Just to stir the pot (), here's an interesting (and short) article on Autoblog.com:

http://www.autoblog.com/2007/02/26/y...s-feeling-the/

It mentions a cost advantage of $2000k on non-luxury cars!

 

Yep, this is going to cause a firestorm on here.

 

Interesting...the more things change; the more things stay the same.

Detroit/Washington has complained for a long time about the Japanese government manipulating their currency which they stopped doing around 2004; now people are calling for the Japanese government to get involved again (so long as they do so to Detroit's advantage of course).

They also skirt around the point that such "price advantages" only apply to cars they actually import; they mention it briefly but fail to point out that more than 50% of all "import" nameplate vehicles are actually made here and some manufactueres manufacture almost 80% of the cars they sell in the U.S. in the U.S. - meaning the Yen/Dollar exchange rate is a non issue.

 

 

Toyota eclipsed a new company record for imported cars to the US market in 2006. Toyota imported more cars than they produced in the US.

Vehicle assembly is also just a portion of the cost to bring a vehicle to market. All the other business components of a manufacturers functions (overhead) also have cost efficiencies when done in markets with weak currency compared to our dollar.

Out of the 36,000 people employed form Toyota around 850 of these are involved in development and engineering.

 

(Borrowed from Bob Cosby) Ding Ding Ding Ding!

They buy the majority of their parts low from their suppliers in Japan and assemble them here.....the point is, they're still able to offer a "richer" product, if you will, at roughly the same price point.

I knew I saw something about Toyota's importing hitting all time highs last year. It only makes sense; with their sales rocketing ahead and their few NA plants at or exceeding 100% capacity, where is the rest of the volume coming from? Hmmm....

Threads like these are ticking time bombs....

 

 

ohh let me see what this red wire does...

lol..we have had a few ATHF moments aready around here concerning this.
Some see it one way some see it another.

 

The US is giving up on its strong dollar policy... maybe they are following Japans model.

 

I'd like to see how the US plans on transitioning to a weaker dollar - our nation's economy pretty much depends upon that (our strong currency make imports attractive, so we buy those products and send dollars overseas, which are then loaned back to our overspending government and overleveraged consumers in the form of foreign-held securities). A weaker dollar makes that investment less attractive to foreign countries. Japan has kept itself under control and doesn't rely so much on outside investment, and so it can mess around with its currency as it pleases.

 

Sorry not this time, do you honestly think Toyota, Nissan or Honda would let that kind of "free" revenue escape. Its not just cars its anything built someplace else and sold here either as a part or the whole car.
I knew the yen was weak to the dollar but I didn't think it was this bad. Its not Japan's fault as I think our economy and the war/debt have a negative effect on the dollar too.
Make no mistake the foreign makes that do build the vehicles here just put the parts that were made elsewhere together. They scan the world for the cheapest labor and best exchange rates so they can ship the parts to the US. After tax concessions, low wages, no unions, lack of pension and healthcare costs factor in its no wonder that Toyota can build new plants here. Who can blame them it makes the best business sense. Its like the imports are becoming domestic as they force the domestic brands out of the country just to compete. And now you can say the more things change...

 

I think you need to re-examine your "facts" (and perhaps where they are coming from ) with regards to transplant's pensions, healthcare insurance, taxes/duty on imported parts and how many parts are not only made in the U.S. by U.S. suppliers (the same suppliers used by GM, Ford and others) as well as what parts are completely manufactured by the plants themsevles (forged, stamped, cast, otherwise) nor do two or three hundred million $ in tax incentives cover the cost of a $1.3Billion plant as was offered in another thread.

Yes, there are certainly advantages to Toyota or Honda when they build a new plant in a new area compared to a 60 year old Ford plant but don't believe everything you've been spoon-fed from the domestic's PR groups or the Detroit press.

 

And the best part about it is, the very same people who justify their purchases by saying "well they're building here while the Big 3 are closing plants here and building elsewhere" are the same people who started the whole thing by buying Accords and Camrys when they weren't built here in the first place. Interesting logic.

For the Big 3 (2 now) it's a matter of surviving any way you can at this point.

 

Actually I believe the Detroit press is just as hard on the Domestics, if not harder in some cases. The automotive sections in the two Detroit dailys have a long history of placing recall articles front and center for Domestics while burying the same notices on page 10 for everyone else, for example.

 

Point Taken.

I was probably being a bit too “all-encompassing” with the “Detroit Press” statement…my point was that many articles (whatever their origin) like the one posted initially often like to pick and choose their facts (or offer their own interpretation as fact) at the expense of ignoring other details that don’t support their opinion.

Yes, the value of the Yen in relation to the U.S. dollar is an issue and it CAN give Japan an advantage (or go the other way). However, it is hardly the source of all of Detroit’s woes…the issue is much more complex than the article would lead people to believe nor is it quite so one-sided.