Production Timeline

[HKz]

Originally Posted by BuddahLV

the Crown is replacing the Avalon

Have a real hard time believing that. Toyota and Lexus sedans sales have dipped by a good amount in the US. Not sure how a Crown would fit in between V6 Camry/IS 300/ES 350.

[StE92ve]

Originally Posted by Clide

Feels like the trick, and the main reason I'm going for Toyota, is Subaru dealers are slapping on fat charges to go past MSRP as much as possible

As a matter of principle, I refuse to pay over MSRP. Fortunately, if that's the case, I can wait them out until things settle down.

[LanceLane174]

Originally Posted by StE92ve

As a matter of principle, I refuse to pay over MSRP. Fortunately, if that's the case, I can wait them out until things settle down.

I hope Toyota doesn't realize how much people are waiting for these and decides to make the MSRP higher due to that fact. If people are paying over MSRP for the BRZ then we should just charge them more for the 86 to begin with. They could then retain more of the money instead of the dealers keeping the extra cash.

[NARFALICIOUS]

Originally Posted by BuddahLV

the Crown is replacing the Avalon

The 2022 Avalon is alive and well. Don't spread misinformation.
www.toyota.com/avalon

[azndavepgh]

I doubt the dealer has any real information. My guess is that Subaru and Toyota decided to focus on the BRZ first because of production bottlenecks rather than building fewer numbers of both models from the start. However, Toyota should at least provide an update to potential customers who are waiting.

I don't think the Avalon will be replaced after 2022.

[Spektyr]

Originally Posted by azndavepgh

However, Toyota should at least provide an update to potential customers who are waiting.

This is what has me the most pissed-off.

Toyota has all the options nailed down - they know what they're going to offer in terms of color options, wheels, etc. But they haven't updated their website to give any impression that they intend to actually release the 2022 GR86 any time soon. It's still under "Upcoming Vehicles", and it takes you to a page full of promise and very little information.

Oh, but if you'd like to have Toyota send you updates, you can sign up for their mailing list...

... which will do absolutely nothing because Toyota doesn't actually send you any email about the car, ever.

They don't talk to their dealers. They don't talk to their customers.

Most of the US is putting away their sports cars for the winter months and Toyota can't even venture a guess (or, more likely, hasn't even considered that anyone but their corporate staff cares to know the answer) as to when they might actually start sending cars to dealerships.

My local Subaru dealership has said that I can't test drive the BRZ - they simply will not have anything to test drive for many, many months. Every single car they might get is pre-sold for the foreseeable future. Toyota dealerships within 1000 miles of me either have no information or just lie to me outright. They frequently offer to let me put down a deposit on the "next GR86 they get" which to me just seems monumentally stupid. It's not a vending machine. I'm not going to stick $30k+ in, turn the knob, and see what I end up with.

Buying a car I can't even test drive? That's some crazy shit.

But Toyota not even making an effort to make customers feel like they care at all about keeping us informed? That's infuriating.

They'll practically send Dog the Bounty Hunter to your door if you don't get airbag recall work done within a month of being notified about it, but this is just deafening silence.

[Kona61]

Originally Posted by Spektyr

This is what has me the most pissed-off.

Toyota has all the options nailed down - they know what they're going to offer in terms of color options, wheels, etc. But they haven't updated their website to give any impression that they intend to actually release the 2022 GR86 any time soon. It's still under "Upcoming Vehicles", and it takes you to a page full of promise and very little information.

Oh, but if you'd like to have Toyota send you updates, you can sign up for their mailing list...

... which will do absolutely nothing because Toyota doesn't actually send you any email about the car, ever.

They don't talk to their dealers. They don't talk to their customers.

Most of the US is putting away their sports cars for the winter months and Toyota can't even venture a guess (or, more likely, hasn't even considered that anyone but their corporate staff cares to know the answer) as to when they might actually start sending cars to dealerships.

My local Subaru dealership has said that I can't test drive the BRZ - they simply will not have anything to test drive for many, many months. Every single car they might get is pre-sold for the foreseeable future. Toyota dealerships within 1000 miles of me either have no information or just lie to me outright. They frequently offer to let me put down a deposit on the "next GR86 they get" which to me just seems monumentally stupid. It's not a vending machine. I'm not going to stick $30k+ in, turn the knob, and see what I end up with.

Buying a car I can't even test drive? That's some crazy shit.

But Toyota not even making an effort to make customers feel like they care at all about keeping us informed? That's infuriating.

They'll practically send Dog the Bounty Hunter to your door if you don't get airbag recall work done within a month of being notified about it, but this is just deafening silence.

I think this is very true. Even their own people don’t know anything.

I was at FD Irwindale and saw the new twin for the very first time (did not disappoint!). Anyways, the normal product specialist and the GR specific dude were asking about my BRZ order and what the timeline was for delivery for quite a while. They also said I couldn’t look inside of the car because it was a prototype (I saw no VIN). He also kept saying that nothing in/on the car had been finalized.

