Toyota in the news

[Tom Schindler]

Toyota knows success comes with a big price...



Japanese automakers ``are importing the more expensive cars to the U.S., and getting the benefit of the yen imbalance,'' Levin said. Japan has ``a clear-cut set of policies, and we don't have any.''



In the briefing to other Toyota managers, Sudo cited political and social risks under the heading of ``external challenge.'' The report, left unsecured on computers at the company's Georgetown, Ky., complex, said Toyota could come under fire for:



• Selling vehicles to U.S. customers with high proportions of foreign-made parts. Less than half of all content of Toyota vehicles sold in the United States is made in the United States or Canada.



• Not including enough minority-owned businesses in its supplier base. The Rev. Jesse Jackson, leader of the Rainbow PUSH activist group, has asked Toyota to improve diversity efforts.



• Leaving a vacuum in U.S. communities as GM, Ford, Chrysler and their suppliers shed plants and workers.

Read more at the link below.



This is one of my biggest beefs with the Japanese auto industry. They get an unfair advantage in their own country and therefore can compete unfairly in our country.





Tom

 

[Rodger Tellefson]

Amen and well put, Tom. We have had a trade deficit around the world for a very long time.

 

[blksn8k]

The real problem at this point is that 99.9% of American consumers only care about what they perceive as the best return on THEIR dollar. Screw the rest of the country and their own childrens' futures. News stories like this don't mean squat to most people. Let someone else worry about it. We haven't learned a blessed thing from the electronics industry, the appliance industry and on and on and on. The big justification now is "But they employ thousands of Americans. At least Camrys and Accords are built here." Forget about the fact that those same Americans could be working for an American owned company. Forget about the fact that no American company could ever pull this off in their country. Forget about the real reasons why Fusions and Monte Carlos are built outside the US. And anyone who thinks the UAW is totally innocent in all this is no wiser than the guy who just bought a new Toyota.

I am resigned to the fact that we are just another bump in history. All world superpowers come and go and this is just another step in that process. Face it folks, it's inevitable. Hell, they're even in NASCAR...

 

[Josh Langel]

I'm sorry, if our future is in the hands of crap... we're in trouble.



I love my truck.





PS: Ya'll know I love ya!

 

[Woppy V]

Hmmmm...... Time to rename the Trac from Tackleberry --- to Godzilla!!!!!

 

[zaffo oxnard]

Domestic automobile industry is traditionally a source of pride for most countries. Unfortunately for the USA, who was once great at producing automobiles for a profit that could be sold world wide, the US auto makers now suck Japanese wind. We even suck european wind. Game over. They are better at it than we are. We should all stop bitching and whining about "stolen" market share and jobs and concentrate on making better cars at lower prices so we can get back in the game. Oh and by the way, the UAW is part of the solution. Labor is the single biggest expense for any company, and until union labor realizes that the pay rate of low to no skill production work is baselined against what it would cost for similar skills in India, Mexico, Brazil & China - not what people make working skilled tech jobs here in the the USA - things will be just fine. If they don't, forget it. US steel had to learn the same lesson. Fix it or loose it.



t

 

[Thomas Rogers]

Okay, now that the chest beating is done, let's look at the points one by one:

Quote:



Toyota knows success comes with a big price...



Japanese automakers ``are importing the more expensive cars to the U.S., and getting the benefit of the yen imbalance,'' Levin said. Japan has ``a clear-cut set of policies, and we don't have any.''

In other words, the Japanese are smart businessmen that know how to exploit the global marketplace. Good for them. We should learn something from them, Lord knows they have learned a lot emulating us the last half of the last century.

In the briefing to other Toyota managers, Sudo cited political and social risks under the heading of ``external challenge.'' The report, left unsecured on computers at the company's Georgetown, Ky., complex, said Toyota could come under fire for:

I'm glad to see it just isn't American companies and govt agencies that can't secure laptops and documents...

• Selling vehicles to U.S. customers with high proportions of foreign-made parts. Less than half of all content of Toyota vehicles sold in the United States is made in the United States or Canada.

I wouldn't surprise me if a majority of the parts that go into American cars made in America were foreign made. With all the chest beating on this thread I doubt anyone even took the time to consider that possibility.

• Not including enough minority-owned businesses in its supplier base. The Rev. Jesse Jackson, leader of the Rainbow PUSH activist group, has asked Toyota to improve diversity efforts.

