Toyota Overtakes Gm

[JENunnez]

GM is feeling the pinch big time.

http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=14024

[BillyShaft]

I think it will be a death-spiral.

US auto makers have basically stated that they will be closing their doors unless an act of God saves them, further eroding buyer confidence in the company.

Who is going to buy a car with a warranty from a bankrupt-bound company?

I do like this quote from Toyota in that article you posted:

A Toyota spokesman Steven Curtis said, "Being No. 1 in volume has never been our goal. Being No. 1 in quality and customer experience has been our goal."

That philosophy is precisely why Toyota will survive.

[jcrome04]

Chrysler/Dodge needs to just give up! haha

[dcfish]

Just remember this, When you are on top, There is only one way to go..........................

[eatingupblacktop]

I still say watch for the chinese to come in and scoop up whatever they can. Buick already sells more there than at home. One of their newest models was actualy designed in china. They used to say, "beware the sleeping giant". I don't think it's sleeping any longer.

[BillyShaft]

I am starting to think that the Chinese tide is going to recede a bit. Lets face it, when North America and Europe starts spending less on non-necessary goods, China will be hurt. Additionally, the Chinese are starting to feel the pinch from their crap quality products and Made in China has become something to avoid in most circles.

The Chinese house of cards has had a huge buildup, but the foundation is weak and has not had many years to establish a buffer to weather a financial storm like we are seeing. Reduced demand for their poor-quality goods and a general loss of demand from the West will hurt, if not crush, their business model in my opinion. We saw the same kind of thing from the Japanese in the 80s and it bit them extremely hard.

This will be an interesting 5-10 years...

[jcrome04]

I think the 2010 Buick Lucerne was designed by a guy from Sequim!! :D :D :D

[JENunnez]

GM should get rid of all the redundant models and concentrate on making the few that are left better. It's like they are competing with themselves.

[BillyShaft]

You mean like the GMC and Chevy trucks? I think they are built on the same assembly line and they take pride in one having better initial quality or resale value than the other. I always found that funny. Or odd. Or Pathetic. :cries:

[RX in NC]

We'll see all of the domestic auto manufacturers drastically cut their model lines. Redundancy on top of building too many models that consumers just don't want is burning through their cash reserves and absolutely killing them....

I believe that the domestic manufacturers' best option for survival is to concentrate on what they do the best in the world - building full-size pickup trucks. There will always be a demand, particularly in the business sector. These guys have to face facts that they will live to fight another day only by giving up their all-purpose thrones and concentrating on a niche market. Trucks will allow them to survive, which is far better than going belly-up and building nothing. Fuel efficiency improvement across all truck lines in the short run and moving to hydrogen-powered trucks in the long run would be the best blueprint for survival for all of the domestic manufacturers in my opinion. But unfortunately, they all still have delusions of grandeur and until management is completely replaced, all of them still think that they can just keep asking for bailouts until they eventually wind up on top again through very little effort of their own. But reality will prevent it from happening that way....

[BillyShaft]

Do you feel like the Unions have any effect on domestic auto makers and their ability to compete? When reading about the wages that domestics have to pay, it makes me wonder if it is even possible for them to compete.

[RX in NC]

Short answer - the unions have contributed to the downfall of the American auto industry every bit as much as the manufacturers have. They deserve each other....

[nc211]

GM-USA needs to file BK, break the union contracts, and start from scratch. I understand some say that's the wrong approach for short term job security. But in the long run, the only way you can survive is with a managable overhead. If the unions won't negotiate, then you've got to topedo them, with bankruptcy. Folks who really add to the value of the process, will most likely be retained under brankruptcy operational protection. Those who don't, will get cut, like the 20 back-up guys playing cards and watching Judge Judy in the breakroom all day due to required staffing levels in the union contracts. Quite honestly, this country has operated under a consumer-driven platform for the past 50 years, which defaults to the golden rule of capitalism = the profit/loss statement, which defaults to the guy who can build a superior product for less money, which for the past 25 years has been the Asian markets..aka..the emerging markets. Quite frankly, if I were CEO of GM, I'd order my top engineers to go out and buy a high mileage Camry and Accord, break it down, study it throughly, understand how it's made, right down to the buttons on the a/c and plastics of the dashboard, and tell them to "make me one of these, now". I would be ashamed if a brand new product I made, was the equivalent of a 100k mile, 10 year old competitors. I would want to know why, and how to fix it, at all costs. If it's worker based passion for excellence, then I'd focus on that first. If at the end of the day, the only way to support your union-based labor staff is to offset the cost with cheap parts, cheap materials, cheap r&d...well...you'll fail fail fail in a consumer driven economy.

How we can put men on the moon, design the stealth fighter/bomber, hit a supersonic missle at any point on the missle in mid-flight with another missle, yet not produce a family sedan that isn't laden with problems...is simply beyond me.

I'm glad Toyota took the top spot from GM. They earned it, they deserve it, and I'll spend my hard earned american money on their products way before I'll buy a GM vehicle. I feel bad for a lot people right now in this economy. Many are innocent victims of this. But, what I do not feel bad about is firing someone who produces crap, and then complains about it. I have to work my butt off to survive, and so should you, Bubba the UAW working watching Judge Judy at $40 an hour. You're fired! I'd tell the union bosses and the rest of the workers that if they have a problem with that...they're fired too! With so many folks out of work these days, they could easily find willing folks that would put in the proper effort to make sure they're work product was done right, not leave it for someone else to deal with...aka...the consumer. Which...ain't dealin' with it anymore, thanks to Toyota!

[JENunnez]

This country's auto makers are really getting out of perspective. I always liked Fiat ( Owned a few back when) but I think this is just a strange joke thats not going to work.

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/chrysler-...ats-in-america/

[Randy&Bonnie]

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