Toyota reports all-time record sales
July 1, 2008 by George Skentzos
Toyota has broken an all-time industry record this month, becoming the first car company in Australia to sell in excess of 25,000 vehicles in a single month.
Sales figures released today reveal that Toyota sold more than 25,600 cars for the month of June, breaking its own record of 24,539 which it set 12 months ago.
It’s strongest performer was the Corolla with more than 5000 sales, closely followed by the HiLux which contributed just over 4500 to the overall total.
With the financial year ending just yesterday, Toyota also announced that it has sold more than 247,500 vehicles for the fiscal year – also an all-time industry record.
No other brand has ever sold more than 200,000 vehicles in any 12-month period in Australia.
Print it: 
Ford drivers dont have a problem smokin, Jamies exceptional at it especially in reverse!The Holden guys are just a bunch of girls especially Kelly,hey he even sounds like one! I know thats going to get someone biting hahaha
Good to see Webber finally qualified well for tonight race,
Hows Toyota doing in it? Still crap in the Championship!
01 Ferrari 91
02 BMW Sauber 74
03 McLaren-Mercedes 58
04 Red Bull-Renault 24
05 Toyota 23
06 Williams-Toyota 15
07 Renault 12
08 Honda 8
09 STR-Ferrari 7
10 Force India-Ferrari 0
YEAH HAA … Toyota has just won both the Sprint Cup (1st tier) and Nationwide (2nd tier) in NASCAR this weekend.
YOU LITTLE BEAUTY !!
Last weekend Toyota finished 2nd & 3rd in the Sprint Cup and 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the Nationwide Series while this weekend they finished 1st in the Sprint Cup and 1st & 2nd in the Nationwide.
Latest NASCAR results todate :
* Sprint cup
1. Toyota … 7 wins
2. Chevrolet … 4 wins
3. Ford … 3 wins
4. Dodge 4 wins
* Nationwide Series
1. Toyota … 13 wins
2. Chevrolet … 4 wins
3. Ford … 2 wins
4. Dodge … 0 wins
Craftsman Trucks
1. Chevrolet … 5 wins
2. Toyota … 5 wins
3. Ford … 2 wins
4. Dodge … 0 wins
Locally – Toyota comfortably leads the Australian Rally Championship (ARC) after winning 3 races from 3 so far. The 4th round is the ‘Rally Of SA’ in about 3 weeks.
GO TOYOTA … OH WHAT A WARM AND FUZZY FEELING
Bavarian – while Toyota is counting thier parcel shelves they are also counting thier multi-billion dollar profits while Ford and GM count thier multi-billion losses.
Better still, GM shares have just hit thier lowest ever sense 1954 (or is that 1956) which has now raised concerns about the eventual possibility that GM may have to file for Bunkruptcy protection. It was also reported that GM need to secure about 15 billion dollars just to retain it’s operations until the end of 2009.
OH WHAT A WARM AND FUZZY FEELING
Oh what a red neck feeling……..
Glad to hear your happy Dingo after all theres not that many of you when it comes to being an excited Toyota owner,there the ones asleep at the lights normally,I have toot at to wake up!
Andrew – If Toyota entered the V8 Supercar Series, it will be interesting to see who will abandon Holden and Ford in favour of Toyota.
Personally, i would perfer Toyota not to enter at this stage becuase they have investment elsewhere (F1, NASCAR, Japanese GT) and would much prefer them to continue developing the teams they already have before taking on new adventures.
Toyota still has work to do in F1 albiet some great improvements this year so far while NASCAR is proving a huge bang for them not to mention various other sports such as ARC, Japanese Motorsport and so forth.
Eventually, i believe the V8 Supercar Series will require additional support ($$$) and if Toyota is asked to step up then i equally believe they will dictate some terms of thier own … at the end of the day – money talks !!
Put it this way, Toyota will not alter it’s production at Altona (FWD 4 & 6 cyls) to meet the current terms so CAMS will have to change thiers eg. allow forced inducted AWD, V8 powered imports (IS-F) or what ever.
