Last week Toyota followed the lead of Renault, Honda and BMW and bid adieu to Formula 1 racing. The Financial Times pins Toyota’s decision not only on financial belt tightening, and on the notion that racing just doesn’t move the metal in times of increasing environmental concern. When Leonardo DiCapro becomes the inspiration for an electric car and NASCAR talks about moving from carburetors to fuel injection to save some gas , you know something is afoot. Automakers and part suppliers have been backing away from the racing for many months now. Earlier this year both Subaru and Suzuki exited World Rally Championship racing and Bridgestone recently announced it’s giving up being Formula 1’s exclusive tire supplier.

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Some politicians who supported the Cash for Clunkers program didn’t want to be seen promoting a billion dollar (or three) bailout for car dealers, what with car dealers rating just above sex offenders as “people who I’d like to support with my taxes.” So, not surprisingly, the C4C bill was wrapped in a mantle of green; structured to reward buyers who traded gas guzzlers for [marginally] more fuel efficient vehicles. In practice, the “program mostly involved swaps of old Ford or Chevrolet pickups for new ones that got only marginally better gas mileage, according to an analysis of new federal data by The Associated Press. The single most common swap — which occurred more than 8,200 times — involved Ford F150 pickup owners who took advantage of a government rebate to trade their old trucks for new Ford F150s. They were 17 times more likely to buy a new F150 than, say, a Toyota Prius. The fuel economy for the new trucks ranged from 15 mpg to 17 mpg based on engine size and other factors, an improvement of just 1 mpg to 3 mpg over the clunkers.” It gets worse . . .

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We tore David Cole a new one the other day, when the leader of the manufacturer and union-supported Center for Automotive Research suggested that trimming GM and Chrysler dealers wasn’t such a good idea—based on some schmoozing with his pals. Never let it be said that I won’t trot-out a dubious source when it suits my editorial needs, especially when it comes to bashing Ford. Just kidding. I love Ford. My first three cars were Fords. I want Ford to succeed. I am not, however, blind to the fact that Uncle Sam shoveled $10 billion worth of no-to-low-interest twenty-five year loans in FoMoCo’s direction. Nor am I Detroit News columnist Daniel Howes; I will not predict sunshine and roses simply because there’s a government-sponsored break in the clouds hanging over the Glass House Gang. TTAC commentator Mark MacInnis shares my skepticism, with a nod to Mr. Cole . . .

Amidst all the hoopla yesterday about Ford’s quarterly profit, was this little nugget, which doesn’t bode well for their future. “‘That puts Ford at a competitive disadvantage,’ said David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, who estimated that servicing Ford’s debt adds more than $1,500 to the cost of every vehicle the automaker sells in the United States.” Now, Ford sells as many or more cars worldwide as they do in the U.S., so the cost advantage per-vehicle is actually less than this hyped number. But it’s still what? A six percent or seven percent cost dis-advantage? That’s BEFORE the labor costs, which are higher than GM since the UAW repudiation of Ford’s contract do-over. And higher than Toyota’s and Honda’s. Still. So, add it up, and Henry’s company has to build vehicles ten percent more efficiently or ten percent more desirable to overcome that debt-related disadvantage. A formidable task. So, before we all start congratulating Ford on dodging the bullet, we better watch out for that ricochet . . .

So what about this, then? Or this? I guess some brands are meant to be broken.

It’s heartbreaking. To see a major company that literally carried a healthy portion of America’s heartland go up in Euro-flames. I remember the beauty of it. The 1990’s minivans that completely obliterated their competition. LH sedans that were state of the art for their time. Cloud cars that had more power and road feel than their American brethren. Neons that were so good that even Toyota was jealous. Believe it or not, I still think the talent base of Chrysler is there. But to get it out…
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Hybrid sales in October outpaced the market, increasing 11.4% over October 2008. The heavy lifter as usual, was Toyota, up 15%; Toyota’s hybrids now represent 77% of the total US hybrid market, which is 2.9% of the total market. The Prius continues to dominate the whole hybrid sector, with a 55% market share, and sales of 13,496 units. Prius outsold the Honda Insight by an 8 to 1 margin. Read More >

Thanks largely to stimulus programs in the US and Europe, Toyota announced that it has eked out an operating profit of 58 billion yen instead of the average estimated loss of 63 billion yen from five analysts. Toyota now is forecasting a lower operating loss of 350 billion yen ($3.9 billion) for the year through March 31, and is presumably on track to a profitable following year. But with the stimulus programs’ end, Toyota continues to hunt desperately for cost savings, like its recently announced elimination of the F1 program, which cost a tidy $300 million per year. Read More >

The Brits have an expression for this situation: “When you’re in a hole, the first thing you do is stop digging.”

