But from a business standpoint, it makes sense to do what they do. Because safety regulations are not as strict in our part of the world as they are in Europe or the US, there is no reason for them to offer anything beyond the bare minimal and still charging a pretty penny for it. Until our government change the automotive safety policy, you can't really blame them from taking advantage of the situation. Unethical? Maybe... but certainly not illegal.

You have taken 9 test drives for K5.
Did you take 9 test drives for Inspira, before rejecting (or not considering) it?

p/s: Don't read my mind. Just answer the question. 
** One of my friend kill many lab rats before producing just simple research outcome. **

Probably because most people think cars with that three attributes are automatically deemed safe.

I guess with the results from this focus group, The next Vios will not come with any airbags 

Cybermaster98, what i means is how 'excessive' some of your negative comments are. Im not a big fan of the camry judging on how the bloodsucking umw Removed the VSC from the current gen camry and bUmping up the price, we all agree on that. but i notice that any threads containing the word 'camry', there will be posts from u that very harshly 'shoot' the owners of camry as well as the car itself.So out of curiosity i just wondered maybe u work for an automotive company or just passionately hate the company anD their products so much.

I have to agree with kepalapening on this. It has come to a point where remarks that seems to 'curse' toyota users surface everywhere. Even remarks like "why toyota buyers dont care about the safety of their family" or "if u buy camry because u dont care about safety then its ok". To me its an insult to those owners as who in the world wouldnt care about safety?

I do agree with the points that the camry doesnt seem like a good buy now but i have to admit that a camry is a camry. There do have some strengths and appeal to it that others dont. Point is,IF i had the luxury of buying one,I wont. but i wont go to the length of questioning and insulting those who actually bought the car for What i feel are very valid reasons.but then again thats just me.

based on my post above, i think you can obviously see im not happy with the specs of the Camry offered here as well.

Do I looked like I care how u feel in regard of the camry discussion here? Is it relevant?

But realistically, we all know due to the tax structure here, you cant expect to get 10 airbags etc. with that 180-190k price tag right?and my point was, yes the Camry is bad in the sense that it is under equipped and over-priced,

Enlighten me pls on the bolded statement as claimed above.

BUT, i feel we all should respect those who decide to buy it for what i say are very valid reasons.

Valid to the owners and buyers of course but generally gives an impression of being ignorant and stupid or water fish to the rest of us here especially to Toyota here.

I have been reading through this thread every once in awhile and i have seen you repeating the same points over and over again regardless of what the content of the post is.

Enlighten me again pls. As I recalled, this is only the 2nd time I posted regarding this matter and only for general awareness purposes.

I do not blame the local distributors in this,why?they are doing business. and im referring to all the distributors here.Toyota is the non national market leader and they can afford to 'risk' taking out such features to reduce cost (increase profit) and see how the market reacts before implementing a countermeasure if it doesnt work.

Didn't I mentioned it just in my recent post? Demand=supply? Do u have problem reading english or just plain stupid to understand it? Good sales contribute to the current outcome from Toyota.

Other makes have to play catchup in order to survive and they choose the option of strategic pricing and specs such as airbags and other juicy features. Do you really think these companies 'care' about customers safety?i dont think so. Its all business in my opinion.

Did I mentioned anything about how the company thinks? Do I looked like I care? All I'm emphasizing is the awareness for buyers, end users, one of us! It is all up to us to change the demand line so Toyota here will improve not degrade the standard of cars produced.

Which is why i dont agree with "company A doesnt care about our safety" "company B doesnt value our lives" etc.For companies like Toyota, who like you said has enjoyed such good sales for so long,its all about getting the balnce between reducing cost and maximizing profits. And Toyota can bank on that due to their strong 'brand sentiment', reputation as well as history or making reliable cars (note the word history) and they are not making 'tin can' cars either,thus, i dont think its fair to question those who actually choose to get a 'safe' choice (pun intended) such as the camry. You see my point here?

That is what u think so let's just keep it that way. Generally to those well informed and safety conscious I believe will think twice before getting a camry at that price bracket. Nothing is unfair to question about for there will be no question to ask if the whole deal is I'll say fair? Thus your point invalid.

About the Camy owners answer, i think theres already a fair share of them here. and since i dont own one, and dont think ill ever want to own one in the near future, im not in the right position to comment

Keep in mind that a full set of passive safety features is considered the bare minimum elsewhere, and it is the bare minimum offered elsewhere. Even the A (!!!) segment VW up! has a radar system to stop the car when necessary (it is a rather limited system, but IIRC it comes as standard even in the lowest spec). And the Camry is D segment. It is not like the technology doesn't exist.

Who in the world wouldn't care about safety? Well, duh, Toyota owners of course. Either they are ill informed (then a hint for the next time: Inform yourself, do some research! Cars are expensive, do research before you buy!) or they don't care. At least not enough to base the car buying decision on that. I watched the Kangoo crash tests many times, read the EuroNCAP review, and looked at competitors and how they'd do. Of course Renaults good image in terms of safety helped in the decision (the alternative would have mostly been the Citroen Berlingo, but IIRC that one didn't do as good in the tests. The Avanza was out pretty fast). I did also read up on spare parts, reliability etc..