The odds are, CAMS will have to equally step up to the plate and allow adjustments to thier current terms otherwise Toyota or any other manufactuer/company won’t even give it a second thought oherwise … GUARANTEED !!
I believe the IS-F which just happens to be a RWD 5.0 V8 would certainly shake up the field … considerably.
The question is – would Holden and Ford want Toyota or any other manufactuer to enter the series becuase odds are … all of a sudden the blue and red brigade won’t look so good with a repeat of the Nissan days.
Personally, i would like to see a range of manufactuers enter the V8 Supercar as they already have done in the Australian Rally Championships with 6 manufactuers now competing.
As far as i am concerned, Holden and Ford carn’t afford anymore shame then what Toyota has so effortlessly inflicted upon them in the sales race.
OH WHAT A WARM AND FUZZY FEELING
Bavarian : words speak half as loud as actions and right now – Toyota is all action … sales, profits / wealth fleet diversity / consistancy, strong standings in Customer satisfaction / Quality Surveys (around the world), stability, direction, reputation, motorsport and so forth.
Anyway, i start nightshift tonight (may send a message or two from work) so time for a nap.
And YES … i am very happy with Toyota’s allround performance so far this year and can only see it getting better.
Oh yeah – someone above stated that Toyota’s profit was $4 billion and spent $400 million on F1. Toyota’s latest reported FISCAL profit (2007/08) was infact $16.7 Billion (Aus) which means they have reported nothing less then $15 Billion for the past 7 consecative years. Profits have ranged between $15 – $19.5 billion.
However, the $400 million investment in F1 is good enough … $420 million exact !!
OH WHAT A WARM AND FUZZY FEELING
Dingo it doesnt matter how much you polish a t.rd its still a t.rd…….Toyota with all its wealth still cant put passion into their product.They try with the luxury brand but still fall short.
BMW must be congratulated for winning the Worlds greenest car with the 118d…..yep thats a diesel! And what brand would be the cleanest luxury brand,that to is BMW!Best interiors in the world according to most jernos Audi! And finally who has won the most engine awards for the last 10 years BMW 19 ACTUALLY! Lexus ,1 ?
Dingo the V8 supercar series now operates under a system which ensures that the cars are all closely matched to one another thereby ensuring closer racing competition.
What I mean is regardless of how much money Toyota decides to sink into V8s there are and will continue to be various rules and regulations relating the performance of the car
ATM both Ford and Holden use the same tyres same gearbox same capacity engine which produces the same amount of horsepower. all of which has resulted in the closest racing we have seen in years – record attendance figures and TV ratings attest to that
I doubt CAMS or AVESCO will make drastic changes to the category inorder to suit Toyota..There are a number of other manufacturers who would be willing to take part in Australias Premier motosrport category… one which Murray Walker has called the best Touring Car category in the world.
BTW Toyota have been asked if they would like to be involved on at least 4 occassions and everytime they have said NO – so if you don’t mind no more whinging from you Toyo-philes…. you’ve had your chance.
As for V8s needing more financial support. ATM there are a number of companies that are clamouring over themselves to get involved with V8s and sign various sponsorship deals
Dingo If you want a race where there are cars with a combination of either turbo supercharged 4cyl 6cyl V8 FWD RWD AWD Sedan Coupe etc… Then I suggest you have a look at GT Production Racing
Where all different makes and models from all over the world compete against each other and even have sub categories within the clas so Imprezas compete against EVOS GTs against Clubbies etc..
I was wondering how long it would be before Dingo or one of his split personalities used some kind of survey or series of statistics to back up his arguement.
Surveys and Statistics can be and quite often are manuipulated inorder to help achieve a pre-determined result it all depends on various factors suuch as who you ask; how you word the questions etc
Glad to see you didn’t disappoint us on that one Dingo!
