slowdown

Why I'd Avoid Toyota, The #1 Automaker in the U.S.

So let me see if I have this right...Toyota loses money on every Prius they sell (yes they do) and you think a hybrid Cobalt (that GM would sell at a loss) would have kept them out of bankruptcy? Why???


On Jun 23 11:44 PM buddhabill wrote:

> Toyota expects to sell 160k Prius' this year. What's the projection
> for the $40,000 hybrid pick-up? 20k?
>
> It's a nice 'halo' product that did nothing to keep GM from bankruptcy.
>
>
> How many EV1's could have they sold? Or hybrid Cobalts?
>
> GM once had the clout to push product through their 7000 dealerships
> - with some leadership they could have been ahead of the whole EV/Hybrid
> thing....that is the real crime.

Why I'd Avoid Toyota, The #1 Automaker in the U.S.

We build a right hand drive Cadillac's and export them to Japan all day long. As you say...the problem is that by the time the taxes are levied against them the cars are too expensive for anyone but the very rich. Additionally...there isn't a business case to design and engineer a right hand drive version of the Chevy Aveo because those same taxes make them more expensive then the Japanese domestic comp vehicle. So...between the currency manipulation and protectionist policies practiced...we don't have free trade with the Japanese.


On Jun 23 02:36 PM Pstoneki wrote:

> I would agree that Japan taxes imports heavily. So does the US. However,
> the Japanese sell very few of their own models sold in external markets
> in Japan. It is very expensive to buy a car in Japan, even a Japanese-built
> car, due to parking requirements / permiting, insurance, and their
> very draconian vehicle inspection rules. Size is also a big issue
> - most cars sold in Japan are much smaller than the Japanese cars
> built for non-Japan markets.
>
> American cars just don't sell in Japan. They are too American in
> style, too big, the driver sits on the wrong side, the engines are
> too large and inefficient, the engineering / features are not in
> tune with the Japanese market, and the 'quality' is not there. Remember,
> every country has a different definition of quality so what the Japanese
> (or any other market) finds important may not be 'quality' in another
> market. For instance, a car with a pillowy ride and light steering
> is not considered high quality in Europe. However, in the US it is.
>
>
> If GM made an effort to engineer and sell cars in Japan they could
> do it. Just look at what they have been able to do with Buick in
> China. They just have chosen not to.
>
> Japanese cars do not seem to sell well in China. My experience working
> in China is that they have a very strong memory of Japanese atrocities
> on Chinese soil (see Nanking) and this has hurt Nissan, Toyota, and
> Honda. And has helped GM/Buick.

Why I'd Avoid Toyota, The #1 Automaker in the U.S.

We build a right hand drive Cadillac's and export them to Japan all day long. As you say...the problem is that by the time the taxes are levied against them the cars are too expensive for anyone but the very rich. Additionally...there isn't a business case to design and engineer a right hand drive version of the Chevy Aveo because those same taxes make them more expensive then the Japanese domestic comp vehicle. So...between the currency manipulation and protectionist policies practiced...we don't have free trade with the Japanese.


On Jun 23 02:36 PM Pstoneki wrote:

> I would agree that Japan taxes imports heavily. So does the US. However,
> the Japanese sell very few of their own models sold in external markets
> in Japan. It is very expensive to buy a car in Japan, even a Japanese-built
> car, due to parking requirements / permiting, insurance, and their
> very draconian vehicle inspection rules. Size is also a big issue
> - most cars sold in Japan are much smaller than the Japanese cars
> built for non-Japan markets.
>
> American cars just don't sell in Japan. They are too American in
> style, too big, the driver sits on the wrong side, the engines are
> too large and inefficient, the engineering / features are not in
> tune with the Japanese market, and the 'quality' is not there. Remember,
> every country has a different definition of quality so what the Japanese
> (or any other market) finds important may not be 'quality' in another
> market. For instance, a car with a pillowy ride and light steering
> is not considered high quality in Europe. However, in the US it is.
>
>
> If GM made an effort to engineer and sell cars in Japan they could
> do it. Just look at what they have been able to do with Buick in
> China. They just have chosen not to.
>
> Japanese cars do not seem to sell well in China. My experience working
> in China is that they have a very strong memory of Japanese atrocities
> on Chinese soil (see Nanking) and this has hurt Nissan, Toyota, and
> Honda. And has helped GM/Buick.

Why I'd Avoid Toyota, The #1 Automaker in the U.S.

They are called Right Hand drive cars and we build and export them every day to other countires.


