Toyota reports record $14-billion profit ! ! Cha-Ching!

[Ktulu]

I honestly believe that people prefer imports because it seems like a hip thing to do. Saying you bought domestic is like saying you bought generic or store brand. Everyone wants to be hip and "in" so they go for the imports, it just sounds more trendy. I'm not saying that imports aren't good cars, they're great actually, but domestics cars aren't the POS that the media and pop culture makes them out to be.

 

[Pacfanweb]

edit: premature posting

[Austin Powers]I swear to God that never happens[/Austin Powers]

 

[imported_Goo]

Toyota/Honda is selling car base on their past reputation alone, nothing more. Everyone and their dog have a toyota/Honda and they try to tell everyone how good their car WAS.

If you check out the 06 recall, Toyota and Honda are recalling left right and center. And people talking about how jap company renew their model every 4-5yrs.. Guess what, Corolla have been the same since 2000.

 

[Vonkhan]

Originally posted by: mariok2006

Originally posted by: Pacfanweb
Reminds me of this little story I saw the other day:

A Modern Parable

A Japanese company ( Toyota ) and an American company (General Motors decided to have a canoe race on the Missouri River Both teams practiced long and hard to reach their peak performance before the race.

On the big day, the Japanese won by a mile.

The Americans, very discouraged and depressed, decided to investigate the reason for the crushing defeat. A management team made up of senior management was formed to investigate and recommend appropriate action. Their conclusion was the Japanese had 8 people rowing and 1 person steering, while the American team had 8 people steering and 1 person rowing.

Feeling a deeper study was in order, American management hired a consulting company and paid them a large amount of money for a second opinion. They advised, of course, that too many people were steering the boat, while not enough people were rowing.

Not sure of how to utilize that information, but wanting to prevent another loss to the Japanese, the rowing team's management structure was totally reorganized to 4 steering supervisors, 3 area steering superintendents and 1 assistant superintendent steering manager. They also implemented a new performance system that would give the 1 person rowing the boat greater incentive to work harder. It was called the 'Rowing Team Quality First Program,' with meetings, dinners and free pens for the rower. There was discussion of getting new paddles, canoes and other equipment, extra vacation days for practices and bonuses.

The next year the Japanese won by two miles.

Humiliated, the American management laid off the rower for poor performance, halted development of a new canoe, sold the paddles, and canceled all capital investments for new equipment. The money saved was distributed to the Senior Executives as bonuses and the next year's racing team was out-sourced to India
Sadly, the End.

Sad, but oh so true! Here's something else to think about: Ford has spent the last thirty years moving all its factories out of the US , claiming they can't make money paying American wages. Toyota has spent the last thirty years building more than a dozen plants inside the US

The last quarter's results:
Toyota makes 4 billion in profits while Ford racked up 9 billion in losses. Ford folks are still scratching their heads

BAHAHA

 

[RbSX]

Originally posted by: jupiter57
GM & Ford only "lost" as much as they did because they give their Top Executives multi-million dollar bonuses, usually far, far greater than the "losses" they post.
The American Tax system at it's best.

Multi million dollar bonuses != 14 billion loss in 2006.

Thats alotta executives if it is.

 

[wyvrn]

Originally posted by: radioouman

Originally posted by: Turkish
Cool.

Btw, OP, you are still nothing but a dick.

Agreed. OP has no idea how many jobs are impacted by news like this. Not just the Big 3, but the parts suppliers for the big-3. Thousands (tens of thousands? hundreds of thousands?) of jobs (both white and blue) are being lost due to these losses from the American car companies.

It's not like American engineers are sitting around with their thumbs up their *****. They are working within the bounds of their jobs. In a lot of cases, these engineers are working harder now than ever to design products that are more inline with the foreign competition, but it takes time to turn things around, and when the money isn't coming in, there isn't much to develop with. Do you enjoy seeing your money turn into profits that flow to Korea and Japan? I prefer to see my money being used here to be reinvested into our own economy.

Too little, too late. The American automakers have had plenty of time to turn things around. To an extent, GM already is with their leaner systems, improved technology and reliability. However, all of them were living off the fat of the land for too long and ALLOWED the foreign competition to take their market right out from underneath them. The warning signs have been there for more than a decade. I feel for our workers and our economy. But it's not like this has been some epic fight that American automakers just lost. They have made their own bed, and the market is making them sleep in it until they change.

