|
Post by JonW on Oct 13, 2022 6:56:16 GMT 1
Well I reckoned it was the end for GRY production but, it seems I was (sorta) wrong. www.toyota.com.au/news/toyota-australia-to-resume-ordering-for-next-allocation-of-gr-yaris-hot-hatch?fbclid=IwAR1mq-gfWWbwnfDO4LjI7_z5F0ha-qgmC0oPp-ABK_614c9Z7mFrOU5iESMThis means all (both) models will be available again in Aus, but that the Rallye will be slightly different. It will not be numbered and it will be available in all colours, not just Pearl White. Oh and its only 160 units available. So will sell out in mere minutes across our land. Not all dealers will be able to order it and those who sold most of them get more allocation. ---- The text from the link ---- Toyota Australia will resume orders for its GR Yaris hot hatch on 10 November, after the huge demand for the motorsport-derived model when it first launched in late 2020 prompted a sales pause.
In order to support the delivery of the first batch of GR Yaris, Toyota Australia made the decision to place a temporary pause on orders from July 1, 2021.
Now that all of those orders have been fulfilled, Toyota can confirm that it has secured an additional 160 vehicles for Australian customers.
As with the huge demand experienced in 2020, demand is expected to exceed supply. The number of orders able to be taken by dealers will match their given allocation over the next 12 months. Customers are advised that not all dealers will have a vehicle available for order and that expressions of interest can be made for this in-demand vehicle.
"When we first launched the GR Yaris, we believed it would generate plenty of interest but even we were surprised at the phenomenal level of customer demand," Toyota Australia Vice President Sales, Marketing and Franchise Operations Sean Hanley said.
"So we have worked hard with our parent company in Japan over the past 12 months to secure these additional 160 vehicles.
"Together with the GR Supra, recently launched GR86 and forthcoming GR Corolla, we have the most exciting family of performance cars ever available in our line-up," he said.
With the GR Yaris exclusively hand-built in Japan, volumes are extremely limited, however Toyota Australia has secured an additional 160 examples destined for local showrooms.
The GR Yaris range will retain the same pricing as before, with the standard GR Yaris priced from $49,500 plus on-road costs1, and the more track-focused GR Yaris Rallye priced from $54,5001.
Along with the reintroduction of the GR Yaris to the Australian market, Toyota has made some minor specification changes including broader access of external colour choices for the GR Yaris Rallye, with Glacier White, Tarmac Black and Feverish Red joining the existing Frosted White pearl finish.2
The individual numbered build plaques that were fitted to the initial Rallye examples will no longer be applied.
Using experience and technology derived from motorsport, the GR Yaris delivers exhilarating performance from its 200kW/370Nm turbocharged 1.6-litre three-cylinder petrol engine and GR-FOUR all-wheel-drive system.
Alongside the GR Yaris, Toyota has announced that the long-awaited GR Supra manual will also be available from 10 November, marking the first time the performance coupe has been offered with a three-pedal option in its current generation.
The intelligent six-speed manual transmission offers smooth shifting and greater driver engagement; and starts from $87,000 plus on-roads1 for the GT - the same price as the automatic version - with the range-topping GTS priced from $97,0001.
Both vehicles, along with the upcoming GR Corolla and the just-launched GR86, will be on display at the Repco Bathurst 1000 from October 6 to 10, giving motorsport fans the first chance to see the GR Corolla in the metal ahead of its Australian arrival in the first quarter of 2023.
Toyota Australia dealers are currently taking expressions of interest on GR Corolla, with 500 units secured for the first year of production.
The GR Corolla will expand Toyota's range of GAZOO Racing offerings to four, joining the GR Yaris, GR Supra and new-generation GR86 launched in September.
|
|
|
Post by donkeychomp on Oct 13, 2022 21:25:59 GMT 1
With a population of 25,890,773 as of March 2022 that means you have a 1 in 161,817 chance of getting one...
