Toyota spruced up the Avalon with the Nightshade package for 2021. It’s ending production after the 2021 model year.
Everybody’s buying crossovers, sport-utilities and trucks these days, but officials within Toyota’s North American operations consistently maintain the company is happy to remain one of the top producers of sedans — but it’s cutting the Avalon from its line-up after the 2022 model year.
The move, first reported by Automotive News, was outlined in a letter to suppliers, and later confirmed by the automaker. The sedan is built at Toyota’s plant in Georgetown, Kentucky. It will leave the company with four sedans, one of which is the Mirai, the company’s fuel-cell model that sells in very low volume right now.
The Avalon is the Japanese brand’s largest offering in the segment. Refreshed in 2019 and due for an update next year, the fifth-generation model is selling well this year, up 36.6% through the first six months of the year. However, of the five sedans in the company’s line-up, it was the laggard, trailing Camry, Corolla and Prius.
In fact, the Prius sold 28,000 more units through June than the Avalon. However, it did outperform one four-door model: the aforementioned Mirai. However, the fuel-cell sedan — by percentages — smoked the Avalon, seeing a 664.1% jump in first-half sales.
The Avalon’s been the brand’s flagship model for 26 years.
We like sedans
Last week, Toyota’s U.S. sales chief Bob Carter reiterated the company’s commitment to the segment during an online meeting with reporters.
“As a company — both Toyota and Lexus — we sold nearly 70,000 sedans last month,” he said. “Compare that to the other companies out there, that’s a very dominant number. There are consumers out there, even at 20% of the industry we’re looking at 4, 4.25 million sales out there so there is a market.”
Carter conceded the profits may be lower on those vehicles, but “it is a profitable business for us.” However, it’s the large car segment that may be suffering the most in the sedan market, and the Avalon was also a laggard there too, outselling only the Nissan Maxima in the first half of the year. Plus, the top sellers in the very small segment are essentially muscle cars: the Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300C.
Pickups are more popular than ever, especially with the new players in the midsize segment. However, one of the mainstays only seems to be getting better with age — The Toyota Tacoma. With an updated exterior and enough technology to keep new buyers happy, it’s the reason so many are playing catch up.
The 2021 Toyota Tacoma TRD Off-Road is clearly capable of that, and much more.
Toyota’s Tacoma has been the best-selling midsize truck for nearly two consecutive decades — 16 years. Now for some of that time, the competition was pretty sparse, but nowadays, it’s a tough gig to remain at the top of the mountain.
Overview
The latest version of the pickup is really all things to all people. Available in 33 different configurations, it’s unlikely you’ll find a customer whose needs it won’t fit. Not only is it rough and tumble, as we saw in our week with the TRD Off-Road model but it’s loaded with all of the latest safety technology and some concierge features that truck buyers now demand.
It’s a renaissance truck in a time where these vehicles do the daily commute, trek to soccer tournaments, make sure the yard looks great and is ready to head off scale big rocks and rutted roads. That’s a tall order.
The Tacoma TRD Off-Road certainly looks the part, which is good because it plays it.
Exterior
Few pickups wear the phrase “It’s a truck. Whaddya want?” better than the 2021 Tacoma. It looks the part because it plays the part. The wide, blacked out grille with the name “TOYOTA” emblazed square in the middle and the squinty-eyed headlights on either side are complemented by the black plastic chin on the front fascia that makes it look like you could punch it in the mouth and it’d look at you and say, “That’s it?”
It’s a truck.
The crease in the doors about a third of the way up from the frame lend some visual interest, taking you down the side of the cab to the flared wheel wells and the simple, understated liftgate with TACOMA seemingly carved into it
It’s a truck Whaddya want? That’s a good thing, by the way.
The interior of the Tacoma is simple, straight-forward, but not bland.
Interior
If the Tacoma has a weak spot, it might be the interior. It’s straightforward. It’s not covered in chrome accents or exotic woods, this is a simple, almost throwback-style cabin. There are knobs, buttons and switches. Some would say it’s a throwback, but there are still a few examples of this kind of interior design on U.S. roads today.
The gauges are clear and easily read. If you want to engage the four-wheel drive, you turn the knob. If you want to open the rear window, reach over and press the button. Again. Simple. Easy. Common sense. I feel like a character from a commercial about something traditional just writing this. I liked it. Get off my lawn! Others who want some more … pizzazz may not like it as much as I did.
Powertrain
Ok. Back to more good stuff. The Tacoma TRD Off-Road is powered by a 3.5-liter V-6 putting out 278 horsepower and 285 pound-feet of torque. It’s mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission that gets the job done. Its responsive and feels powerful and makes a good noise for a midsize truck, which isn’t always the case in pickups.
The transmission is solid and smooth. I didn’t have the opportunity to tow anything or go off-road, but it did take a lengthy trip in it and it performed very well. It’s predictable and strong, which is what you want in a pickup.
