"A leaked copy of Toyota Motor Corp.'s "global master plan" calls for grabbing 15 percent of the world car market by 2010 in the company's quest to unseat rival General Motors, a newspaper said Monday." (The newspaper is the Wall Street Journal). That would be up from 11% currently, and would overtake GM. More at: http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/061113/japan_ambit...oyota.html?.v=7 Big 3's meeting with Bush, excerpt: "Top U.S. automakers have been stung by spiraling demand and fierce foreign competition, particularly from Toyota Motor Corp. Huge losses have forced GM and its rival Ford to cut its North American workforce by 55,000 hourly workers. The new political environment in Washington, with Democrats in charge of the House and Senate, presents opportunities and challenges for Detroit, analysts said. On the one hand, Democrats have indicated that they want to focus on making health care more affordable, and this would please automakers. GM, the largest single private health-care buyer in the United States, spent more than $5 billion last year to cover all its employee and retirees. That number is expected to swell to above $7 billion in 2009, the company has said. But on the other hand, Democrats have voiced support for raising average fuel-economy requirements, known as CAFE standards, for SUVs and pickups by 16 miles per gallon to 36 miles per gallon. "The Big Three have become technology laggards, because for more than 25 years they have been protected from higher fuel-economy standards," said Daniel Becker, director of the Sierra Club's global-warming program. "The clock is ticking on the Big Three; if they fail to innovate, they will likely fail to exist." The Big Three will want White House help to thwart the move to raise these fuel standards, according to analysts. On energy, automakers stressed their efforts to reduce dependency on foreign oil, especially through production of hybrid vehicles. This was one area of broad agreement between the Bush administration and Detroit." More at: http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Stor...amp;siteid=yhoo
