Friday, April 2, 2010



At times compared to a Lexus, from the outside the Toyota Avalon might be a average looking four-door, but on the inside is roomy and luxurious, safe, ride comfort and value you would not  be able to find elsewhere. The Avalon emerged as one of the 10 best cars sold in North American in terms of problem-free operation in a recent J.D. Power and Associates Initial Quality Study. It is based on the Toyota Camry Platform, the Toyota Avalon is a full-size car that was produced by Toyota in the U.S. and Australia. The Avalon was produced as a front wheel drive four-door sedan.


When the Toyotta Cressida was deleted from the American car market in 1992 and the Toyota Avalon was designed to fill the gap left by that vehicle. The all new Avalon was a full size, rear wheel drive car and had Toyota's 1MZ-FE V6 engine, compared to the Cressida's 7M-GE I6 engine.

1994, the first Avalon came off the assembly line in Georgetown, Kentucky as a 1995 model. In 1999, a second-generation model was released in the U.S. and Japan. Built in the same plant as the Camry, the 1995 Avalon was a completely new model that was placed higher than the Camry, making it Toyota's flagship.

Larger in almost every aspect, the second generation Avalon was introduced in 2004. Based on a stretched Camry platform, the Avalon featured a 3.0 L V6 engine that produced 192 hp and 210 ft – lb of torque. Minor updates to the front and rear fascias were done in 1998, along with the power rating being upped to 200 hp and increase of torque to 214 lb – ft. Basically the same size as the Camry, the second generation Avalon was US made and was exported to Japan's domestic market where it was sold as the Toyota Pronard.  

  A complete redesign from older nodels, the '05 Avalon is Toyota's largest, most luxurious, and most costly model sold under its own nameplate. Inside the Avalon was a 3.5 L 280 hp V6 engine along with a host of advanced technological features. Produced to compete with the Chevy Impala, the Buick LaCrosse, Nissan Maxima and the Ford Five Hundred, the new Avalon was unveiled at the 2005 North American International Auto Show. Featuring much more distinctive styling than previous generations, the third generation Avalon did have power dropped to 268 hp due to new SAE specifications along with torque dropping to 248 ft-lb. For 2005 stability control was expanded to the XL and Touring models and a keyless remote start became standard for Limited models.

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