Bavarian – In less then short 20 years, Lexus has developed to become one of the most renouned and respected automotive brands that can be found anywhere in the world today.
I agree, passion has not been a strong link but that is changing as Lexus invests with greater focus towards just that with the release of various ‘F’ series that will make it to the market over the next few years and the IS-F being the first example.
One point you can be guaranted of and that is Lexus will only continue to develope and grow greater market strength… only a fool would believe otherwise.
That said, Lexus runs rings around BMW when it comes quality as proven for more then a decade in the multitude of Customer / Quality Satisfaction Surveys that have been published in the US and UK. Infact, BMW never rates strongly in these surveys.
In the US, Lexus ranked the highest for 12 consecative years and currently 2nd behind Porsche. In the UK, Lexus won again this year making it 8 consecative years.
As for a turd, true … you carn’t polish a stinker – look at Holden and Ford for example with woeful sales … OOCH !!
Wheelnut – I watch most forms of motorsport because i find them alot more entertaining because of participation from a variety of manufactuers including our own Rally Championship which now hosts 6 manufactures … Toyota, Subaru, Mitsubishi, Ford, Honda and VW.
I lost interest in V8SC many years ago when Nissan was forced from the competition. Infact, i even loved it when the Ford Sierra graced the mountain – what a fantastic pocket rocket.
It is your reasons above i personally hope Toyota don’t waste thier money and enter V8SC becuase it is too heavily regulated which restricts the true potential of one manufactuer over another. The attendances may be strong but it just doesn’t seem to be translating into greater showroom activity for either Holden or Ford and no-doubt Toyota and other manufactuers will be mindful of this when ‘if’ or ‘when’ they ever decide upon entry.
Personally, i believe it will be the falling fortunes of Holden and Ford in this country not to mention the ever growing losses Ford and GM are accumulatng that will eventually dictate a change of direction for the V8 Supercar Series and as i stated, unless other manufactuers get a say in the terms … i doubt any of them will even be remotely interested otherwise.
It will be loss of CAMS and the sport itself and not that of any other manufactuer… so to me, i doesn’t matter eitherway.
Did you watch ‘RPM’ today – seems like sponsorship and the otherall confidance is not as strong as you believe. The report was somewhat ’sombre’ in the future direction of the V8SC – Ford in particular.
Anyway, i have nothing to prove because i couldn’t be happier with Toyota’s 1/2 yearly results with strong sales, huge reported profits, strong future directions and ‘you-beau’t results in the various motorsport events Toyota now contests around the world.
OH WHAT A WARM AND FUZZY FEELING
So what is it Dingo Do you or don’t you want Toyota to enter V8 Supercars..?
You say you do because you believe there supposed technical superiority will enable them to dominate the race..Then you don’t because you believe the sport has too many regulations
Its almost as if you want them to enter but only as long as its on their terms.. you can’t take it both ways
As I have said before all major forms of motorsport have a set of criteria rules and regulations which must be met by those wishing to compete. I mean Toyota were willing to accept the F1 terms etc therefore; why should V8s make any changes [specifically] for them either?
If the Teams or Manufacturers had more of a say in the way the sport was run… there is no way the sport would succeed because you would have a scenario where for example
Holden wanted to run Supercharged V8s… Ford wanting to run Turbo 6cyls and Toyota wanting to run Hybrids
They would never be able to agree on any of the rules or anything else for that matter
Sure they can make suggestions or proposals etc in relation to rule changes however they shouldn’t have the final say – it would be like the inmates running the assylum
You need an impartial governing body which makes decisions based purely on what’s good for the sport. ATM there is nothing wrong with the sport as we’ve got the closest competition in years with different winners/champions etc so why would AVESCO make any major changes
All I can say is that if the Aurion was RWD instead of a face-lifted Camry it probably would have been more appealing to real [performance] car enthusiasts as it would be able to handle more power and take on a wider range of competitors.
