With a $6,000 drop in the sticker price and the addition of $1,900 worth of extra equipment to the 2005 Avalon, the Toyota division of Toyota Canada clearly hopes to get its full-size sedan moving again.
The new base price is $39,900 for an Avalon XLS, with the Touring model at $41,800. The XLS with the Premium option package is $43,475, and an XLS Premium with Navigation is $46,825.
The old model clearly didn't do it for Canadian buyers any more, as only 187 of them stepped up to pay $45,000 for the brand's flagship brand in 2004, down from 287 in 2003. The sales volume last year is less than a tenth of what it was in 2000, and even less than the Avalon's debut year in 1995, when 2,500 were sold.
All model sales fade in time as a car ages, but those changes are particularly sharp, so it's not surprising Toyota Canada is trying a big price drop to relaunch the car.
The company is also hoping to get the average age of its Avalon buyers to drop to 55, since that would get them into the first wave of the Baby Boomers who have been so critical to Toyota's success as they cruise into retirement. This is a not-inconsiderable crowd, so it's somewhat surprising that Toyota Canada has limited its annual sales projection to only 2,000 units of the new car.
However old they are, most of the folks who will buy Avalon are the ones ''who want to reward themselves for their success, but are prudent and practical with their choices.''
Men are three times as likely as women to choose this Avalon, Toyota Canada expects, and that would actually be an upsurge in female consideration.
On top of the price drop, of course, is the very important fact that the new Avalon is an improvement on the model it replaces.
As well as being larger and more powerful than the old model, the 2005 Avalon contains a long list of equipment that simply wasn't available before. That list would include:
As mentioned, the new Avalon is a lot larger than the old model, with most of the extra 30-mm of width and 100-mm of extra wheelbase going to interior space. That will be important to those aging boomers, in terms of ease of entry and general comfort.
Under the hood, the front-wheel drive Avalon is equipped with the most powerful V-6 offered in a North American Toyota vehicle -- a 3.5-litre, 24-valve engine that churns out 280-hp and 260 lb-ft of torque that connects to the front wheels through a five-speed automatic transmission. This is supposed to deliver a 0-100 kmh time of 6.6 seconds, which decent for a big four-door sedan.
The new base price is $39,900 for an Avalon XLS, with the Touring model at $41,800. The XLS with the Premium option package is $43,475, and an XLS Premium with Navigation is $46,825.
The old model clearly didn't do it for Canadian buyers any more, as only 187 of them stepped up to pay $45,000 for the brand's flagship brand in 2004, down from 287 in 2003. The sales volume last year is less than a tenth of what it was in 2000, and even less than the Avalon's debut year in 1995, when 2,500 were sold.
All model sales fade in time as a car ages, but those changes are particularly sharp, so it's not surprising Toyota Canada is trying a big price drop to relaunch the car.
The company is also hoping to get the average age of its Avalon buyers to drop to 55, since that would get them into the first wave of the Baby Boomers who have been so critical to Toyota's success as they cruise into retirement. This is a not-inconsiderable crowd, so it's somewhat surprising that Toyota Canada has limited its annual sales projection to only 2,000 units of the new car.
However old they are, most of the folks who will buy Avalon are the ones ''who want to reward themselves for their success, but are prudent and practical with their choices.''
Men are three times as likely as women to choose this Avalon, Toyota Canada expects, and that would actually be an upsurge in female consideration.
On top of the price drop, of course, is the very important fact that the new Avalon is an improvement on the model it replaces.
As well as being larger and more powerful than the old model, the 2005 Avalon contains a long list of equipment that simply wasn't available before. That list would include:
- dual exhaust with diffusers
- a telescopic steering wheel
- steering wheel stereo and climate controls
- front and rear curtain shield and driver-side knee airbags
- manual reclining rear seats with a pass-through
- power releases for the fuel door and trunk
- an aluminum scuff plate on the floor
- a centre armrest with a sliding top
- mood lights in the centre console
- a pollen air filter
- increased front seat travel, and
- a flat rear floor for better foot room
As mentioned, the new Avalon is a lot larger than the old model, with most of the extra 30-mm of width and 100-mm of extra wheelbase going to interior space. That will be important to those aging boomers, in terms of ease of entry and general comfort.
Under the hood, the front-wheel drive Avalon is equipped with the most powerful V-6 offered in a North American Toyota vehicle -- a 3.5-litre, 24-valve engine that churns out 280-hp and 260 lb-ft of torque that connects to the front wheels through a five-speed automatic transmission. This is supposed to deliver a 0-100 kmh time of 6.6 seconds, which decent for a big four-door sedan.