On Jun 22 09:16 PM KIT wrote:

>
> The Japanese drive on the other side of the road like the British.
> They switch the drivers wheel to our side on export cars. I know
> of no American car built to left side drive for the japanese market.
> How many Toyotas would sell in America if they refused to build cars
> for our roads?

Why I'd Avoid Toyota, The #1 Automaker in the U.S.

You're right....we should pay labor according to what they bring to the job...Henry Ford did that...he thought that the people that built his cars ought to be able to afford to buy them...Lets see how many people making $14.00/hour can afford to buy anything but a 10 year old oil burner. It is a sad day in this country when the only way to be viablle is to pay wages based on the emerging markets in third world countries.


On Jun 23 10:10 AM Pstoneki wrote:

> Who cares what the Mexican's make? Their cost of living is much lower
> than the US. After all, they don't have a need to buy a big fishing
> boat, snow machines, 4 wheelers, and a giant truck to pull them around
> like most of the Big 3 assembly folks I know. Apples to oranges comparison.
> Let's face it - we pay unskilled trades a lot of money when, often,
> the complexity of the work does not warrant it. I've worked on the
> line in several GM plants. Beyond the mind-numbing boredom induced
> by doing the same thing every day the job was not hard and did not
> require any advanced education. We should be paying people based
> on the unique skills they bring to the job and the value they add
> to a process.

Why I'd Avoid Toyota, The #1 Automaker in the U.S.

Pose the question another way....how many American made Japanese cars do the Japanese buy? Answer - none....the Japanese government will not allow Toyota/Nissan to import their own vehicles manufactured in other countries because they practice protectionism.....and since you worked for them and were there...mind telling us how much an imported vehicle costs over a domestic one? Last I knew - the Japanese government taxed the living daylights out of foriegn competitor products...again - protectionism.


On Jun 22 11:29 AM Pstoneki wrote:

> The Japanese buy very few American cars. Why? THE QUALITY. Their
> expectations are much much higher than the American consumers. When
> I worked for Nissan I used to visit dealerships in Japan. I watched
> every (and I mean every) customer examine every single detail of
> the particular car they were buying, down to how parallel the defroster
> element wires in the back window were. If the car was not absolutely
> perfect in every way they wouldn't buy it. Find me an GM/Ford/Chrysler
> car that can pass that kind of test.

Does America Want to Buy Fuel Efficient Cars?

Taxes are implemented for a reason and the reason cannot be to manipulate the purchasing decisions of the public. You want to clean the air up? Then put laws in place to keep ships out of our harbors that refuse to burn bio-diesel. Just that one piece of legislation would bring jobs back to the US because it would no longer be cost effective to import most of the goods that hit our shores.


On May 21 10:38 AM Jons12 wrote:

> A higher gas/oil tax is the obvious solution. It nips the problem
> at the bud and everything falls into place naturally without complicated
> schemes. Consumers will demand more fuel efficiency, biofuels become
> more competitive as well as mass transportation.
>
> Gas tax is not an evil word!
>
> On May 21 09:55 AM mycargets52mpg wrote:

Does America Want to Buy Fuel Efficient Cars?

Again - skewed data - you can't compare the sales of a Honda Accord to a pickup truck. Two different markets. The point is that we all want fuel efficeint cars and trucks....but if conserving fuel means manipulating fuel prices and government incentives to force us to buy specific vehicles then it's wrong. Personally - I need a truck/SUV with towing capacity and one that will haul the family at the same time which is in direct conflict with the objective. If the objective is to reduce emissions and dependancy on foreign oil - then we need to be investing in alternative fuels.


On May 21 10:07 AM Jeff B. wrote:

> People do like to buy fuel efficient cars -- but, especially when
> that fuel efficiency is combined with reliability, good performance
> and good value. The chart data is slightly out of date. Currently,
> the best selling vehicle in the US is the Honda Accord. It now outsells
> the Ford F150 & Chevy Silverado (and Camry).

Does America Want to Buy Fuel Efficient Cars?

I don't know where you got your data - the Impala is rated at 32 and I have gotten as high as 34 on the highway. You must have taken the data for the SS version with a V8?

