Last weekend I rented a 2009 camry in Hertz, which was on its own strange,
since it is only beginning of August, so I would think it would too early
for the new model year to trickle to rental fleets so soon... To my
surprise, it had over 9 thousand miles on the odometer already - this pushed
me into a little investigation :-) I could not believe it was really 2009!
But in the glove box there was a 2009 user manual... I checked the VIN
sticker in the driver door seal and I found the manufactured date 03/08.

I remember when 2007 model year first found its way to the dealerships in
the beginning of 2006 the excuse was that this is new generation, complete
redesign, so this is why it was so early... What is the excuse to build 2009
model year in March of 2008 ? Is this common now for other cars or the camry
is some kind of exception from the rule?

Aren't the new models introduced in September? So the 2009 models will come
out to the public in Sept 2008. It takes awhile to build them and ship
them to the corporate customers such as Hertz.

"Pszemol" <Pszemol@PolBox.com> wrote in message
news:g80q4f.2n0.0@poczta.onet.pl...

"Stubby" <William.Plummer*NO*SPAM*@alum.mit.edu> wrote in message
news:daSdnVVdAJP30znVnZ2dnUVZ_hCdnZ2d@comcast.com. ..
That was exactly my point, but aparently toyota does it the other way...
2009 model year manufactured in 03/08 and before September it has already
almost 10k miles on the odometer :-)

"Pszemol" <Pszemol@PolBox.com> wrote in message
news:g815c8.ng.0@poczta.onet.pl...
These days the model year has regulatory meaning. A 2009 vehicle must meet
regulations that are in effect in 2009. Most manufacturers go to the new
model year whenever they make changes to accommodate regulatory
requirements.

It is not just Toyota that introduces the next model year cars early in the
prior year. 1965 Mustangs were introduced in April of 1964. They are often
referred to as 1964 1/2 models, but they were titled as 1965 models. My last
Ford Expedition was officially a 2003 Expedition, even though I bought it in
June of 2002. The 2009 Ford Flex has been on the market for over a month.
2009 Dodge Challengers have been on sale for months. Chevrolet plans to
begin selling the 2010 Camaro in early 2009.

In the old days (say early to mid 60's) year model changes were more
marketing ploys than anything else. Americans expected all new models every
year, even if "all new" meant the same old crap under slightly revised sheet
metal. Europeans were not so focused on getting new models based on the
calendar so the "model year" of a car was irrelevant. In the 60's it was not
uncommon for imported cars marketed in America that didn't sell in one year,
to be relabeled as a new model year (i.e., if the "1967" BMW 1600 didn't
sell in 1967, BMW would issue a new identification plate, magically
converting the vehicle into a "1968" BMW 1600).

This all changed in the US when the Government got heavily involved in auto
safety. The government established VIN requirements and safety requirement
were required to be installed based on date of manufacture. The model year
came to have regulatory significance, so now we have manufacturers assigning
model years to vehicles based on the Government rules they comply with.

Ed

Thank you, Ed - that was very informative!

i work for hertz and we started getting 2009 camrys in june 2008. we
now have 25000 on some of them . they get turned back in at about
25000. most trouble free car we have . the corollas are 2nd

Moreover, "In the United States, for regulation purposes, government
authorities allow cars of a given model year to be sold starting on
January 2 of the previous calendar year." - wikipedia.org

26 US Code 4064 (b)(4):
The term “model year”, with reference to any specific calendar year,
means a manufacturer’s annual production period (as determined by the
EPA Administrator) which includes January 1 of such calendar year. If
a manufacturer has no annual production period, the term “model year”
means the calendar year.

So the production year including Jan 1 is what determines a model year
in the US. Maybe Toyota should introduce a new model in January then,
to get that competitive edge!



On Aug 14, 11:13*am, "C. E. White" <cewhi...@mindspring.com> wrote: