06StangAwesomecar

Excuse me but Killed by airbag shrapnel? http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090731/bs_af...25kYXJlY2FsbHM-

Here we go again, Unbelievable. This is just insane. http://www.autoextremist.com/

F- Japan F- South Korea F- China All protectionist countries. Let us import to them what they import here Let us set up shop there without partnerships Or maybe we should just do what they do, wait we cant do that then all the foriegn car sucking liberals would cry. If you own a Import you have no right to bitch about the economy, you are part of the problem not the solution. Guess what Germany is crying about now??

Must be talking about Rawsonville

Agreed, Hard-Drivin' Man must not realize THE USA trade policies and health care are the issues. Maybe he should go on his computer and research this.

Hey asshole go fuck youself, we are in these hard times because of people just like you.

The article was e-mailed to me. http://ebm.e.ccialerts.com/c/tag/hBKE1xlAG...&RAF_TRACK=

How Toyota fell so spectacularly Exports backfire as yen rises; neglect of compact cars? Hans Greimel Automotive News | May 18, 2009 - 12:01 am EST TOKYO — In six short months, Toyota Motor Corp. collapsed from the world's biggest, most profitable car company to the industry's top quarterly money loser. The roughly $28 billion swing — from record operating profit to loss — was whiplash-fast, but the problems behind it had simmered for years. After 50 years in the United States, Toyota still imports 45 percent of the vehicle it sells there. A decade-long expansion drive added to the automaker's costs. A push to speed new models to market hurt quality, opening the door for rivals. Toyota neglected the compact cars that had made it great in favor of luxury models, large SUVs and pickups. Then it all boiled over. In January to March, Toyota's red ink outpaced the loss at General Motors, which is on the verge of bankruptcy. And Japan's No. 1 automaker warns that things will get worse. Toyota tailspin Globally, Toyota stumbled due to • Neglect of small, affordable vehicles in favor of big, expensive ones • Overreliance on Japan exports • Large exposure to exchange rate shifts • Rapid overseas expansion that added costs, strained resources • Slipping quality ratings Excess and waste "In each area, we have excesses, waste and overextension," outgoing President Katsuaki Watanabe says. Watanabe's remedy: Refocus on compact cars and hybrids. That would reverse Toyota's drift from its roots in small, low-priced cars such as the Corolla. Over the past decade, Toyota favored full-sized pickups and SUVs, as well as luxury Lexus vehicles laden with expensive features. "When the last new Corolla came out, they didn't put much effort into changing" what had been one of their most critical cars, says Kurt Sanger, an auto analyst with Deutsche Bank Securities. "Their focus was elsewhere." That shift was ill-timed. In a U.S. market collapse of 37.4 percent so far this year, Toyota Motor Sales tumbled 38.4 percent. While the Corolla and its Matrix sibling held up relatively well by slipping just 21.5 percent, the rest of the lineup dragged the total down. Imploding demand, as well as Honda Motor Co.'s low-price positioning of the Honda Fit, Civic and Insight hybrid, finally woke Toyota up. "We are determined to reduce the cost basis of our compact and hybrid vehicles," Watanabe said. Toyota priced the redesigned Prius below what analysts had expected, apparently in order to compete with the Insight. So it is already moving in that direction. But Toyota is limited in reigning in rising prices by a critical weakness. As the biggest auto exporter from Japan to America, Toyota is vulnerable to the stronger yen. The company got burned as the yen suddenly soared as much as 14 percent