2009 Toyota Venza - it's a Buick

[Cananopie]

A Motortrend blog article called the 2009 Toyota Venza that just debuted at the NAIAS... a Buick.

http://blogs.motortrend.com/6226463/new-ca...uick/index.html

I think that's stretching it. The Toyota Venza only wishes it was anything nearly as good looking as the Enclave. Yet the article makes the awkward Venza seem luxurious enough to even compare to the Enclave. In looks this thing is tanked and I don't see the Buick similarities (outside of the color) at all.

*edit* maybe I can see it closer to the Signia Concept

Edited January 14, 2008 by Cananopie

[Drew Dowdell]

MKC at best...

[gm4life]

That f*cker is ugly... Enclave please.

[Croc]

It looks somewhat similar to the (IMO) ungainly Centieme concept.

[VenSeattle]

It's called old perceptions die hard... Magazines have gotten into the habit of comparing Toyota to Buick or saying that Toyota does everything Buick does but better. The exterior execution is no where near as cohesive as the Enclave's and just one look at the interior tells you this is no Enclave.

[siegen]

Why do the body cut lines around the doors extend all the way to the bottom?

How did that grille make it out of the designers computer?

Edited January 14, 2008 by siegen

[VenSeattle]

I think the only thing making people see Enclave is the color the Venza debuted in.

[Intrepidation]

This thing wishes it was as good looking as the Enclave.

[balthazar]

A camry in a fat suit.

Looks cheap as hell, too.

[Brougham-Holiday]

Who would have though the "moving forward" Toyota would copy Buick? GM needs to promote the fact the the great new Buick is already being copied.

[Sixty8panther]

Edge meets HIghlander and they have an ugly duckling.

[Windy-57]

I think the only thing making people see Enclave is the color the Venza debuted in.

+1

It actually looks like a composit of a number of current vehicles:

Headlights - Edge

Hood dipping into grille - Camry

Roofline & spoiler - Veracruz

Color - Enclave

BTW, in the pic above, everything from the c-pillar back looks very awkward. If I were a Toyota Executive, I'd be embarrassed.

Edited January 15, 2008 by Windy-57

[ToniCipriani]

What an insult. It looks like Toyota's angry they aren't top so they start defaming GM.

[balthazar]

>>"GM needs to promote the fact the the great new Buick is already being copied."<<

This could only possibly be considered if the venza actually resembled the Enclave in any way, but thankfully it doesn't.

Edited January 15, 2008 by balthazar

[K.C.]

Even though I do kinda like the Venza from that view, the Enclave is far superior to it based on looks, interior room, and superiority in my opinion, unfortunately, the Enclave is not in the same category as the Venza since it just holds 5 people.

[balthazar]

The Enclave is not in the same category as the venza because 1 is a class-leading luxury vehicle and the other is a cheap-looking, yawn-fest, also-ran for Joanne Lunchbox. Oh what a feeling.

Number of seats is irrelevant; you'd be hard pressed to coax even 1 more person besides the owner into the venza anyway.

[Guest YellowJacket894]

Just like the Solara before it, it's nothing more than a fat Camry that needs to go on a Slim Fast diet. The only difference between this and the Solara it indirectly replaces is that the Solara had a droopy ass and the Venza has a droopy face.

If this is a Buick, then I'm a magician.

[LastMercury]

A Camry Wagon... but it's even uglier than the Camry.

[VenSeattle]

The more I look at it, I'm wondering if this is a Camry-sized wagon or an Avalon-sized wagon. I'm starting to get more of an Avalon vibe from it.

I'm sure it'll be initially priced more like an Avalon since it'll launch with the 3.5l V6 standard (2.7l 4 comes later)

[ponchoman49]

So now Toyota needs 5 SUVs, the RAV 4, this ugly thing, the Highlander, the Saquoa and the land Cruiser. Talk about not being green. Throwing all your eggs in the SUV basket is not going to make Toyota the green friendly division like they make themselves out to be.

[Robert Hall]

So now Toyota needs 5 SUVs, the RAV 4, this ugly thing, the Highlander, the Saquoa and the land Cruiser. Talk about not being green. Throwing all your eggs in the SUV basket is not going to make Toyota the green friendly division like they make themselves out to be.

