While Toyota dealers in the US are not saying much about Yaris 2008, there is news from Australia about Yaris 2008 that makes very interesting reading:

"Toyota ...made millions of overpriced under-equipped, ugly and boring cars. It sells them to a grateful public which doesn't care, so long as nothing falls off and they start every time the key is turned – as Toyotas by-and-large do. So to say the Yaris is Toyota at its best is high praise. This is a light car that redefines its class, not least because it offers more safety equipment than many luxury cars. Even if it drove with the fridge-on-wheels character of some other Toyotas it would be a significant model. But it's much better than that.

Toyota puts value into the Yaris in the same way discount stores get cheap stereos onto their shelves – by planning to make lots of them. By 2008 worldwide Yaris production will be running at 800,000 a year from factories in Japan, France and, according to rumour, Thailand. That's mass production to rival the Ford Model T. If that all sounds a little impersonal let me counter with a personal note. Yaris goes straight into the small group of cars I'd buy. Indeed, it is a member of the even smaller subset of new cars I could comfortably afford. Not the cheapest in its class, but a bargain."

Rumors are that Toyota is focusing selling Yaris in Australia, China and India, while continuing to sell their higher price but lower EPA mileage autos (Yaris has a 40 mpg EPA mileage rating, Prius is at least $10,000 more apparently  averaging about 50 mpg) in the USA. Time for loyal customers to tell Toyota they want to see more of Yaris in America?