Electric Car Manufacturers Inspire New Paradigms

I don’t’ want an electric car…and neither apparently does anyone in or outside of California or Toyota would have jumped on the bandwagon a long time ago. I’m sick of hearing about the Prius….I don’t want one of those either. They are small expensive unappealing cars that will not meet my needs. I don’t just drive to work everyday with nothing more than a bag of golf clubs like the TV ads profess Californians are doing. In fact, I dare you to go stand in the middle of any one of your states boat launches and count the number of Prius’s towing and launching boats. Go to campgrounds in your state and count the number of Prius’s hauling travel trailers or snowmobile trailers in the snow covered mountains, or lumber and landscaping materials of any size and weight from the local Home Depot. Those are the things that the rest of us do in our spare time…so quit trying to shove the Prius down our throats. What I do want is an SUV, cross- over or truck that will meet all of my needs and at the same time be fuel efficient or flex fuel to reduce emissions and dependence on foreign oil. We have those…they are readily available in our own domestic fleet. They are Chevy’s, GMC’s, Fords, and Dodge and have been on the market for 10 years. The transplant car companies….aren’t there yet. They are still focusing on cars that burn gasoline. A car that gets 60 mpg still burns 17 gallons of gas every 1,000 miles versus a car that gets 21 mpg using E85 (my Chevy Impala) that burns 7.1 gallons of gas every 1000 miles. In my mind – the Prius is not the benchmark, my Impala is because it significantly reduces emissions and oil dependency. That’s where we should be investing our money. The infrastructure/R&D needed to produce Ethanol efficiently and economically whether it’s from our own rubbish, wood chips, switch grass or corn (coskata.com). Instead – we wait to see what some other country develops and ships over here thinking that they have our best interests at heart. How stupid and lazy of our leaders to think that “let someone else figure it out” is the answer. I work in the domestic Automotive industry and I’m sick of being told we are idiots because we still build cars and trucks that pollute the earth that no one wants. The reality is that those ships in our harbors…yeah…those are the real polluters – (University of Colorado at Boulder (2009, February 27). Commercial Ships Spew Half As Much Particulate Pollution as World's Cars). Yet you say nothing about the fact that the 51,000 ships that traverse the earth daily bringing in imported goods including oil to our country emit the same amount of pollution as fifty percent of the total number of cars and trucks on this planet! And by the way – those Prius’s that you want us to buy…are manufactured overseas and you guessed it…shipped here and are sitting in your ports. So the way I see it…the ships in our ports not only pollute the earth…they bring in goods from foreign countries that practice economic protectionism instead of reciprocation and ultimately cost us jobs. Did you know that Toyota will not allow California’s NUMMI assembly plant (Toyota/GM joint venture) to export the Toyota Carolla/Tacoma to Japan? Does that bother you? It should. The practice has a direct impact on California’s economy. As for building cars no one wants – when the March sales numbers came out the Detroit 3 outsold the Transplant 5 with Toyota behind General Motors and only slightly ahead of Ford by 8,000 vehicles. Did you really expect the domestic auto industry to maintain marketshare when we opened our market to free trade without first getting commitments from those other countries to open theirs?

Electric Car Manufacturers Inspire New Paradigms

So....when will we have electric ships...after all they put as much pollution in the air as half the worlds trucks and cars...oh yeah...I forgot...water and electricity don't mix well. I won't be buying an electric car of any kind. They will not meet my needs.

China Looks to Electrify Our Cars

and no...I haven't been laid off yet and I like chicken better than beef. What the hell does any of this have to do with my post?

On Apr 21 12:35 AM hondaicivic wrote:

> Let me guess.....you're a United Auto Worker and you've just been
> laid off? You drink Budweiser and watch Nascar and eat hamburger/stead
> on a daily basis don't you. Now I know why you're angry. I think
> you got the "white angry male syndrome"

China Looks to Electrify Our Cars

Acutally - I'm a salaried white collar worker - mother of 2 in college and in case you haven't figured it out....a woman.


On Apr 21 12:35 AM hondaicivic wrote:

> Let me guess.....you're a United Auto Worker and you've just been
> laid off? You drink Budweiser and watch Nascar and eat hamburger/stead
> on a daily basis don't you. Now I know why you're angry. I think
> you got the "white angry male syndrome"

