestic automakers started to recover. Unfortunately, new imports made up for roughly 50% of all new car purchases just three years later, even in the face of the additional cost associated with the purchase. Once again in 2005, the government wasn’t happy at the state of the domestic auto industry. However, this time they held the local automakers responsible for their failure, and offered an incentive for foreign manufacturers. Essentially, rescinding the import duty was the motivation for assembling vehicles inside the country at the cost of building a factory with a minimum production capacity of 25,000 vehicles per year, a $100 million investment and 30% local parts content of the vehicles within five years
Two of the first foreign automakers to take advantage of the incentive were Ford and General Motors. Soon after, more foreign auto groups joined the fray to establish a manufacturing presence in Russia. Recently, BMW announced that it will begin producing the 7-series in the country again, after they halted production in 1999. Additionally, there are reports that the 535i will be produced and sold in Russia as well.
Currently, BMW manufactures the 3-series, 5-series, X3, X5 and X6 in Russia, with total vehicle production exceeding 7,000 units and total BMW sales of 16,365 vehicles, according to Edmund’s InsideLine. On February 11, Fiat signed a deal with Stollers to create a new, joint-venture automaker. According to Bloomberg, the group expects to produce 500,000 vehicles a year in nine model ranges and export roughly 10% of the total production. The agreement has been valued at roughly $3.3 billion, and is backed by loans from the Russian government.
For the time being, it seems as if the domestic auto market in Russia has drastically improved. Not only are foreign cars cheaper than they have been in recent years, a large number of them have been produced in the country. Additionally, the country has not suffered due to the foreign invasion. Stollers currently employs 25,000 Russians and just opened a new manufacturing center in December, Bloomberg reports. The deal with Fiat should drive the market for manufacturing jobs higher, with additional work generated when additional plants are needed in the future.
If Russia can bounce back from their recession quick enough, Europeans may soon be driving cars with the label “Сделано в России.”
I know you guys are used to seeing a post about the AutoBird Podcast; don’t worry, that’s tomorrow, and it’s an exciting episode. But first, I was invited onto the RoundAbout (RoAB) Podcast as a guest for Episode 23: the “Love-Hate” Episode.
If you haven’t checked out RoAB, this is me telling you to DO IT! RoundAbout is an irreverent automotive podcast devoted to the humorous and obscure car news of the week. It’s hosted by the very talented and witty Craig Cole and masterfully produced by the lovely Ben Sanders. Common guest include Michelle Naranjo (aka. MissMotorMouth), Zach Bowman, Eric Trytko and Jeffrey Ross.
During the tail end of the Chicago Auto Show, I was given a ticket to go to a luncheon held by the Economic Club of Chicago. The guest speaker was originally supposed to be Sergio Marchionne but, unfortunately, he backed out at the last minute. In his place was Ralph Gilles, President and CEO of Dodge Car and Senior Vice President of Chrysler’s Product Design. I was at the luncheon for about an hour, and Ralph Gilles still had not spoken. Since I had limited time, I decided to duck out before Ralph went on stage. That was probably the dumbest mistake I could have made.
Looks like Mr. Gilles decided to show a few key renderings and some production vehicles, like the 2011 Chrysler 300C. I thought, of all the pictures shown, this one was the most interesting (above).
As it stands now, Chrysler doesn’t have a competitive B-segment entry, and a vehicle like the one rendered above would really help out the company. You can tell this is a Dodge rendering from the crosshair grille and the triangular emblem on the hood that’s reminiscent of the Dodge “Ram” logo.
According to Dodge’s product plan, a small Fiat Group-derived vehicle will debut in 2013. The rendering reminds me of a streamlined version of the 2007 Dodge Hornet concept. This vehicle could be based off the same platform that underpins the Fiat 500. Whatever it is, Dodge desperately needs it now.
Now that CAS10 is behind us, I wanted to share with you my thoughts on some of the debuts at the show. This year’s Chicago Auto Show only had 8 unveilings. There were two concept vehicles and 6, mostly refreshed, production vehicles. I’ve given them a simple “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” review. To see all the photos I took at the Chicago Auto Show please check out my Flickr feed.
Kia Ray Concept: Thumbs Down
The Kia Ray concept is a design study and a poor one at that. The Ray is a plug-in hybrid that supposedly has a range of 746 miles. Pie-in-the-sky features include a solar celled hood and rooftop, headlights that need to move out of the way to cool down the powertrain and space-age seats. Kia proudly proclaims that that the vehicle was designed at its California center. America: you should be ashamed!
If you told me that this jellybean was unveiled at the 1996 Chicago Auto Show we might have had something here, but we live in 2010. The Ray’s derivative design has been used on dozens of concepts over the past few years, its bland side profile and shoddy construction didn’t impress me either. Some elements of this vehicle will make it to Kia’s planned dedicated hybrid Prius fighter, coming in a few years time.
