Does Toyota lose money with each Prime sale?

seeing a ton of chargers here in redneck county.

 

They build lots of Cowboy Pimpmobiles and Stupid Utility Vehicles here. Tacoma and Tundra are built in San Antonio. GM builds Escalade, Suburban, Tahoe, Yukon, and Yukon XL in Arlington.

Ford builds lots in Mexico, but nothing in Texas. They used to ship lots of marijuana in the spare tire compartments of the vehicles they shipped from Mexico. Big surprises for some owners.


According to

Here's why automakers roll out those Texas-themed pickup trucks - Autoblog

As it turns out, part of the big deal with Texas is big truck sales. According to Dave Sullivan, product analysis manager at AutoPacific, Texas buys more trucks than any other state in the country. It's not a small margin either.Edmunds.com, one in five trucks sold in the US are sold in Texas. The state also accounts for 15 percent of the country's large truck sales, which is more than twice that of California, the second largest truck market in America. Even when you break down sales only in Texas, trucks are a huge piece of the pie - Sullivan says that a quarter of new vehicle sales in Texas are trucks.

And

Why Texas loves trucks | Inquirer Business

said a lot of interesting things, including stolen trucks are often used to transport contraband, then they're burned, but that is from a 5 year old article.

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no wonder toyota moved hq there from cali, black gold.

 

Longitude and latitude?

Bob Wilson

 

just north of magueritaville.

 

Works for me, a buyer.

Bob Wilson

 

According to a March 15th Forbes story about Ford's announced plans for the future:

Ford Teases New Green SUV Lineup, Aiming To Surpass Toyota As No. 1 In U.S. Hybrids

Most intriguing is a new four-door, Mustang-inspired, electric performance utility with a 300-mile battery range.

Ford is adding hybrids across the entire lineup, including vehicles as diverse as the Mustang and F-150, both as a hedge against higher fuel prices and a way to meet stricter CO2 guidelines. By 2021, Ford said it will sell more hybrids in the U.S. than Toyota, the current hybrid leader.

“We’re moving past hybrids as a science project,” said Farley. “It’s become an accepted, reliable technology and we’re going to make it as desirable as an EcoBoost engine,” Consumers have fallen in love with the size and flexibility of SUVs, he said, “but someday, we expect fuel prices to go up.” By giving them the choice of hybrid SUVs, Ford hopes it won’t face a rapid shift back to small cars as it did during the last spike in fuel prices.
​

So, it would appear that the new holy grail is the plug-in hybrid SUV. Who knew?

 

I remember similar talks when I was employed. Strong on the goals and light on the objectives. But I also remember Ford did not go bankrupt in 2008. Ford's technical foresight includes aluminum in their pickup trucks and more than one, hybrid electric. So I'll give them more credibility than some.

Bob Wilson

 

Their pick ups, by sales, are the real cash cows.

Its renamed Explorers with some Tauruses here.

For plug-ins, or the car for police vehicles? I've seen both here.

No, Ford was going bankrupt a few years before. They took loans out against nearly everything they had, including the Ford logo, in order to stay in business. They also cut Mercury at the time. Getting back on their feet is what has delayed their hybrids and other technical advances; rumor had the Fusion getting the Ecoboost engine two years before it actually happened.

If their crisis had happened later, we would have been bailing them out too. Part of the problem facing GM and Chrysler and many businesses was that the banks had stopped lending. Even after we bailed them out.

 

And then:

Kinda negates the "No, . . ." don't cha think given Ford never had to declare bankruptcy and appeal for a Federal bailout.

I'm pretty sure the GM and Chrysler actual bankruptcies involved some significant changes in their businesses.

Ford had liquidity to meet payroll and supplier bills.

Bob Wilson

 

Killing off a car brand is not a minor undertaking. Neither is selling off Jaguar, Land Rover, and Volvo. Selling off about two thirds of their stake in Mazda was easier for Ford, but still a big step(and likely a boon for Toyota).

Without the ability to get loans, Ford would have failed. That would have been the case if they needed them in 2008. Ford was heading for a crash like GM and Chrysler. Whether they were closer to it or saw what was coming isn't important. What is is that they made the turn around, and were climbing up before the Recession hit.

Ford didn't declare bankruptcy, but if they had to take the steps they did to save themselves when the crash hit, they wouldn't have made it.

I've owned Fords, and may do so again. I hope they do offer Toyota stiffer competition on the hybrid front. My bet is on them for full size truck and SUV hybrids being successful. But admiring them for avoiding bankruptcy is misguided. Different leadership, and it could have easily been them needing a bail out and not GM.

 

Here is the Ford statement: Ford Readies North America’s Freshest Lineup by 2020 with Onslaught of Connected New Trucks, SUVs and Hybrids | Ford Media Center

Hybridizing large vehicles pays a lot of dividends but will the market embrace them? I don't know but I look forward to the experiment.

Bob Wilson

 

I've never owned an American car. They weren't reliable the first time I was in the market. After the SAAB, I had an unremarkable Honda, then turned to Toyota.

I've stuck with Prius for my last two. Dependable, reliable, safe, eco-friendly, great driving experience. They've been hassle-free for me.

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SAAB could have been an American depending on age. Or a Subaru.

 

Still made by trolls in Trollhätten when I bought mine

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police. or challengers, i don't know the diff. i did see some tesla chargers tonight in the hotel complex in rocky mount, nc. great placement for i-95 travelers.

 

Bring back the Daisy Dukes!

 

Tesla has made NO MONEY on their operations. The only way they have reported a small profit, was with to a bookkeeping "maneuver"

Their business model is based on subsidies and kickbacks (via gov't). Their investors "hope" for future profits, but as some (rightfully) point out, the gov't shouldn't be picking winners and losers. They haven't made an honest red cent of profit. If my business went on this long depending on loans, government largess and investors, without making any real money...I would be relegated to to the dustbin of the business world.

And I would never put a deposit on a car they can't produce in a decent amount of time, not to mention- you can't drive. They depend on people with Dunning-Kruger syndrome..just sayin.

From this year (2018!) "...After reporting largest quarterly loss in a long history of losses, Tesla..." need I say more...it is always "next quarter/year."