Alex
|
|
|
Post by JonW on Oct 13, 2022 23:20:34 GMT 1
With a population of 25,890,773 as of March 2022 that means you have a 1 in 161,817 chance of getting one... Alex Haha, superb! Except I reckon it'd be less... I reckon dealers will order one for stock, sell it to themselves and then sell it on with a premium. Toyota is aware of the scalper problem and is making moves to only sell cars to real enthusiasts and not scalpers. Eg the new 10year limited edition GR86 was only offered to the Gazoo Racing Club (you automatically become a member when you buy a GR car) and could only be first registered to the name on your club paperwork.
|
|
cnkxu1
Thrash Merchant
Posts: 392
|
Post by cnkxu1 on Oct 14, 2022 23:31:13 GMT 1
Damn it. I was at Bathurst but did not see any Toyota displays.
|
|
|
Post by JonW on Oct 15, 2022 2:47:44 GMT 1
Damn it. I was at Bathurst but did not see any Toyota displays. But lots of Gazoo Racing hoardings at one point on the circuit... well on TV anyway...
|
|
cnkxu1
Thrash Merchant
Posts: 392
|
Post by cnkxu1 on Oct 22, 2022 6:11:06 GMT 1
We did a parade lap on the Saturday but I only looked at the track not the hoardings.
|
|
|
Post by JonW on Oct 22, 2022 9:09:20 GMT 1
Ohh in the XU1 I guess... last year of Holden n all that. Nice to do that.
|
|
cnkxu1
Thrash Merchant
Posts: 392
|
Post by cnkxu1 on Oct 22, 2022 12:44:33 GMT 1
50th anniversary of Peter Brock winning Bathurst in a Torana. 12 GTR and XU1 owners met at Bathurst, drove around Australia and arrived back at Bathurst for the Supercar races. 22 days, 12,500km in 50 year old cars. Quite an effort but well worth it.
|
|
|
Post by JonW on Oct 22, 2022 12:57:39 GMT 1
Props to you and the guys for that, serious road trip!
|
|
cnkxu1
Thrash Merchant
Posts: 392
|
Post by cnkxu1 on Oct 23, 2022 6:24:57 GMT 1
It was not without its problems but being such a simple engine they were easy fixes. Strangely and disappointingly every part that I replaced with new to make it more reliable failed and I reverted to the originals which I took along as spares. Ran over a roadkill kangaroo and broke the exhaust in front of the first muffler so drove for two days with a straight through exhaust until I could get it welded back together. Heat was a killer with fuel boiling in the mechanical fuel pump. New version generated or transmitted too much heat. New coil was too hot to touch and stopped sparking. Electronic distributor failed and was replaced by an older one. Somehow an insect made its way into the main jet, who knows how. Ran lean for a while. But what a great adventure. No one ever said remember when we went to that place and nothing happened.
|
|
cnkxu1
Thrash Merchant
Posts: 392
|
Post by cnkxu1 on Oct 23, 2022 6:26:42 GMT 1
This prompts me to get the WRX out and rerun some of the rally stages round Victoria.
|
|
|
Post by JonW on Oct 23, 2022 7:53:25 GMT 1
Defo a great adventure.
Defo put WRX pics up here when you do!
|
|
|
Post by JonW on Oct 28, 2022 5:30:09 GMT 1
Bittersweet news... I no longer have both a WRX and an EVO... today the WRX was sold. It was picked up by its new owner today. A 25 year old mum of 2 tiny children from a car loving family. She told me that she wanted a Hyperblue Edition (only 200 made) since they were launched when she was 18 and since she turned 25 this month she could finally afford the insurance. She was so very excited to finally fulfil her dream and was so pleased that she found a nice, clean condition low mileage one. We were sad to see it go as its been a great car in the time we had it but we werent using it as we always defaulted to the other 2 cars and it ended up in storage away from home and was a bit 'forgotten'. The good news is that cos of car prices being how they are right now we only lost £2k over the 7 years! well... ish... that's apart from servicing, insurance, fuel etc etc. Anyway, Bittersweet as I am no longer a Subaru owner... but I have a stack of cash to put into the mortgage to repair the havoc the GRY did to that when it arrived... er, a little over a year ago. Sadly a timeframe my Mrs had noticed a few times in the 12 months... ahem... :/
|
|
|
Post by donkeychomp on Oct 28, 2022 21:22:03 GMT 1
Ah well. At least she went to a good home.
