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Toyota RAV4

By Jim Henry

Toyota RAV4

Sales first half, 2008: 71,516
Sales first half, 2007: 87,124
Percent change: -17.9%

Executives at Toyota Motor Sales USA have noted—a little defensively, as Toyota sales have slumped slightly this year—that they, too, are subject to the business cycles that affect the rest of the auto industry. The Toyota RAV4 is a case in point. It's based on a "unibody" shell, as opposed to a traditional body-on-frame truck platform, so AutoData considers the RAV4 to be a crossover vehicle. But most people would call it a small SUV, a segment that's hurting along with big SUVs. The RAV4 is also looking dated as it goes into the fourth year of its current generation.