Never said they shouldn't close plants.
Might have implied that they shouldn't close plants in the U.S.

 

I don't care what anyone thinks about it, I love the fact that Toyota is feeling the pinch.

I wish them continued difficulty and failing models like Tundra.

 

Well that's because you're kind of a simpleton.

 

In that you would be mistaken.

I simply hate Toyota with every fiber of my being.

 

Did Fujio Cho or Akio Toyoda kill or rape a family member or something?

 

I just see Toyota as the greatest offender in turning cars into appliances, seeing them slide pleases me.

 

I don't hope for Toyota's failure per se, and certainly not because they produce a type of car that doesn't appeal to me. But to the extent that the automobile market is a zero sum game, any slide by Toyota means more possible sales for GM, and that is something I hope for.

 

Toyota has achieved their goal... destruction of the Detroit 3 (Dec 7, 1941 all over again). All you foreign brand drivers... thanx for the domestic brand auto destruction. Remember... NC_tool Ind, Electronics Ind, Ram chip Ind, Steel Ind, etc... and the list is very long. Me, I will never buy a german or japanese brand. Welcome to the new US industry... Only fast food & service, no mfg. I back it up on the road (97ss 383 D1 MM6). Bring it!

 

I agree with this. I don't hate Toyota for it, but this puts them WAY down on the list of new cars that interest me.

 

Talk about a drama queen.

Have you ever stopped to think about what constitutes a "domestic" or an "import" these days? This isn't the 60s and 70s anymore. Pontiacs are made in Australia, Acuras are made in Ohio, etc. The more Acura TLs that are bought, the more profitable for those workers in Marysville, OH. The more G8s that are bought, the more money those Austrailan workers bring in. This simpelton and archaic view of the modern automotive industry that seems to have been permeating since this whole thing began is growing quite tiresome. People just look at the badge on the hood and make asinine assumptions. If you want to help your fellow American workers, then only buy cars that are actually made in America and not in Mexico or Austrialia or Europe, etc.

And to finish off this little lesson here, have you ever stopped to think that this whole thing is not the fault of Toyota or Honda or BMW? Have you ever said that maybe, just maybe most of the blame is to go to the "domestics." They rested on their laurels and just assumed that simply because they were "American" that people would look pass their inferior products and buy them. They brought this upon themselves. To sit there and blame people who bought "imports" that were made in Ohio or Alabama and then to have the not only the audacity, but the ignorance to compare it Pearl Harbor is shocking and disappointing to say the least.

 

I would say "you're welcome" except for the fact that you are so completely wrong.

While there are certainly other factors and issues involved, it is the Detroit 3 themselves who authored their own destruction.

Moving on; the automotive market is not a zero sum game nor does it really matter whether an automaker makes appliances or not. Most of the vehicles that most automakers make are appliances because that's what most people need. While there are lot's and lot's of people who are enthusiasts in the sense that they are passionate about cars; the majority of them still have to buy what makes sense for their lifestyle and their budget and that is seldom going to be cars that people really get excited about and drool over.

A final comment; if anyone truly loves motor vehicles then being giddy about any automaker's financial difficulty is at best very short sighted. The industry flourishes when competition exists. Were it not for the likes of inexpensive, reliable and well-built cars from Japan it would be almost a certainty that Detroit would still be producing crappy, expensive and unreliable vehicles.

As I've heard Scott S. say many times; "we don't build 'em like we used to - thank God".

 

Good point. Most car purchases are driven more by emotion than need. Whether it's appliance or enthusiast cars, you have to give people a reason to trade in / sell their old (probably working just fine) car for a new one with a new payment.

If everybody is offering better new cars and / or better value / etc then more new cars overall would get sold. Inversely, if cars or value get worse, less new cars would be sold and more people would hold on to their old ones.