Fleet Beat

my car has been in repair shop just sitting there for approx 10 weeks after a small accident where someone ran into me,just waiting for parts to arrive. although i know this out of anyones control its very frustrating and to have an insurance company or no company standing up and assisting with some type of loan car is ridiculous. im just hoping the parts arrive before xmas and my car is back to its original condition.. Thanks for the comment Julie, its important to know how this situation is panning out. Keep us informed with the updates if you can.

I bought a Toyota last year, it had nothing to do with marketing, It just happened to be the best car in its class by a long shot in 2003 the wife bought a 2001 Toyota Avalon. This is a re-badged American Camry. I was cynical about the woeful turning circle and likened it to a truck and always told people that you had to go around the block to turn the vehicle around. An exaggeration. The poor turning circle was a big issue for us and in 2005 we bought a Holden Commodore which had a tight turning circle (even tighter on the new models). Over the years I slowly fell in love with the Avalon and even though I am a Holden man the Avalon was the car of choice if we went anywhere together. My Holden is six years old and still has not done 40,000Km. That is because I preferred to drive the slower, smoother, more comfortable Avalon. Now she owns a Prado 4WD and that is my vehicle of choice - the Holden still gets relegated to the car port if we both go somewhere together. The 2.5 tonne Prado is easier to drive than the Holden albeit it noisier (diesel). Other manufacturers have recalls but the press has given Toyota a hammering with excessive negative publicity. I consider it to be unfair. Besides, it is not Toyota but the parts manufacturer. Usually a vehicle manufacturer will source parts from at least two different manufacturers in case of employee strikes, supply problems, etcetera. That is why only certain vehicles get recalled and not all of the same model. Having aid all of this, the point I am making is that i still consider Toyota to be one of the most reliable vehicles on the market and no amount of recalls will sway me away. I have been through recalls with Holden (two just for my side air bags which could accidentally activate and kung-fu you as you alighted) and recalls with Ford. What worries me is when a vehicle manufacturer is not brave enough to announce a recall because of reputation/cost. Toyota have an issue with their Service Centres and poor customer service and they should be looking at this. You can buy a $130,000 Land Cruiser Sahara and get treated no differently than someone who bought a used Yaris.

I first saw one of these horrible boxes on wheels when I was shopping for a Prado. My initial thought was "fugly". Every time I returned to the dealership I thought the same. The car salesman kept tellingm e how great it is and that he drives one home. yeah, I would drive one too if it was free transport provided by the boss. Would I buy one, no way. It has no BLING! If you change passenger window locks for your----- “rowdy mates” to "uncontrollable kids" and “more than enough room for you and your parent-in-laws” in the back, then you will understand why Gen-X buy this car. And please, "Add to these Toyota’s strong image of reliability" You are joking, right? I recon it will be better if we don't mention reliability......just for now! Haha

I checked out the ruckus at a local dealer the other day. The looks didn't bother me as much as the finish. Interior door panels are cheap. The dash looks like the older Nissan X-trail arrangement and non strucutral plastics are exceedingly flimsy. 2.4 Petrol *yay*. 4 spd auto *boo*. bazillion speakers *yay*. Rear luggage space *boo*. Head room *yay* (and I'm 198cm), leg room *meh*. I think the Kia Soul is the better alternative - not as pretty but much cheaper (half the price), better fitted out, more standard options, better finish and comes with an awesome fuel efficient, environmentally friendly CRDi engine - 5.2 L/100 as opposed to the Ruckus 8.8... what a joke for a small car! I note Toyota also fail to advertise emmissions CO2 g/Km... sad really! The Toyota Rukus has been selling in the US as the Scion xB for the past few years and seems to be doing quite well. According to its official webpage, it has received many awards including being named one of the “Best Family Cars for Downsizing” as well as one of the “Best Cars for College Students”. For some reason though the Ruckus’s appeal seems to be lost in translation in Australia. I think the price and the flamboyant styling scare off younger people who see $25,000 - $30,000 as quite an expensive car. Maybe it will break into the market after people see a few driving around?

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This is going to really damage Toyota's legendary reputation...