I personally don't believe in affirmative action and quotas. It's racism...the very thing it attempts to correct.

• Leaving a vacuum in U.S. communities as GM, Ford, Chrysler and their suppliers shed plants and workers.

Yup...blame the competitor instead of the companies that can't compete.



Remember the next time you are at a sporting event that even if your team wins you should BOO them. How dare they beat the other team! How dare they!



TJR

 

[Josh Langel]

I think it's simple:



Build a <b>better and more reliable</b> automobile. The fact is that Honda and Toyota do build a better vehicle. But, what Ford has going right now for itself is the F-150, F-250, and F-350 with a large selection of commercial vehicles. Honda can't even touch the truck market, but Toyota is on its way to grabbing the title. Wait until they build a 2500 diesel engine Tundra.



The ONLY thing I can see bringing Ford, Chrysler, and GM back is something to happen in America that strikes a huge amount a patriotism... a real war perhaps, or maybe even a real threat. Right now, being American to some is doing the opposite of what it offers.



GM built a good truck.

Ford builds a good truck.

Toyota builds a good truck.

Dodge builds junk.

Nissan builds a mediocre truck.

Honda doesn't build a truck.



GM and Ford still have their trucks, but I think the age of buying American because it patriotic is over. People have gotten tired of current events and don't feel the need to "support America" by buying something inferior to the competition.



It's 2007 people, there are other options and people have to work even harder for their money. So why blow it on something of less value?

 

[Thomas Rogers]

It's as clear as Mud...



C'mon Mud. Don't you know we are just stupid, unpatriotic Americans that are buying this foreign crap when there is a better, more cost-effective domestic product that if we bought it would keep our brothers and sisters gainfully employed, off the streets, solve the drug and poverty problem of this country...SHAME on you and me for not buying American.



(end of sarcasm)



It's corporate welfare through guilt and shame, and so many on this board preach it on a daily basis.



TJR

 

[Tom Schindler]

In other words, the Japanese are smart businessmen that know how to exploit the global marketplace. Good for them. We should learn something from them, Lord knows they have learned a lot emulating us the last half of the last century.

Do you have ANY clue how easy it is to sell an American built vehicle in Japan? Didn't think so.

I wouldn't surprise me if a majority of the parts that go into American cars made in America were foreign made. With all the chest beating on this thread I doubt anyone even took the time to consider that possibility.

Do you know of any exact percentages?

I personally don't believe in affirmative action and quotas. It's racism...the very thing it attempts to correct.

Nobody should get a job because of thier color and color alone. They should get the job based on their performance. They should be given the opportunity to bid on those jobs. The real question is are they given the opportunity to bid on those jobs?

Yup...blame the competitor instead of the companies that can't compete.

I don't quite agree with that statement. By touting yourself as "bringing jobs to America", but having half of the parts coming from Japan, using your home government to manipulate the currancy to get an unfair advantage threrfore being able to compete under two sets of rules, they are to blame.



The ones suffering are not just the "Big 3", but also those that supply the big 3 with parts. Toyota may build the vehicles here, but many of the parts come from Japan. By using the Yen exchange rate, they can get the parts cheaper protecting their home country.



Competition is a great thing. I don't have a problem with competition, I just want fairness. If we allow Toyota to operate freely in our country, we should be allowed to operate freely in Japan.





Tom

 

[TomT]

Didn't we teach capitalism to the Japanese? Isn't that what we are trying to push onto China? Man, if China goes capitalistic on us we are screwed. They have a billion people that want to work and are satisfied with making just enough money to get by.

 

[Thomas Rogers]

Caymen asks:

Do you have ANY clue how easy it is to sell an American built vehicle in Japan? Didn't think so.

If you are going to ask the questions then answer them then I guess we don't have much to talk about.



But it really doesn't matter how hard it is or isn't to sell an American built vehicle in Japan...because one would have to be very "simple" to think they would sell in large numbers there. Heck, Toyota is beating Ford on our soil...you don't really think Ford could make a dent selling in Japan do you?



You say you want fairness, but you really don't...your comments and background clearly indicate you want PROTECTIONISM. You look at the us car makers being beaten and start pointing fingers at everything, saying how "this isn't fair", and "that isn't fair", on how "this is rigged", and "that is fixed!"



