Comments on: Toyota’s president to be replaced

By: Wheelnut

Wheelnut — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 06:26:59 +0000

Yeah – the thing is when a Family member or relative is in charge of a company which bears the Family name they can become so focussed on trying to up hold the reputaton of not only the Company but also the Family that they become ultra-conservative..
They aren’t prepared [as their rivals are] to take as many risks or undertake research and development into ways which could possibly improve their cars and their image.. they simply rest on their laurels.
As a result they can end up behind the 8 ball not to mention behind the competition and have to spend millions/billions trying to regain their position etc

However; it looks as though Toyotaare willing to take risks as they have just committed themselves to F1 for at least another 5 years.. Which is commendable given the current economic climate etc. They are willing to waste even more money whilst continuing to be nothing more than an also ran – behind Ferrari McLaren and BMW

By: Reckless1

Reckless1 — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 23:59:07 +0000

Looks like disaster looming for Toyota.

Check out a few other Company performances when the Family Member runs the show
such as
Ford
Packer

probably many others

By: pious

pious — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 23:25:38 +0000

This seemed inevitable, when he recently said (when reporting on the manufacturing shutdown due to bad US sales that he (emphasis on the HE) hadnt forseen the extent of the economic slowdown. He has committed the proverbial sepukku for the good of the company, whether he was going to be reshuffled or not. A bit different from the finger pointing and blame shifting you tend to see in Oz business.

By: James

James — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 21:13:52 +0000

also just a comment on the Supra and Skyline rivalry…

Big fan of japanese sports performance cars… and as tough and powerful the previous Supra… Skyline GTR has always been a rung above it…

The Supra was also releatively cheaper than the GTR in every model released… Supra’s main competition price and performance wise were the RX-7, GTO, Fairlady… and usually were favourites for high end tuning due to its legendary tough engine… the RX-7 however were prefered for drifting for its smaller chassis and lighter weight…

Not accounting the 4WD turbo sedans (EVO and WRX, Caldina, GT4s etc)
the hierarchy of Japanese performance usually.. (tuning/racing wise)

[1] First tier: NSX and GTR
[2] 2nd tier: Supra, RX7
[3] 3rd tier: Sylvia, Fairlady, MR2 GT, GTO,
[4] 4th tier: Type R (Civic),

Im not entirely correct its been a while, but usually when people race in Japan they match up to the above tiers approximately…

Supra’s engine however allowed it to withstand some of the highest tuning/modifications without replacing stock engine parts (pistons, cam shafts etc).

Usually, people can spend the same amount of money on a Supra to match the price of a Skyline GTR… to make it relatively even in terms of value… and the Supra would tear it apart in power output and such…

By: James

James — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 21:03:53 +0000

Prior to the economic slow down which has occured in the last 5 months… in terms of commerical impact.

Toyota were breaking records after records and gained number 1 status under Watanabe…

Watanabe is getting replaced because of multiple reasons… NOT just because of Toyota’s first ever operating loss which again as stated occured all in the last 6 months. Toyota usually has top shelf management shuffling…. every 3-4 years….

By: WVB

WVB — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 20:22:51 +0000

japanese pride is a powerful thing but to fall on your own samurai that’s a different matter.
……or maybe he was pushed?
Either way, I’m surprised he didn’t jump before the headline broke.

By: Dont Be Sour Grapes

Dont Be Sour Grapes — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 13:06:45 +0000

Please bring back the Supra. Thank you. That is all.

By: Minnow

Minnow — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 12:49:38 +0000

This new dude looks a little younger than the balding accountant looking japanese version of howard, he replaces. Hopefully he gets toyota making some interesting cars as people have said earlier. I dont think this is in response to their first loss in 70 years, in 2005 toyota replaced the president so it might be a new president every 3 years just to make sure they dont get too comfy in their job and start getting slack and to keep things fresh, through new ideas and innovation.. not mention tradition of having a family member as the CEO.

By: Sexythang

Sexythang — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 11:29:10 +0000

the supra was a good sportscar. but not as good as the gtr in its time. even the current ferrari price tagged toyota LFA cant beat the GTR….there is no way a cheaper FTHS or supra replacement can beat the GTR

is toyota supposed to be immune to an economic slow down? cant blame it all on watanabe

By: Wheelnut

Wheelnut — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 11:02:02 +0000

I reas about this on another auto website – and it said that Toyoda apparently has a passion for performance cars which could mean that the next generation Supra could actually make it into production.

The Supra was an awesome sports car however for some reason it was axed [probably something to do with their F1 dreams] this meant that the GT-R became the “king” of Japanese sports coupes and since then Nissan have continued to lift the bar in terms of performance etc..
So it will have to be something really special inorder to beat the New GT-R.