A coworker thinks Toyota should advertise the Avalon a lot more. His kids are teenagers, and they weren't comfortable in the back seat of his previous Camry or his current Lexus ES300 for any long trips. They're perfectly fine in the back of his wife's Avalon.

I think it's an important selling point, or should be anyway.

[EDIT] Although to be fair, it's hard to justify an extra $7,000 in price just for some more room in the back seat.

 

Does Toyota even need the Avalon in its line-up? I don't think they sell too many and I'd say that there must be some cannibalization from V6 Camrys and Lexus ES330s to the Avalon.

 

I think the current Avalon does need some more differentiation from the rest of the lineup, which I think will be accomplished somewhat with the new model. I'm guessing the new one is going to be a good deal larger than the Camry or ES330. The problem Toyota has with the current Avalon is that it is a big version of the old Camry/ES300 platform, but the new Camry/ES330 which came out in '02 were a big jump up in size. So now that the Camry has grown and will probably not get too much larger for the forseeable future, the Avalon can step up in size as well.

 

That's an impressive amount of camo on that car. :eek3:
I do like the roofline form...it's better than the squashed look of the ES330.
I hope they nix the cow-catcher front grille. h:
If anything needs to be changed, it's that grille.

 

Looks like it's going to be an impressive "poor man's" LS430. And I mean this in a good way.

 

Yes yes yes, most Camrys sold are 4-cylinder models. But the V6 Camry itself outsells the Avalon within the Toyota lineup. That was my point.

Issue #2: Avalon will have to be huge to be significantly larger than the 2002+ Camry.

Quite honestly, it seems to me like the days of the Avalon are going to go out. Most people willing to pay that much would be interested in the Lexus ES.

Who knows, maybe Toyota will turn the Avalon around but the Maxima will sink.
Interesting to watch whatever trends emerge.

 

the 2005 Toyota Avalon, which arrives in showrooms in February 2005, is a fully redesigned and re-engineered third-generation sedan with a more powerful engine and new level of refinement than the current Avalon, Esmond said. Average age has been 60-plus for the Avalon, and while the new model may lower the average age below 60, the age of the buyers isn’t a great concern, he said.

“We’re quite content with the mature age profile of the Avalon buyer,” Esmond said. “ . . . [Boomers are] an ever-evolving and dynamic consumer base that is constantly looking for products that are new and different.”

The new 5-passenger Avalon full-size sedan is restyled for a more modern look and is powered by a new 3.5-liter V6 that’s capable of 280 horsepower, up a whopping 70 horses from the 210 that the 3.0-liter V6 generated in the 2004 Avalon. Torque also is boosted, from 220 lb-ft in the previous Avalon to 260, and the 0-to-60-mile-an-hour time now is 6.6 seconds. Yet the Avalon’s fuel economy rating by the federal government is better than before: 22 miles a gallon in city driving and 31 mpg on the highway.

The new Avalon also includes some firsts for Toyota. Side mirrors on the new Limited model have LED turn signal displays built into the outside side mirrors. The car has Toyota’s first low-profile wiper blade, too.

Esmond said the 2005 Avalon will carry a starting base price of $26,350, up $205 from the predecessor model. The new Avalon will be offered in four trim levels, up from the two trim versions in 2004.

http://autoshow.msn.com/as/article.a...ow2005Coverage

 

well this gives some hope for the next camry.. powertrain wise.

 

yea, seems pretty promising.

but it's still ugly as fawk. i swear.. the current avalon is almost worse than the aztek. this isn't any better. i still can't believe people buy that lump of sculpted shit

 

I think it is getting uglier and uglier. Toyota should just bring its Japanese market Crown here.