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My 1000-mile odyssey in the Toyota Avalon ended in bewilderment. Gazing upon my sublime whip-of-the-week from the window of a Chattanooga Cracker Barrel, I racked my brain: why don’t you sell better?
The Avalon formula seems foolproof. Take a Camry (the world’s best-selling sedan) and upgrade everything about it: more luxury, more power and significantly comfier. Should sell like Tickle Me Elmo, right?
In actuality, Toyota sells one-tenth as many Avalons as Camrys. Maybe it can’t shake its reputation as an “old people car.” But if owning a Japanese S-Class that never breaks makes me old, call me Betty White.