Alex
|
|
|
Post by JonW on Oct 28, 2022 23:34:29 GMT 1
yes, thats very true.
|
|
|
Post by JonW on Nov 2, 2022 2:15:39 GMT 1
Another dealer service for the GRY... the 2nd one!
While 2 weeks back it turned 1 year old, yesterday it got its 12mth service. It has just 3800km on it. 2000 since the first service.
I tried another dealer. This time Castle Hill Toyota. I chose to go there as while its not the closest after Pennant Hills Toyota (who even though Ive told them directly that I wont be going back still email me weekly to remind me my service is due), it's the place that the Aussie FB forum guys recommend in this area due to the GR Tech being good.
My first attempt was abortive 2 weeks back as when i arrived the GR Tech was on a day off and I had specific things I wanted to talk to him about. Apparently it wasn't the service desk jockey's fault I arrived when the GR Tech wasn't there, it was 'the first time he'd seen the booking' listing the service and the things I wanted to talk to the tech about. Er ok... It was made about a month earlier and no one had bothered to scan the incoming bookings then. Not an auspicious start. I went home after rebooking for 10 days later.
Anyway, yesterday I arrived and things went better. Car was taken in and I got to go for a drive with their GR Tech Craig who knows these cars well. He worked with Andy of Motive Garage to build their 500KW GRY etc.
Craig noticed the gear issues right away, even when warm. He had some ideas on fixes with the linkage and also using a different gearbox oil. He didnt need to have any lengthly approvals by Toyota Aus to get started and fitted me in to have the work done the same day by him. Great News.
It did take most of the day and I was waiting at the dealer which was a bit soul destroying, although they offered plenty of times to run me to various train stations or the local mall. Instead I did chat to the salesman who allowed me to test drive my first GRY 18+months ago, although we couldnt make a deal on my order as he was insistent on RRP. He bought his own GRY and is a huge fan, loves it. While chatting I had a walk round/sit in the GR86. I know people love them but it all seemed a bit 2012* to me. It's a pretty thing to look at, but you can tell its a restyle and not a new car imho. It also makes the inside of the GRY seem spacious lol They had a lightly used 2nd hand one in the showroom for 10k over list. sigh.
* - I had a drive of one as I was tempted in 2012, it wasnt for me.
While working on the car it was found that the gear linkage was set perfectly in line at the factory so was adjusted to be offset slightly and the oil that came out wasn't like metallic paint, so nothing was being overly worn out using it as it was - I never hurried the change when cold though and always babied it until it was warm. As suggested up front the fix was a combination of the different weight oil and a light adjustment. Also I was told that I wasnt alone with this issue, a local guy had the same problem and the same fixes were applied and he hadn't come back so the assumption was that all was well.
Anyway, slow and boring day aside I got the car back just before 5pm. One the way home it was better but to be honest it was pretty good when warm before, the acid test would be when it was cold.
Today I went out for a quick spin with everything cold and grabbed second like a normal car, ie faster than Ive ever dared, and it went home with no graunch. Superb! It is notchy but im cool with that. It finally doesn't feel like im killing the gearbox with 1-2 changes when cold. Phew!
To be honest the synchro graunch/baulk when cold was disappointing and not at all what I expected with the GRY since everyone else seemed to love their gear change. The the first dealer suggested it would wear in with use, which was obviously rubbish, when i mentioned it at 1800kms. Mechanical sympathy meant I'd take quite a long pause between 1st and 2nd and very gently/slowly slot in the lever feeling it go home, especially in winter where the 10deg less in temps really worked against the gearbox oil's viscosity. Hardly sportscar material.
