Chrysler's 300, having won industry-wide accolades for its close-to-premium levels of finery, still drew crowds despite its
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| The 2005 model is a major improvements with a price tag now almost $6,000 lower than the outgoing 2004 Avalon. (Photo: Toyota Canada) |
"age", although nowhere near the hubbub that surrounded Dodge's aggressive new Charger - sporting the same advancements as the 300 in what is expected to be a much more affordable package. Truly, the domestics are coming of age, and Chrysler at least is seeing a massive increase in sales and a marginal creep forward in market share, something it hasn't realized in a very long time.
So why all the talk about domestic nameplate interior quality in a review about a full-size Toyota? Simple. Just when the domestics looked to be making headway, Toyota has sidelined the lot with its new Avalon. The new Av not only surpasses the domestics, but its own Lexus ES 330 when it comes to materials quality, fit and finish, and especially interior design.
Toyota made a similar move with its second-generation Solara coupe and convertible, endowing them with Lexus-like materials and superb styling details in the cabin, so the upscale move in the brand's flagship Avalon was expected. Yet to combine such improvements with a price tag now almost $6,000 lower than the outgoing 2004 Avalon is quite remarkable. Have I
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| Toyota teased journalists and the public by 'leaking' an ambiguous photograph months ago. (Photo: Toyota Canada) |
got your attention yet? Thought that might work. As if such wasn't enough, the car's superb interior quality is only a fraction of the story; the rest of which I'll disclose after a quick jaunt back to Detroit. Toyota's presentation stage was right at the opposite end of the giant Detroit auto show complex, as usual, a dedicated hall it uses for all debuts year after year. Despite having known about the upcoming Avalon for months already, Toyota having "leaked" an ambiguous photograph of a portion of its rear decklid and fascia, for reasons that most likely revolve around two parts overwhelm and three parts exhaustion I couldn't remember for the life of me what I was about to witness.
