Toyota Camry emerges victorious over Honda Accord
Toyota is doing better. This we do know. Thanks to a rigorous public relations campaign that earlier in the year flooded the airways with pro-Toyota sentiment when news was bleak, and more importantly, a bold incentives program, including zero percent financing and subsidized leases on many of their popular vehicles, North American sales in April were reportedly up as much as 30%. But despite the positive vibes and strong sales numbers, there are still some bumps for the Japanese giant.
One disturbing trend of late, as seen on the newcars.com website, is that the “Days on Lot” figures (average number of days a model sits on the dealer’s lot before it is sold) for a 2010 Camry have gone from 44 in February to 64 in March to 88 in April. Remember this is only for the 2010 Camry and not all new and used cars. NJ dealers can at least breathe a sigh of relief there.
But so now compare those lot numbers of the 2010 Camry to the 2010 Accord, which had a 57 in February, 55 in March, and 52 in April. Slow and steady wins the race, as they say. It’s a small sample to be sure, but a trend to take note of, even for those folks in New Jersey, your typical Newark used Toyota Dealer. It could mean a perception gap is opening between the two stalwarts of the large sedan class.
Still, despite the lot numbers, the good news for everyone, yes, even the Newark used Toyota Dealer, is that the newcars.com website still believes that a 2010 Camry edges out a 2010 Accord slightly overall, posting better numbers for fuel economy (Camry – 19-22 city and 28-33 highway v. Accord – 17-22 and 25-31) and lower base model 5-year ownership costs (Camry – $33,194 v. Accord – $34,718). Both cars are similar in power (Inline-4 or V-6) and both vehicles have a five passenger seating capacity. The Accord does have a little more passenger room, but for storage the Camry has a slight edge with 15 cubic feet v. 14.
It’s a close fight to be sure. It’s like NJ used cars dealers trying to get a competitive edge in the market, taking whatever is there, and the Camry v. Accord, even in Toyota’s recovering, if not still semi-battered state, is a heavyweight bout of large sedans that most folks are still willing to shell out their money for.