Checked the tyre pressures as well today. So, last time I received the car back from the previous dealer with 275kpa all around. This time it was 240. sigh. Id even discussed that with the GR Tech so it was annoying. It clearly states what the pressures are (220 front and 200 rear) on the door pillar and its a few simples presses on the kind of digital pressure gauge main dealers use.
This kind of lazy workmanship is a barrier to car guys wanting work done within the franchised dealer network. I know the GR Tech isnt the guy who does the wheel rotation and tyre pressures, thats a normal tech, but its not good. I could immediately feel the tyre pressures were off when i drove it home, it just didnt handle like I expected and it wasnt like i was throwing it about, just driving in rush hour traffic.
I expect some will suggest that its the difference between my gauge and theirs, but I run a very accurate JAMEC PEM unit which isnt some cheap rubbish. I would think their setup would be similar in quality. The fact my gauge measured each tyre at 239 suggests they gave each wheel a dose of 240kpa pretty accurately.
I called the GR Tech to let him know the fix was successful and also to let him know about the tyre pressure thing, he was pleased with getting feedback so quickly and that the gearbox was better, he was less happy about the tyre pressures and was off to talk to the guy who did the work after the call. Good on them for acting on the feedback so quickly.
Anyway. All in all a much better experience than last time. I'll use them going forwards while Craig still works there at least.
|
|
|
Post by donkeychomp on Nov 2, 2022 22:23:42 GMT 1
So kinda a good result. At least you have a mechanic who knows his Toyota onions. That gearbox issue reminds me of the Ferrari Daytona. When cold you had to go from first to third or risk blowing the gearbox apart...
Alex
|
|
|
Post by JonW on Nov 2, 2022 23:29:29 GMT 1
So kinda a good result. At least you have a mechanic who knows his Toyota onions. That gearbox issue reminds me of the Ferrari Daytona. When cold you had to go from first to third or risk blowing the gearbox apart... Alex Haha, luckily it wasnt that bad and never catastrophic, it was just something you didnt expect or want on a new car which should be perfect right?! I do get it tho, there are a lot of components in there that are made within tolerances and things can be very slightly out of whack and you get noises and other issues. Stuff just happens, sometimes with a small bit of wear as you use it. I actually had a similar issue with my steering rack in the WRX which needed adjusting as there was too much backlash once it bedded in. That's what warranty is for etc. Re gearboxes that werent good from new, some may recall I had an Elise that lost 5th in the first week and I had a C Class merc with a manual (what was i thinking! lol) in 1999 as a company car and it didnt make it off the dealers lot the 'box was knocking so bad. Ive spoken about those 'new car joys' before. Anyway, this is not like that and it was almost perfect when warm, it was very annoying for me tho as many of my journeys are short and local and I often use my cars cold these days. For those who are following GRYs, there have been reports of GRY here and in the UK with 2nd gear pop-out issues and Toyota has been difficult about it to say the least, denying claims in a number of cases and blaming the way the car was driven which is galling and something I cant see standing up in any court or a fair trades/ombudsman 'chat' etc. The current 'way forward' it seems is that the customer has to pay the dealer to strip the box and send parts for assessment which is not something I see me wanting to get into, the bills for the labour are big and the bills for new parts like a whole new box are huge of course if youre denied warranty for some reason. FYI I was asked by everyone I spoke to at Toyota if i tracked it as there is no track day warranty on these cars unlike the 130N and others. Ive never tracked mine or had any desire to, certainly not like it was... I am very mechanically sympathetic etc. Anyway, the legalities and emotive stuff re money/warranty aside, it seems the boxes with that issue were from a range made at a certain time and it was a bearing 'wearing in' issue with too much tolerance allowed so when the tapered bearings bedded in they needed re-shimming to be in spec. Its considered that Toyota (or whoever made the box) calculated that wear/shim ration incorrectly and once bedded in/worn the gearbox wasnt holding the gear properly. My car is a later car than the range of the boxes with that issue, but you never know if it got a gearbox from an old batch (unlikely with KanBan of course) so it was worth a check and the GR Tech tested my gearbox for me and found that wasnt an issue for mine which was comforting to know. So, all up its great that this should be fixed now, it was starting to have me thinking I might not keep the GRY which wasnt something I wanted to contemplate as I love pretty much everything else about it. One of the best things is that while it is fast, its actually usable. Sure there are faster things, but not things you can buy for the money and also not with power you can use all day long. With the AWD and 200KW its more like a 600 than a litre sportsbike I reckon; ie you can drive it off the stops on real roads in the lower gears certainly without fear you'll be in a ditch or getting caught. The power and handling is just so usable daily etc.
