Toyota Corolla 2010 News

The Toyota Corolla tops the showroom league tables for 2009, ahead of the Ford Focus and Fiesta, according to figures from Forbes in the USA.  Worldwide vehicle production was down by nearly eight per cent last year, but the full-year total was still more than 60 million with China in number one spot — and heading for 2010 sales of more than 16 million.There are no surprises in the top-10 rankings but the results do not include trucks or SUVs, where the Ford F-Series reigned as America's best-seller — ahead of the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord passenger cars — for more than a decade before the global financial crisis.The Volkswagen Golf fills number four spot off the back of its success in Europe, and a string of major awards including last year's Carsguide Car of the Year, although it was recently overtaken there by the Fiesta.All of the top 10 models are global nameplates built in a range of countries, including the Corolla which is now into its tenth generation and has a winning margin over the Focus of more than 100,000 sales.  Honda's Civic and Accord are helped by their popularity in the USA, like the Camry, while the baby Peugeot 207 makes the list with help from fans across Europe.However, Ford and Volkswagen still dominate the list of the world's all-time most successful vehicles, even if the Toyota Corolla sits on top.  Combined sales of Ford's F-Series trucks — from the working-class F100 to the giant F350 and beyond — now top 25 million and more than 16.5 million T-Model Fords were built at the dawn of affordable motoring.Total production of the Corolla is beyond 35 million cars, while the Volkswagen Golf tops 24 million more than 21 million Beetles were built before VW ended production in Mexico in 2003.GLOBAL TOP 10 — 20091. Toyota Corolla, 908,6612. Ford Focus, 781,1393. Ford Fiesta, 724,5024. Volkswagen Golf, 705,2765. Honda Civic, 686,0006. Toyota Camry, 679,1177. Honda Accord, 586,5848. Peugeot 207, 536,0909. Volkswagen Polo, 467,06710. Toyota Yaris, 466,267ALL-TIME BEST SELLERS1. Toyota Corolla2. Ford F-Series3. Volkswagen Golf2. Volkswagen Beetle3. Ford Model T

Every day there seems to be something new, from extra customer complaints to a damaging internal document which points to deliberate delaying tactics on the safety front.  The total cost of the fiasco is likely to be around $2 billion in lost sales, but no-one can yet say what the safety disaster - everything from faulty accelerator pedals to steering complaints on the Corolla and a brake drama on the Prius - will eventually cost the company in long-term respect.Even in Australia, where Toyota has been largely insulated from the safety problems, apart from the 1700 Prius owners who got a computer tweak to their car's brakes, there are people who are worried about buying a car from the company. And it's early days yet for the full impact on consumer confidence down under.Things are so bad internationally that Akio Toyoda, only recently installed in the top job, will head to Washington to represent Toyota in congressional hearings into the safety failings.  Toyoda is seen as the 'new broom' at the world's largest carmaker, with the potential to turn the company into more than just a brand that mass-produces cars for people who put transport ahead of personality or style. He is already pushing cars like the FT-86 concept, which is expected to be a born-again Sprinter for Gen-Y when it reaches production in 2011.But even he could be tainted, just as Australia's Jac Nasser - once the shooting star at the Ford Motor Company - was brought undone by the unsuccessful campaign to protect the Ford Explorer from a safety crisis in the USA.Toyota has reacted with things like a brake-against-throttle safety switch, but other brands have had that protection against a runaway for years.  It has also set up a new global committee for product quality, which will be chaired by Toyoda, but people are asking why it was not done before.The reason is simple: the Toyota production system is designed to stop faults and flaws before the factory gates. It's so good that it has been copied around the world, and by many companies outside the auto business, for decades.But the safety shortcomings highlighted by the multi-million-vehicle safety recalls show the system is only as good as the people who run it. And Toyota has been caught short.  The Toyota safety story has a long way to run and I am not expecting much good news for a long while yet.

