1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Toyota doing its part to help the US economy?

Discussion in 'Fred's House of Pancakes' started by malorn, Dec 27, 2007.

  1. malorn

    malorn Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 28, 2005
    4,281
    59
    0
    Location:
    "Somewhere in Flyover Country"
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    So my numbers are wrong because I am not taking used vehicles into account? I am sure there are huge numbers of used vehicles imported from Japan? The numbers are flawed because of the parts the Detroit 3 use on their vehicles? I am sure there are some Japanese parts on Detroit 3 vehicles, but you really think it is substantial?
    I have continually tried to get the export/import information by company but am continually told it is not given out because of political considerations. I have contacted both my US senators in the last two weeks over this and am making good headway with one of them. I will have the exact info soon enough, until then if I am off plus or minus 10% does it really matter when we are talking about $33,000,000,000? If it was $30 billion or $36 billion will it make you feel better? It won't make me feel better. As an owner of a toyota maybe you could contact toyota and get the information from them, i am sure they would be happy to let you know. Maybe they will post it on their website.
     
  2. malorn

    malorn Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 28, 2005
    4,281
    59
    0
    Location:
    "Somewhere in Flyover Country"
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    I am focusing on China, just not on here. The trade problem is incredibly significant with the Chinese and if it is not dealt with soon will bankrupt this country. The more i learn the more I am amazed. The Chinese do not even try to hide the government subsidies etc. It is almost unbelievable.
     
  3. bulldog

    bulldog Member

    Joined:
    Jun 9, 2006
    224
    1
    0
    Location:
    CA
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Nice ducking and diving, but maybe admitting you are wrong by speculating and not understanding these number might be better. Produce actual numbers or keep your trap shut, your trolling is pathetic at best.

    And I still have no idea why the mods even tolerate you on this forum. You add nothing as you now readily admit, by admitting to speculation on numbers you don't understand nor can produce accurate calculations from.
     
  4. Godiva

    Godiva AmeriKan Citizen

    Joined:
    Apr 8, 2005
    10,339
    14
    0
    Location:
    San Diego, CA
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    I think he was originally tolerated as a devil's advocate. Sorta practice for Prius owners in debunking prius-myths. Now he's just a broken record. It's obvious he's not hear to learn anything and he doesn't pay any attention to what is being offered. He's all talk and no listen. And he doesn't offer anything new or insightful.

    He's tolerated because he doesn't insult people or indulge in name-calling. I.E. he is a courteous and polite troll. Highly annoying but otherwise harmless.

    Put him on ignore with the rest. Priuschat reads better that way.
     
  5. malorn

    malorn Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 28, 2005
    4,281
    59
    0
    Location:
    "Somewhere in Flyover Country"
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    So Bulldog, you seem to have all the answers and numbers, what is your best guess at the negative balance of payments Toyota creates with the United States?
     
  6. bulldog

    bulldog Member

    Joined:
    Jun 9, 2006
    224
    1
    0
    Location:
    CA
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    I think you have a great idea, to the ignore list. No need to waste my time on nonsense and poorly constructed arguments based on distorted data.
     
  7. malorn

    malorn Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 28, 2005
    4,281
    59
    0
    Location:
    "Somewhere in Flyover Country"
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Just answer my question, How much money did toyota take out of the US via trade in 2006?

    How many vehicles did toyota import? How many did it export? What was the total value of the imports? What was the value of the exports?

    Toyota employs in the US: 34,675

    http://www.toyota.com/about/our_business/at_a_glance/our_numbers/index.html

    In the last two years, GM, ford and chrysler have laid off over 100,000 employees.
     
  8. PriuStorm

    PriuStorm Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 4, 2007
    2,239
    149
    0
    Location:
    Davis, CA
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    I've recently discovered this function as well. Godiva is right. :)
     
  9. JimN

    JimN Let the games begin!

    Joined:
    Nov 26, 2006
    7,028
    1,116
    0
    Location:
    South Jersey
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    V
    I read the JAMA brochure and it did give me a warm fuzzy feeling. New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc. produces Vibes for Pontiac and Corollas for Toyota. I suspect this is a US corporation. IMO that makes these Vibes & Corollas American made. The Pontiac division of GM & Toyota are just marketing the product.

    Yes, the trade policies are unfair but our government wrote or ratified them. I guess the foreign companies & governments did a better job of buying Congress.

    The sad truth is that the Big 3 misread or ignored the market. When GM whines that its 50mpg car isn't selling due to unfair trade practices I'll listen. When GM starts to pay a fair price for quality parts instead of suing AC-Delco for the cost of warranty repairs due to crap parts I'll believe they will improve their ranking in the quality surveys.

    Until you choose to get into the market don't complain that someone else beat you to it.

    My Prius is 100% Japanese (according to the sticker) and if my $25000 helped put arrogant, lazy, or incompetant GM employees out of work then good.
     
  10. malorn

    malorn Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 28, 2005
    4,281
    59
    0
    Location:
    "Somewhere in Flyover Country"
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Wow, that is pretty brutal, if i may ask what is your source of income?
     
  11. DaveinOlyWA

    DaveinOlyWA 3rd Time was Solariffic!!

