Yes I do get FNC! So let me get this right? There is One that is not left, and thats a problem? I don't think any free ride was given at all. However I would say that, because we are a democracy, and had to vote on going in there, plenty of time was given for them to move that stuff. And certain countries have not helped us at all. I was unaware of your search of the planet, that has told you, it (WMD) didn't exist. I'm sure some Kurds would disagree, as well as some Desert Storm survivors! Now again you can disagree with me. Whatever, regardless we do have the photos that show a bunch of big trucks leaving before we went in there, that have not been seen since. I guess they were all made up by those on the right...Right? WMD or not I fully support The US gov't's actions. Saddam was not someone who should be in control of such wealth! If we succeed ( which the media does not want), I do beleive it would be best for all the world.

 

Its not the buyers they are affraid of pissing off. Its the lawmakers. Lawmakers have it in thier power to make life harder for importers.

 

Easy now, no need to re-live Campaign '04. People's minds were made up on these issues before and afterwards. You're not going to change minds or win friends and converts over on these issues now.

 

Cars like the Toyota Prius, Mercedes SMART, etc. never can meet their EPA figures.
Oh well. However buying a Toyota product doesn't make me a "liberal."
Think about the fact that the Camry is the best selling car in the US, or at least one of them. Does that boil your blood, all those Camrys rollin' around? All those imports?
Well all those Camrys being built need people to build them, and they are manufactered in the US of A. So if you must, spit on Toyota for giving countless Americans jobs. When GM's factories close it doesn't mean assembly plants in Japan get more money, because most "imports" are built in America.
Almost all Toyotas are built on this continent, not only built here but I'm pretty sure their parts are too. So just because the head office is in Japan, doesn't make it nessasarily an "import" company.

GM, on the other hand, just uses Koreans to build their Daewoos as rebadged Chevys. So if you must feel "patriotic" then go out and buy a Daewoo.

Toyota didn't get big on huge advertising, employee discounts, etc. They got big on word of mouth. They never intended on expanding their market so much. They just built cars with a lot of attention to detail and quality. I can't say Mazda, Subaru, Nissan, Mitsubishi, etc. does the same thing, because a lot of them are POSs. But Toyota goes the extra mile. That's why they sell faster than they can be produced around here.

GM does build high quality, reliable cars.... but they're not for sale here. You can buy a top-notch "Toyota" Cavalier...in Japan. Or a Caddy, etc. GM builds cars with more quality for export. Which means they care more about the satisfaction of some foreigner then they do their own fellow Americans. Still feel patriotic?

I also feel I should remind people that nobody puts a gun to somebody's head and makes them buy a Toyota. They have the choice. And because of word of mouth, and personal experience, Toyota is getting ex-GM customers. It's their own choice. Why should you feel sorry for GM if their inferior quality, sub-par customer service, and overall oblivious designs don't cut it any more?


My $0.02

 

I think he was more upset with the "reporter's" attitude present in the article, and less upset with Toyota.

 

SCNGENNFTHGEN,

Before you kill any more electrons trying to blame everything on the left, please consider that Tom Friedman was one of the biggest mainstream media supporters of Bush's policy on Iraq. Believe it or not, everything does not come down to an issue of left vs. right, and I'm getting sick of every single facet of our lives, including what brand of car to buy, cast in this blue vs. red dichotomy.

 

"...please consider that Tom Friedman was one of the biggest mainstream media supporters of Bush's policy ..."

Lots of people were "supporting" Bush's policy before any real action was taken on Iraq.

I don't trust or have faith in a single written word in that paper, no matter who wrote it. Their bias is clear, regardless of whatever smoke screen they may throw up from time to time.

 

So glad that you put my thoughts into words, Eric

Anywho, back to GM: I think their biggest problem is their size. They made over Cadillac, and are currently trying to make over Pontiac and Buick....but they haven't gotten their yet. And then they have to change Chevy's image as well. People like Caddy's now, thanks to the "Art & Science" themes they have had. I think people are going to take more of a liking to Pontiac soon (though I'm not so sure on Buick).