You forgot the 4Runner. The Venza is not an SUV, it's a wagon...kind of like the Taurus X. It's no different from Ford--look how many SUVs and crossovers they have.

[gm4life]

You forgot the 4Runner. The Venza is not an SUV, it's a wagon...kind of like the Taurus X. It's no different from Ford--look how many SUVs and crossovers they have.

QUOTE(ponchoman49 @ Jan 18 2008, 06:56 AM)

So now Toyota needs 5 SUVs, the RAV 4, this ugly thing, the Highlander, the Saquoa and the land Cruiser. Talk about not being green. Throwing all your eggs in the SUV basket is not going to make Toyota the green friendly division like they make themselves out to be.

You forgot the 4Runner. The Venza is not an SUV, it's a wagon...kind of like the Taurus X. It's no different from Ford--look how many SUVs and crossovers they have.

Toyota is scared &#036;h&#33;-less. And you know what they should be, keep in my mind Toyota offers enviormentally friendly vehicles, like a Turd, 4Runner and Landy along with numerous other gas sucking o-zone layer depletating beasts. :AH-HA_wink: But libs in hollywood love the Prius and say how GREEN TOYOTA IS.

[Robert Hall]

QUOTE(ponchoman49 @ Jan 18 2008, 06:56 AM)

So now Toyota needs 5 SUVs, the RAV 4, this ugly thing, the Highlander, the Saquoa and the land Cruiser. Talk about not being green. Throwing all your eggs in the SUV basket is not going to make Toyota the green friendly division like they make themselves out to be.

You forgot the 4Runner. The Venza is not an SUV, it's a wagon...kind of like the Taurus X. It's no different from Ford--look how many SUVs and crossovers they have.

Toyota is scared &#036;h&#33;-less. And you know what they should be, keep in my mind Toyota offers enviormentally friendly vehicles, like a Turd, 4Runner and Landy along with numerous other gas sucking o-zone layer depletating beasts. :AH-HA_wink: But libs in hollywood love the Prius and say how GREEN TOYOTA IS.

Yeah, but GM's playing the same game... they have a lot more (and bigger) beasts than Toyota...(Hummers, Tahoe, Escalade, Yukon, etc).. yet they are hyping the hybrids and promising the Volt, etc...

[Lamar]

Yeah, but GM's playing the same game... they have a lot more (and bigger) beasts than Toyota...(Hummers, Tahoe, Escalade, Yukon, etc).. yet they are hyping the hybrids and promising the Volt, etc...

GM is also hybridizing, for lack of a better term, many of those huge beasts as well.

Which do you think tends to have a much better effect: making products with relatively good mileage have better mileage (Camry, Highlander, RX400h) or making products with horrible mileage have much more respectable mileage for their class (Tahoe, Yukon, Escalade)?

[SingleStylish]

You know why this "looks" like a Buick? Becuase this is a thinly guised version of the Toyota Harrier or as we know it the Lexus RX. Buick is supposed to be the American Lexus and well, I would say it is a form of flatery for Toyota to then copy it back.

On another note, Toyota using thinly disguised versions of their vehicles for their two brands sounds alot like GM of yore. Down they start to go...

[Intrepidation]

You know why this "looks" like a Buick? Becuase this is a thinly guised version of the Toyota Harrier or as we know it the Lexus RX. Buick is supposed to be the American Lexus and well, I would say it is a form of flatery for Toyota to then copy it back.

On another note, Toyota using thinly disguised versions of their vehicles for their two brands sounds alot like GM of yore. Down they start to go...

Buick is not the "American Lexus" because Buick was here long before Lexus or even Toyota was.

[Lamar]

Buick is not the "American Lexus" because Buick was here long before Lexus or even Toyota was.

But see, that makes too much sense for the media.

[Robert Hall]

You know why this "looks" like a Buick? Becuase this is a thinly guised version of the Toyota Harrier or as we know it the Lexus RX. Buick is supposed to be the American Lexus and well, I would say it is a form of flatery for Toyota to then copy it back.

