Random Thoughts

[CoreySamson]

The GX is based on the international Land Cruiser Prado, earlier generations of which are only recently starting to show up in the US as a product of the 90s JDM boom. The Prado is lighter duty than your standard Land Cruiser of the same age, but can be the same size.

Interesting. I always thought it was based on the 4Runner.

[kenarmy]

Speaking of.. it's amazing how the Land Cruiser was able to survive all these years in the US with poor sales. I thought Toyota would cut the Sequoia first if they had to. 

[formulanone]

Speaking of.. it's amazing how the Land Cruiser was able to survive all these years in the US with poor sales. I thought Toyota would cut the Sequoia first if they had to. 

I guess Toyota sold enough of them in USDM guise for Canada and the Middle East in decent numbers, and they only change it once every 10+ years.

On the other end of their portfolio, they finally put an end to the Yaris, which was part of their bread-and-butter (as the Tercel/Echo) decades ago. But I guess it was just a Mazda 2 built in Mexico, so it will probably live on for a bit.

https://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2021-us-vehicle-sales-figures-by-model/

It's really weird to see Mazda sell 60 Mazda 5s in one month when the model was discontinued five years ago. Must be a typo from MX-5 (Miata) sales.

[Max Rockatansky]

Speaking of.. it's amazing how the Land Cruiser was able to survive all these years in the US with poor sales. I thought Toyota would cut the Sequoia first if they had to. 

I guess Toyota sold enough of them in USDM guise for Canada and the Middle East in decent numbers, and they only change it once every 10+ years.

On the other end of their portfolio, they finally put an end to the Yaris, which was part of their bread-and-butter (as the Tercel/Echo) decades ago. But I guess it was just a Mazda 2 built in Mexico, so it will probably live on for a bit.

https://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2021-us-vehicle-sales-figures-by-model/

It's really weird to see Mazda sell 60 Mazda 5s in one month when the model was discontinued five years ago. Must be a typo from MX-5 (Miata) sales.

I doubt it, volume cars tend to linger on the sales charts for years after they are discontinued.  It takes a couple years usually to clear remaining stock on particular lines. 

[formulanone]

Speaking of.. it's amazing how the Land Cruiser was able to survive all these years in the US with poor sales. I thought Toyota would cut the Sequoia first if they had to. 

I guess Toyota sold enough of them in USDM guise for Canada and the Middle East in decent numbers, and they only change it once every 10+ years.

On the other end of their portfolio, they finally put an end to the Yaris, which was part of their bread-and-butter (as the Tercel/Echo) decades ago. But I guess it was just a Mazda 2 built in Mexico, so it will probably live on for a bit.

https://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2021-us-vehicle-sales-figures-by-model/

It's really weird to see Mazda sell 60 Mazda 5s in one month when the model was discontinued five years ago. Must be a typo from MX-5 (Miata) sales.

I doubt it, volume cars tend to linger on the sales charts for years after they are discontinued.  It takes a couple years usually to clear remaining stock on particular lines. 

60 cars of one model only in a single month for something discontinued in five years ago is probably an error. If it was 1 vehicle per month, then it would make a little more sense, especially if it was a rare, undesirable, or very expensive vehicle.

[Takumi]

Speaking of.. it's amazing how the Land Cruiser was able to survive all these years in the US with poor sales. I thought Toyota would cut the Sequoia first if they had to. 

I guess Toyota sold enough of them in USDM guise for Canada and the Middle East in decent numbers, and they only change it once every 10+ years.

Actually, the Land Cruiser hasn't been sold in Canada in some time. Just the Lexus LX version. I think that's also why they continued to sell the Land Cruiser here through the end of 200-series production, might as well if they're the same vehicle.

On the other end of their portfolio, they finally put an end to the Yaris, which was part of their bread-and-butter (as the Tercel/Echo) decades ago. But I guess it was just a Mazda 2 built in Mexico, so it will probably live on for a bit.

In the US, sure. But the Yaris does live on elsewhere, and even has a hot hatch version called the GR, which makes 250 HP out of a little turbo 3-cylinder.

https://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2021-us-vehicle-sales-figures-by-model/

It's really weird to see Mazda sell 60 Mazda 5s in one month when the model was discontinued five years ago. Must be a typo from MX-5 (Miata) sales.

Either a typo or they found a batch on a lot somewhere and finally shipped them.

[formulanone]

In the US, sure. But the Yaris does live on elsewhere, and even has a hot hatch version called the GR, which makes 250 HP out of a little turbo 3-cylinder.

Sigh, wouldn't mind it here. Toyota missed an opportunity to go head-to-head with the VW GTI for [checks watch] ...over 25 years.

[wanderer2575]

If the product being advertised is so much better than the leading brand, why isn't *it* the leading brand?

[kphoger]

If the product being advertised is so much better than the leading brand, why isn't *it* the leading brand?

because the leading brand has been around longer, so more people know the name
because the leading brand has done more advertising, so more people know the name
because the leading brand has other products that are good, so people trust the name
because the leading brand has declined in quality but used to be better, so people trust the name
because new research has found that a previously held advantage of the leading brand is not actually an advantage

[Takumi]

In the US, sure. But the Yaris does live on elsewhere, and even has a hot hatch version called the GR, which makes 250 HP out of a little turbo 3-cylinder.

Sigh, wouldn't mind it here. Toyota missed an opportunity to go head-to-head with the VW GTI for [checks watch] ...over 25 years.

We are getting a GR Corolla hatchback with the same drivetrain.

[kphoger]

Using YouTube in incognito mode can yield some interesting ads.  For example, I was just encouraged to vote for Morgan McGarvey, who is apparently running for a House seat in Kentucky's 3rd District.