My point: GM needs more time, but with 1.1 billion in losses this past quarter, they can't sustain huge losses for long.

 

Fox news channel is a right wing media organization, and probably the most biased organization out side of Al Jezera. There are tons of non-left media organizations, but like I said earlier, the problem is the focus on things that get rating like OJ and Michael Jackson and not WMD that do not exist or the fact that Bin Laden is on the loose still, or the fact that Saudi Arabia supports and funds terrorism against the USA and our troops in Iraq while our Gov't just sit by and pretends that is not the problem. Did you see Bush on the cover of all those papers holding hands like lovers with one of the Saudi Royals??? He didn't do that with Saddam or Kim Jong

I guess if you feel that out troops, intelligence, and military in Iraq incompetent and that the WMD is still out there then that is fine. Just about everyone in the US and world intelligence community and even Colin Powel says we messed up and there wasn't any WMD when we went into Iraq.

Saddam sucked but was he worth $200 Billion (the cost of 20 trips to Mars ) and thousands of American lives? If you knew the cost up front would you sacrifice the same lives and money for going after Casto? or the leaders in Iran, or Syria, or Saudi Arabia? .....well Saudi Arabia might actually be worth it. Not to mention it helped inceased terrorism and the AQeada network is now bigger than ever (according to the CIA in 2004)

From an automotive enthusists point of view, the search for imaginary WMD has added about 50¢ to a gallon of gas Putting instability in a region that produces the bulk of one of the worlds most important resources for us is not good. THis has killed GM who make the most of its profits on big SUVs and trucks, while unfortunatly has helped Toyota push it's Hybrid campain. I doubt Toyota would be on such a roll if gas was still at pre-war prices of about $1.50

 

Exactly right! FNC is to Al Jazzeera , as Gitmo is to Pol Pot! Powell has to say that! We can't get into Syria without opening up another can of worms! And frankly I don't see how we could ever defend our selves properly, with the media scutiny! That to me is a scary thing! Don't think for one minute, that our killers don't know this, cuz they do! Why I want to get farther away from NYC! I'm not willing to take anyones word for it, if they get a dirty bomb here, I'm done for! I certainly don't agree with all of Bushes policies either, and I know its over. However I really don't like the bum who ran against him, and I bet he's gonna try again! IMHO this would not be a good thing. Now let me go and bury my head in the sand!

 

 

You saved me from having to type the exact same thing.

 

Free press is our check and balance against our Gov't. Sadly TV is all about rating and ad revenue and there just isn't enough news sometimes for fill 24hrs. and multiple networks. That is why we get So much Jacko coverage I don't watch much TV new for this reason.

I'll take that bet... It will never happen, once you lose that is it for you, just look at Bush Sr., Dole, and Gore. It would be nice for a change to have more than 2 people (out of 300 million) to pick from

To get back on topic, even the auto press seem to kiss Toyota but and spit on any thing Domestic unless it has an LS2 or Hemi in it.

RWD cars seem to be the one thing that all domestics do GREAT!! I have faith that the RWD (formally known as Zeta) program will save GM. Just look what RWD did for Caddy, Chrysler and Dodge.

 

Double-

I get so P'ed when people generalize and stereotype into left/right, Dem/Rep, up/down, etc. I might even agree with their position... until they plow the left/right crap into the discussion, then I turn off.
The world is a complex place, and few things ever stand in solitude without intermixing with everything else going on. Nothing is sovereign, and there's always more than enough blame to go around all sides of the table...

For purposes of this thread, can we please keep it to...
1) bashing the idiot writer for his blatant attemt at writing about something which he obviously knows nothing about...
2) bashing the foreign car companies for ducking the trade tariffs and duties that we don't get the same luxury of ducking when we export into THEIR countries...
3) bashing Toyota for being arrogant... etc, etc.
4) bashing the news outlets for (again) being harder on the domestics than the importers in general.
5) and maybe bashing on the news/media for just being plain ol' stupid and glamorizing anything negative instead of reporting news in an informative and unbiased manner... if we so choose.