During the weekend, I had the pleasure of helping a friend drive his 2006 Avalon Limited Edition.

Everything seems very user-friendly and extremely pleasant at first glance. Body styling is very neutral....none of the Detroit weirdo stuff.

I was very impressed with the simplicity and contemporary design of temperature control buttons. They are extremely clear and yet first class (whereas Taurus has very clear but very primitive Flintstone age controls. *strictly my impression*).

Ahhh....all that goodness stops when I actually sat in the driver seat and start driving.

The steering wheel is blocking the view of the instrument cluster. One cannot see the top part of the speedometer. During my drive, it was extremely troublesome for me not to know whether I was going 70 or 80. Exactly that part of the view was blocked. I lowered the seat...makes no difference. I pushed the seat backwards....makes no difference. Besides....citing safety reasons (trying to copy Mercedes or something) they have removed the steering wheel up and down adjustment. I wanted to scream.......FFFFFFFFFF U!

Also, there are many things wrong inside that instrument panel. Clearly, Toyota had allowed some Detroit engineer to design the Avalon. I don't even want to elaborate. Just go see what's wrong with Avalon's instrument panel yourself....on a day when you can afford to get pissed off.

The shifter is gated to capture the impression of first class. But it's not. It has lighted (or lit) labelss P R N D etc. But they are merely lighted. The position that the gear is in does not become brighter. I practically struggled to find what gear I was in. However, they have an excuse. While shifting or searching for gears....you can move your eyes from the shifter and look at the partly-blocked instrument panel. Voila...there it tells you what gear you are in!

In the morning during a cold start, it revs up almost 2000 rpm. At this time, you can hear a buzz coming behind the instrument panel. This buzz sounds like a mechanical kitchen timer unwinding. What it is -- is that, a servo actuator controlling the throttle. As it buzzes, the high revs start to go down. It's so loud that it made me remember the ladies' toys that Sue Johanson brought on to her TV show.

Also, the key is an RF ID device. You there is no key hole....a kind of like the GS. If the driver has the device on him, he can open the trunk by pressing the rubber-coated button on the trunk. (Yes, there is NO key hole on the trunk either.) But if the driver remains in his seat and ask a passenger to go put something inside the trunk....it wont open. The driver has to dig inside his pocket or wallet and give the key to the passenger. The RFID key just has to be by the trunk like about a foot. No mechanical attempt is required. But the car screams, bitches, and beeps because the RFID key is now outside the car while the driver remains in the seat with the engine running. WHAT A TRIP!

After careful research upon suffering from that trunk issue, I found out that there is a trunk release button that the driver can activate while he is seated. Here is the thing. The view to see that switch is blocked by the turn-indicator, the steering wheel, and the wiper switch. Lord, sixth graders are now designing that car?

Just sharing my two cents so that you wont make a mistake sinking 35G into that Detroit-designed Toyota that does not deserve the Toyota badge.

 

The Avalon never has struct me as a car that's worth 30k. You can get a C-class Benz or a 325 for about the same price and be more satisfied with it..

 

Toyota is the Puff Daddy of the auto industry. Trying to copy everyone else, and actually raking in alot of money for it.

 

That's not the point. My point was Avalon had not been designed by real Toyota inner-circle Japanese engineers. In other words, Avalon is not a typical Toyota. A lot of design aspects smell Detroit.

Yes, Toyota is making and raking in a lot of money. BECAUSE the cars they build are damn reliable. That's why it holds value in the long run...and that's why it is very expensive...and that's why Toyota is making a lot of money almost second to oil companies.

If Toyota copies someone's design...say that of Mercedes, it is Mercedes' job to sue Toyota. It is not in my interest to punish Toyota. If Toyota makes better or best cars I will buy them. (Apparently people are buying Toyotas for the very reason.)

I have explained this before. Colt may be the one who designed the original 1911 pistol. But now Glock makes the most reliable ones in that style. So I will choose Glock for my life depends on it. This is my choosing-the-son-of-a-gun theory. The same theory goes with Toyota. If I had money I would be driving the LS. No way I will drive an S500, S600, or S700. If you ask me why, I say, it's because with that kind of money I am not in a mood to park my car at the dealer's service bay. Copy, so what? Better than the original!

 

So tons of Taurus's sell too, but that don't make them exactly reliable. As a matter of fact the Taurus out sells alot of cars, so because of this, it's one of the better car?With that logic, the Taurus must be better than the LS. I think not. Toyota make good cars that are fairly reliable but not as reliable as alot of people who never owned one, never seen one, or as alot of magazines suggest they are. 85% of Toyota owners that I know, (And the Camry is everwhere in Atlanta, so that's quite a few people.) say that they might as well bought a more upscale car or a more cheaper to maintain car, or they just plainly got rid of it for something better such as a BMW, Jaguar, Cadillac or the such. A few even said that they wish they bought a Mercedes.

And my Mercedes has proven itself more reliable than any jap car I know and or driven. And the LS is so choked full of electronics that they are in the repair bay just as often if not more often than the S500, BMW, and just about any car that has that much gadgets. But if you are a LS lover, good for you. But I like Mercedes design, style, class, ride, comfort, just about everything. (even though I don't care too much fir the newer ones.). No car will please everyone, or there would've been a monoploy by now. Everyone has different tastes, standards, priorities, and luck.

I don't like the look of the Toyotas, and the Lexus is okay but I wouldn't buy one. They are straight boring to drive, and the Mercedes have a better ride and looks better to me. But different cars for different people. You are a Lexus fan, and I'm a Mercedes fan except I'm in the right forum for my car.

And there must be a reason that people with money buy the Mercedes. Mercedes must be doing it right and I don't think their target audience is Toyota buyers.

 

Dont' get me wrong, I do not worship Toyota nor do I own shares.

Remember...I started this topic to bash Avalon which is made by Toyota?

 

Well, people with money to burn buy Rolex watches. Why? They don't keep good time. Why do people with money to burn buy Mercedes? People who don't know a rat's *** from a muffler bearing? Same reason, I would say.

You know, you can drive to any car maker's dealership in any city and the service bays will be full and the cars will be backed up trying to get in? Do all the technicians at Lexus or Mercedes dealerships sit around with their feet propped up reading girlie mags and drinking Mountain Dew? Nope.

 

There go a good point

 

While we are at it....I might as well bash Rolex.

My mother used to wear a Rolex...it kept stopping despite my mother kept and maintained it very well.

My ex had the same Rolex, and hers never keeps time...always minutes off. At the same time, my Timex kept time better.

How irnoic!

There is a saying....a good Rolex is a stopped Rolex because it shows precise time twice a day.

 

One of my old girlfriends is a lawyer. Well, she's a girlfriend from a long time ago, not an "old" woman. She and all her fellow lawyers all wore a Rolex. Apparently, there was some unwritten law that said they had to wear one if they wanted to be a lawyer in that town (Memphis, TN). Anyway, none of them ever knew what time it really was.