You cant realistically compare the FWD Auron to the RWD Falcon or Commodore as their platform and layout has a major influence on their performance and handling etc.. Yet YOU and other Toyo-philes do…. the same way you compare the TRD Hilux 4×4 Crew Cab Ute against the Maloo….and the Yaris against the Koenigsiegg
Lets assume that V8 Supercars didn’t have as many regulations as they do… [Hypothetically/Theoretically]
you would have an Aurion with the engine fromn the Extreme Dragster
Yet Ford could use the engine from a Koenigsiegg [which is based on a Mustang block] and Holden could have a 1000Kw Supercharged V8 as used in the CAPA Drifter…. both of which would still out run and out perform your Aurion
However; if the changes meant the use of 6 cylinder engines
Ford and Holden could bolt turbos on to their engines both of which produce 300Kw+ more power than a TRD Aurion
Quote [Dingo]: As far as i am concerned, any manufactuer who may sit down at the negotiating table will be there for thier own benefit and not for the sport itself and if they are not happy then they will equally ‘get up’ and ‘leave’.
I agree but you need a mediator someone to assess the situation and try to workout a solution that is acceptable to all those involved – because without the manufacturers without the cars and without the fans there is no sport….
that’s where AVESCO and TEGA come in
and ATM its working well
I also agree that IF support of the V8s starts to dwindle then maybe they may have to make some slight changes to ensure survival but they would be mad to introduce a completely new range of rules and regulations to suit one particular marque – there will always be a need for compromise a bit of give and take…. because as you said if one company believes they’re interests are being ignored they will walk away
I wouldn’t be surprised that in a couple of years [2012]when Ford and Holden introduce their next generation V6 engines If AVESCO introduce a V6 Supercar series..
I mean not only will it contine the traditional Ford Holden rivalry; but both engines will be about the same capacity and produce the same amount of power plus the new more compact cars which will feature these new engines [such as the [TT-36 Torana] could be RWD FWD or AWD
Quote [Dingo]: Lets not talk Aurion against the Commodore and Falcon because we all understand it is a great car. Just won more awards in the latest round of Gold Star Awards….
So You finally admit it… The Commodore and the Falcon are great cars
And which car won the Award – was it the Commodore or the Falcon?
Aurion has one the past two years of Large Car of the Year… its engine is derived from the same engine which was in Wards 10 engines of the year… its sold throughout the world. Hmmm I wander which vehicle is more distinguished.
Your arguments are plain and simply…FLOORED to the ground.
TP generating a humane argument is plain and simply….. FLOORED to death.
More Toyocrap in the roads well good for Toyocrap.
Another good weekend of motorsport for Toyota which has positioned them strong in the manufactuers standings :
* F1 … 4th
* NASCAR – Sprint Cup … 1st
– Nationwide … 1st
– Craftsman Trucks … 2nd
* Australian Rally Championship (ARC) … 1st
Wheelnut – driving home from work this morning i was keenly listening to the radio of which the main topic was about Ford abandoning support from most of the teams.
The responses were from many disgruntled fans critising Ford for dumping Dick Johnson who has been loyal to the ‘Blue Oval’ for many years and of course the triple 8 team.
Judging by the responses, not a good PR move by Ford especially with the release of the FG.
Should be interesting to see how Ford’s fortunes and the V8 Supercar Series develope over the next couple of years … mmm
Ford are reducing funding to the V8s and putting more into other categories such as the ARC…. BUT at least Ford are maintaining some kind of presence in a sport that they are dominating unlike Toyota who pulled out of the WRC [factory backed teams] all together when they were at top of the tree – inorder to become an also ran in F1
Its not a good PR move by Ford…
However; I doubt very few of those disgrunlted Ford Fans who were thinking of buying a new FG XR6 or XR8 will look at an Aurion etc. Because the majority of them would be real car enthusiasts who love their RWD V8s.
