souless rental

Since friday 8:35 am, I have accrued 1200+ miles in a rented 2011 toyota corolla. In fact, I am in it right now and can not find one good reason anyone would ever want one of these. Tan on tan boredom at its lowest. The wife agrees and she sees cars as appliances

The one that I rented last month was awful too. Especially the throttle by wire with a mind of its own. I've never been a Toyota lover, but lately I'm leaning toward Toyota hater.

That is why I went with Sentra even with its 1.almost nothing 4 banger and CVT it was more alive then the Toyota.

I've owned two toyotas in the past. Both 87 models of mr2 and supra. Great cars, wish I could still have them.

This? I don't know if I'd wish it upon a mortal enemy

sounds like the defination of an appliance to me

if Corollas sell so well whatsat tell ya about the GDP ( general dumb public)

I don't have a consumer reports subscription, but I'm guessing that an empirical (if not methodologically perfect) look at the Corolla's reliability record over the last decade would go a long way to explain the popularity of the car.

Unfortunately, there are huge numbers of folks that don't care how close the Corolla or Camry are to being a refrigerator on wheels.

I remember back when the 1st gen. Corollas hit dealer showrooms and I thought "what a dinky little car, who would buy that?" But then again, it's competition were the "old" Beetle, the Vega, the Pinto, and it's "crosstown rival" the 1200 Datsun (looking for all the world like a shrunken 510...itself a small car). As the 2nd then 3rd gen. Corollas hit showrooms and having owned a Vega AND Pinto from new, I could see why folks MIGHT buy a Corolla. But really, about the time the Corolla switched to FWD is about the time they just embraced reliability at all costs. No soul, no character, no fun.

Had one of these a month back as a rental, the throttle was horrible! I was really surprised how messed up that system worked. Between that and the automatic's not so hot programming, it was hard to like the car. Ergonomics seem to have improved a little since the one I drove in 2005 which is a positive change I guess but really I'd have a hard time recommending one of these things.

Can one of these suck less with a stick and throttle reprogramming?

It's not the drive by wire, the Toyotas and Lexus have had that feel for quite a while now. Total isolation from the road or what you are doing with the steering wheel, throttle or brakes.

Y'all don't reckon this is something connected with them being rental cars? Maybe I'm being a little 'conspiracy theorist' but could it be that maybe the rental companies kill them on purpose?

No, none of mine were rental cars. I owned the Lexus and friends owned the Toyos

I've owned an AE101 corolla (93-97) and a 99 chev prism. Both fairly soulless cars, but I like them for what they are- utterly dependable in any situation.

mndsm wrote: I've owned an AE101 corolla (93-97) and a 99 chev prism. Both fairly soulless cars, but I like them for what they are- utterly dependable in any situation.

This. I still don't understand all the hatred toward appliance cars on this forum. The car does exactly what it is designed to do very well - gets from point A to point B with respectable economy and reliability. And people love it for that reason.

[Refrigerator forum]

This GE is SO bland. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. I mean, it keeps my milk cold, but the hinge friction is at least 10% too high, the temperature control alogrithm is touchy, and the drawers just don't communicate the proper feel. The motor is only a 6 amp... no SOUL. Who could bear to refrigerate their food in such a boring... appliance!?

I'll stick with my 10 year old Frigidaire any day of the week.
[/Refrigerator forum]

I don't think toyota tries to pass the corrolla or any of the other cars you guys are dogging on off as anything but "soulless appliance cars". All car companies try to market a brand Identity. Toyota's is solid transportation with mild styling. Other companies use other things to make their identity and those things align more with enthusiasts wants.
I will say Toyota build cars that are above average at whatever their intended use is. Their appliance cars are better than other ones and throughout history their sports cars have been pretty impressive with some of them being pretty recent. The Supra has to be one of the best GT cars of all time. The Last gen Celica and the 3rd gen MR2 are up their with the best of the best of their type of sportscar. The FR-S looks to keep that tradition alive and cars like the IS300 and LF-A have represented Lexus well.

I'm not really a Toyota fanboi but do own 2 of them simply because I feel they are the best of their class of vehicle (Tacoma (small truck) and MR2 spyder (small convertible)).

carguy123 wrote: It's not the drive by wire, the Toyotas and Lexus have had that feel for quite a while now. Total isolation from the road or what you are doing with the steering wheel, throttle or brakes.

I wonder if this is leading to the current trend of driving with the driver's ass in the middle of the lane with the passengerside wheels riding the white line or just over it?

The owner's manual says to scoop out your brains and replace them with tatter-tots after purchase.

If it had a manual transmission and any other color combination than tan on tan it would probably be more tolerable.

@prodarwin. My GE is a side by side, multizones, with 2 different ice selections it's pretty kick ass ;)

ProDarwin wrote:

mndsm wrote: I've owned an AE101 corolla (93-97) and a 99 chev prism. Both fairly soulless cars, but I like them for what they are- utterly dependable in any situation.

This. I still don't understand all the hatred toward appliance cars on this forum. The car does exactly what it is designed to do very well - gets from point A to point B with respectable economy and reliability. And people love it for that reason.

Because in this day in time most cars are fairly reliable so why not also buy one which is decent driving?

93EXCivic wrote: Because in this day in time most cars are fairly reliable so why not also buy one which is decent driving?

Because nobody cares? 99% of people are not enthusiasts. Their car is just another appliance. It gets them to work. To be fair, a new corolla is no less exciting in bumper to bumper traffic than the BRZ probably is. In fact, less engaging might be a good thing for many consumers. This is why I DD my boring-as-hell Saturn and leave the S2000 parked at home most of the time.

I don't even know what brand any of my home appliances are. My fridge keeps milk cold and my microwave heats up hot-pockets. I am not an appliance enthusiast. (and FWIW, I design/engineer galley equipment for a living)

ProDarwin wrote:

93EXCivic wrote: Because in this day in time most cars are fairly reliable so why not also buy one which is decent driving?

Because nobody cares? 99% of people are not enthusiasts. Their car is just another appliance. It gets them to work. To be fair, a new corolla is no less exciting in bumper to bumper traffic than the BRZ probably is. In fact, less engaging might be a good thing for many consumers. I don't even know what brand any of my home appliances are. My fridge keeps milk cold and my microwave heats up hot-pockets. I am not an appliance enthusiast. (and FWIW, I design/engineer galley equipment for a living)

Ok ignoring driving there is also the fact that its interior sucks.

93EXCivic wrote: Ok ignoring driving there is also the fact that its interior sucks.

Fair enough.

How would people ever know driving can be fun if they just drive appliances?

I don't need a nanny, I want the sexy super model.