against the dollar in the fiscal second half that ended March 31. Toyota posted an operating loss of ¥461.01 billion, or $4.74 billion at current exchange rates, in the fiscal year. Toyota made money in the April to September 2008 fiscal first half; the losses came entirely since Oct. 1. Import reliance Automakers Nissan and Honda import from Japan 23 to 28 percent of the vehicles they sell in the United States. But Toyota sold 999,527 imports in the United States last year — or 45.1 percent of its total sales. A stronger yen trims profits from every dollar sale. In 2007, when this year's cars were being developed, a dollar bought an average ¥118 so planners could figure each $1,000 in profit was worth ¥118,000 to Toyota. At today's rate, $1,000 is only ¥96,000. Over time, that will pressure Toyota to raise U.S. sticker prices, particularly for vehicles built in Japan, such as the Prius and most Lexus models. Toyota's reliance on exports and exposure to currency risk has soared. Last year, Toyota exported about 61.5 percent of all the vehicles it built in Japan. In 1996, it exported just 35.9 percent, says Chris Richter, an analyst with CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets. "It added to the pain," he says. Moreover, Toyota expanded production at home. Toyota's capacity in Japan grew from 3.73 million units in 2001 to 4.32 million last year, says Ta-tsuo Yoshida, an auto analyst at UBS Investment Research. Industrywide sales in Japan have fallen for years so all of the extra capacity was exported. Toyota expanded even faster abroad. Global capacity jumped to 9.3 million from 6.4 million in that same period, Yoshida says. Now Toyota faces a 3 million unit gap between what it plans to sell this year and what it can build. "They weren't ready for the downside," Yoshida says. "They were expecting a 10-meter tsunami, and what they got was a 30-meter one." A push for ever-quicker vehicle development hurt quality. Recalls are up. Rivals, including Hyundai Motor Co., have caught or passed Toyota in J.D. Power and Associates' Initial Quality Study in the United States. "What Toyota really needs to be careful of is that the quality gap between it and other competitors is narrowing," says Dave Sargent, vice president of automotive research at J.D. Power. "A lot of people were attracted to Toyota because of the quality." Responding Toyota slashed global production 48.7 percent in the first quarter. In the United States, it has frozen wages, idled plants, cut hours and offered a voluntary exit program. Back home, it cut two-thirds of its 9,200 contract workers. It targets $8.22 billion in cost cuts this year. Despite the yen-driven need to build more vehicles in North America, it has delayed opening a Mississippi plant to build the Prius. Toyota says it will cancel some plants outright, but it hasn't said where. It so far has avoided drastic measures such as massive layoffs or plant closings. Even in the United States, it sidesteps forced layoffs of full-time workers. Despite the red ink, no one is talking about bankruptcy. Toyota has an ample cash cushion. Says Deutsche Bank Securities' Sanger: "They're not on the verge of a GM sickness." 'Bold change' Real change may come June 23, when Akio Toyoda, 53, takes over as president. Toyoda, the scion of the company's founding family, promises "bold change." He is stacking the boardroom with confidants, including Yoshimi Inaba. Inaba, 63, left Toyota to run an airport but was called back to invigorate North American sales and manufacturing. At his final earnings press conference, Watanabe said: "We are currently taking steps to give concrete form to our revival efforts, which include putting in place a new management structure. And with this team playing the central role, I believe a new Toyota will be born."

