“Politicians and pundits always like simple answers. Unfortunately simple answers, as appealing as they are, are usually wrong. Life is inherently messy and complicated, which is something die-hard conservatives and liberal politicians never seem to understand.” Uh, OK. That’s the coda to an article by Joseph Szcesny. ToMoCo’s rise the top of the global pile and Detroit’s plummet into the depths of bankruptcy (in all but name) inspired the Oakland Press scribe to chastise all and sundry on a mid-winter Sunday. Be that as it may, it’s certainly true that “Toyota Motor Corp. is very likely to replace General Motors Corp. as the world’s largest automaker next month once all the sales for the 2008 are finally totaled up by both companies. Toyota is also expected to emerge for the first as the best selling brand in the U.S. for the first time ever, beating out both Chevrolet and Ford.” In fact, on the world stage, this is a repeat performance. Last year, GM used weasel words to cast aspersions on Toyota’s claim to the world’s largest automaker crown (GM added a minority joint venture in China to their global totals). At the time, GM CEO Rick Wagoner said the title wasn’t important; profits were. You can almost hear Red Ink Rick’s Szcesny-like refrain. Hey! Life’s complicated.
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Well, you know the reason Toyota sells the most cars? They’re appliances, every single one. Every Toyota is a passionless, soulless, A to B machine. Look at their lineup, the Supra-dead, the Celica-dead, the MR2-dead, the Corolla and Matrix XRS-the XRS was a sporty sedan/hatch, with a screaming little engine. This is a compact with recalibrated steering, Independent rear suspension, and a Camry engine: whoo-friggin-hoo.
The funky xB, a fatass hatchback. At least every other major company has something unique, sporty, stylish, fun. Toyota’s most exciting model is the supercharged Aurion (Camry) in Australia, and the indestructable european Hilux. That’s it. Everything else, white goods.
@ Rev Junkie
So what? It would seem the greater majority of people like reliable, well made goods to handle their needs. A wise choice.
Appealing to THAT market seems an excellent business model to me.
(I do miss the Supra and the Celica GT4 however).
Still far short of GM in the US. By a million units perhaps?
But Toyota’s strategy seems rather simple compared to GM’s. Just say’n.
Even if GM becomes the world’s second biggest car company it still won’t completely die. Now if GM were the 5th ranked car company that would be a different story. That is why Chrysler is in so much trouble.
The reason GM will never die in our lifetime is for the simple fact the company is too ingrained into the American economy. No politician, not even Bush, will let a company as large as GM die. No administration wants to let GM die under their watch and be responsible for the next depression.
Even though it is not realistic, I still enjoy the GM death watch series because it does illustrate valid criticism of GM’s current plight.
Nobody here, or anywhere else really believes GM is going to die. Sure there will be a great deal of suffering, but ultimately GM will not die.
GM may be destined to live forever in mediocrity. That in itself is a tragedy.
Who knows maybe in 50 years there will be another GM death watch.
Toyota is the grilled chicken breast of the automotive world. Nobody says “it’s my favorite” but then again nobody says “I hate it.” Chicken breast is a good consensus choice. And so is Toyota. When you don’t have the time and energy to think about the menu, you just order the chicken.
The sad truth (for the enthusiasts) is that bland is what most people like, and bland + reliable is a pretty tough formula to beat. A lot of the US–and a lot of the world–is just really happy that Toyota delivers the goods.
Toyota’s wholehearted embrace of the bland mainstream also led the company to bet too heavily on big pickups and SUVs, much to its current dismay. But in the long run, I suspect that will look like a brief setback, not a major blunder.
Well, did they bet too heavily on pickups and SUVs? They are the biggest car maker in the world now, it makes sense for them to enter the pickup market. Granted, the timing was f’ing awful ion hindsight, but I don’t think a car company bet too heavily on pickups and SUVs if they weren’t relying on those sales so heavily that they were force feeding their fuel efficient cars to balance their CAFE mileage.
