How Toyota Could Become the U.S. Sales Champ

You Misread Harbour

If you think GM is in a productivity "dead heat" with Toyota, then you are either misreading the Harbour report, or intentionally lying to us.

Go back and reread it. Toyota leads by over 6%.

Tony C of AR @ Jun 11, 2008 10:40:21 AM

re: Market Forces

How convenient to blame to UAW for GM's ills. Toyota workers actually make slightly more than Big-3 UAW workers when bonuses are counted. The latest Harbour reports indicate that GM and Toyota are in a dead heat in vehicle assembly hours-per-vehicle. And are we to be punished for negotiating a pension for our retirement? We're certainly not alone there, and we'll find out the hard way that GM has done a much better job of dealing with this than, say, federal, state and local governments. I'm surprised you're not bashing teachers for getting a full pension while getting summers off. If people would just honestly compare domestic vehicles to foreign ones, sales would improve, the tax base would stop eroding, and they'd be driving a world class vehicle with features the Asians can't offer - like schools, roads, police protection, fire departments etc.

TGB of MO @ Jun 10, 2008 16:21:13 PM

toyota makes a great car

by the way, my 99 toyota camry 4 cyl didn't have the "sludge" problem and I treated it very badly the whole time i owned it. I never had to bring it in for repair. My best friend and her husband both own the same model and haven't had a problem either. I now drive a 2009 corolla (my spouse has a 2007 corolla) but thats because I'm just not into excitement while driving. If I do run into a "sludge" problem then I can take comfort in the fact that at least I didn't get "nickle and dimed" to death like i did when I owned a Pontiac Grand Am. I prefer to keep the "excitement' off the road. I've owned three toyotas and the money i've saved over the years has gone straight into a ROTH IRA.

Sorry UAW.... The greatness of this country was built on your backs but your management has let you down.

Sally of CA @ Jun 10, 2008 16:12:57 PM

Market Forces

What is really happening here is market forces at work. UAW demand higher wages than their counter parts at foreign auto plants (and I'm talking about those that have plants here on US soil). Pension obligations that the big three have are significantly greater than foreign manufacturers for their workers.

The high oil prices merely expedite the consequences of high labor costs and demanding pension obligations.

Howard of WA @ Jun 09, 2008 14:29:28 PM

The Once Great Car Company

We have no one to blame but ourselves. The United States has become a country of largess. GM is just a perfect example of what is wrong with this entire country. GM has always been a reactive and not proactive company. They were more interested in a quick profit and not looking at the long range picture. They saw that fuel efficiency would become an important consideration, but the ignored the trend and they kept building the large SUV and Pickups. Then when the market dropped out, they stand around with shocked faces. Now they are playing catch up, but they will never recover the greatness they once had. GM management will not suffer from this. They will still get their 7 figure incomes. The high school drop out working on the assembly line is the one who won’t be paying his bills at the end of the month.

David Meyers of FL @ Jun 09, 2008 14:07:13 PM