Therefore; I’d say they will probably do what was once the unthinkable and look more closely at a Holden SS
Particularly considering that’s what DJR [and 888] are also looking at doing next year
I understand that Roland Dane [888] is reportedly in talks with Holden and Toyota. Yet under the current rules and those proposed for next year it would be impossible for him to race an Aurion as the criteria still requires the cars to be Aussie Built RWD Large Family Sedans with a
5.0 Litre V8 producing 620Bhp.
TP The Commodore is also sold overseas where it has won a number of awards not to mention received rave reviews from some of the worlds most recognised/respected motoring journalists – not only for the way it performs but its simplicity; the level of specifications; value for money; and its build quality.
which could be the reason why it was nominated for International Car of the Year a couple of years ago – Unlike the Aurion.
The Engine in teh Aurion may be an outstanding High Tech engine but from what I’ve read its only used in the Aurion/Camry.
Whereas the Engine in the Commodore is used in a range of other GM performance Cars which have also won awards.
And if you’ve got a car with such a engine [or any other component] that works well it makes sense to use the same technology in other cars instead of building a range of parts etc specific to one particular model.
^Couldn’t have said it better myself Wheelnut! :D
Well Toyota maybe doing ok here but in the US not so good ,looks like Toyota have started falling back down the ladder and with the US economy not about to pull out of a recession too soon jobs are about to be lost I say!
This from Auto blog
“Toyota posted a 10% sales decline for its bread-and-butter brand of over the month of June, with numbers that are even worse — an 11.5% drop — when the Scion and Lexus brands are added into the equation. In response to these very un-Toyota-like sales declines, the automaker is now revamping its vehicle production in the States. Though it has already introduced measures to slow the production of full-size Tundra trucks and Sequoia SUVs, reports indicate the further cuts will be made at the San Antonio truck plant. The Indiana plant, which also produces Tundras, will see workers transferred to other lines where more popular vehicles are assembled. Even plants in Japan that export vehicles to the U.S. could be affected. Toyota is hardly used to seeing double-digit drops in sales in the U.S., so it will be interesting to see how the giant Japanese automaker responds in the months to come.”
That’s right Babe particularly as the USA is the world’s biggest and most competitive Car market…
When The US economy sneezes the rest of the world catches a Cold
Toyota USA could be forced to follow GM and Ford who recently:
closed 4-6 plants which were operating at less than 60% and move production to a plant in another state which was not only operating at less than full capacity but also building the same/similar vehicles
As well as putting a couple of future projects on ice not to mention streamlining their range of veihcles by axing a few existing model Trucks/SUVs in favour of more compact vehicles – the Pontiac G8 Sports Truck for example
Both of Which Dingo criticised them for doing no less than3 months ago.
Bavarian – Any manufactuer who sells large SUV’s and Trucks in the US are unfortunately gonna suffer from sales loss due to the slowing US economy, Toyota included.
However, Toyota is growing in other markets such as Russia, China, India, Europe not to mention setting new records in less populated countries such as Australia and Canada.
Any well organised and managed corporation such as Toyota will adjust thier operations to suit the times but unlike General Motors, Ford and Crysler – they have a strong, stable, wealthy, organised and well managed organisation that will support Toyota in the changing environment.
In the past 9 consecative years, Toyota has reported mass multi-billion dollar profits and in the last 7 consecative years, nothing less then $15 Billion with the latest FISCAL reporting period of 2007/ 2008 being $16.7 Billion.
However, due to the declining market in the US and current projects, Toyota’s has revised their current FISCAL period of about $12 Billion which will be less then the last 7 consecative years but still a very strong return none-the-less which equates to a $1 Billion dollar profit per month.
Ford is will not be so fortunate and although they returned a modest $100 million for the latest FISCAL period, they have revised thier earnings for the next 3 years as losses while GM has encountered new lows and now looking for $15 Billion just see satisfy current operations until the end of 2009 not to mention becuase thier share value has plummeted to an all time low sense 1954 (or was that 1956) fears have been raised about the eventual possibility of filing for Bankruptcy Protection.