[Scott5114]

If the product being advertised is so much better than the leading brand, why isn't *it* the leading brand?

because the leading brand has been around longer, so more people know the name
because the leading brand has done more advertising, so more people know the name
because the leading brand has other products that are good, so people trust the name
because the leading brand has declined in quality but used to be better, so people trust the name
because new research has found that a previously held advantage of the leading brand is not actually an advantage

because the company making the advertisement has no idea who the leading brand is (nobody knows my business's sale data except for me, for instance, so for all anyone knows I could be the leading brand)
because the company making the advertisement can't actually prove the claim, so by using the mushy term "leading brand" if someone tries to verify the claim they can just say "no that wasn't the brand we tested against"

Note that there's not any actual law or legal reason they have to use the phrase "the leading brand" as opposed to just saying "our toilet paper wipes your ass 63% better than Charmin" or whatever. That's considered fair use. The only problem is that then you've put a specific claim out there, and if someone (probably the specific company you named!) can prove that your toilet paper actually is only 46% better than Charmin, now you're liable for false advertising. Saying you're better than "the leading brand" isn't as readily falsifiable.

[Big John]

Or "Our brand is better." without telling you what they're comparing it to.  They are usually implying a leading brand but are actually comparing it to the worst example they can think of.

[Scott5114]

Or "Our brand is better." without telling you what they're comparing it to.  They are usually implying a leading brand but are actually comparing it to the worst example they can think of.

In some instances, that sort of vagueness can arise from having genuine improvements over multiple different competitors. I could easily rattle off "My brand is better than Brand A because of X, it's better than Brand B because of Y ..." and so on for all the major brands. But customers are going to zone out before you're done with that, especially if they don't currently use any of the brands you mentioned.

[kphoger]

Note that there's not any actual law or legal reason they have to use the phrase "the leading brand" as opposed to just saying "our toilet paper wipes your ass 63% better than Charmin" or whatever. That's considered fair use. The only problem is that then you've put a specific claim out there, and if someone (probably the specific company you named!) can prove that your toilet paper actually is only 46% better than Charmin, now you're liable for false advertising. Saying you're better than "the leading brand" isn't as readily falsifiable.

It's also a risky move to imply in your commercial that Charmin is the benchmark when it comes to wiping your ass.  Especially if it costs less than your brand.

[Scott5114]

Yeah, not wanting to elevate a certain competitor is also a risk of naming the leading brand. Of course, that doesn't matter in cases where everyone knows who your main competitor is (like the famous Coke vs. Pepsi challenge, for instance).

[snowc]

Hackers taking over my account.
Apparently I received this message a couple days ago from Google.

After realizing that my AARoads account was compromised (thanks Max for realizing this!), I changed the password for my AARoads account.
The random thought is, why would somebody know my password if its A. The WiFi password for my school, and B. I have the most boring username of all time?
So, that's why I wasn't typing things correctly.
In addition, I am putting my name at the bottom of my texts to show this is coming from me.
Bryce

[Max Rockatansky]

Hackers taking over my account.
Apparently I received this message a couple days ago from Google.

After realizing that my AARoads account was compromised (thanks Max for realizing this!), I changed the password for my AARoads account.
The random thought is, why would somebody know my password if its A. The WiFi password for my school, and B. I have the most boring username of all time?
So, that's why I wasn't typing things correctly.
In addition, I am putting my name at the bottom of my texts to show this is coming from me.
Bryce

My nose starting bleeding after reading this.  Are you sure that you weren't talking to some alternate version or me? 

[snowc]

Hackers taking over my account.
Apparently I received this message a couple days ago from Google.

After realizing that my AARoads account was compromised (thanks Max for realizing this!), I changed the password for my AARoads account.
The random thought is, why would somebody know my password if its A. The WiFi password for my school, and B. I have the most boring username of all time?
So, that's why I wasn't typing things correctly.
In addition, I am putting my name at the bottom of my texts to show this is coming from me.
Bryce

My nose starting bleeding after reading this.  Are you sure that you weren't talking to some alternate version or me? 

My account was hacked and somebody took over my account without my knowledge. Somebody was impersonating me because of the data breach.
No worries, I just changed the password on my AARoads account as my account was temporarily banned due to the impersonation.
I was scheduled to come back on the 14th of May (today), and realized my inbox was covered with spam posts that I didnt do. I contacted Scott to place a temp ban as my account had posts that didnt make sense. Also my IP address, the one thats right next to the mod report button, was severely different.
It was just a bad week trying to change all my passwords and reset my computer.
Bryce

[Scott5114]

I never got any message from you, so far as I can tell–or did you send it to the Other Scott?

[Max Rockatansky]

I never got any message from you, so far as I can tell–or did you send it to the Other Scott?

Probably your multiverse variant also.

[Scott5114]

I never got any message from you, so far as I can tell–or did you send it to the Other Scott?

Probably your multiverse variant also.

Where do you think Scotts 1 through 5113 reside?

[Max Rockatansky]

I never got any message from you, so far as I can tell–or did you send it to the Other Scott?

Probably your multiverse variant also.

Where do you think Scotts 1 through 5113 reside?

Good question, I'm not even sure if this is Earth 616.

[kkt]

I never got any message from you, so far as I can tell–or did you send it to the Other Scott?

Probably your multiverse variant also.

Where do you think Scotts 1 through 5113 reside?

Good question, I'm not even sure if this is Earth 616.

I think we're living in Experiment 626.

[Max Rockatansky]

I never got any message from you, so far as I can tell–or did you send it to the Other Scott?

Probably your multiverse variant also.

Where do you think Scotts 1 through 5113 reside?

Good question, I'm not even sure if this is Earth 616.

I think we're living in Experiment 626.

Isn't Earth 626 the one with all the parallel universe rotations?  I don't think we have an issue with users swapping out with their alternate selfs too infrequently?