Great explanation, ignorant because I will not spell it the way you want, bullshit, I have ZERO respect for Toyoda, As far as assbags you are one of the many on this site. If you are going to come on a employee forum and tell me how to spell Toyota and run your mouth you can yourself. I bet people seen that and are flocking to Toyoda now, what a looser.

Leasing is what brought the resale values down. And Fleet sales.

Thats what I think whenever I read any of your posts, He wrote Toyoda out of sacasam, I am assuming, And this sacasam bothers you. WELL to fucking bad, Toyoda would be last if they really had to compete with us on a level field, but your to worried about the spelling. Instead of real issues. Dont like it go to Japan and Kiss there Ass.

Simple if it is a used purchase who cares but a new purchase should be from the company you work for period. Ever heard the "dont shit where you eat". But the people that bought cars new from other car company's while working for a differant one then cry about its my money I can do whatever I want with it, need to be on the street, because they dont appriciate what they had. And dont care about anybody but themselves. And dont give a rats ass who they might be putting out of work. But they got what THEY wanted.

Hey asshole how is this. Toyoda and Honduh, hope this makes your day doofus, your right buy whatever the hell you want, buy a inferior Toyoda or Honduh, and we can say whatever we want. TOYODA, TOYODA,TOYODA, TOYODA,TOYODA, TOYODA,TOYODA, TOYODA,TOYODA, TOYODA,TOYODA, TOYODA,TOYODA, TOYODA,TOYODA, TOYODA,TOYODA, TOYODA,TOYODA, TOYODA,TOYODA, TOYODA,

Oh come on now, Obama said there is going to be 3million news jobs fixing roads, and look at all those new green jobs that are coming, we just all need to go college to get smarter, because from what Obama said the jobs that have gone where not good paying jobs anyway. The me-me generation will fix everything. Wait until Gm gets rid of its pension , then Chrysler, then Ford then every other company that has pension plans. All those people that said FU to the Big Three will be paying now I thank the who cares where its made people for this mess we are in. But now its affecting them boo-hoo. A old neighbor of mine got laid off, drives a Toyota, I said you need to pat yourself on the back, shake your own hand, dont want to support the USA or the domestics then what comes around goes around. He is one of the above.

With how many less people???What are you talking about??? Are you telling me that the domestics should be just fine and dandy? Gm, Ford, Chrysler are paying a combined 30-40 billion in heath care costs, but they arent making what people want, are trade policy's are pathetic, along with health care, and federal regulations, but they arent building what people want. Instead of fixing the main issues they want to band aid it. The goverment that is. Dont act like Toyota, Nissan and Honda are fairing so much better in North America. They are stopping production, offering buyouts, and crying, But they are making what people want, so whats there problem, let me guess, THE ECONOMY. Dont get me wrong Gm, has made some terrible mistakes, so has Ford, but the other issues are just bigger IMHO.

I hope I made this easy enough for you!! http://www.nytimes.com/1995/05/17/business...anese-cars.html http://www.freetrade.org/pubs/freetotrade/chap5.html Yup none of this affects the domestics, they just dont build what we want.

Are you really that challenged? Do some research on the trade policy's of Korea, China and Japan. They care about their ecomomy unlike us and people like you and Ron Paul. Again who is the #1 seller in North America? The number I gave was GLOBAL not North America. I guess your right Gm didnt sell 10million This was 2008 And again your make what people wants is bullshit. They did and now people like you cry they made gas guzzlers, you have a computer use it. Like you know how to run a buisness, by your comments we can see you couldnt do it. The problem is trade policies, and federal regulations, and health care but you say make what people want,, lame. And people say the same thing about Ford make what people want crap.

I also have a problem with this! Tell us what they should Make? They did and now people like you are shoving it up there ass. You realize Gm still has a 20% market share even with 18 Competitors. They are the #1 auto maker in North America. I guess 10million people didnt want what they bought. (globaly) 1million North America, IS THIS BETTER. MORE CLEARER FOR YOU! Why not ask about fixing the real issues like health care, trade policies that cripple us. Why are we importing 500k KiA's and can only export 5000 that nobody can buy, Why cant we do what China or Japan do??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

Do you ever have anything good to say, other then being a smart ass in everyone of your useless comments?

The only thing I would do in Alabama is stop to take a S*&T. It would be great if no one showed.

Typical, a guy puts up something good and this assclown has to try to tear it down, hint on #4 try keeping it on the road. Infact sounds like you offroaded it, and now its Fords fault. 74,000km and the rim just magically warped.

The person that wrote this is a asshole period. Posts like this are why the public percieves us in the light they do. Posts like this are why we just lost everything. I dont care if it was meant to be a joke or if they where serious, it is wrong. Now some dumb ass auto hater will read this and spread it to all there other union auto haters.

Good Job Ford. Now if it was only made in Michigan. http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/081223/ford_fusion...id_mileage.html

Does anybody think it will affect skilled trades pay. Skilled trades at the transplants make good money. Here comes the $12hr and crap benifits. Well hopefully the goods and services we buy go back to 1993 levels. Or maybe we will adopt the cost of living the transplant states have. I am not going to go back to wages I made in 1993. And pay union dues on top of that. To bad the economy in Michigan sucks so bad, I am still putting my resume out there.