|
|
|
Post by donkeychomp on Nov 3, 2022 0:01:23 GMT 1
Sell it...regret it Jon. You'll never own another one.
Saying that, the amount of cars and bikes I've sold and regretted it are vast, but that was when we were all younger and money dictated it. Nowadays, maybe not so much. BUT...if you do sell her you'd probably get more than you paid for her...
Alex
|
|
|
Post by JonW on Nov 3, 2022 0:36:20 GMT 1
Sell it...regret it Jon. You'll never own another one. Saying that, the amount of cars and bikes I've sold and regretted it are vast, but that was when we were all younger and money dictated it. Nowadays, maybe not so much. BUT...if you do sell her you'd probably get more than you paid for her... Alex So true Alex, so true... I wish i could buy them all back for what i sold em for and in the condition I sold em lol Actually values are softening a little on the GRY here, that said they are still 'over list' for a used one but not as much as before. That could be a factor of the release of the GRC a few months back and also the release of 160 more GRY this month. Those 160 would be for delivery in very late 2023 or early 2024 Id expect. When I chatted to the salesman about these 160 cars the other day he told me that there were no set number of cars as such per dealer mentioned before they ordered, but that ToyAus would allocate cars once the orders were in. This release is obviously going to be totally oversubscribed tho. He told me that this was outside of the original Toyota official EOI list and that he had to ring leads from his list of those who expressed an interest before or 'wanted to order and couldnt' and ask them if they were still keen and for a deposit on the spot to go into what is essentially a lottery. On that 'out of the blue' call all 7 of the folk he called said 'yes! take take my money!'. Of course he is just one of the salespersons at a large dealer, I would imagine this dealership easily placed 20+ orders, perhaps more. Ive said before that this dealer is not my closest, its also not the 2nd closest... so within 20mins of my house I have at least (there could be more, Ive not looked) 3 very large purpose built modern Toyota dealerships and I only live in one part of Sydney. Toyota is our largest car brand for a reason lol. My point is that we are a large country and there are a lot of Toyota dealers, if even just the city dealers all placed 20+ orders each ToyAus could probably sell 1000+ cars... and yet there is only 160 order slots up for grabs 'this year'. I say 'this year', but its currently thought that this is the last GRY allocation and that Aus has been lucky to get it, the UK hasnt had any new allocations since 2021 and the order books are closed to new orders like they were (more 'are' really) here etc.
|
|
|
Post by JonW on Nov 3, 2022 0:58:28 GMT 1
I should also reaffirm that the 'new 160 car allocation' here is at the same price as the previous cars that could be ordered. ie the prices when the order books shut in mid 2021.
I'll let that sink in...
Yes... almost 18months later and even after the past year's rampant inflation worldwide and every other similar car in the market becoming more expensive, ToyAus is selling these 160 cars at the old price... For delivery in 2024.
That's amazing as a potential buyer, but very weird from a business point of view.
They certainly dont need to do that, they could price up like the UK has done in line with the the rest of the range which has continually increased over this timeframe or simply charge a percentage more as a blanket uplift. Even adding $1k to the price would net them $160k more profit etc. let alone just under 10% which would be $5k+ per car.
And yet theyve chosen not to do any of that...
