The results are in and Toyota will have to wait at least one more year to overtake GM as the leading automaker in the world. Or maybe it won't happen? This should create some interesting posts. http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080123/ANA02/809764705/1078/
Normally I ignore your posts and this is one reason why. a not insignificant one million sales. Then this What is a year between friends?
Maybe, maybe not. I have never seen Toyota as defensive/offensive in automotive publications. They are scared to death of losing the "green" to GM and they are scared of a recession and Americans learning the truth about the trade situation. There is not another country on earth that would let itself get taken to the cleaners by other countries the way the US has been by Japan for going on 40 years and China or the last 10.
Toyota always said, never wants to become the Biggest Producer in the world. Toyota wants to be the "Best Auto Producer" in the world. However, $140 Billion market capitalization value for Toyota alone vs $48 Billion combined for the Big "Three" is something general public knows. I don't think Toyota is afraid of losing the "Green" to GM as you put it. Toyota's number just grows every year, without much effort...
I for one do not care. I do not own Toyota stock but I do own an awesome vehicle that delivers the best mileage and fewest emissions of any mass-produced vehicle from any manufacturer, foreign or domestic. Period.
I really don't care. GM can stay No. 1 and I won't yell foul. I'd rather Toyota focus on quality than overtake GM.
That was the mantra of Toyota of old, Mr. Watanabe's Toyota is a different animal or at least they no longer hide their ambition.
All this dicksizing about volume is totally meaningless. It's quality, not quantity, that matters. . _H*
Actually, Toyota was the King after all! Number is not everything but was GM inflating the sales number? So if you don't own over 50% of shares in that manufacturer, you really can not use the numbers as if it was GM's own? > Tokyo, Jan 25, 2008 (Jiji Press) - Japan's Toyota Motor Corp. <7203> must be the world's No. 1 vehicle seller in 2007, as its U.S. rival General Motors Corp. padded global sales disregarding an industrywide practice in compiling sales data, a leading U.S. auto industry journal said Thursday. It was reported on Wednesday that last year's GM global sales totaled a preliminary 9,369,524 units, narrowly beating Toyota's 9,366,000 units to remain as the top automaker. But actually, GM "slipped well behind" Toyota in global sales and "is now the world's second largest automaker," the industry weekly Automotive News said online. "Here is why: GM includes in its total 516,435 vehicles of the Wuling brand in China. But GM owns only 34 percent of the Chinese company that produces Wuling vehicles, SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile Co.," it pointed out. In compiling 2007 global sales data, all other automakers followed the industry practice of only including sales of majority-owned subsidiaries. For instance, Mazda Motor Corp.'s sales are excluded from Ford Motor Co.'s total because Ford owns 33.4 pct of the Japanese maker. "So Automotive News subtracts Wuling-brand sales from GM's reported total, arriving at 8,885,599," it said. By Jiji Press, (c) Jiji Press
Hmmm, should I believe that king of GM liars, Lutz? . . . or http://www.japancorp.net/printarticle.asp?Art_ID=16781 Nice try GM boy! Troll on.
GM Executive Touts Global Sales Lead,and fires back at Automotive News. More at the link:http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080125/gm_toyota.html?.v=1
He's still in denial about the GM / China conection. It's sad, when he can't have it both ways ... but realizing GM now stands for Greater Manchuria can be sorrowful
Exactly why does it matter which automaker is biggest? Toyota produces the best fossil-fueled vehicle in the world. GM builds SUVs that roll over and kill their occupants and then markets them to housewives who don't know how to drive a vehicle that wide with the claim that they are safer. Personally, I like Honda better. Honda treats its customers with courtesy, respect, and top-notch service. And if the Prius didn't exist, Honda would have the best car on the road, which ain't bad considering how much smaller Honda is.
Have you checked out Toyota's new Sequoia?!? It's gigantic and I bet percentage wise, just as many housewives will buy it compared to GM SUVs.
What SUV doesn't have increased chance of rollover compared to a car? It's just a fact of raising the center of gravity. The vehicle design can take this into account to reduce the risk, but the only stock truck whose design increased rollover that comes to mind was the Suzuki Samarai, and it was smaller than a Prius.
At least Toyota will give this feature free just in case of roll-over SEQUOIA SAFETY STAR SAFETY SYSTEM-Includes Trac Cntrl (TRAC) Plus Veh Skid Cntrl (VSC), Auto Lmtd Slip Diff,4-Whl Anti- Lock Brake System w/Brake Assit and Electronic Brake-Force Distribution Dr/Fr Pass Advanced Airbags w/Occupant Class Sensor,Dr & Fr Pass Seat-Mntd Side Airbags,& Fr, 2nd & 3rd Row Roll-Sensing Side Curtain Airbags w/Roll-Sensing Cutoff Switch Child-Protector and Door Locks CRS Top Tether Anchors & ISOFIX Lwr Seat Anchors in 2nd/3rd Row Seating Positions
Actually Toyota has now posted year-over-year sales decreases in 7 of the last months, and it is very well-hidden but the two months that did have an increase were the result of fleet sales, trying to keep the emperor in the home market happy. Toyota is doing everything possible to keep momentum, including buying an astounding number of "bad-credit" deals. I have a pretty good friend that is a repo-man and he says that over 50% of his repos in the last six months have been new Toyota's financed by TMCC.
