Category: Toyota

One town looks to stretch the definition of the annual Woodward Dream Cruise, and bring a little future into this annual nostalgia drip.

Toyota slows production of large SUV Sequoia and full-size pickup Tundra as 2008 market sales plummet, along with all the other trucks and large SUVs out there.

The Toyota Sienna has been declared a 2008 Ideal Vehicle Award winner by owners in the Minivan category. Owners complemented Sienna’s exterior size, ride and handling. Also scoring top points for the Sienna were its V6 power (266hp), which made for swift acceleration, and an excellent ingress/egress.

Owners in the Minivan segment have given the Hyundai top marks and the 2008 Ideal Vehicle Award. Owners gave Entourage kudos for its safety features, which already had garnered the vehicle a five-star safety rating. Exterior styling and wheels and tires were noted as excellent, and Entourage also received high ratings for passenger room, seat firmness and interior lighting.

The Chevrolet Trailblazer wins a 2008 Ideal Vehicle Award in the Premium Mid-Size Sport Utility segment. Owners reported the vehicle performs particularly well in cargo space, visibility and ingress/egress.

GMC’s Envoy wins in the Premium Mid-Size Sport Utility segment with owners’ strong ratings for seat firmness, level of technology and ride. Handling, power and acceleration also were all listed as strong points for the Envoy.

Even in its sixth model year, the Toyota 4Runner is an Ideal Vehicle Award winner. Few buyers would change interior storage space, exterior size or passenger room. Owners also noted the 4Runner’s level of safety.

AutoPacific's annual Ideal Vehicle Awards have been announced for 2008. Along with Porsche winning for best premium brand, Ford took home the honors for best mainstream brand/

For the first time in 17 years, the F-Series has been outsold in the monthly sales race. And not just outsold, trounced by four different cars.

There is still fierce competition in the Minivan Segment of the Vehicle Satisfaction Awards, but owners of the Toyota Sienna were more satisfied with their vehicle than owners of any other minivan in 2008. The Sienna scored strongly in both Reputation categories – the Toyota Brand and the reputation of the vehicle itself. Owners also gave the Sienna high marks for Overall Seating Capacity, Reliability and Overall Quality.

The all-new Saturn Vue was in the top rank of the Mid-Size Crossover SUV Segment in the 2008 Vehicle Satisfaction Awards. Owners strongly rated the Exterior Styling of the Vue and gave it high marks for Handing, Braking and Safety Features.

The Toyota RAV4 beat out last year’s Vehicle Satisfaction Award winner, the Honda CR-V, achieving the top rank in the Mid-Size Crossover SUV Segment. Toyota’s Brand Reputation, RAV4’s perceived Reliability and its Overall Quality were strong contributors to RAV4’s victory.

For the second year in a row, the Toyota FJ Cruiser is in the top rank of Vehicle Satisfaction Awards in the Compact SUV/Off-Road Vehicle segment. Owners rated the FJ Cruiser highly for Toyota’s Reputation for Reliability and Overall Quality. Traction and the Fun to Drive factor also helped the FJ Cruiser garner this year’s VSA award, overcoming shortcomings in Driver’s Seat Visibility and Rear Seat Comfort to rise to the top of the segment.

Owners of the Suzuki Grand Vitara rated the vehicle best in the Compact SUV/Off-Road Vehicle Segment of the 2008 Vehicle Satisfaction Awards. Offering seating for five, V6 power and a long list of standard features, the Grand Vitara garnered high markes in the Warranty, Safety, and Handling categories.

The Ford Explorer is top-ranked in the Premium Mid-Size Sport Utility Vehicle Segment in the 2008 Vehicle Satisfaction Awards. Owners were very satisfied with the Explorer’s solid reputation and gave it excellent scores for Traction in All Weather Conditions, Safety Features and Overall Dealership Experience.

Toyota 4Runner ranks at the top of Premium Mid-Size Sport Utility Vehicle category in the 2008 Vehicle Satisfaction Awards. Owners gave the vehicle its very highest ranking in Reliability, followed by Vehicle reputation and Brand Reputation. The 4Runner’s Durability also received high marks.