Why is the Matrix much cheaper than the Celica?

[Lomeinhu]

I checked my local dealer's Matrices and found an XRS. Almost fully loaded, 6 speed, 16" wheels, "premium" cd player, moonroof, etc. MSRP: $20,000! Well, it doesn't have leather, but i don't know if Matrices even have leather as an option. Anyways, that means with some bargaining, it may even come down to $18,500 or $19000, which is a great deal less than the $21,000 I've seen for a almost loaded GT-S (even that price is hard to get--most paid $22k-23K, i believe). SO what's the deal? The Matrix is bigger, has the same engine, but it's almost 3k cheaper. I mean, i don't want the Celica to be known as some cheap a$$ car, but i think it would've been a big boost in sales to make the car 1 or 2k cheaper than it is now. I also want to know where the extra money went since Celicas don't even have full size seats in the back.

[CloNeGTS]

I think some of it might be the fact the Celica was the first to have so many things from Toyota.....the new look, the new engine especially. And then just like the digital camera that was $500 when it came out is now $250, everything is cheaper to make and they've gotten their 'R&D' costs back on the new engine.

Just an idea....otherwise material cost wise, it makes no sense.

[marcus_GTS]

They do it by volume. A Celica GT-S shares very few parts with any other Toyota, and they don't sell that many of them (compared to Corollas or Camrys). The Matrix is expected to (and likely will) outsell the Celica by far, so the unit cost for all body parts, glass, interior, etc is far lower. The XRS is special in that it uses the 2zz-GE engine, along with some other parts from the GTS, but it still shares a lot of parts with the base Matrix, so the cost for those is still comparatively low. Add to that the parts shared with the Corolla, and the economies of scale really kick in.

[diduceme]

plus toyota is intending for this to be a car to get them into the compact market. why else would they be supporting it so much already? If you know about scion supposedly this was supposed to come out under scion at one time. So that tells you they have to keep it kinda cheap to reach that crowd.

[yakkosmurf]

I think Toyota sees a lot more profit possibilities from the Matrix. The comments made about the manufacturing being cheaper are probably correct. Toyota is trying to compete in a more lucrative market than the Celica is. They are probably willing to take a bit of a hit on price to sell more units and boost the company image. I don't think you're going to see Toyota going after the tuner crowd with the Matrix. They just need some parts and an SC model to attract attention. Then they can sell the base model to all the morons that think the car is cool because they saw one race prepped version.

[Sups]

why are the 180 hp xrs only fwd when the lower base autos can get the awd... if they made the xrs 6speed with awd then i bet they would sell a lot more

[yakkosmurf]

They might sell a 1000 of those, but that would be about it. Toyota is clearly playing to the masses and the bottom line. That's why you see "Type R" version of a Celica, and don't see the Supra in the US anymore. Toyota has shown they are unwilling to offer cars of high performance here in the US. I'm not a big Honda fan, but they did import a pretty good version of the ITR and do still sell the NSX here. Neither of those cars sold as many as the Supra did it's last year...

[racinjason]

An XRS with awd would be slow as hell. You need torque to quickly move an AWD system. The 2ZZ is the wrong engine to do that with and would dissapoint the buyers. The 1ZZ has a broader powerband to work with and helps keep the cost down. Plus the speed different wouldn't be worth it when comparing the 2ZZ and 1ZZ. Sorta like the auto GT-S and the manual GT.

[QWKsilvr808]

Uhhhh I think the fact that it ISN'T made in Japan has a lot to do with it too. I think they make it in Canada last I checked when my friend bought his XRS.

[FriedRice]

what platform does the celica share/have all to itself? i always thought it was the corolla platform... so celica has its own platform? why didnt toyota use the celica platform (if its unique) and just build matrix on top of that? that way.... cost cutting can go to celicas too.... iono.... maybe im missing the big picture. but to me, the matrix is more of a celica than a corolla. looks nice, same frkin engine anyway, like a suv version of the celica.... what gives?

[Arghman]

Also, I think the celica was a tad cheaper when it came out a while ago too...but i could be wrong.

['604'sPecBGT]

1 WORD! PRODUCTION!

[Lomeinhu]

I think being made in Japan is a good reason. But then again, even if the Matrix sells more than the Celica in the U.S., the overall worldwide sales of the Celica should more than make up for the difference in the U.S. The Celica is sold in Japan, in Australia, in many European countries, in Canada, and of course in the U.S. It's hard to believe that the extra cost of building cars in Japan and selling less in the U.S. still means $3k more than the Matrix. And yes, the Celica is built on the Corolla platform, so that should have reduced costs, too, although the 23K pricetag is probably the result of that already.

[erok]

It's because the Matrix is so ugly.

[yakkosmurf]

Originally posted by erok
It's because the Matrix is so ugly.
The front of the Matrix is an improvement on the Celica. The back is just as ugly. Toyota really needs to work on the back ends of their cars. Those new Camrys and ES300s are bad too.