Originally posted by blake:

hmm.

we're at the tail end of MY2005 right now.

camry: 2002 - 2005: 4 model years. i've seen spy shots of the next gen camry, so while it may not debut as an '06, it probably will for '07....thus falling within the 4-6 year window in question.

civic: 2001 - 2005: 5 model years. the '00 was still a 6th-gen (EK) platform, and '05 is the last of the current 7th gen (EP?) - a new 8th-gen bodystyle debuts this fall as an '06.

sequoia: that's kind of a reach for justifying the argument that 4-6 year model cycles cost too much and aren't financially viable, but i suppose i'll agree that it may be getting a bit long in the tooth. however, toyota's name gives it a little more staying power than saturn's....and big trucks and SUV's seem to be able to get away with longer model cycles anyway. a new tundra is in the works and probably isn't that far off, and i would assume a redesigned sequoia will follow the launch of the tundra pretty quickly....

the industry standard for cars (and small SUV's) does seem to reflect a 4-6 year model redesign schedule with a mid-cycle styling refresh at the 2-3 year mark (usually limited to colors, front/rear fascias, headlight/taillight tweaks, wheel/wheel cover changes...etc.).





My point is that there is a significant difference in redesigning a car and completely revamping it from the ground up.

Camry: I haven't seen any spy shots for a new Camry. And while it may well be true that there is a new one on the way, I highly doubt Toyota will toss away a platform that it just rolled out in 2002. The lifespan of a platform is significantly longer than the lifespan of the way the exterior looks.

What you say probably holds true for the Honda Civic, but the only spyshots and CG images I've seen for it concerning a 2006 model are that of the Si model. It isn't likely that Honda is going to debut the most sporting model of the Civic lineup first. They are likely going to come out with a basic bland model this fall and the Si will follow the following model year. Is it going to be on a new platform or will it remain on the 7th gen? I'm interested to see how it competes to current new cars to the compact market such as the Chevrolet Cobalt and Kia Spectra, among others.

There are many, many more cars that I can add to the list that have once gone more than 4-6 years without a platform change, and some without significant redesign at all:

Dodge Ram 1994-2002
Ford Taurus 1996-2005
Dodge Viper 1992-2002
Chevrolet Cavalier 1994-2005
Chevrolet Corvette C4 1984-1997
Acura Integra 1995-2002
Honda NSX 1991-current (if still in production)
Ford Mustang (ahem...26 years?)
Dodge Neon 1995-2005
Mercedes Benz E-Class 1996-2003

And there's more. There's also cars that seemed to be completely redone overnight. The Infiniti M45 comes to mind as it just rolled out into showrooms as a second-gen model when the original was brand new in just 2003.

I could go on and on, but honestly, I'm bored with this now.

-SAV

Troll. 1997 VW Jetta MkIII GLS 5spd All hail my appearance on CEG!