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued a statement today correcting inaccurate and misleading information put out by Toyota concerning a safety recall involving 3.8 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles:

A press release put out by Toyota earlier this week about their recall of 3.8 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles inaccurately stated NHTSA had reached a conclusion “that no defect exists in vehicles in which the driver’s floor mat is compatible with the vehicle and properly secured.” NHTSA has told Toyota and consumers that removing the recalled floor mats is the most immediate way to address the safety risk and avoid the possibility of the accelerator becoming stuck. But it is simply an interim measure. This remedy does not correct the underlying defect in the vehicles involving the potential for entrapment of the accelerator by floor mats, which is related to accelerator and floor pan design. Safety is the number one priority for NHTSA and this is why officials are working with Toyota to find the right way to fix this very dangerous problem. This matter is not closed until Toyota has effectively addressed the defect by providing a suitable vehicle based solution.

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Edmunds, the site that’s so not going to be sleeping in Lincoln’s bedroom, has revealed their estimates for October sales incentives. Not surprisingly, the automaker that’s been hogging Honest Abe’s pallet and has been missing saying, “we’re number one [globally],” can claim this number one spot. GM spent $4,277 of somebody else’s dollars per unit to move the metal and help buy that 4% sales increase. Hey, don’t complain—they can afford it unlike those wimpy little guys at Honda, who could only cough up $508 per unit. What’s wrong with them anyway? Oh, they’re actually profitable. OK. Moving right along, let’s check in with the rest of the gang: Read More >

Not taking a page out of Audi’s playbook, Toyota has decided that the best defense is a strong offense. The risk of the accelerator getting jammed is strictly a problem of unintended loose or ill-fitting floor mats, according to Toyota Bob Carter, general manager of the Toyota-brand division of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Letters are on the way to owners of certain Toyota and Lexus models warning them about the errant mats as part of a safety recall. More certainty after the jump: Read More >

We’re a little short-staffed right now (always?), the boss is on the road, and I’m a little bleary from my first day at the helm, so instead of staying up all night building spreadsheets,I’m going to give all you number junkies the links to the various companies’ press releases and their own detail tables and charts. Please share your thoughtful analysis with the rest of us lazy bums.

GM Ford Chrysler Toyota Honda Nissan Hyundai Subaru Mitsubishi Suzuki  VW Daimler BMW

Update: here’s an excellent set of charts and data at WSJ

“I have to be careful on what I say, I don’t want you guys writing a story saying, ‘This Toyota guy thinks the Hyundai Sonata is a great car.'”

—Toyota’s Group VP and General Manager, Bob Carter, responding to a request to comment on the strength of Hyundai as a competitor.

We’ll give you the quick top-line October ’09 vs. ’08 results, and get the details as soon as I catch my breath:

Toyota and Honda sales were both less than 1% changed. Nissan had a 6% boost. Mazda slid 8%. Suzuki was off 50% (in the middle of major product cycle changes).

Stabilization is the word of the day but at still low levels.

[Update]: Mitsubishi joins its other co-declining Japanese soul-mate, Suzuki, with a 48% drop in October.

“First question: Is the 2010 Honda Accord Crosstour as unattractive in the flesh as it is in photographs?” Automotive News [sub] asks itself. “Answer: Pretty darned close. Directly from behind — and directly from the side — Honda’s new crossover-meets-wagon looks appealing. But from any other perspective, the Crosstour’s confluence of angles is visually jarring, especially in how the swooping a-pillar meets the hood line.” This is it: the day that the editorial collusion known as the Crosstour press embargo ends. For some reason, Honda forgot to invite TTAC to the ho-down. Never mind. Until we see the sheet metal, we’ll rely on yet another round of press shots and word-of-mouth. Or, more precisely, I threw-up-in-my mouth-a-little. While we wait for Autoblog for the official weasel words (“Honda has also released tons of new Accord Crosstour glamor shots”), suffice it to say Honda’s drubbing will not be anywhere near as severe as what awaits Toyota on tonight’s edition of ABC News and Nightline. The network has fired an opening salvo on the internet, and it ain’t gonna help ToMoCo recover lost sales ground one little bit. So here’s MY first question: how much of Toyota’s $1.665 billion ad budget does ABC reap? Just curious .  . .

How exactly did the Volvo 122 Amazon achieve its mythological stature? Naming it after the eponymous nation of all-female warriors was a good start. Legendary ruggedness and durability solidified its status. Sporty performance burnished it further. Then there’s the magic belt: one of the twelve labors of Hercules was to secure the girdle of Hippolyta, the queen of the Amazons. Giving up her belt ended up costing Hippolyta her life. But it was a worthy sacrifice, because the Amazon’s first-ever three point seat belt has saved untold others theirs, and established the Volvo safety myth. That may now have run its course, but the Amazon’s status on the automotive Mt. Olympus is secure. Read More >