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:

End-of-the-Model-Year Deals: Toyota

There is a common belief that Toyota never offers deals on its cars. There are two reasons for that: One, popular models often aren’t discounted, and two, Toyota uses very complex regional incentives that make it hard to track down where the best discounts are. That’s why most incentive sites, including Cars.com’s, ask you for your zip code. However, we still wanted to paint a picture of what you can find at your local Toyota dealership as the 2008s leave the lots.

Check out the list and our thoughts below.

Cars.com Faceoff: Dodge Nitro, Hummer H3, Toyota FJ Cruiser

We had some fun with the latest Cars.com Faceoff. Mike Hanley, Joe Wiesenfelder and I took three of the most macho SUVs on the road and pitted them against each other on things like their rugged looks, offroad prowess and everyday usability. You might be surprised to learn which of these grown-up Tonka trucks took home the prize.

Cars.comparison: Macho SUVs

Suburban Dad: Toyota FJ Cruiser

I have looked longingly at the FJ from afar. Its offbeat but muscular looks are enticing; they remind me of my (then-single) youth back in the 1980s, when I drove a couple of Toyota pickups. Sure, those were low on comfort, but they were high on feelings of freedom — the open road, helping everyone and their brother move into their next dorm or apartment. Followed by feelings of free beer.

These feelings were reinforced just minutes after I got into the new FJ. A guy in a convertible Saab let me merge into his lane in traffic, then pulled alongside me to ask, “Is it as cool as it seems?” It may be the SUV equivalent of the midlife-crisis car.