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: j00fek
sounds about right, the big 3 wont put of fuel efficient cars and they loose big time. they will be out of business shortly

I guess that is why the Tundra is turning into one of Toyota's biggest sellers and they are pushing it hard in the southeast in the hopes of making it the #1 pickup truck sold.

 

[RbSX]

Originally posted by: Naustica
You may not like the current cars Detroit builds. That's fine. But to be happy that Toyota is reporting all that profit and Detroit is suffering is anti-American. Yes, many Toyota cars are built in this country by Americans. But majority of the profit still goes back home overseas to Japan.

American auto industry is suffering. That effects lot of people. To be happy and glee that GM and Ford are struggling and fighting for their lives makes me sick. We need our auto makers. Losing our auto makers not only weakens us financially but military as well.

Anti-American?

You sir are quite laughable. Since you're so patriotic you must love the fact that America pushes the free market world economy so it can flood the world with American products. Well 50 years ago that meant something, America WAS making the best of almost absolutely everything, and everyone wanted a piece of it.

The times have changed and now it has come back to bite you in the ass, like every other country thats sat at the top of the technical revolution, you guys got lazy and sat back because you guys didn't think anyone could ever catch you, you got arrogant and prickish.

Someone finally caught up to you, so now it's Anti-American to not support American products.

For someone who benefitted so much from having your free market enterprise, you guys sure whine alot when it stops working for you and starts working for others.

Since when does it become unpatriotic to buy a foreign vehicle? You want the best product money can buy you, American or otherwise, and every other country realized that a long time ago when they were importing American cars by the truckload.

 

[desy]

Toyota and Honda earned their reps and even with the recalls they still on avg have better cars than NA and NA has better cars than Europe on avg, including Mercedes etc.
In 1980 the industry avg for defects were 88 per 100 vehicles now its down to about 17 per hundred and the defects for ALL manufactureres are minor nigly things not major.

GM had their best first quarter ever in total global car sales, not too bad for a dying car company. $1500 of every car sold by the big 3 goes to legacy health and benefits, pension for retirees, to ignore that as part of the problem is disingenuis and long since negotiated in history past, and definately affects profitability.
So NA companies still have a challenge, its why Fusions are made in Mexico now.

To revelle in companies failings who are turning about I find crass because the jobs lost will be many of your fellow citizens and to pretend Japan employs nearly as many NA as NA companies do is a joke.

 

[iRONic]

Say "you guys" again, Ryan.

 

[RbSX]

Originally posted by: iRONic
Say "you guys" again, Ryan.

I said it three times.

The ironic thing is that half of every major consumer product everyone buys these days is foreign, but somehow it's a travesty when it's a car.

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: desy
GM had their best first quarter ever in total global car sales, not too bad for a dying car company. $1500 of every car sold by the big 3 goes to legacy health and benefits, pension for retirees, to ignore that as part of the problem is disingenuis and long since negotiated in history past, and definately affects profitability.
So NA companies still have a challenge, its why Fusions are made in Mexico now.

Winner. That is why the foreign auto companies are all putting their American plants in the south east. They don't have to deal with unions.

 

[Ktulu]

Originally posted by: RyanSengara

Originally posted by: iRONic
Say "you guys" again, Ryan.

I said it three times.

The ironic thing is that half of every major consumer product everyone buys these days is foreign, but somehow it's a travesty when it's a car.

Americans are passionate about there cars, or at least they used to be before Toyota started selling their bland-mobiles.

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: NFS4 "I" should feel bad that GM, Chrysler and Ford spent the majority of the 90's in a collective circle jerk of SUVs instead funneling money to its car lineups?

a circle jerk that the japanese had to eat the cracker on the first time, but are now making the big 2.5 eat the cracker.


:barf;



WINDFALL TAX!

 

[RbSX]

Originally posted by: Ktulu

Originally posted by: RyanSengara

Originally posted by: iRONic
Say "you guys" again, Ryan.

I said it three times.

The ironic thing is that half of every major consumer product everyone buys these days is foreign, but somehow it's a travesty when it's a car.

Americans are passionate about there cars, or at least they used to be before Toyota started selling their bland-mobiles.

:laugh:

Japanese cars are bland?

Have you looked at a domestic recently?

What about German cars, do those piss you off too?

Edit: I work as a Valet, I'll tell you right now that in relation to their japanese counter parts most of the American cars I've driven seem like loose rustbuckets with the exception of the new Charger.

I even drove a 2004 Vette and didn't think it was that great, though I anticipated it being much better.