You can't argue that Proton and the high taxes are the reason why our Camry is so bad. The Camry is a competitively priced car in the US, that has all the safety features you'd expect. Other cars offer similar things, sometimes at higher prices. Yet over here those cars do have the safety features, while the Camry has not. At again similar prices. Even better example: Vios vs. Fiesta. Both non local cars, taxes should probably be quite similar. Yet the Fiesta is much, much better. Overseas again they do sell the Vios in hatchback form (as they do with the Fiesta), and again, competitively priced products, with a similarly high safety standard.
It is entirely UMWs fault. But is it, really? UMW does what UMW should do. It is a company, not the Salvation Army. I would do exactly the same thing, if I ran UMW. Make money. Lots of money. Ultimately it is the customer who is at fault that UMW is ripping Malaysians off. Stop buying their cars, tell them why, and next year the Vios has 6 or 7 airbags and VSC. For the same price as today. I promise.

Toyota SHOULD be scared that they have overdone their greed. They get a lot of hate these days for reducing safety rather than improving. Why not give the 2.0 and 2.5 VSC, and the 2.5 4 airbags? It may lag behind the competitor, but at least people could say "at least they are improving". Do you think those who drive a Camry now and who are asked why they bought a Camry, do you think they will blindly buy one next time again? They may have bought the Camry because it's a Toyota, no one will question you why you buy it over another brand, everyone will say good choice. This could be the last generation of Camrys that sells well.

That Volvo is so much safer than the rest is a myth. Yes, they are usually on top, but so (was) Renault. Renault was the first company to embrace safety, it was their sales pitch. Affordable cars that are as safe as it gets in that class. To me if you want to get a safe car, get one with JDM (not sure...), US or EU specs (especially the latter). One that is sold over there, with the same safety features as here. The brand hardly matters, they are all on a relatively high level nowadays. But obviously that message hasn't arrived here yet.

What I don't understand is why marketing material, ads etc. don't put more focus on safety. That Toyota and Honda aren't doing it is obvious, but Ford? VW? Advertise with the fact that the specs are the same. That exactly this particular car has 5 stars in EuroNCAP. Show crash tests. Hell, Citroen put Claudia Schiffer into a Xsara and did a crash test, after which she, as perfect looking as always, got out and walked away. Renault has a very funny baguette ad (they crash test sushi, german sausage, ... into a wall, and then a baguette. Cause the safest cars come from France...). Or they had an ad where very artfully the whole product range was crashed into each other. In the end they announced that all their cars have 5 stars in EuroNCAP. There is tons of potential.

About Paultan comments/votings: Keep in mind that whoever reads Paultan is interested in cars. He or she will probably have a decent grasp of the market, knows what other brands offer (probably also overseas). Same goes to some of the forumers who are in F&F. However there are many others out there who aren't as informed. They may trust the brand (Toyota is the best, they make great cars, very reliable and safe). They may not look at other brands or even be aware of them (Skoda? Never heard of them. New brand from China?).

Btw., keep in mind how many do not wear seatbelts in Malaysia. Especially in the rear, where it is the most important (I consider those who do not wear their seatbelts in the back as murderers, or rather people who are about to commit murder, willfully. I don't like murderers). Is safety really so important when people don't wear seatbelts or let their kids run around in the car? I find it hard to believe that people do it not knowing what the consequences are.

@Madgeiser: You got your terms wrong Active safety is features that prevent accidents, such as collision prevention systems, ESP/VSC, lane keeping systems. Passive safety is when it helps you survive in the case of an accident.

I do believe that nowadays it is fair to blame those who keep buying the Camry. Want a refined, comfortable car with an old but comfortable gearbox? Get the last gen Camry. Or the one before that. Or the one before that. Nothing wrong with those cars, right? If you buy a new car there are many other options to consider. You can have absolutely superior comfort (even over the Camry), decent handling and good safety. Get a Citroen C5. Many options out there. A Passat is probably not uncomfortable either (though obviously not as good as Citroen). And those who do buy a Toyota these days are supporting Toyota in selling sub-par vehicles. If it weren't for them we'd be getting decent cars from T&H.

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Added on October 15, 2012, 11:01 pm
We are the future car buyers/many of us do buy cars. We are the ones who are asked for advise. We are the vocal ones. We are the influential ones. Toyota should care. As I mentioned above people also buy a Toyota because that decision won't be questioned. You buy a conti and everyone will give you trouble. Now it is the other way round, in certain segments and areas. I believe that does make a difference to these customers.

Toyota released so-so cars for quite a while in Europe. And while their reputation used to be great, they are merely a shadow of themselves. All they sell is small and cheap city cars, despite offering specially developed European standard cars, that are vastly better than what they sell here.

In Camry, no "bonggol" in the middle. A kid can sleep on the floor then .