Toyota Motor Corp. is expected to report a group operating profit of about 100 billion yen ($1.14b) for the April-June period, The Nikkei [sub]. That would be a huge improvement over the same quarter loss of 194.8 billion yen ($2.23b) in 2009. In case you are wondering about the strange quarters: Japan goes by the fiscal year that ends on March 31. The April-June period is the first quarter of the new year, and times are good at TMC. Read More >

As we roll along towards tomorrow’s social-media-focused reveal of the 2011 Explorer, I thought we’d take one last time to discuss the old trucks and their general merits. It’s possible to argue that the Explorer has provided quality transport for millions of American families; it’s also possible to cast the vehicle in the role of villain, with its victims being those same families, the environment, and the shape of the American auto market.

I’ll make both arguments below, and then I’d like to hear your opinion.

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During the 1970’s and 1980’s everyone (mainly, the United States) thought that Japan would rule the world, economically speaking. At its peak, the Nikkei Dow stood at 38,957.44. Brands like “Zenith” and “RCA” made way for new brands like “Sony” and “Panasonic”. General Motors feared Japanese cars so much, they set up “Saturn” to fight them off. The UK government flirted with Toyota, Honda and Nissan to build their factories in the UK. Yep, the Japanese were the original rising dragon. Then came the 1990’s, and it all imploded. Since then, Japan was never quite the same. They were still strong, but manageable. While Japan got cut down to size, their car industry stayed strong. They still carried on taking market share in North America away from the domestics. Despite the Japanese prospering in North America, it wasn’t reciprocal. American car makers, and, indeed, many of our B&B, believe that Japan has a closed car market and has tariffs on imported cars. Our resident German has talked about the subject many times and successfully managed not to have an aneurysm over it (though he may have turned to drink) [ED: He did not.] Well, if Japan does have a closed car market, nobody told Ford. Read More >

Carquestions is at it again, digging into the businesses of vocal Toyota critic Sean Kane, and finding that he may just be selling NHTSA data that has been recalled due to rampant privacy abuses.

The 1995 Explorer gave me a real taste of what it must be like to be an “order-taker” at a Honda or Toyota dealership. Customers drove up, took whatever we had on the lot, and paid sticker without complaining. We were perennially short on inventory, which of course didn’t keep my flamboyant General Manager from reserving one for his personal use.

Glenn, the GM in question, liked to have things just so. Once every two or three months, he ordered a white Explorer XLT 945A with a few extra options. As soon as his new one showed up, we had to sell his old one. It was a system that worked very well; since Glenn’s demo was the only Explorer on which we offered any real discount, it was a quick sale.

Several Explorers back, Glenn’s personal whip had been involved in a mild fender-bender and had been shuttled off to the body shop. It was placed on the back burner because it was an “in-house” deal, but when it returned, we all marveled at how perfectly it had been repaired. It looked like a brand-new 1994 Explorer.

Which it was.

And it returned to us in January of 1995, in the middle of a monster snowstorm.

Did I mention it was two-wheel-drive?

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An anonymous Toyota Tech sent us these recent images of a 2008 Prius and its highly questionable pedal-floormat interface. Did nobody tell this guy that Toyota has had some problems with floormat pedal interference, and that there had been a recall? Did he somehow miss the months-long media frenzy? This is yet more proof that there is literally no way to completely prevent unintended acceleration, even if the problem has been identified and a recall has been issued. Remember folks, when it comes to cars only you can keep you safe.

“According to the Wolfsburg grapevine, the Volkswagen Group is set to increase its 19.9 percent share in Suzuki by ten percent annually over the next four to five years,” says Automobile Magazine in Ann Arbor, Michigan. And they immediately ask:  “What for?”  Right. Read More >

Which? is kind of the UK version of Consumer Reports. They publish a bunch of magazines. If you want a computer, you get the latest edition of Which? Computing, if you need a vacation, you leaf through Which? Holiday, and for a car, you get – you guessed it – Which? Car. You will receive quite a shock if you do. Read More >

Shanshan Du and Yu Qin of Troy, MI have been indicted on charges including conspiracy for allegedly stealing GM hybrid technology between 2003 and 2005. According to the Detroit News,

Du, who was hired at GM in 2000 and worked in the company’s Advance Technology Vehicle Group, copied thousands of pages of GM trade secrets onto a portable computer hard drive five days after accepting a buyout offer in 2005. The indictment alleges the theft of secrets dates back to 2003.

GM estimates the value of the stolen documents at $40 million, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The indictment charges that Du and Qin set up their own company in hopes of transferring technology to the Chinese automaker Chery, but that no technology ever made it to the Wuhu-based automaker. And though this is an obvious opportunity for a laugh at the expense of “Chinese R&D,” the real story here is just how stupid Du and Qin were for targeting The General’s hybrid technology between 2003 and 2005.
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Remember how Toyota was slapped with a $16.4m fine for allegedly withholding information and delaying recalls? Remember how Toyota was served again with a subpoena for information, what many read as the prelude for another $16.4m fine? (If anyone again says that $16,4m is pocket change, please send me the pocket change.) Well, there are some people in Washington who claim that it’s the U.S.  government that might be withholding information. Read More >

The RAC (that’s the Royal version of the AAA, in case you don’t know) reports that BMW has run into trouble with the UK Advertising Standards Agency (ASA, that’s no film speed in the UK) with one of their adverts. In it, BMW claimed that its Z4 roadster had low levels of CO2 (you know CO2? That obnoxious gas which every government in the world is trying to reduce/tax?). The advert reads “Joy makes the most of every drop…So you can step on the accelerator, knowing Joy will minimise the CO2 emissions.” The advert ends with “BMW EfficientDynamics, Less emissions, More driving pleasure.” This riled two people enough to complain to the ASA. Now what could have been so contentious…? Read More >

It’s a little known fact, but Toyota’s first factory abroad was in Brazil. Toyota started producing their Bandeirante (known elsewhere as Land Cruiser, full history here) locally in CKD mode in 1958. In 1962, the factory in São Bernardo do Campo, São Paulo state was inaugurated. There, Toyota do Brasil produced the 4WD, almost unchanged, until the year 2000. The site is still productive, but now only makes parts. In the 90s, they inaugurated another factory in Indaiatuba, SP state, too, to produce the Corolla. In September, construction of the third Toyota factory in Brazil will begin in Sorocaba, São Paulo state. Read More >

When you think Volkswagen and alternative powertrains, only one kind of springs to mind, and it’s no very alternative. Diesel. They are pretty good at it in Wolfsburg. But these days it isn’t enough. Nowadays, we have E85, fuel cells, hybrids, more efficient petrol engines and many more. Volkswagen can’t afford to bet their future on Diesel. So where do they go from here? I hear California is quite nice…? Read More >

It is not at all clear that the greatly accelerated pace of the dealership closings during one of the most severe economic downturns in our nation’s history was either necessary for the sake of the companies’ economic survival or prudent for the sake of the nation’s economic recovery

Whoops! Who could have thought that the biggest political fight of the bailout era was picked over something never really needed to happen. At least, not according to the SIGTARP, the Special Inspector General for TARP, Neil Barovsky. In his latest report on the GM and Chrysler dealer cull [full document in PDF here], Barovsky explodes a lot of the myths surrounding the move to accelerate dealer closings, and even goes so far as to assign real blame… and not to GM or Chrysler either.

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Honda is moving closer to the grid. Honda is working on on a plug-in hybrid, and an all-electric car. It will take a while until they are ready, if you want one, you need to wait until 2013. Toyota is a step and a year ahead: ToMoCo will begin mass production of plug-in hybrids and electric cars in 2012. Read More >