 

[ponyo]

To revelle in companies failings who are turning about I find crass because the jobs lost will be many of your fellow citizens and to pretend Japan employs nearly as many NA as NA companies do is a joke.

I agree.

But the sad fact is ricers have grown up and become buyers.

 

[sdifox]

Originally posted by: Naustica
You may not like the current cars Detroit builds. That's fine. But to be happy that Toyota is reporting all that profit and Detroit is suffering is anti-American. Yes, many Toyota cars are built in this country by Americans. But majority of the profit still goes back home overseas to Japan.

American auto industry is suffering. That effects lot of people. To be happy and glee that GM and Ford are struggling and fighting for their lives makes me sick. We need our auto makers. Losing our auto makers not only weakens us financially but military as well.

You mean no other industry is outsourcing overseas? And please explain how losing the auto industry huts the Military Industrial Complex?

 

[1prophet]

The problem is not with the cars but a cultural one that permeates most American businesses where short term, immediate profits are held above long term goals who's immediate results cannot be seen.

 

[senseamp]

Of course our own Congress is cheering them on and trying to keep the Big 3 from selling their profitable cars with some ridiculous CAFE standards.
Guess who is going to bail out the pension systems of the Big 3 if they go under? The taxpayers who insured them. So before you cheer for GM's demise, maybe you need to think about what that would mean.

 

[Sinsear]

Originally posted by: Sraaz
Good, imo. Get rid of our crappy American vehicles.

LMAO...what is happening to Toyota this year in Nascar?

 

[sdifox]

Originally posted by: Ktulu

Americans are passionate about there cars, or at least they used to be before Toyota started selling their bland-mobiles.

You don't think it's possible the general population is the one deciding what cars it want? Or did the 'import' makers hold guns to the public and forced them to buy the cars?

 

[sdifox]

Originally posted by: 1prophet
The problem is not with the cars but a cultural one that permeates most American businesses where short term, immediate profits are held above long term goals who's immediate results cannot be seen.

Bingo. Stock market is not supposed to work the way it is working now. Shareholders should have no say in business working. Don't like the business? sell the stocks.

 

[senseamp]

Originally posted by: NFS4

Originally posted by: archcommus

Originally posted by: DougK62
Why are people talking like the Big 3 don't sell cars? They sell a ton of vehicles! Easily plenty to keep them afloat if they didn't have other issues. The vehicles they produce are NOT the problem, and haven't been for years.

Exactly.

You can sell as many cars as you want. Profit per car, however, is what's getting them. When you're throwing thousands of dollars of rebates on cars to compete with superior product, how do you expect to make money?

A Mazda 3 is a superior car to a Chevrolet Cobalt in just about every possible way. How does Chevy compete with a superior car? Mazda isn't offering any incentives on the Mazda 3. Chevy, however, is offering a $500 rebate and a $1,000 rebate.

The vehicles they build HAVE been the problem... FOR YEARS. They haven't been able to command Toyota/Honda prices for their vehicles b/c for years they have never been as good. That is changing now, however.

Mazda3 is also a superior car to a Toyota Corolla in every possible way too.
It's just a superior car because it's more expensive and targeted at a more performance oriented demographic. It is also essentially a Ford. The best thing about it, the handling, comes from a Ford platform.
On the other hand, I had a cobalt rental this week, and it was pretty good. Mileage was good, stereo and trip computer was worlds better than my Mazda3. It was relatively comfy and better handling than most Toyotas I've been in, if not as good as Mazda.

 

[senseamp]

Originally posted by: sdifox

Originally posted by: 1prophet
The problem is not with the cars but a cultural one that permeates most American businesses where short term, immediate profits are held above long term goals who's immediate results cannot be seen.

Bingo. Stock market is not supposed to work the way it is working now. Shareholders should have no say in business working. Don't like the business? sell the stocks.

Really, if American business culture is so bad, why has our economy been roaring, while the Japanese economy been in the toilet for the last 15 years? Aside from the auto sector they got nothing. And they will lose the auto sector to someone else sooner or later, like they lost the electronics, computer, memory, pretty much every sector where they had tough competition in. It may take a while, but it's almost inevitable.

 

[evident]

Originally posted by: NFS4
So the Japanese build products that people want (the vehicles that Toyota sells the most of are built in America), moreso than American manufacturers, and somehow we should feel sorry for Detroit and call the OP a dick?

This is a case of whoever builds the best product for consumers wins out. I don't feel sorry for Detroit one bit.