Cars.com Mileage Challenge 3.1

Gas prices are dropping — precious good news in otherwise dismal economic times — but automakers clearly think we’re still in for a long-haul increase. To wit: The MPG war remains afoot, and the higher the gas mileage numbers you can put up, the better. General Motors markets XFE trims, for Extra Fuel Economy, of certain cars and trucks that have been tweaked to get better mileage. Ford has the makings of a similar lineup in its SFE, or Superior Fuel Economy, badging. Even Hyundai and Kia tout drivetrain revisions that yield incremental upticks in several of their ’09 models.

The ratings are sometimes impressive, especially among commuter cars, so for this fall’s mileage challenge we put four of them to the test. GM’s Chevy Cobalt and Pontiac G5 twins now get an estimated 25/37 mpg city/highway in high-efficiency XFE trim, which only comes with a manual transmission. The redesigned Toyota Corolla gets a close 27/35 mpg city/highway rating with an automatic; that’s a slight increase over the prior-gen automatic. A number of other contenders post impressive highway figures, too.

Balk all you want about how your kid brother’s ’87 Tercel got 35 mpg going uphill, but we’ll remind you that today’s commuters can reach 60 mph in less than 10 seconds – with side curtain airbags and habitable backseats to boot.

Toyota Extends 0% Financing, Annoying Ads

October was universally a brutal month for car manufacturers, but some companies were hit harder than others. GM saw its average daily sales rate drop 45%, and Ford saw decreases of 29%. Comparitively, Toyota’s decrease of 24% doesn’t seem so bad. What saved the Japanese automaker?

Toyota’s could-have-been-worse numbers likely had something to do with its financing offer in October, which gave customers 0% financing on 11 models in its lineup. Buoyed by the sales, Toyota is extending the offers for another month, making them available until the end of November.

The downside to this is that your TVs — and brains — will again be invaded by Toyota’s utterly brutal “Saved By Zero” commercials. You know the ones. These are the sacrifices we make for affordable financing, we guess.

The models included are listed below:

Toyota Corolla Best-Selling Car in the Country, Sort Of

Sales numbers for June are rolling in, and the list of the top 10 sellers in the country has once again shifted. Last month the Honda Civic took the top spot away from the Ford F-150, and now the Toyota Corolla has taken the No. 1 mantle. Before Toyota can claim the spot, though, we must tell readers that Toyota includes Matrix sales along with that Corolla number because they’re built on the same platform.

We don’t agree with that form of accounting, but Toyota’s Camry came in second, so even without the added Matrix sales it still would have come out on top. The Civic slid to third.

Overall sales were down for Ford, GM, Chrysler and Toyota — yes, Toyota — as people start pinching pennies. Many other automakers saw upticks — most significantly Honda, but Kia, Hyundai and Subaru also saw numbers go up. Hyundai sold more than 50,000 vehicles in a month for the first time ever last month, with the Accent, Sonata and Elantra seeing big increases.

Below is the new top 10.

Cars.com Faceoff: 2008 Ford Focus, 2008 Honda Civic, 2009 Toyota Corolla

In honor of graduation season, Cars.com took three of the most popular compact sedans on the market and decided which one should get a big bow put on top. Even if you’re a Hoops McCann and no one gets you a car for your hard work, these three are sensible first-car choices for the newly employed, too. But which one takes the cake? See if the Honda Civic can stand up to the redesigned Ford Focus and all-new Toyota Corolla.

Cars.comparison: Graduation Gifts

Friday Fleet Notes: 4.25.08

This Friday's fleet notes come packed with insightful takes on the Saturn Astra, Infiniti EX35, Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic EX-L, and Toyota Matrix XRS. Our staff had plenty to say, both good and bad, about the vehicles, so be sure to check out their posts, then link to the expert reviews after the jump.

2008 Saturn Astra

• This was a bummer for me. I was soooo looking forward to driving this car, but when I got behind the wheel I was again greeted by anemic acceleration. However, unlike the Corolla, the Astra XR is supposed to be a fun-to-drive machine. I did not experience much fun. It handled well but felt heavy. The automatic transmission was a dog, and do I need to mention the controls? A fellow reviewer called them hieroglyphics because the symbols are so hard to translate. There’s no USB or AUX-in capability either, not even as an option. Eegads. It was nice-looking, though, I’ll give it that. — David Thomas, senior editor

Cars.com Reviews 2009 Toyota Corolla

The Toyota Corolla has long been one of the best-selling cars in the U.S. Even last year, when its design was clearly showing its age, it saw increased sales, mainly due to high gas prices. Toyota has finally redesigned the compact car for 2009, and Cars.com’s Kelsey Mays put it through its paces in a full review, as well as in a video. Surprisingly, the new Corolla isn’t the slam-dunk economy choice anymore, even though there’s still plenty to like.

2009 Toyota Corolla Expert Review
2009 Toyota Corolla Videos

Frugal Compacts Add Up with Basic Options

The compact car segment is no new place to find low base prices and a good deal on a new car. After having three major players in our hands over the past few weeks, including the 2009 Toyota Corolla, 2008 Honda Civic and 2008 Ford Focus sedans, we were scraping together specs and options to evaluate the competition. When we started to compare the cars, something surprised us. Mostly optional features that we think are necessary for a comfortable and safe daily driver — automatic transmission, air conditioning, power windows, cruise control, keyless entry, power locks, antilock brakes, side airbags and a CD player — have a funny way of changing each car’s relative value.

Recall Alert: 2003-04 Toyota Corolla, Matrix

Toyota is recalling 539,500 2003 and 2004 Corolla and Matrix cars equipped with power windows. The bolts in the power window system can loosen and cause the window to shatter. 

There have been 143 incidents that led to broken windows, so this is not an isolated case. Toyota says there has been one minor accident and 15 injuries directly related to the defect. A notice will go out to owners later this month. Dealers will replace both front window bolts at no charge. 

The company says owners with these loose bolts will hear an abnormal noise from either window when they’re being operated. For more information, concerned owners can call Toyota at 800-331-4331.

Toyota recalling Corolla, Matrix cars because of power windows (Chicago Tribune)

Toyota Prices New 2009 Corolla and Matrix

The redesigned Corolla and Matrix will arrive at dealerships next month, and today we learn more about how much each of the new models will cost. The range for the Corolla will be $15,250 to $19,950, and the Matrix will range from $16,190 to $21,850. The base 2009 Corolla will cost $845 more than the 2008 base model. Toyota has changed the base CE trim level to a “Standard” trim level for 2009, just to help confuse things some.

The Matrix’s starting price of $16,190 is $680 more than the outgoing 2008’s $15,510. None of the prices include a $650 destination charge. A full breakdown of trim-level pricing is below, as is where you can find more information, photos and specs of the new models.

Video: 2009 Toyota Corolla

The Corolla has withered on the vine as far as technological updates go over the past few years, but it sure hasn’t slowed down in the sales department. Managing editor Patrick Olsen gets a closer look at the redesigned 2009 model, which will go on sale early next year.