So, YES … Toyota have some concerns regarding the declining US market however thier strong corporate wealth, continued profit (and projection albeit less), stability and efficiency will ensure a very strong Toyota during economic change while GM, Ford and Crysler will be hit even harder then they have in the past couple of years alone which has already taken a mass toll on them all before going into even more dire times.
So now you have the full story and not part of.
Wheelnut – good move from Toyota to withdraw from the WRC and reallocate thier resources to F1.
Although F1 has been challenging, Toyota has certainly been returning much better results this year on the back of a stronger, more confident team and greater development and i am confident they will continue to move forward. After the latest race at Silverton in the rain, Toyota has now moved to 4th position … CONGRATS TOYOTA.
As much as i respect WRC, i believe F1 will be far more beneficial for the Toyota in not only in competing in the pinnacle of automotive engineering but the experiance gained is invaluable in future development of thier cars.
That said, thanks to our very own Australian Rally Championships (ARC), Toyota very much still has a presance in rally racing and a dominate presance at that thanks to Neal Bates, Simon Evans and the TRD Australia Team.
Personally, i like Toyota’s current participation in the various motorpsort around the world (F1, NASCAR, Japanase GT, ARC (and other rally events), Drag Racing (USA & Aust) and so forth which is why i hope Toyota reserve themselves from entering the V8SC at this stage as they really don’t it.
As for Ford investing more into their team in ARC, great move as i am a big follower/supporter of the Australian Rally Championship and have been delighted with an increase in teams (manufactuers), sponsors, spectators, TV coverage and so forth. It is our own Rally Championship and i believe we should all get behind it and Ford’s additional funding towards thier team is welcomed.
Toyota has dominated the cahmpionship for awhile winning the manufactuers title in 2006 & 2007 and no-doubt the 2008 season but it will be good to see Toyota loss some races in favour of other teams as it will good for the sport.
You don’t have critism from me with Ford withdrawing some investment from the V8SC and placing added support in the thier ARC operation becuase i much prefer ARC then the V8SC.
Wheelnut – you really surprised me with your statement that Toyota only uses the 3.5 V6 (2GR-FE) in the Camry/Aurion … i really thought your knowledge would have extended much further.
The 2GR-FE infact powers many different Toyota models while Lexus utilise the same engine albiet with Direct Injection (DI).
In Toyota application – it produces about 200kw/340nm and powers the Camry/Aurion, Corolla Blade/Master G, RAV4 V6, Kluger/Hylander and Tarago models throughout the world
With DI as used by Lexus – it produces about 230kw/370nm and powers the IS350, RX350, GS350, ES350 and the upcoming RX450hl.
As you aware, TRD Australia has now supercharged the 2GR-FE which powers the TRD Aurion and now supplied to Bolwell Nagari which are tuned for greater output.
Ooops … nearly forgot, the 2GR-FE is now to supplied to Lotus as the article on this site indicated only a few days ago.
TRD Australia has also fitted the 2GR-FE in Peter Kittle’s TRD Buggy whom competes in the ‘Australian Off-Road Championship’ (AORC) and becuase of lessons learned here, TRD is now considering developing a Drag Racing version of it to replace the current 3.2 L6 Supra engine in Tony Wedlocks TRD Aurion Drag Car.
So … as you can see, the 3.5 V6 (2GR-FE) is used extensively in Toyota and Lexus models throughout the world (and others as mentioned) and can be found in Regular, Direct Injected, Supercharged and Racing derivatives. .
Oh yeah – the fact that the engine is now used in performance models (Corolla Blade/Master G, TRD Aurion, Bolwell Nagari, Lotus) and racing derivatives (TRD Road Racing Aurion, Peter Kittle) is testiomy to the strength and development of the engine.
So there you have it … a history lesson on the Toyota 3.5 V6 (2GR-FE) donk.
Cheers
ps. please don’t ever use Commodore and Quality in the same sentance.