    Joined:
    Apr 13, 2004
    15,140
    611
    0
    Location:
    South Puget Sound, WA
    Vehicle:
    2013 Nissan LEAF
    Model:
    Persona
    the sad part is that gm employees are for the most part, caught in the middle. its only a small group of gm execs that are making the piss poor decisions that makes being an american just that much less shiny

    ford has the best selling hybrid SUV on the market and deservedly so. gm had the same agreement and benefits package with their employees as ford, same opportunities to create something good, same highly skilled workforce to put it to fruition and so what did they do with that?

    well, if i were to comment on what they did, it would match their real progress and that means there is nothing else for me to say
     
  12. malorn

    malorn Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 28, 2005
    4,281
    59
    0
    Location:
    "Somewhere in Flyover Country"
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    I understand what you are saying, but the current group of executives was not around for the demise of the EV1 and some of the other poor decisions they made. Next time you get a chance, just for kicks, go and test drive, the new Malibu, the Tahoe, the new silverado and then test drive the comparible Toyota. I think you will be amazed. Unfortunately for me it will take a while for many of the current perceptions to die. We are all very excited about the, volt and all of the other alternative energy vehicles that GM especially is working on.

    I know most of you will say they are all just mirages, i guess only time will tell.


    The ford suv hybrid is selling modestly well, the volume is just not even close to enough to turn things around at Ford.
     
  13. Steve-o

    Steve-o New Member

    Joined:
    May 29, 2007
    101
    0
    0
    Location:
    Lithia FL
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    It has been said before, but what you fail to realize is that you are completely wasting your time on this board. If the majority of the people on PC we're interested in a Malibu, Tahoe or Silverado, they probably wouldn't be driving a Prius to begin with. How is that even remotely hard to understand?
     
  14. malorn

    malorn Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 28, 2005
    4,281
    59
    0
    Location:
    "Somewhere in Flyover Country"
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    It's not, at this point GM does not have anything to compete with a Prius, but most posters on here have more than one vehicle in the household. The US new vehicle market will be between 16 and 17 million most years and Toyota sells 200,000 priuses, so the rest of the market is quite large.

    Sure GM, Ford and Chrysler have outsourced more than any of us would like, but the dollar figure of outsourcing still pales in comparison to the automotive trade deficit with Japan. Actually a few of you have emailed me privately and realize how serious the trade situation(not just autos and Japan) is for all of us.

    Again GM did miss the boat on the hybirds but is trying to catchup and has a plan to leapfrom Toyota on the mpg/green front. Enjoy the Prius, it is a great car and currently is the leader in both perceived and real enviro friendly transportation.

    Have a great day!
     
  15. JSH

    JSH Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jan 23, 2007
    2,605
    140
    0
    Location:
    PDX
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    I actually have done just that. When the "GM Experience" came to Birmingham I took a Malibu and CTS for a spin.

    The Malibu looks good on the outside and the interior is a quantum leap from the old model and any other Chevy I've seen. Of course they had the top of the line V6 model. It drove fine on my 6 mile test drive, not sporty but not too bad. It did get horrible gas mileage though. I drove normally around the test loop which was a equal combination of Interstate, State Highway, and City. The trip computer showed an average of 19 mpg. That is with a vehicle that was already warmed up and the trip computer reset for my trip.

    The CTS was very nice but the interior is overdone. It drove very well, tighter than a Mercedes C or E Class but softer than a BMW 3 series. It also got 19 mpg on the test loop but puts down quite a bit more power.

    I've also ridden in one of the new Silverados. Fine I guess but I don't really understand why a truck needs a leather interior. Of course owner of the vehicle doesn't tow or haul anything, he just likes how he looks in a truck and wants to drive a big vehicle. (His words, not mine. He says my VW Jetta and Prius aren't "manly" vehicles. :rolleyes:)

    If these vehicles are the start of GM turnaround, then I expect good things to come from GM. I wish them well. However, I don't see anything besides the Volt that shows that GM is looking to make fuel efficent vehicles. I can't think of any GM vehicles that get more than 30 mpg combined. I also don't see them making any flex-fuel vehicles that aren't large cars or SUV's where the flex-fuel capability is only for CAFE reasons. I guess we'll see.
     
  16. patsparks

    patsparks An Aussie perspective

    Joined:
    Jul 12, 2007
    10,664
    567
    0
    Location:
    Adelaide South Australia
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    I don't believe these numbers because there are no cars made in Asia, I would think GM source cars from Daewoo South Korea? Where are GM America's small cars made? How many come from Europe? any Cadilacs come from the Saab factory? We should be talking GM products not just GM badged.
     
  17. malorn

    malorn Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 28, 2005
    4,281
    59
    0
    Location:
    "Somewhere in Flyover Country"
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    The top numbers are North American production numbers.

    All Cadillacs sold in this country are made in this country, no exceptions. In 2006 GM sold 58,244 Aveos(korea), 11,268 GTO's(australia), and 30,560 Saabs in the US.
     
  18. malorn

    malorn Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 28, 2005
    4,281
    59
    0
    Location:
    "Somewhere in Flyover Country"
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Thank you for the honesty. I think if you would have driven a v6 camry on the same route the mileage would have been very similar.
     
  19. patsparks

    patsparks An Aussie perspective

    Joined:
    Jul 12, 2007
    10,664
    567
    0
    Location:
    Adelaide South Australia
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    WHen did Japan get moved into North America?
     
  20. malorn

    malorn Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 28, 2005
    4,281
    59
    0
    Location:
    "Somewhere in Flyover Country"
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    The three columns are North American production numbers, the fourth is what is iported from Japan, my mistake.