China Looks to Electrify Our Cars

With respect to the Californian elected officials and other critics that seem to be hell bent on telling the rest of the country what we are doing wrong – look in the mirror.
I for one am sick and tired of being slapped down because I work in the automotive industry and my way of life differs from what you think it should be. For example – I don’t’ want an electric car…and neither apparently does anyone in or outside of California or Toyota would have jumped on the bandwagon and there wouldn’t be any discussion about who killed the EV1- so stop talking about it. Your market was the test and you failed…failed to promote it…failed to provide the infrastructure needed to support it…just plain failed because to few of your people were interested in them at the cost that would make them profitable to manufacture. On one hand you berate us because of the financial condition of the industry and on the other, you berate us for making the decision to cancel a program that clearly was not a going concern at the time.
I’m sick of hearing about the Prius….I don’t want one of those either. They are small expensive unappealing cars that will not meet my needs. I don’t just drive to work everyday with nothing more than a bag of golf clubs like the TV ads profess Californians are doing. In fact, I dare you to go stand in the middle of any one of your states boat launches and count the number of Prius’s towing and launching boats. Go to campgrounds in your state and count the number of Prius’s hauling travel trailers or snowmobile trailers in the snow covered mountains, or lumber and landscaping materials of any size and weight from the local Home Depot. Those are the things that the rest of us do in our spare time…so quit trying to shove the Prius down our throats. What I do want is an SUV, cross- over or truck that will meet all of my needs and at the same time be fuel efficient or flex fuel to reduce emissions and dependence on foreign oil. We have those…they are readily available in our own domestic fleet. They are Chevy’s, GMC’s, Fords, and Dodge and have been on the market for 10 years. The transplant car companies….aren’t there yet. They are still focusing on cars that burn gasoline. A car that gets 60 mpg still burns 17 gallons of gas every 1,000 miles versus a car that gets 20 mpg using E85 (my Chevy Impala) that burns 7.5 gallons of gas every 1000 miles. In my mind – the Prius is not the benchmark, my Impala is because it significantly reduces emissions and oil dependency. That’s where we should be investing our money. The infrastructure/R&D needed to produce Ethanol efficiently and economically whether it’s from our own rubbish, wood chips, switch grass or corn (coskata.com). Instead – we wait to see what some other country develops and ships over here thinking that they have our best interests at heart. How stupid and lazy of our leaders to think “ let someone else figure it out” is the answer.

I’m sick of being told we are idiots because we still build cars and trucks that pollute the earth that no one wants. The reality is that those ships in your harbors…yeah…those are the real polluters – (University of Colorado at Boulder (2009, February 27). Commercial Ships Spew Half As Much Particulate Pollution As World's Cars). Yet you say nothing about the fact that the 51,000 ships that traverse the earth daily bringing in imported goods including oil to our country emit the same amount of pollution as fifty percent of the total number of cars and trucks on this planet! And by the way – those Prius’s that you want us to buy…are manufactured overseas and you guessed it…shipped here and are sitting in your ports.
So the way I see it…the ships in your ports not only pollute the earth…they bring in goods from foreign countries that practice economic protectionism instead of reciprocation and ultimately cost us jobs. Did you know that Toyota will not allow your NUMMI assembly plant (Toyota/GM joint venture) to export the Toyota Carolla/Tacoma to Japan? Does that bother you? It should. The practice has a direct impact on California’s economy. As for building cars no one wants – the March sales numbers are out and the Detroit 3 outsold the Transplant 5 with Toyota behind General Motors and only slightly ahead of Ford by 8,000 vehicles. Did you really expect the domestic auto industry to maintain marketshare when we opened our market to free trade without first getting commitments from those other countries to open theirs?

At the end of the day – what California elected officials are doing is grandstanding and puffery at the expense of the rest of us and I’m not sure why. The ailing domestic auto industry has nothing to do with the economic state of California. On the other hand – the buying habits of Californians have everything to do with the economic state of the rest of the country…as we go…so do you. If I’m not working…I’m not buying…investing…or contributing and eventually via the trickle…. neither are you.

China Looks to Electrify Our Cars

It's not that Detroit doesn't want to sell electric - it's that we don't want them. I don't know when the last time you "owned a car" was...but I haven't had to replace a muffler or tailpipe ever. Not on my cars and not on my kids cars prior to selling them with 150,000 miles on them. In fact...all of the items you mention have never been replaced on any of my cars with the exception of tires, brake pads, oil and filters. But then again...I'm only 52 and apparently haven't been driving as long as you.


On Apr 19 10:11 AM a. palmer jr. wrote:

> Thanks for the well thought out story. I agree with the author on
> what he's written. American car companies are reluctantly bringing
> hybrids to market and are VERY reluctant to bring an all-electric
> car to market. The reason is because a well built electric car won't
> break down very often and Detroit won't be able to suck you into
> their dealerships for repairs and parts.
> The Chevy Volt I'm sure, has all the parts of a normal gas car plus
> the electric parts, and maybe some more thrown in, so they'd have
> no problem selling you that $40,000 boondoggle.
> With an all-electric car think of all the parts you won't need...Exhaust
> system,I remember the car I used to have that needed a muffler and
> tailpipe every year, Starter, alternator, radiator and hoses, water
> pump, emissions system, computer and related sensors and wiring,
> thermostat, oil and filters, and all the engine problems we used
> to have, we won't have because...no engine!
> It's no wonder Detroit doesn't want to sell electrics, they can't
> fleece you as bad!