On another note, Toyota using thinly disguised versions of their vehicles for their two brands sounds alot like GM of yore. Down they start to go...

???? I thought the Venza was a wagon based on the Camry..nothing like the Harrier/RX (the Highlander is related to the Harrier/RX).

Edited January 19, 2008 by moltar

[thegriffon]

The RX and Highlander are based on the Camry as well. Oh and this 2.7 L would be the truck engine from the Tacoma/HiLux. Expect to see it in the NG RX as well. So, will GM kill the Chinese 3.4 L in favor of the 2.9 L Atlas I4 in the next gen Theta crossovers? Someone please suggest it to whoever is engineering them and GM Powertrain. If it can get 18/24 in the Colorado with a 4-speed auto, imagine what it can do with a 6-speed auto in the GMC and Chevy crossovers.

[SingleStylish]

Buick is not the "American Lexus" because Buick was here long before Lexus or even Toyota was.

While I think you know that what you said is a well known fact, GM's aim for Buick in coming years is to compete with Lexus. It has been stated by GM representatives repeatedly in the past.

[jcgable]

It just looks ugly. This isn't just because it is a Toyota, it is because it is.

[gm4life]

I agree the 3.4 is old but it has a decent power band, I would give them a 3500 VVT standard with a 6spd. automatic like in the new Vue. Offer 4 cylinder with hybrid powertrain only.

[gm4life]

Yeah, but GM's playing the same game... they have a lot more (and bigger) beasts than Toyota...(Hummers, Tahoe, Escalade, Yukon, etc).. yet they are hyping the hybrids and promising the Volt, etc...

Yeah they have SUV's but don't play the game like Toyota does who goes on to say how enviormentally responsible they are.

[Robert Hall]

While I think you know that what you said is a well known fact, GM's aim for Buick in coming years is to compete with Lexus. It has been stated by GM representatives repeatedly in the past.

Yeah, but they are really only aiming for the ES and RX...they can't compete with the good (RWD) Lexuses...that's Caddys territory.

[Duncan]

But see, that makes too much sense for the media.

"Whaddya mean, Buick's a hundred years old? I thought that was Oldsmobile..."

[pow]

GM is also hybridizing, for lack of a better term, many of those huge beasts as well.

Which do you think tends to have a much better effect: making products with relatively good mileage have better mileage (Camry, Highlander, RX400h) or making products with horrible mileage have much more respectable mileage for their class (Tahoe, Yukon, Escalade)?

Having sold well over a million hybrids tends to have much greater effect than, say, getting ready to roll out your first-ever full hybrid in select regions of the country for $50K a pop.

In the nation's largest car market right now, there is a total of ONE GM hybrid available for sale - a $23,105 AURA Green Line, VIN 1G8ZR57578F146894, at Cerritos Saturn.

[vonVeezelsnider]

Why is it that whenever I hear "Vezna" I think of this....

[InvictaMan]

A Motortrend blog article called the 2009 Toyota Venza that just debuted at the NAIAS... a Buick.

http://blogs.motortrend.com/6226463/new-ca...uick/index.html

I think that's stretching it. The Toyota Venza only wishes it was anything nearly as good looking as the Enclave. Yet the article makes the awkward Venza seem luxurious enough to even compare to the Enclave. In looks this thing is tanked and I don't see the Buick similarities (outside of the color) at all.

*edit* maybe I can see it closer to the Signia Concept

The only thing that remotely resembles the Enclave is the hip, and it is poorly executed. LOL on the Signia. It does favor that one, the most horrible concept car contrived by Buick to-date. That thing would have made the Aztec beautiful. Thankfully, the Rendezvous only carried the slightest hint of the back glass. I do think Buick needs a place holder in this class. A five-seater, smaller crossover would be a welcome addition and they could blow this Toyota junk out of the water if they only applied themselves.

[Robert Hall]

While I think you know that what you said is a well known fact, GM's aim for Buick in coming years is to compete with Lexus. It has been stated by GM representatives repeatedly in the past.

That's just marketing talk, though..they will never realistically compete with Lexus w/ pushrod V6s and 4spd automatics.