Comments on: Declining sales could mean big changes at Toyota

By: elviososa

elviososa — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 18:10:22 +0000

YES…YOU NEED TO CHANGE….MOST OF TOYOTA IN THE U.S. IS FUGLY…..WHERE IS THE FRESH STYLING?? LOOK AT YOUR LINE UP…TELL ME WHICH CAR IS NOT UGLY??? EVEN THE LEXUS IS HEADING TO THE URLGY SIDE.

By: DrFill

DrFill — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 03:09:08 +0000

From the “Never let the factsget in the way of a good story” file:
GM is STILL the #1 car company in the world, beating out ‘Yota by a few thousand units last year(they wanted to fudge the numbers more than ‘Yota did, for worker’s morale)
‘Yota is in front so far, but is still #2 until at least the end of the year.
So don’t be so eager to rob GM of their hard-fought victory, even though they don’t seem like leaders at this point in time.

Toyota takes making cars pretty seriously. That is their passion. The execution and market placement of their products. And they know what you need, probably before you do.
They don’t make toys. They make cars.
You want Hot Wheels. Go to Nissan or whoever.
You want a great car, walk this way.
And the people know that. That’s what matters.
DrFill

By: inspire

inspire — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 02:29:16 +0000

Someone mentioned, “Wow mighty Toyota couldn’t stay at the top for 1 quarter, pathetic.” I’m not sure where in the article it states that Toyota will “lose” its top sales crown. I don’t think it’s that important a number. What is relevant to me is the stock’s market cap — what do investors think the company is worth. A number (ie sales) is a number … value (ie $$$) is all that matters at the end of the day. If you don’t have $$$, you can’t make cars. Simple as that. Last time I checked, Toyota has a war chest full of cash. Bond rating is investment grade. GM (as well as Ford) — junk bond status. Toilet paper is worth more than those bonds are printed on. Investors have zero confidence in either company. Cerberus appears it is willing to sell Chrysler for a loss since they realize they aren’t experts in the car industry.

Passion for a car is subjective. You should see the freaks with Priuses who compete with one another to attain the highest MPG rating. They have passion. Then you want to compare those with a ‘Vette? They have passion too — just for a different car. Their respective passions differ but they have it. And I do believe Toyota made cars like the Supra and MR-2 which had many people oogling over (well, that was 20 years ago). And they also made a car called the LS400 which made the Germans change the way they treated customers (go to a Lexus dealership for service and you will understand) and the way made cars (at least on a quality standpoint).

BTW, I am not a Toyota fan whatsoever but witnessed how they treat their customers while cross-shopping for cars. No way you’d get treated like that at a domestic dealership or a German car dealership.

By: cereal

cereal — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 01:52:24 +0000

you know? this is the thing I hate about the whole “being at the top” thing.
Toyota’s struggling to be NUMBER ONE when its perfectly fine being in the top Six.

I don’t have a problem with Toyota taking that title, but I’ve noticed things kinda slumping over at Toyota ever since they’ve been necking (or trying at some points) GM for numero UNO world wide.

When Toyota starts making a bunch of cars, trucks, or SUVs just for the sake of making them to cover ground, a lot of the time, they don’t produce the best. Tundra/Sequoia for example. -____-

Yeah, we’ve also seen the design quality slump a bit (in many of our eyes). There are many aspects Toyota’s been slumping in recently. But they are still trying, which is why they still remain up there.. kinda.

I can tell Toyota’s worked hard on some models. They were smart in planning the Venza, no doubt. The Corolla, however much you compare it to the Civic, did work.

They just need more organization.

oh, and:

@pavlindrom — yeah, it does. But Toyota DID have that design out before Ford began rolling out concepts and models with those T-face-esque fascias. If anything, Ford copied Toyota. Toyota’s just slow at getting the Venza out.

-eat your cereal

By: 1c3d0g

1c3d0g — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 01:49:35 +0000

Hahaha…the only way to go from here is DOWN, Toy Ota!

By: johnnycanuck

johnnycanuck — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 22:32:43 +0000

Well said, beatus. It does make me wonder what the Toyota trolls are even doing on a site like this. How can they be so passionate about a brand that offers so very little in that regard?

