[WikiEN-l] Some Wikipedian misinformation got temporarily lodged in my brain

[Dan Johnson]

dpbsmith, I had little knowledge about this myself, but I asked my
father, who has been a Toyota salesman for 26 years, to shed light on
this subject:

"Toyota itself has been wavering about whether they will continue the Echo line.

Whether or not you can get an Echo depends on what part of the country
you're in. They don't bring more than a handful into New England. Even
information we get from the region leaves us unsure whether there will
be any more.

Look at a Scion xA. It's more car for less money -- same chassis, same
engine, and standard equipment that would be optional on the Echo."

My own searching brought up these helpful links:
http://www.scionlife.com/scion/xa/
http://www.detnews.com/2005/autosinsider/0501/14/B02-58761.htm

You may wish to reinstate the "Flops" entry on the Echo; it's not a
huge flop as such, so it's up to you.

Cheers,
Dan Johnson (User:Greentryst)

ADDENDUM: I checked the list before sending this, and saw responses.
Michael Turley was on the ball for the DetNews.com link, and Matt
Brown wrapped it up quite nicely, but I am sending this anyway to back
up their comments with a comment from a professional in the field.
Wikilove! -- Dan

On 6/9/05, dpbsmith at verizon.net <dpbsmith at verizon.net> wrote:
> This is NOT a big deal, but it occurred to me that I should mention it.
> 
> My car had about 140,000 miles on it and I was about ready for a new one. I
> like Toyotas and I wanted good mileage, and I checked Consumer Reports and,
> for me, the choice sort of came down to a $14,000 Echo or a $22,000 Prius. A
> colleague at work owns _two_ Echoes and likes them.
> 
> But... I had recently run across this item in Wikipedia:
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
> title=List_of_commercial_failures&oldid=12519168
> 
> "List of commercial failures: Toyota Echo - Sales of the US version of the
> Yaris subcompact car fell from 50,000 in 2000 to just 3400 in 2004. Sales in
> Canada of both the sedan and hatchback versions remain strong." The
> referenced article, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Vitz , says:
> 
> "The initial year of almost 50,000 sales was promising, but after the Echo
> sold just half that many for 2003, the product was no longer stocked at
> dealerships. Sales for much of 2004 have reached just 3,593, with another
> year of production left before the product is replaced."
> 
> So... I crossed the Echo off my mental list.
> 
> I remember my wife saying to me at one point "Weren't you thinking about the
> Echo" and replying "Well, I was, but I guess it was a big flop and is
> probably not even available this year."
> 
> As I started to get more serious about the car-shopping process I did a
> little more checking.
> 
> As nearly as I can tell, that statement is just plain wrong. Consumer Reports
> said nothing about the product being replaced. As of 2005 a local Toyota
> dealer had them in stock, and other dealers were advertising them. There were
> no firesale prices to get rid of them. There is a 2005 Toyota Echo website at
> www.toyota.com/echo/ and a review at http://cars.about.com/od/2001/fr/
> 05_echo_tst.htm that gives no hint of it being replaced or not stocked.
> 
> I removed the item from the Flops article and left a query on the talk page,
> so far unanswered. (I suppose I should do something in the Toyota Vitz
> article too).
> 
> I'm 99% sure it's misinformation. (Possibly a result of confusion between the
> sedan and hatchback models?)
> 
> It's not like it ruined my life or even affected my buying decision. Hey, it
> was really the Prius I wanted, anyway. Having the Echo still available just
> meant I needed to work harder to find a rationalization for the Prius.
> 
> But it does give me pause to realize that a little tidbit of Wikipedian
> misinformation actually got past my BS filter and lodged itself in my brain,
> even if only briefly.
> 
> How many bits of Wikipedian misinformation have gotten past my BS filter and
> _stuck,_ I wonder?
> 
> Oh, well, in my life I'm sure I've absorbed quite a bit of misinformation
> (it's dangerous to go swimming for thirty minutes after you eat... you need
> to drink 64 ounces of water every day... suntans are healthy... the
> continents don't drift...). A little bit more can't hurt.
> 
> 
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