Toyota: Like a 'Grizzly Bear Chasing Its Detroit Rivals Through the Woods'

Excerpt from our One Page Annotated Wall Street Journal Summary:

EYES ON THE ROAD: Toyota Sends Quiet Message

Summary: Regardless of the tone of Toyota's (TM) message to its Detroit rivals, its results are doing all the talking -- last week it upped its semi-annual guidance and announced larger global sales targets. And now, its newest Lexus, the LS 460 is attracting a lot of attention: industry first 8-speed automatic transmission, more horsepower and better gas mileage than the Cadillac STS, infrared sensor climate control, Mercedes top-class-like crash sensor system, and let's not forget the automated parallel parking feature. The LS 460 is an attempt to further expand its footprint in the luxury-class segment dominated by Germany's Mercedes and BMW. The latter sold 597,120 autos in the first half of this year alone versus Lexus' goal of 400,000 sales this year and possibly hitting 500,000 next year. Last week Toyota also signaled how serious it is in taking over General Motors (GM) as the world's largest auto company by sales and overall in becoming the world's most dominant auto maker, by announcing plans to hire 8,000 new engineers at an approximate cost of $1 billion per year. Full WSJ article >
Related links: Bullish Toyota Forecasts Raise the Heat Under Ford and GM • Chris Ceraso's Auto Industry Forecast and Stock Picks • Toyota Ups Guidance, Sets Global Production Targets • Toyota's Development Slowdown and Quality Improvement Are Smart Moves • Toyota Comments on U.S. Sales Outlook, Denies Tundra Production Cut • Dorchester's Seth Glickenhaus Picks Four Stocks for a Weak Economy

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