A car of interest....

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by jambo101

I dont get why the Yaris isnt a more popular car in the USA or why Toyota doesnt aggressively market the product.

I think it is a sad commentary, but I think Kar98 is correct re why the Yaris isn't more popular in the United States. I think Toyota doesn't aggressively market the car here because people here will buy more cars that give Toyota a higher profit margin. I realize that the Yaris can be a 'first step' re later moving to other Toyota models...but without CAFE standards, would the Yaris exist here at all?

I usually go on a trip from Montreal to St Pete Florida twice a year and its the rare trip i'll see more than one or two other Yaris on the whole journey, up here in Montreal almost every other car is a Yaris or an Echo.

I think part of the reason is the 'American viewpoint' that Kar98 mentioned. Another reason might be parking difficulty re population density. If you are taking AUT-15 to I-87 to the New York Thruway to the GSP to I-95 all the way to Jacksonville then I-10 to 301 to I-75 to I-275, then you aren't really hitting any areas that have a higher population density than within the city limits of Montreal....local people along almost all of that route don't care as much about having the smallest car possible to 'create' parking opportunities, as there is much less need for that approach. Another reason (although I'd think limited because there isn't THAT much difference) is the higher price of gas in Canada vs much of the United States....people don't care quite as much about having a fuel efficient car re gas cost.