http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/02/17/business/main6215315.shtml
Won't testify before Congress in their most profitable market. Big backlash to come. Watch this space.
Showing posts with label toyota. Show all posts
Showing posts with label toyota. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Monday, January 5, 2009
December 2008: GM Beats Toyota
And now for some more (marginally) good news: yes, the Big Three got hammered in December for reasons everyone knows, but the big Japanese players fared even worse. GM was down 31%, Ford was down 32%, but Toyota was down 37%.
In these parts, we’ll take any sign that could be contrued as positive and breathe deeply. Not sure on the exact timing, but Toyota and GM might have both had zero percent financing deals running concurrently. Normally, if GM does much better than others—in this case, Toyota, but not Ford—it’s because GM had a massive incentive/giveaway that others did not, so this is interesting as Toyota had to pony up to the zero percent financing bar still fewer were ordering their vehicles relative to Toyota.
What’s interesting to watch closely are the subtle, if anecdotal, signs that the pervailing coastal sentiment of “domestics = bad; foreign makes = good” may be beginning to change. Read the comments sections of Dave Kiley's post on the Ford Fusion smoking the Camry Hybrid. The contrarians are starting to root for Detroit, and this is a trend that I suspect may continue as Ford and GM especially continue to make extremely competitive product.
In these parts, we’ll take any sign that could be contrued as positive and breathe deeply. Not sure on the exact timing, but Toyota and GM might have both had zero percent financing deals running concurrently. Normally, if GM does much better than others—in this case, Toyota, but not Ford—it’s because GM had a massive incentive/giveaway that others did not, so this is interesting as Toyota had to pony up to the zero percent financing bar still fewer were ordering their vehicles relative to Toyota.
What’s interesting to watch closely are the subtle, if anecdotal, signs that the pervailing coastal sentiment of “domestics = bad; foreign makes = good” may be beginning to change. Read the comments sections of Dave Kiley's post on the Ford Fusion smoking the Camry Hybrid. The contrarians are starting to root for Detroit, and this is a trend that I suspect may continue as Ford and GM especially continue to make extremely competitive product.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Where Should the OEMs Be Placing Big Bets?
Why is GM spending billions on “far-out” technology like extended-range hybrid vehicles in the midst of such industry and market turmoil? Because the global trends that are shaping the industry—and society—demand that leaders lead.
This "leaders lead" talk doesn’t jive much right with auto cognoscenti because GM has had a tough time as of late (but let's be clear: so has pretty much everyone else, including Toyota, whose coronation may put on hold in light of lowered sales/revenue forecasts). Early indications are that the industrialized West is sliding into a low-to-now growth period; next year could be some really tough sledding for mature markets with emerging markets still keeping the lights on.
But those trends are alarming, and in spite of tremendous pressure to shoot the moon with the next product cycle, GM, along a few others, are looking well beyond the current market downturn and next product cycle.
In the following link from the GMnext blog, click on the presentation at the bottom that shows why the big picture includes much bigger issues than today's credit crunch, housing decline. If intelligent people don’t find the global trends frightening, we may all be in big trouble.
Feeling Gravity's Pull
This "leaders lead" talk doesn’t jive much right with auto cognoscenti because GM has had a tough time as of late (but let's be clear: so has pretty much everyone else, including Toyota, whose coronation may put on hold in light of lowered sales/revenue forecasts). Early indications are that the industrialized West is sliding into a low-to-now growth period; next year could be some really tough sledding for mature markets with emerging markets still keeping the lights on.
But those trends are alarming, and in spite of tremendous pressure to shoot the moon with the next product cycle, GM, along a few others, are looking well beyond the current market downturn and next product cycle.
In the following link from the GMnext blog, click on the presentation at the bottom that shows why the big picture includes much bigger issues than today's credit crunch, housing decline. If intelligent people don’t find the global trends frightening, we may all be in big trouble.
Feeling Gravity's Pull
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