That's all just sour grapes!



LISTEN CAREFULLY:



The "game" and the "rules" are AS THIS COUNTRY, the CONSUMERS and the VOTERS *ALLOW* and *DEMAND* them to be. We get the government, the trade, the capitialism and the general order to things that we both DESERVE and DESIRE...you clearly don't believe that having the victim mentality that you do, but I SO, SO believe that.



Toyota is WINNING and the rules are as they are because the typical American consumer WANTS their products MORE than they do the domestics.



That's just the fact. Crying about it won't help. And the only finger pointing that will help is one companies and consumers like you point the finger DIRECTLY at the domestic company and tell them to: "SHAPE UP!"



TJR

 

[user 62394]

blksn8k said, "The real problem at this point is that 99.9% of American consumers only care about what they perceive as the best return on THEIR dollar."



Damn right I do. Yesterday, today, and tomorrow. I have no problem with that at all. No one is watching out for me except me.



Rocks

 

[Thomas Rogers]

MTURocks...way to go. Don't be guilted or shamed into buying a more expensive/inferior product, or a product that you simply otherwise wouldn't buy.

 

[Tom Schindler]

If you are going to ask the questions then answer them then I guess we don't have much to talk about.

Japan is very strict when it comes to foreign competition in their country. It is VERY difficult to sell a product made somewhere else in Japan. They take care of their own.

Heck, Toyota is beating Ford on our soil...you don't really think Ford could make a dent selling in Japan do you?

Yes they could.

You say you want fairness, but you really don't. You look at the us car makers be beaten and start pointing fingers at everything, saying how "this isn't fair", and "that isn't fair", on how "this is rigged", and "that is fixed!"

I wan't fairness. Put the same situation in your own shoes. How would you feel if a company opened down the street hired illegal aliens to do the same job you do? What if they paid those people a quarter an hour? What if your customers decided they are going to get better service for a lower price by switching to that company. Would think it was fair? Would you NOT be upset? You would not be able to survive working for a quarter an hour! All those illegals live in the same house and sleep in shifts. Is that the life you would be happy living?

That's all just sour grapes. The "game" and the "rules" are AS THIS COUNTRY, the CONSUMERS and the VOTERS *ALLOW* and *DEMAND* them to be. We get the government, the trade, the capitialism and the general order to things that we both DESERVE and DESIRE.

Nobody has been burned bad enough. Do you need your house broken into and have everything stolen before you realize locking the door is a good idea?

Toyota is WINNING and the rules are as they are because the typical American consumer WANTS their products MORE than they do the domestics.

Toyota is willing because they have unfair advantages that allow them to compete at a different level than the Big 3 can compete at.



It is no different than allowing a 6" tall man on steroids to compete against "little people" in a 100 Yd dash. It is like allowing a man compete in a womans race.

That's just the fact. Crying about it won't help.

There is no crying. People need to speak out and bring awareness to unfair rules that allow unfair business advantages because of rules that allowed someone to compete here, but are not allowed to compete somewhere else.



I just don't understand how that can be OK. If I am allowed to sell you something, but you are not allowed to sell me something, would you be happy about it?





Tom

 

[Thomas Rogers]

Caymen, right now the sky is blue...I am reporting that the sky is blue. But you still want to claim it's cloudy with a chance of rain.



I respect your opinion...but the #1 reason Ford is failing is Ford. The #1 reason Toyota is winning is Toyota. Everything else is just excuses, blame and denial.



TJR

 

[Jake Levin]

[Broken External Image]:

 

[Josh Langel]

Caymen, do you own stock in Ford?

 

[Josh Langel]

I can get you a trash can if you need it.



BTW, there's a difference between "bashing" and speaking from experience.

 

[Tom Schindler]

I respect your opinion...but the #1 reason Ford is failing is Ford. The #1 reason Toyota is winning is Toyota. Everything else is just excuses, blame and denial.

I disagree somewhat.



If you are fighting a guy that has a longer reach, harder punch, and a larger fist, is it a fair fight?



Toyota gets advantages that the US automakers do not get.



Ford did put themselves into this position because of the decision to not cater to car sales.



The battle out of the hole is harder than it should be because of the unfair advantage Toyota has over Ford.



That is a fact and that is what I am upset about. We will let one company fail to another company because of an unfair advantage.



Mud, my parents do, I don't.





Tom