I rather doubt the $ they’ve made on their SUVS during the boom will be seriously dented by the money to lose while they adjust to the new market demand for SUVS.
They’re not all appliances, just most of them. The Taco stands out as something special for me. Having driven some of the latest full sized domestic stuff (the GM sales guy wouldn’t let me drive a GMT900. ???), and having tested the Frontier and the Dorge Dakota (hey, they were paying me to take it…), no other body-on-frame vehicle had “it” like the Toyota. Just plain fun and satisfying to drive. I tried a Yamaha/TRD SE with the 6 and an auto trans.
However, Pete is right about peoples needs and desires.
A guy on a private car board I’m a member of runs monkey wrench racing, for those fans of the late model ‘yota sports cars. He’s got some brutal stuff kicking around. Just sound here, and some alleged record… 8)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82U0XPXTqAk
Viva Toyota, and their old, discontinued “sports cars”
Old news, old story. The horse is dead; let’s move on, shall we?
Don’t forget that Toyota is down 30% in sales, and that their CEO is unexpectedly “retiring” to become Chairman.
Toyota is kind of in the same position Chevy was, in around 1972 or so. Which is the year Dan Neil says the decline of Detroit began.
Chuckle.
Are Toyota cars about as exciting as your fridge?
Yup, the are.
But they also will keep one runnin’ as long, or longer than your fridge, too.
Toyota has lost sales in the Bush meltdown, something like 30% but the General has seen 43% losses, which is why Toyota has taken the sales lead. GM loses $39,000,000,000 (wow, that’s a lot of zeros) in a year and Wagoner makes $45,000,000. Toyota posts its first ever loss (1/39th that of GM, despite sales losses) and the CEO is booted upstairs in disgrace. Failure is not rewarded in Japan like it is in America.
I worked in Japan for several years and I understand the philosophy that goes into Toyota products: nothing flashy, nothing that stands out, just the best value for money they can produce.
People love calling TOMOCO appliance maker, Wonder LEXUS is their brand too. They also as Bland As the corolla’s??
Jeez. Where has this guy been? Under the Plymouth rock?
– GM had beaten Toyota in 2007 by cooking the boks, as mentioned.
– At halftime 2008, Toyota had solidly trounced GM.
– The numbers are worldwide. In no way had Toyota lost 30% in sales worldwide in 2008. They lowered their worldwide vehicle sales forecast for the fiscal year to 7.54 million vehicles, from 8.9 million vehicles in the year before. Their fiscal goes April to March. The worldwide sales numbers are tallied for the calendar year. A few days ago, Toyota said they expect to sell 8.9 million again in the calendar year 2008.
– What about “beating out both Chevrolet and Ford?” Volkswagen had bypassed Ford at halftime 2008, and has been calling itself the world’s third largest automaker since summer. Volkswagen also maintains that their 2008 sales will come in as flat, if not slightly higher than 2007. The way the numbers currently stand, both Toyota and VW will solidify their positions, when the fat lady at OICA sings her aria of the dreadful auto sales. Next year will get really interesting.
– And I love it when people who may not even own a passport rant about foreign currencies. “For the year that ended in March, 2008, the yen averaged 114 to the dollar. In recent weeks the yen-dollar dipped below 90 and into the high 80s, which is probably where it belongs.” He should come to Tokyo. Sit in a taxi. Be driven a few miles. When he asks “and how much is that in real money?” he’ll die from a heart attack. The price of a movie ticket was – last time I want to a movie in Tokyo – 1800 Yen. Would the dear Sir think that $22.50 for a movie ticket is a bargaign?
Everything else, white goods.
Most people see their cars as just that: “white goods”. They see them the same they see a refrigerator or a washing machine. As long as it takes them from point A to B safely, comfortably and with the least amount of mechanical drama possible, they’re all set. Enthusiasts are a thin breed and we normally detest cars as white goods, but that’s what the majority of people want.