But I was thinking to myself how dumb both things were. Like it’s identical to the Subie besides very minor things and those cars have been on the market since September in Japan and now they are going to appear in the US. It’s crazy how little even the internal people.

[azndavepgh]

Toyota just needs to be upfront, good or bad. Sure, if they came out and said production is delayed until January, some people would be disappointed. But at least they'd know what to expect.

[Spektyr]

Originally Posted by azndavepgh

Toyota just needs to be upfront, good or bad. Sure, if they came out and said production is delayed until January, some people would be disappointed. But at least they'd know what to expect.

Exactly. Tell me I can't take delivery until April. I'm unhappy, but at least I have an answer. I can plan.

Maybe you surprise people and they start arriving 2-3 months early - no one can really complain about that (though someone, somewhere probably would anyway.)

Do a pre-order deposit system with some fine print language that if you (Toyota) fails to deliver a certain amount of production cars by a certain date you'll fully refund the deposit if requested. Then take orders down to the finest detail on what customers want and hey - there's a simple production schedule once you DO get your cars going through Subaru's production line.

Hype it up rather than deafening silence. Imagine how many people on this board would be checking every day or so to see if the person with car #3244 in the waiting list has been updated on their vehicle. "I'm #3872, and he just got notified his chassis got welded so if I do some math based on when #2893 got the chassis weld done..."

The community would celebrate every milestone, every delivery, instead of getting progressively more frustrated and asking the question Toyota should dread: "What else could I spend my money on since I don't know when/if I'll be able to buy the GR86?"

I mean, this is so basic, such simple marketing, and I (who hates marketing) can think this through... why the hell isn't Toyota turning this into a win?

[Jeonsa]

Originally Posted by Spektyr

Exactly. Tell me I can't take delivery until April. I'm unhappy, but at least I have an answer. I can plan.

Maybe you surprise people and they start arriving 2-3 months early - no one can really complain about that (though someone, somewhere probably would anyway.)

Do a pre-order deposit system with some fine print language that if you (Toyota) fails to deliver a certain amount of production cars by a certain date you'll fully refund the deposit if requested. Then take orders down to the finest detail on what customers want and hey - there's a simple production schedule once you DO get your cars going through Subaru's production line.

Hype it up rather than deafening silence. Imagine how many people on this board would be checking every day or so to see if the person with car #3244 in the waiting list has been updated on their vehicle. "I'm #3872, and he just got notified his chassis got welded so if I do some math based on when #2893 got the chassis weld done..."

The community would celebrate every milestone, every delivery, instead of getting progressively more frustrated and asking the question Toyota should dread: "What else could I spend my money on since I don't know when/if I'll be able to buy the GR86?"

I mean, this is so basic, such simple marketing, and I (who hates marketing) can think this through... why the hell isn't Toyota turning this into a win?

That would be cool in all, but that’s a little extra for this type a car. Lol

[Spektyr]

Originally Posted by Jeonsa

That would be cool in all, but that’s a little extra for this type a car. Lol

Marketing is all about being "extra". (Big part of the reason I'm not a fan of marketing on the whole.)

But the point I'm making is that, with not a lot of additional effort on Toyota's part, they could spin this to be more of a positive than a negative.

When you say absolutely nothing people feel that you don't value them, and they begin to invent and attribute their own motives to your actions - usually ones that aren't kind.

With just a little spin (and a bit more communication) you can write a different story. "We're all in this together" is a bit corny, but that's the thing you want to say without expressly saying it. Make it you (Toyota) AND the customer who are dealing with the problem, rather than how it seems now where you (Toyota) ARE the problem.

It's marketing/PR 101.

I mean literally the first thing that you learn in crisis management is that you need to be writing the narrative.

[azndavepgh]

Just order a BRZ

[Yoshoobaroo]

Originally Posted by azndavepgh

Just order a BRZ

[Jeonsa]

Originally Posted by Spektyr

Marketing is all about being "extra". (Big part of the reason I'm not a fan of marketing on the whole.)

But the point I'm making is that, with not a lot of additional effort on Toyota's part, they could spin this to be more of a positive than a negative.

When you say absolutely nothing people feel that you don't value them, and they begin to invent and attribute their own motives to your actions - usually ones that aren't kind.

With just a little spin (and a bit more communication) you can write a different story. "We're all in this together" is a bit corny, but that's the thing you want to say without expressly saying it. Make it you (Toyota) AND the customer who are dealing with the problem, rather than how it seems now where you (Toyota) ARE the problem.

It's marketing/PR 101.

I mean literally the first thing that you learn in crisis management is that you need to be writing the narrative.

Well at the end of the day they aren’t doing it. Must not matter that much.