When you consider that in isolation (ie within the Toyota range which has had increases) its strange, but even more so when you consider that the rival models, Golf R and its ilk have all increased so the GRY actually now represents better value than it did.
In fact the Golf GTI and the i30N both actually cost the same on the road as a base GRY... The GRY is much faster and has AWD but only 2 doors so not a direct rival for those buyers of course. Looking wider, even the MX5 and the GR86 cost almost the same now, within a few grand (in pounds).
Ok, it was never 'cheap' but in real terms its cheaper than it was.
Anyway... Funny world... Im not sure what Toyota Aus is thinking really.
|
|
|
Post by JonW on Dec 2, 2022 4:25:24 GMT 1
This amused me, a pic that was posted today by a UK GRY owner of his Toyotas... Wow, how cars have grown... the 'little' GR Yaris... hmm...
|
|
|
Post by donkeychomp on Dec 2, 2022 23:25:13 GMT 1
Is that a Toyota Tartlet?
Alex
|
|
|
Post by JonW on Dec 3, 2022 0:26:02 GMT 1
Is that a Toyota Tartlet? Alex No its an AE92 Corolla GTi-16. A Golf sized car in the 90s. (0-60 in around 8secs, little bit slower than a normal Golf GTI back in the day, quite a bit slower than a 16v lol Have to say you almost never saw them then, let alone now. rare car)
|
|
|
Post by donkeychomp on Dec 3, 2022 1:18:16 GMT 1
Ah...a Rollover. Wow, that car is old. I kinda like it though.
Alex
|
|
|
Post by JonW on Dec 3, 2022 1:56:05 GMT 1
Ah...a Rollover. Wow, that car is old. I kinda like it though. Alex Haha, well the main (and original) subjects of this thread started in the 90s... I was out in my Evo yesterday giving it a run. Im so used to the GRY now it was funny as you can really see where 25 years of engine development has gone. Turbo lag is minimal in the GRY, not so in the Evo where you need to know what gear you're in before you boot it lol that said its still a very fast car, even off boost its no slouch, but its old. My wife said 'I love this car's interior, its so minimal!' lol no screen, no fancy lighting, just simple... only what you need to drive.
|
|
|
Post by donkeychomp on Dec 3, 2022 22:38:16 GMT 1
She's 100% right. New cars, well nearly all of them, bore me to tears. Most are jelly mould SUVs that appear to have been designed by the same person. Chock full of electric gizmos that are guaranteed to fail causing the entire car to grind to a halt. In my (tiny) mind all you need for the perfect driving experience is an engine up front, drive to the rear and a few dials to tell you the basics. Reminds me of a car but I can't think what at the moment... But that's not for everyone and 4WD and front WD have their plus points too, and having owned both varieties they all work well for the driving conditions they are designed for. Alex(a) ps I'm glad I have the front WD Yaris for nasty weather and Lora for any other occasion!
|
|
|
Post by JonW on Dec 4, 2022 0:58:38 GMT 1
LOL, well 'maybe'. I love modern cars for how they can defy physics by making use of new technology and some of that means you have to press buttons on a large screen to access stuff old cars can only dream of. But for a purer, if not perhaps 'having a setup thats fits you like a glove' experience you cant beat an oldie, from what ever decade. But dont discount the modern era, some of it is incredible. Ive had cars over the years with drive from all the wheel combos and personally I prefer AWD, Im sure its saved me many a time, but am happy to make anything work if its fun... 1 litre FWD hire cars are always the fastest, unless you have access to the works van... Anyway, reminded me ... we need LORA updates... I keep checking the thread, I know its winter but now is the time to get ready for next summer; thats the British Sports Car way! haha
|
|
|
Post by donkeychomp on Dec 4, 2022 1:12:11 GMT 1
I shall update Lora tomorrow as I intend to go for a drive 'sans' roof. Regardless of the 4c predicted...
Alex
|
|
|
Post by donkeychomp on Dec 4, 2022 1:12:26 GMT 1
(a)
|
|