Quote [Dingo]: As much as i respect WRC, i believe F1 will be far more beneficial for the Toyota in not only in competing in the pinnacle of automotive engineering but the experiance gained is invaluable in future development of thier cars.
From what I can gather basically the only real thing that has made its way into normal road cars from F1 is the flappy pasddle gearbox
whereas WRC havs given us AWD; Turbos; ABS; ESP; Traction Control; because its easier to transfer such things over to a road car from a WRC car than it is an F1 car
And by competing in WRC; car companies can get much more relevant data in terms of performance and safety etc as well as a better Idea how their road cars will go in a crash than they could in F1 Because the WRC cars are actually based on real production cars
Quote [Dingo] ps. please don’t ever use Commodore and Quality in the same sentance.
only if you don’t uise the words Toyota performance or passion in the same sentEnce
Ooops … forget – the 2GR-FE also powers the Avalon sold in America (and Canada, i thinks !!).
ps. The Commodore was nominated by our boys (Wheels i believe) for World Car Of The Year and got no-where
Wheelnut – F1 is the pinnacle of all automotive engineering and the lesson gained in engine development, performance, aerodynamics and so forth is invaluable especially now that Lexus is developing high performance machines such as the upcoming ‘F’ series not to mention the global recognition (marketing) for such participation.
Don’t forget that Toyota dominated WRC for several years before they opted out in favour of F1 development while TRD Australia very much keeps those rally expertise intact with thier ARC Team of which Neal Bates and Simon Evans are integral members
Oh yeah – Toyota has much more passion then the Commodore has quality.
Anyway, back to bed for me as i am between nightshifts, I shall return some comments tonight if i get enough time.
^Thats a joke! Holden has not go the best quality (I agree) but there got more of it then Toyota do with passion! Toyota has passion, year right!
“Anyway, back to bed for me as i am between nightshifts, I shall return some comments tonight if i get enough time.”
If you do nightshift you don’t keep going on the computer and start righting “Toyota based” comments on CarAdvice. Sleep is important for nightshift Dingo, so go back to bed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If Dingo says he’s doing nightshift he should not be making some comments for a while……………………will have to wait.
Dingo my point was not that how GM or Ford were doing but that Toyota is falling down the ladder in the US,does it matter the reason its happening ,there will be jobs lost in the US and maybe Japan because of it,doesn\’t this show you as big as Toyota are there not infallible or repellent to what is happening to everyone else in the automotive manufacturing side of things.
Regarding F1 Toyota have failed miserably in F1 since they joined 6 years ago ,I mean they are yet to win a race yet though they continue to throw money at it,I feel 2009 will be their last season in FI as they mentioned at the beginning of the year if they didn\’t improve Toyota would pull the pin,you say Toyota currently run 4th ,maybe but at 25 points to 96 with Ferrari there not close to the front contenders. Toyota are in F1 for sales only and if the money they invest in it doesn\’t reflect on its profits F1is gone too for them!
Toyota in drag racing is hardly worth mentioning when the\’re only 3-4 cars in its class in Australia,they pick their fights well dont they!
If Toyota has more passion than Holden does quality then given that Toyota started in 1958 and Holden back in 1948.. tell me how many old Toyotas do you see on the roads [that were built after 1958] compared to Holdens?
There are easily far more Holdens which indicates that compared to Toyota the old Holdens [and Fords] are relatively more reliable – yet if there is a problem they’re easier to fix.
My point being that if you are passionate about making something you build it to last.. look at the attention to detail and craftsmanshipthat went into an antique piece of furniture or an old building…. that’s passion
Not only that but [overall] the design of a Toyota generally ages much quicker than a Holden from the same year.
And the fact that there are more Old Ford and Holdens still going means that there are more people wanting to do them up and restore them because of their classic designs etc..
I mean there aren’t that many Toyotas [old or new] at the National Motor Museum at Birdwood; Adelaide Hills either
Old Fords and Holdens are also more desirable to collectors than Toyotas – I am yet to see a 1970s Celica reach over $500K at Auction.. maybe if they had a bit more Australian racing heritage or history!
