I remember the Echo in the US. It wasn’t quite as luxurious as the Yaris.
The only vehicle less luxurious than a Yaris is a buckboard.
Ever drive a Mazda 2? 
No. I think mazda3 is already bottom of the barrel.
Close to true in the US. In Japan, Toyota’s low priced brand is Daihatsu. I had one as a rental on a weekend trip to Monkey Island. The car was almost new and had a never-ending buzz from loose trim ( I guess). It was loud and handled poorly. It’s a good thing you couldn’t go more than 50 kph there. It got us where we want to go, though.
EXXON had that problem; one of its division’ Enco, mans “stalled car” in Japanese. EXXON meant exactly nothing in any language.
Believe it or not before Toyota got serious about the US market the wanted to call their smallest car the “Toyolet”.
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Shopping for a car for my wife I tried the Mazda2. Like the Ford Fiesta, it was cramped, uncomfortable with insufficient leg room in the back for any of my wife’s friends. t
The Mazda 3 was a much better choice and she has been very happy with her Mazda3 Sportever since.
A friend had a Ford Fiesta for a few years. She later replaced it with a Mazda 3 which is far more comfortable, with larger cargo area and leg room, and proven to be reliable.
Before EXXON took on that name, they were ESSO, which was simply the initials S O sounded out. S O was Standard Oil.
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We happen to like our 2018 Ford Fiesta SE and even made a 1500 mile trip is it . Averaged 38 MPG and do almost all of our running around in it .
When we went out east as a kid, I used to insist we stop for gas at a Gulf station, in order to get those plastic horse shoes to stick on the window. Couldn’t get them in Minnesota.
Now that I think about it, the only gas credit card my dad had was Standard Oil. I don’t think he ever used it though. And there were no other credit cards then like Visa and Master Card. So gee, he must have done everything in cash like hotels and meals. Must have been hard planning. I only remember once stopping at a bank to cash a check, and the bank had to call our bank first. Had to talk to the Vice President who just laughed.
I am not particular about the fuel that goes into my Mopar. I do look for a Costco so I don’t need to compare prices.
Wasn’t hard planning at all there were checking accounts but they were not free. You just cashed your paycheck and set aside so much cash for the rent, mortgage, utilities. Then you went grocery shopping for the week and hopefully put some in a savings account The rest you could spend. Major expenses like a car, usually required a bank loan. our corner delicatessen had charge accounts for its regular customers. You were expected to settle your bill on the first of the month. This was smart business for them, that way you could send children to the store for things without entrusting them with money. If adults had to go themselves, they might go to the grocery store. I was allowed to charge one nickel ice cream cone a week . Nobody I knew had ever heard of an allowance.
All the major Department stores had their own charge card. They ere small metal plates with an embossed number that was sent via a pneumatic tube to the store cashier and then back to you. They were not meant to be credit cards, but I don’t know what happened if you did not pay the bill.
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A local gas station used to only accept their charge card for fuel purchase but at some point allowed credit/debit cards to be used. You had a card for each vehicle and got your bill a day or two afterwards. Mainly for commercial fleets but we had an account to buy Diesel for the VW Rabbit back in the 80’s
My first credit card years ago was an Amoco gas card. It came in handy one trip forty plus years ago driving from St. Louis back to Tulsa after a weekend visit to my parents.
My Corolla hamster powered econobox began struggling to maintain speed on the interstate and within a few miles it was down to 20 mph on the interstate shoulder despite the gas pedal nailed to the floor.
I made it to the nearest exit which fortunately had an Amoco station. The owner/mechanic looked things over and said he thought I had a clogged fuel filter but couldn’t be certain without replacing it. I had visions of the $400 credit limit being maxed out but I had little choice so said yes.
So up on the lift went the car with my poor cat I had with me yowling about the vertical ride. Off came the fuel filter. After asking my permission, the mechanic cut the filter open with me watching and sure enough it was badly clogged. So on went a new filter.
He also drained the gas tank, emptying the gas through a big cone filter into a large, clean tub. Some more grunge got filtered out. But there was no water in the gas. So the filtered gas went back in the tank.
Total cost for the new fuel filter and labor was $6. I had the courtesy to also buy gas to top off the tank.
The gentleman asked me to drive the car back and forth for about fifteen minutes, no farther than a couple blocks from the station, to be sure the car had no further trouble and then let him give a final check of the car before I with my cat got back on the interstate for the remaining some 230 miles or so home.
My dad, being the gentleman he was, after hearing my story when I called that evening to tell my parents I’d made it safely home, not only called the station the next day to thank the owner for treating me fairly, he also wrote a positive letter to Amoco corporate about the honesty of the franchise owner. And I thanked the good Lord for an honest gentleman and keeping me and Scamper kitty safe.
Heading back to school once with my VW, about 90 miles into a 200 mile trip, I had trouble with my clutch engaging. I was just outside a town so pulled into the gas station and the guy put it on the lift. He just unstuck the cable which lasted the rest of its life. Total cost $1.00.
Another time I was coming home late at night with my 59 Pontiac and about halfway in the 200 mile trip. My generator went out and as the lights kept getting dimmer and dimmer, I stopped at a truck stop to get the battery recharged. I don’t remember what it cost but the hamburger was about a dollar while I waited. Made it home but the lights were pretty dim again. $10 for a used generator the next morning. Good old days.
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Back in my gas jockey days, I worked at one point at a Citgo station on the NJ Turnpike. They accepted any gas company credit card, and this must have been a true accounting nightmare in the days before computerized billing. They also accepted Diner’s Club and American Express, but I don’t recall ever seeing anyone use those cards at our station.
My son owned a Mazda-3. They are an EXCELLENT vehicle. Reliable…comfortable…and fun to drive.
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Not just gas stations. Most department stores were like that. The interest they made accounted for a good portion of their profit.
My aunt had a Macy’s charge account as far back as the '40s. This was back in the days when they had just the NY store. The Macy’s “credit card” was actually an oval-shaped metal fob, embossed with the number of her account.