In a race to join the world’s largest automakers become a front-seat driver, Toyota announced a new driver-assistance system named “Teammate,” which would compete against similar systems such as General Motors’ Super Cruise and Tesla’s Autopilot.
Toyota’s new driver-assistance system named “Teammate” competes against systems such as GM’s Super Cruise and Tesla’s Autopilot.
The driver-assistance systems offered by most automakers are little more than adaptive cruise control paired with lane-keeping assistance. While GM and Tesla’s are somewhat more advanced, none of them are truly autonomous driving systems, no matter what marketing mavens or your local Tesla fanboys tell you.
Not a single one will handle all of the driving without your attention; driver input is still required. In reality, all of these systems support the driver, much like having your nagging mother-in-law along for the ride in the passenger seat — if she only flashed dashboard lights and chimed and buzzed, rather than making sarcastic comments.
Refreshingly, Toyota makes no claims of autonomy, which is why this system wears the name Teammate. It’s Level Two autonomy, meaning that it can control steering, acceleration and braking, but the driver must remain in control.
So, consider it your microchipped co-driver, one that assists in controlling the speed and steering of the car, and can change lanes as well — much like its top competitors. Also, like other systems, Teammate works on interstates and freeways; secondary roads will come later.
Teammate will first be offered on the 2022 Lexus LS 500h with all-wheel drive, which hits dealership this fall.
How Toyota Teammate works
Using a combination of lidar, radar, maps and cameras, Teammate maintains an appropriate following distance, can overtake other vehicles, and, if a destination is entered into the navigation system, plan your driving route for up to six miles, including lane changes or overtaking slower vehicles.
Toyota goes to great lengths to clarify that it is not an autonomous driving system, but a driver-assistance system, one that the driver always supervises — and with good reason. The system calls for far more driver interaction than similar systems offered by other automakers.
Before Teammate is engaged, a message on the right side of the instrument cluster will state, “vehicle position initializing,” indicating that the vehicle realizes its place on the map. Once that’s done, the instrument cluster message states, “radar ready” before changing to “advanced drive ready.”
Then, the driver presses a button on the right spoke of the steering wheel. The instrument cluster displays animation of the vehicle in its lane on the roadway, showing other vehicles in other lanes. It also displays the car’s brake lights and turn signals when they are activated.
Of course, none of this works without the assistance of the infrared camera mounted on the steering column that monitors the driver’s face, facial position and eyes to ensure they’re open and you’re paying attention. The camera functions even if you’re wearing sunglasses, although some infrared blocking glasses prevent the system from working, as do COVID-19 masks.
Toyota’s semi-autonomous system, Teammate, uses a head-up system to show the driver where it’s oriented in the lane.
Now you’re ready to use Teammate.
Hands free, but not attention free
Now that the system is activated, you’ll need to glance at the instrument cluster. If the road you’re driving on is not in the system, the lane marking in the instrument cluster graphic is gray, and a small illuminated icon shows a hand on a steering wheel, indicating the driver should maintain total control. Once the road is recognized by the system, the line marking on the road graphic changes from gray to blue, and you can take your hands off the wheel.
But it doesn’t last very long.
Like other systems, your hands are off the wheel for, at most, three miles before the system requests you put your hands back on the wheel. In that, it’s like other systems. Unlike other systems, it will warn you ahead of time that you’ll only be hands free for another mile or two by an orange message on the instrument cluster and an audible bing. Once the driver takes the wheel, they are in control and the system no longer intervenes.
Teammate also changes lanes, although it’s not hands free as in other systems. To initiate a lane change, the driver hits the turn signal, and the system checks the lane to ensure it’s clear. The infrared cameras also watch to make certain you glance at your side mirror to ensure the lane is clear.
Once you do, and the lane is clear, the car will steer into the lane, but the driver must have their hands lightly on the wheel. In other systems, the driver’s hands remain in their laps as the steering wheel rotates left and right on its own.
The Teammate system shows and audibly informs the driver when they need to take control of the vehicle.
Notably, Teammate can suggest lane changes. Say you’ve put a destination in the navigation system, and you’ve just changed lanes, from the right lane to the center. But now, you’re 1.5 miles from your exit. The car will suggest a lane change and initiate it if the road is clear.
If you’re taking a fork in the road, and not an exit, and Teammate is driving, it will warn you in advance to put your hands on the wheel. The car will continue steering, so you’ll only require a light touch. But Toyota has engineered it so that there’s an extra layer of assistance — yours — should the system not function as intended. Remember, this is Level Two autonomy.
What we think
On the surface, Toyota’s system performs the functions that its competitors do, allowing the driver to drive hands free for a few miles, and change lanes on its own. But in reality, the system demands far more driver involvement than other technologies, and at times, the many steps needed to keep the system functioning distract the driver.
Additionally, changing lanes autonomously takes far more time than merely executing it yourself. In total, Teammate requires the driver to remain involved with driving. This may improve safety on paper, but in the real world, it calls for drivers to alter their driving habits, perhaps too much so.