So I guess people are more Passionate about Ford and Holden than Toyota too – particularly when you look at the work that goes into some of the Ford/Holden Strreet machines you see at car shows
Bavarian Missile – i disagree.
Markets and economies are in constant change and has always been like that and always will be, it’s the natural evolution of global economies.
Any organisation (or individual) in business wether it be a local or a multi-national corporation exhibit understanding of this natural evolution and if savvy enough (as Toyota has demonstrated) will exhibit the necessary skills and market foresight to move and evolve with the ever changing markets.
Agree, i believe some jobs losses will come about in the US however i reserve comment the same will happen in Japan as Toyota’s Operation in the ‘Land Of The Rising Sun’ are currently stretched at the brink keeping up with the growing demand from other global markets of which Toyota is developing such as China, India, Russia and even Europe.
Toyota is positioned in a very powerful, stable, strong and lucrative position to move with the times althought some moments can pose greater challengens then others.
To be honest, the such rapid decline in the US market has caught many automotive manufactuers off-guard as they probably estimated a less rapid decline.
As for F1, i completely disagree.
Toyota HQ passed comment that if their F1 operation didn’t improve by the end of the 2009 season they will consider pulling the pin and the operation has responded to the challenge and done just that. At midway through the 2008 season, Toyota has managed to not only nearly triple thier entire 2007 season points tally but have risen to 4th in the manufactuers standing.
If you would bother to take the time and read the articles that are often published on Toyota’s official F1 Website, they are not currently focused on chasing the ‘big guns’ but cement themselves as the ‘Best Of The Rest’ which is 4th position and this attention will be carried into the 2009 season before moving further forward.
Toyota is happy with thier much improved performance this year todate althought alot of hard work remains and nodoubt Toyota’s F1 team will continue to rise to the challenges of which just happens to breed good racing teams.
F1 is the pinnacle of all automotive engineering and when you challenge the big guns whom have been involved in such motor racing for years upon years (Farrari sense day 1), wins are never gonna come easy.
Take Reanult for example – domianted F1 about 2 years back for a couple of years but were in the sport at different levels for nearly 20 years before they rose to the top.
Eitherway, participation alone in the pinnacle of all motorsport is an expression of automotive engineering excellance ‘within it’s self’ not to mention being able to rise to the challenge and secure 4th on the standings brings invaulable experiance that simple can not be replicated anywhere else.
As for picking thier fights … what pure and utter rot – F1 and NASCAR are arguably the most competitive motorsport in the world today (not to mention WRC) while Japanese Motorsport is nothing to be sneezed at either.
It is infact Holden and Ford whom have chosen thier fights by keeping everybody else out of V8SC ever sense thier embarrassing losses to Nissan all those years ago.
Toyota has infact been one company to rise to the challenges of some of the most competitive and hard fought motorsport in recent years of which F1 being the best example of all while Toyota is certainly making thier presance be felt in all 3 series of NASCAR. Infact, they are leading the NASCAR Series !!
Have you everthought for a few minutess that Toyota’s participation in F1 has helped them to increase thier global sales …. probably not !!
Make no mistake of it – Toyota has the corporate structure to support thier F1 operation, they just want more return and this year so far they have received exactly that which is making the team stronger.
Toyota F1 will not be going anywhere. Infact, i believe they will only grow and become more competitive with continued exposure and development and right now, hard racing is doing the team good.
Wheelnut : who cares about yester-years, we live today and into the future.
Holden and Ford can no longer rest on thier historical past as generations have long moved on and will continue to do so. What you make TODAY is what people buy.
Part of the raesons for the mudhole GM and Ford have found themselves in is becuase they relied to heavily on past and forget about the present.
As for quality and Holden … please dude, don’t insult me – nothing ages with less dignity or grace then a Holden. They do not age well … PERIOD !!