Honda Odyssey Concept: Thumbs Down
If you thought I was a bit harsh on Kia’s Ray, than you might want to skip my thoughts on the Odyssey Concept. Fundamentally, what has happened here is a failure for Honda to accept that their current design language isn’t working. The Odyssey takes Honda’s light-truck design cues, think Honda Pilot and Honda Ridgeline, this includes Honda’s huge squared-off, chrome grille. Honda put a lot of emphasis on the Odyssey’s “lightning-bolt” design cue. As the beltline rises slightly, there’s a noticeable zag once the line reaches the D-pillar. The rear end isn’t half bad, Audi-like tail lamps adorn the rear end. It didn’t help that Honda unveiled the vehicle in a pearly metallic white: it’s like the vehicle was purposefully screaming “Look, I’m a moving refrigerator.”
None of this matters to the mommy’s who will buy this thing, 19 mpg city and 28 mpg highway is superb gas mileage for a V6 behemoth. The Odyssey will be wider and longer than the last gen and Honda claims to have figured out a few things with the interior that will further increase interior cargo capacity.
2011 Ford Edge: Thumbs Up
The Ford Edge is an excellent refresh that keeps Ford competitive with the Nissan Murano and Toyota Highlander. The refresh addresses three huge problems on the last generation model, the interior, poor breaking performance and gas mileage. There are three new powertrains which, for the first time, includes a 4-cylinder option. Ford is expecting a maximum of 30 mpg highway on the 2.0-liter EcoBoost powertrain. The 3.5-liter persists, but now includes twin independent variable camshaft timing (Ti-VCT), which boosts power and gas mileage.
Finally, the Sport model now has a high-end 3.7-liter V6 option, capable of 305-horsepower. New four-wheel disc brakes include new steel pistons, larger rear rotors, revised brake friction materials, revised brake booster gain and revised pedal ratios, all of which enable firmer, more confident braking, so says Ford. This should address the Edge’s long braking distances. I discussed the interior and exterior upgrades to the Edge in an earlier post here.
2011 Hyundai Azera: Thumbs Down
Hyundai sneaked this one onto the auto show without a press conference with good reason. It takes a trained eye to tell the differences, but if you look closely, Hyundai has revised the front and rear bumpers and the lamps. The bumpers are supposed to tie in the Azera with its more expensive cousin, the Hyundai Genesis. The front headlamps now feature light piping and the rear gets the full LED treatment.
The upgraded powertrain now features dual continuously variable valve timing and a 6-speed automatic, the 3.3-liter V6 is now faster and more fuel efficient with a 28 mpg maximum on the highway.
My issue with the Azera is it needed much more than a mild refresh to stay relevant. It’s basically a copy cat of the successful Avalon, yet Hyundai only moved 3,808 for all of last year and 298 in January. If these were the spy photos we were seeing for the next-gen Azera it is sorely disappointing.
2011 Chevy Silverado HD: Thumbs Up
While the exterior hasn’t changed much, most of what lies underneath the new 2011 Chevrolet Silverado Heavy Duty is all new. For 2011, the Silverado HD gets an all-new, fully-boxed frame; a stronger independent and new asymmetrical leaf-spring rear suspensions; a more powerful 6.0L V8 gasoline engine; a new, exhaust braking system; larger brakes; improved ride, handling and steering.
The best part of the Silverado HD is the new Allison 1000 six-speed automatic transmission attached to the stunning new 6.6L turbo diesel V8. The new V8 can run on B20 biodiesel and has improved fuel economy. All of this amounts to best in class towing of 20,000 pounds!
Heavy-duty trucks are some of the most profitable vehicles to sell in this industry and the new Silverado HD (and soon to be GMC Sierra HD copy) will position GM well against the new Ford F-Series HD and Chrysler Ram HD.
2011 Toyota Avalon: Thumbs Up
The Toyota Avalon is one of the best selling and most well regarded full-sized family sedans. The Avalon didn’t need drastic improvements to maintain its position in the market and I guess Toyota got the picture. For 2011, the Toyota Avalon gets a new front clip and rear end treatment – plus an all-new interior. For those fearful of Toyota’s sudden acceleration issues, the Avalon will be equipped with a brake override system.
The Avalon keeps the same powertrain, but fuel economy bumped up none the less. The 2011 Avalon will get 20 mpg city and 29 mpg highway, which is at the top of its class. An initial impressions post on the Avalon is coming soon.
With another grueling North American International Auto Show behind us, Justin and Joel round up Adam Barrera, from Highmileage.org, and Zane Merva, from autoinsane.com, to discuss their winners and losers.
prominent grille; a large lower intake; curvaceous fender sculpting; and a two-level, “bustle-back” trunk.
