FJ outsells 4Runner in April
 

With no advertising, 373 FJ's were sold in the Portland Region (OR, WA, MT, ID, AK) during April. 332 4Runners sold during the same time. Nationwide, it was 5,583 FJ's to 8,804 4Runners.

FJ would have outsold 4Runner nationwide, but with an 8 days supply (3 DS here), they're effectively sold out while 4Runners are in ample supply and had customer incentives.

If history repeats, FJ sales rate will accelerate the rest of the year. Demand has exceeded forecast. Wait until (if) advertising begins. If current sales rate holds, FJ is on track to become a sellout this year.

The wild card is gas prices. If they fall below $3 soon, then FJ sales should remain strong.

I wouldnt say no advertising. For the last 3 months there has been a full page ad in ORA for them. I don't get much media exposure, but hat I did notice. If anyones havin' a hard time findin one the same two have been sitting outside of Crystal Auto Mall in NJ, and I have yet to see one on the road.

With the small allotment out there I can't see gas prices denting FJ sales, at least not this year. Pretty much no one is buying one of these after a test drive, it's all sight unseen. If you'll buy a car without driving it first, you probably don't have to worry about your gas bill.

What's ORA?

Dealers were asked to keep two demos on hand, an M/T and an A/T. It isn't a requirement, few are actually doing it, but the more factory friendly dealers complied. My dealer has two Sun Fusions on the lot as dedicated demos.

Off Road adventures. It's a free magaizine from 4 wheel parts, started getting it when I bought my lift for my 250, They are the think carboard ads with the three holes ounched in them, so that they could tear out. There are like 4 in the series, and they explain locking diffs, ATRAC, etc.

Our main local toyota dealer, Jim Norton said they have had three come through. They were all sold before they hit the lot. All to friends of the owner or manager.

It doesn't surprise me that the FJ's sales are that high. Hell, the fact that they get good mileage for an SUV makes people who want to save money jump on top of them. That, and the V-6 makes people really want one. I imagine that out of those 5+000, most of them were Auto's, because people are too scared to drive manuals now-a-days.

90% 4X4, 60% of those A/T's. Varies slightly by region, but 40% M/T is an unusually strong mix. They're still crunching trade-in data. I'm interested in seeing what the conquests were.

I think Toyota is advertising the FJ, but only to the off-road community.

I've been seeing a few aruond town. They certainly grab attention.

When(if) they debut the "topless" version. Hard top sales will fall. Unless it's like 6k more.
As it stands now, I am happy they are selling out. Should be some good lease turn in's in March '09. 45-60k miles. Exactly what I will be looking for, unless the "topless" version ever comes out.

I can't afford one this year anyway, so I am hoping that, by the time I can afford one, there will be a soft-top version.

FJ outsells 4Runner in April
 

Google is behind it. :)
I had a couple sentences already typed about the FJ and 4runner sales but then i saw/researched this...

Follow after me:
1. Type '2007 4runner' via Google.
2. See the website results.
3. If thats not enough, click on 'images'

I've been using Google for many years and still think it's kinda strange.

Dude, that was so weird. Every image was an FJ.

When I went down to my dealer on Monday to get my rig evaluated for trade-in value, there was a flock of people around the voodoo blue one in the showroom.

No smudges on the windows though, they had all the doors open so you can see everything inside.

If Toyota had ads on TV, they could not keep up right now with the demand.
These are selling like hotcakes.

Finally got to see the 4.0, and I like how the oil filter is right at the top and upside down.
This will make it very easy for shadetree mechanics to change their own oil.
No worries for me, the dealer has been doing my oil since '95.

its actually NOT weird.

the 4runner is mentioned in pretty much every text involving the FJ... plus there is no 2007 4runner.. but there is an 07 FJ.

so if you look for a page where 2007 and 4runner are mentioned, youll get an 07 FJ.

It is weird when the put a picture of a 2007 Heep Commander in with a Google Image search for 2007 4Runner though...

they probably just compared it to a 4runner in the article :)

its not weird, the way google works is it pairs up the search terms that are found in pages that it caches off the internet.

google basically downloads the internet and stores it on thier servers and then saves every single word, and almost all images.

Yesterday I started seeing a new Toyota commercial, talking about their new lineup. While the FJ wasn't the sole purpose of the ad, the yellow paint does jump out at you when you see their new vehicles on the car carrier in the ad.

I have seen that one several times.

Jeez, tough group. I haven't seen that full-line ad yet or didn't notice the FJ. To your average bloke, it would gain about as much recognition as the make and model of the tractor pulling the car transporter. Also, each region gets to choose which national ads run when, or if at all, supplemented with region specific ads. With the exception of "thrust month" ads, yours are likely different than ours. This region being SUV and truck country (half of all vehicles sold, tied with Denver), dealers elected no FJ ads yet.