The system shows the driver when it will exit a freeway and then executive move.
Toyota would refute this by saying this is why it’s not called an autonomous driving system, and this is true. But how consumers perceive it is another matter. Toyota may say one thing, but car buyers will see another. And when compared to competing systems, there are too many steps to make it work. Hand-free suggests something effortless; something explainable in a couple steps. This is not because it isn’t.
Currently, these driver-assistance systems are a novelty, the automotive equivalent of a party trick. Sure, having the car take command for a couple miles may be momentarily relaxing, but no more so than automated cruise control, which does so for far longer.
Plus, steering in stop-and-go traffic or at speed on a freeway — Teammate’s big advantage — isn’t that stressful. The only difference from these systems is that Teammate can monetarily steer and change lanes. They are advances, but not enough to merit paying extra to get them, at least not in their current form.
Is the technology remarkable? Sure.
But we’re nowhere near true autonomous driving yet. Systems such as Teammate are an automotive amuse-bouche; that small single bite of something scrumptious the chef sends out before the main course arrives. In this case, the automotive main course is still a decade away.
Toyota delivered the first mainstream hybrid vehicle more than two decades ago, and the automaker says gasoline technology will continue to dominate its line-up going into the 2030s.
The Japanese giant has been a big proponent of conventional hybrids, such as its once groundbreaking Prius, but it continues to be skeptical about pure battery-electric vehicles, citing a variety of issues such as cost and the lack of a convenient public charging network.
Toyota’s Jun Nagata confirmed the company doesn’t view battery-electric vehicles as the best way to achieve zero emissions.
“If you take a snapshot of 2030, the price of battery EVs and the provision of infrastructure around the globe probably won’t have advanced all that much,” Toyota executive Jun Nagata said during the company’s earnings news conference Wednesday. “Hybrids and plug-in hybrids will be easier for customers to buy.”
Battery electrics secondary to hybrids
Toyota does expect to see a sharp rise in the number of “electrified” vehicles it sells. CEO Akio Toyoda has laid out plans to offer conventional and plug-in hybrid options for virtually all of the company’s product lines by mid-decade. The new Sienna minivan and Venza SUV, for example, are offered solely with gas-electric drivetrains.
So, “70% of the Toyota and Lexus combined sales mix will be electrified (in one form or another) by 2030,” the company said in a statement “On a global basis, Toyota expects to sell approximately 8 million electrified vehicles by 2030, of which 2 million will be BEVs and FCEVs.”
Toyota’s James Kuffner said despite its focus on hybrids, Toyota will be the world’s low-cost producer of electric vehicles.
The mix also will include some battery-electric vehicles. Toyota last year launched its first long-range BEV in Europe and revealed another at the recent Shanghai Auto Show. It has hinted that it will show off its first long-range U.S. model this spring. The carmaker already sells another form of zero-emission vehicle, its hydrogen-powered Mirai. The fuel-cell vehicle was completely redesigned for the 2021 model year.
“We’re strongly positioned to lead the world in the best reliable low-cost battery-electric vehicles,” said James Kuffner, Toyota’s chief digital officer.
But, in its statement, as well as Wednesday’s news conference, Toyota made clear that products without any internal combustion engine will play a minor role. The company “expects BEVs and FCEVs will make up 15% of its U.S. sales by 2030.”
Running uphill
That’s in sharp contrast to what a number of competitors are aiming for. A few, notably niche brands like Bentley, are aiming to go 100% BEV by 2030. Ford plans to sell only plug-based models in Europe by 2026, and will go pure electric by 2030. It also has doubled its planned investment in battery-based models and will roll out BEVs faster than planned just a year ago, senior product executive Hau Thai-Tang said recently.
The Toyota bZ4X Concept debuted just ahead of Auto Shanghai 2021 and highlights the automaker’s vision for a global series of EVs.
General Motors and Volkswagen are two of the carmakers planning to go entirely BEV worldwide within the next 10 to 15 years.
The push for battery power might have begun in Japan but, with the exception of Nissan, automakers there have been reluctant to embrace technology beyond conventional hybrids – at least until now.
Honda, meanwhile, will launch two BEVs in the U.S. using underpinnings developed by General Motors. Then, it plans to add several more all-electric models using a new architecture developed in-house. But Honda officials expect hybrids and PHEVs to continue to dominate into the next decade, however, much like Toyota.
The Japanese leader’s executives have cited a variety of reasons why they don’t expect all-electric technology to become dominant anytime soon. The higher costs, range concerns and a lack of a charging network were serious concerns, said Kuffner. There are other ways to deal with climate change, he said during a news conference called to discuss the company’s latest earnings.
“The goal is not electric vehicles, the goal is carbon neutrality, and even if we have the best technology, if it’s not chosen by customers, it will not have the impact of reducing emissions,” he said.