Toyota is just pragmatic in that regard. Whatever DOESN’T MAKE THEM MONEY, they drop. Period. When the MR2, Supra and Celica proved themselves money-losing affairs, they got shitcanned. Toyota cares less about having performance cars in their lineup because they don’t need them. Because the demand and justifiable revenue stream isn’t there. And because those cars aren’t the company’s halo — the Camry is (or the Prius, depending on the viewpoint).
Toyota built up a rep for selling reliable white goods, while the big 3 squandered their opportunities by engaging in short-term thinking that left them way behind and deep in the thick of trouble down the road. Upper management couldn’t see the forest of Corollas for the big-arse tree of instant profit.
The price of a movie ticket was – last time I want to a movie in Tokyo – 1800 Yen. Would the dear Sir think that $22.50 for a movie ticket is a bargaign?
$22 bucks? Admission to the local high-end theater starts out at $12. Add on drinks and popcorn, and assuming it’s just for one person, I’d say a night out at the movies runs you about $25 to $35 bucks, if not more. These days, Netflix and Blockbuster are my friends.
People want to be able to get to work every day to earn money to pay their bills, to drive their family to church and the mall and the park reliably, in any kind of weather, year after year.
When companies can deliver a car that does this, they’re successful. When they cannot do so, they’re unsuccessful. This is probably rule #1 in the automotive consumer product world- look around who is successful and isn’t in delivering this, and then look at the long term trends of their financials.
Anything else is gravy. A boring appliance driven efficiently mile after mile, year after year, by a competent driver has more soul, more passion, than a hot rod driven by a hot dog that gets to the next red light and stops, or weaves in and out of freeway traffic but makes no real forward progress.
Once you have the appliance, you can afford the toy. And for ultimate thrills in a toy, why mess around with 4 wheels anyway? Once you’re on 2 wheels, anything at all in 4 wheels feels like an appliance (this is a trolling comment, meant to be controversial and elicit response, but in the end no biggy either way, all in the spirit of fun, it’s all good, and that’s a fact).
Don’t you mean, “America’s Most Popular Bland”
To those who say all car companies are equally hurting is just nuts. Toyota will lose less % units than any of the domestics and thus hike their market share. (remember Farago saying you can’t shrink yourself back to number one) More important than last years sales will be the total viability of the respective companies. Toyota will lose in a year what GM lost in a month, but that’s only part of the story. With their low debt loads and cash reserves, they are poised to finish off the domestic competition. How? You simply build your bland, vanilla, solid, cars just a little better, by not cancelling developement. After another two years of this (with 30 years of falling behind already logged in by the big three), the buying public will see the toyota looking chevy’s as well quaint. This is a game of relentlessly moving targets (if you are Japanese and some German companies) against the status quo if you are an American company. The domestics cannot improve, advertise, and market all of their stuff with each under 20% of the market. not withstanding the franchise laws for dealers and union contracts which want to suspend the laws of physics. A falling object will keep accelerating downward etc. Why do bland (toyotas) sell? Buyers tend to get comfortable with the no big surprise auto company. The cars always run, are reasonably modern in design if not style, and will be tradeable with a real residual value in the end. If only GM and Ford could be so boring.
Every Toyota is a passionless, soulless, A to B machine.
Toyota owners are among some of the most enthusiastic car owners I know. Most of them aren’t enthusiasts of the sort who you find on car forums. But they are fond of the cars, devoted to the brand, and actively encourage others to buy them. Not only do they not feel as if they are compromising anything, they wonder why you are.
Gearheads often overestimate the value of their own worldview. Many don’t seem to appreciate that there is more than one approach to liking automobiles.
Toyota didn’t read the tea leaves any better than the folks in Detroit did and they’ve got to make some serious adjustments to be in a position to be competitive in the future.
Even if they were the top-selling brand in 2008, next year is going to see some big changes in the automotive industry and Toyota could find themselves scrabbling around in the dirt with Ford and GM looking for crumbs while the Chinese makes have a sales bonanza – because they had the right vehicles at the right time.