Yaris sales hit new low...

[JustPassinThru]

Originally Posted by nookandcrannycar

One 'Yaris' is selling here in the U.S. .......It's just called the Prius c . IMO, there are several reasons for this - 1. I think why? is correct re the trend away from manual transmissions. I'd think the main reason = as people spend more time stuck in traffic, they don't want to be bothered with a manual (more so than MPG or performance reasons). - 2. Media messages that hybrids always = a smaller overall carbon footprint (not the case). - 3. Trendiness/bandwagon/politically correct/(or some combination of these) nature of a certain segment of U.S. consumers.

Agree with all of this. ESPECIALLY the trendiness/media hype. Hybrids, to me, are a ripoff - they offer better fuel economy IN SOME CIRCUMSTANCES. They shine in stop-and-go traffic; their technology is a waste on the open road, where regenerative braking doesn't factor in. The cost is high enough that to make up the DIFFERENCE in fuel economy (assuming the EPA figures are reflected in real-world) one would need to keep the car over 100,000 miles. And at that point, the more complex drivetrain might make maintenance more costly.

I like things SIMPLE. I have had, in the past, a VW Super Beetle; an old mail jeep; a Pinto. All of them simple and straightforward to care for. Nothing complex to go wrong - although I wasn't enthused about the belt-driven camshaft on the Pinto (and later it did fail; the engine was designed for clearance). So, when the Prius C and the Yaris sit side-by-side...guess where I'm drawn?

Toyota seems to want to be The Green Car Company. And they may pull it off; but sadly for them, they're in direct competition with Government Motors. And government, in any form, don't like competition. Hence the BS stories about ghost-accelerating cars; about forced recalls for silly issues; the lawsuits about somehow "discriminating" against (insert name of favored victim group here). So...I think, the more they stray from their message of "Basic, quality transportation" the more risky is their future.