Yaris sales hit new low...

[Onwrdigo]

I drove and/or rented everything too.

Fiat 500: Fun, but tiring after a long drive on the interstate. Did not trust it for long haul reliability either. And now, it is known for many problems.

Kia Rio5: Engine sounded like a blender on first start-up. Sales guy said "they all do that when cold due to the new fantastic direct injection that you are going to really love". Yea right, that is what I want...a car that sounds like crap every single morning.

Nissan Versa: has been the brunt of a lot of motor-magazine flack early-on for cheap feeling. I think it is downright ugly, both the four-door and hatch. And recent Nissan reliability records are not all that great either.

Current Mazda 2: Too small for me. Plus my previous experience owning both a Protege'5 and a Mazda3 hatch were nightmares from new.

Ford Focus & Fiesta: typical "Ford" lack of reliability....the absolute"worse" transmission and steering I have ever experienced on any car.

Honda Fit: Ok, more room. But never liked the old one's looks (looks like the Alien himself from the movie "Alien"). Funny how the new one looks like our Yaris now. "Hmmm". But it is made in Mexico and Honda delayed sales to "quality control something-something"....Raised my eyebrows. And to get a good one, you will spend more than a well-equipped Yaris.

Having owned my Yaris for over a year now, it has been great and "cheap to maintain". Rides great, is quiet and really does have good power and gas mileage. Yes, have had a few issues, but dealer fixed everything within minutes. The only thing I cannot cure, is the upper middle dashboard buzzing at low speeds...."grrr". But I still really like this car.

"Now", I like the looks of the new '15. And supposedly according to the Canadian press, Toyota has done a lot to the suspension, stiffened the structure (IIHS small overlap improvement???), made the interior nicer, better dashboard materials, better seats/fabric and is using new "quiet' seals to make it more silent. I do not know if this will translate to the cars sold in the U.S.; that is a question I want answered.

I don't care if it is made in France. In an earlier post, I mentioned a friend who rented a 2014 Yaris LE from Enterprise. It was made in France. Had 35,000 "rental car" miles on it. And I got to tell you; it was still very tight, well made, nicer seats, no rattles at all. I am seriously thinking of trading my '13 LE for a '15 SE.....That is if I can even find one. Toyota Southeast does not bother bringing SE's to their port. I have never seen an SE in North Carolina, only L's and LE's. I guess I will have to go to Virginia, Maryland or higher-up even to find one if that crazy logic continues? I do say...Shame on you Toyota for not bringing SE's to the SouthEast...If you do, I have yet to see one. And "market/advertise" the dang thing.

I do not want a re-designed '16 Mexican made-rebadged Mazda 2. I don't care how much the auto magazines praise Mazda. If you look at the ownership results, they are not consistent and they still have some major problems even after ditching Ford.

And this is "rich".....I was getting an oil change the other day and there were not one, but two families trading in late model Mazda 2's...one for a new Corolla and one for a "used" Yaris...go figure.