As the front man for the Hybrid Camry launch in Melbourne the company's local sales and marketing chief was in the firing line as the subject switched to Toyota's troubles on the global front, with an eight-million car recall over unsafe accelerator pedals and a second safety crisis for the Prius.Buttner is a smart man and, as the top Aussie at Brand T, he has more than 20 years experience of life in the Toyota way. But, like almost every executive up to Akio 'I apologise for boring cars' Toyoda in the president's chair in Japan, he has no experience of a crisis like this one.Toyota is not supposed to have recalls. Nothing sub-standard is supposed to pass the factory gate. No-one is prepared for this scale of a global corporate disaster.  And that's what it is.Toyota has traded for decades on its reputation for quality and reliability. Ask anyone who owns a Corolla about the car's bulletproof, run forever qualities and the strength of its resale value.  The Camry is boring, but it is also as honest and reliable as the fridge in the kitchen.So, as Toyota Australia is winding up for a big swing with the Hybrid Camry it is also having to bat-down the criticism and questions from all directions. Carsguide readers are already emailing me to ask if it is still alright to buy a Toyota. To his credit, Buttner is blunt and honest as he fields questions from the motoring media pack. He has been prepared for the attack, and he stays 'on message' throughout the onslaught, but for a bloke who smiles a lot and is as upbeat as anyone in the car business it looks tough."I couldn't stand before you and pretend for a moment that the global situation ... will not have some impact on the brand. Or some other areas of the business," Buttner admits.  "We have to instil confidence . . . in our customers."He works through the Hybrid Camry presentation with talk of prices and fuel economy and emissions, managing more than a few swipes at the Holden Commodore and diesel-powered European alternatives to the Camry.  But he cannot avoid the talk of recalls and damage to the reputation of the world's biggest carmaker."We can send out myriad press releases and spruik from the lecturn. At the end of the day, it's the customer's experience of the product," Buttner says.  "We will do whatever we have to do to maintain the faith of our customers."Follow Paul Gover on Twitter!

After a series of safety problems that has seen more than eight million cars recalled, including the current model Prius, Toyota may have to target the Corolla’s steering.The United States National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has received 83 complaints about the power steering in 2009-2010 Corolla.  The reports say the cars veer left or right at speeds over 64km/h. Six crashes that resulted in 10 injuries are being investigated. The spate of recalls and safety scares may have an impact on the auto giant’s brand image, and credit agency Moody’s is tipped to be reviewing Toyota’s rating.

 The 47-year-old back shed mechanic from Shalvey in Sydney's west spent six months and $17,000 turning his 1985 Toyota Corolla into an electric-powered super beast. And his driving force was more economic than eco logic. “I was spending about $3000 on fuel every year travelling to and from work in Wetherill Park every day and just running around,” said maintenance fitter Mr Swan. “When fuel went up to $1.78c a litre last year I thought, it's $55 a week to run a little Corolla, what's the point?”Mr Swan is not alone. Last year 30 electric vehicles were registered in NSW, an RTA spokesman said. “Converting my 2002 Honda Jazz wasn't an economic decision,” retired engineer and fellow car converter Michael Belfield said. “It is a retirement project. I have four cars and I'll just take this one to Strathfield and back.” The Castle Hill retiree's project will cost $32,000 — $7000 for the car and $25,000 for the parts.But is it worth it?“No! But if you talk to a hot-rodder, they'll spend $10,000 doing up their car,” he said. “I'm in effect hot-rodding my car, but I'm making it a more powerful and efficient car.”While Mr Swan and Mr Belfield are content being car conversion amateurs, some enthusiasts are entertaining more entrepreneurial thoughts.Maroubra-based Convert Ur Car owner Nathan Bolton, 32, has converted four vehicles since opening three years ago. For $22,000, electrical technician Mr Bolton promises to transform a pre-loved bomb in about six weeks — a cost not as “crazy” as some might think. “Is it crazy to build a vehicle that doesn't break down, that has an engine that's 95 per cent efficient compared to 35 per cent efficient in a normal car and has only one moving part?” he said.