By: beatusmongous

beatusmongous — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 22:12:18 +0000

Yard Dog, I think the emotion isn’t actually looks or the cool factor, though, but the need to feel bigger or safer. I ask a lot of questions of people as to why they chose their cars, and mostly what I get is answers like safety, reliability, functionality or price. I get very few “because it’s just gorgeous” answers, which is really the emotion How’s My Driving was talking about. When I ask people why they bought a Corolla, they always answer, “I just needed a simple car, and the price was good on this one.” With trucks, I either get, “Because I feel safer” or “I needed it to haul stuff”, or they just compare it to other trucks, which means they just wanted a truck. 43% of sales is a pretty big number. My uncle bought a Ford Explorer because it was cheap, not because he needed it or because he loved it. He actually hates it, but he needed transportation and it was cheap. My dad has a Hemi Durango because he takes it to his radio transmitter and pulls trailers. My sister has a Kia something because it was cheap and had an engine block heater. Most of the people at my work have cars because they feel safe, or their kids fit, or it has lots of trunk space, not because they loved the looks of the car. In fact, out of the people I work with, the majority of them hate the looks of their cars, but are willing to put up with it. I’m just saying that the “this car is just beautiful” emotion is not as heavy as people think anymore. We have it. You and I have it. In fact, I think everyone that blogs here has it. But we’re a dying breed. If everyone had it, Toyota wouldn’t sell nearly as many cars as they do. People are willing to put up with the looks of a car just for some function that the car has.

There’s no doubt that there’s emotion involved in car buying. But that emotion just isn’t “love” as much as it used to be. That’s why there are so many ugly appliance cars on the streets.

I may be wrong, though. I sure hope I am, because I’m fearful that we as enthusiasts are becoming scarce. I love cars.

By: DaSpyda

DaSpyda — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 20:24:02 +0000

GM and Ford can only dream of “only” a 5.83 billion profit for the fiscal year.

While they are losing money, Toyota is still making it.

So, who’s the genius now, huh???

By: pavlindrom

pavlindrom — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 20:17:49 +0000

I have never seen that car before… It is so much like the current Fords. Especially the lights

By: yarddog82abn

yarddog82abn — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 20:16:34 +0000

beatusmongous…. come on bro….
How do you explain all the truck and SUV sales in America for the last couple of years…
It’s a fact that truck buyers that “need a truck” only accounts for 43% of all sales, every one els buy one because they believe it will be cool to owned one, that’s a emotional buy. The numbers for 2008 are not out yet, but I’m sure they have changed, today the only trucks we see driving off the dealer lots are all white with a work box and a work rack on the bed, and as for SUV, well most of them are just dust collectors, and yes in today age of saving money, and spending less at the pump people are buying A to B cars, but Toyota now has stiff competition from all sides, like I sead, that’s way they call it a Cinderella win, and it’s almost midnight…

By: CanGo87

CanGo87 — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 20:02:38 +0000

Hahaha for anyone sayng that toyota is the worst loser or saying its a “cinderella win” with GM winning must be kidding themselves. I dont think toyota is near the verge of collapse like GM is.

By: beatusmongous

beatusmongous — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 19:44:23 +0000

How’s My Driving, that depends on who you are, though. I’m not a Toyota fan. But my wife fell in love with the Rav4. Some people find that bond somehow.

But I honestly feel people don’t buy cars for emotional reasons. I feel they buy for practical reasons, and most don’t have a clue. I do feel that people buy expensive cars and sports cars for emotional reasons, though, but not daily drivers or A to B cars.

By: 400horseSS

400horseSS — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 19:41:38 +0000

Wow mighty Toyota couldn’t stay at the top for 1 quarter, pathetic.

By: howsmydriving

howsmydriving — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 19:38:25 +0000

How about stop making ugly cars? Cars are all about emotional, and nothing is more emotional than falling in love with a car so beautiful you can’t resist it. But Toyota has never made such a car, and they seem to go out of their way to make their cars look weird, stupid and just plain ugly.

By: ricky_b

ricky_b — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 19:21:59 +0000

Toyota’s best asset is their ability to make a solid reliable affordable package. Their biggest downfall (at least in America) is that they tend to be a market trend follower. They followed the Big 3 into the truck/SUV boom only get get bitten in the bumper. They need better strategy planning and they need to learn that to be on top, they need to predict and lead the trends.

By: yarddog82abn

yarddog82abn — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 18:59:23 +0000

A lot of Champ’s come and go, but the grate one’s always will always stand tall…
I’m taking about GM… sorry Toyota, that’s way they call it a Cinderella win…
You turn back to in to what you were at midnight…

By: yarddog82abn

yarddog82abn — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 18:54:45 +0000

It’s hard to get to the top, it’s even harder staying on the top…