In the long run protecting our markets through tariffs etc. will do us
no good. Our economic model isn't built to work this way. If we
penalize imports then the domestic makers will just find a way to
exploit it without improving the quality of their vehicles. Then the
consumer suffers and the domestics dig themselves a deeper hole to crawl
out from. Besides, Toyota is not selling their vehicles for less than
Ford's or GM's counterparts. Most cases they are MORE expensive.
People buy them anyway.
IMO, the main problem facing Ford and GM is the perception of the public
regarding their products. I don't think their vehicles are all that
worse, or any worse for that matter, than the Japanese imports. The
import companies have run circles around them from a marketing aspect.
After the Mustang, what does Ford have to get anyone excited about their
lineup? I can't think of any right off hand.
Here's another reason I think Ford has hit a marketing wall... they have
abandoned vehicle names like the Taurus, Escort, Thunderbird etc. Now
do you think Toyota would decide to kill off the Camry or Celica? Heck
no they wouldn't. They understand the effect those long time model
names have on selling their cars. Ford just tosses their car names into
the garbage every 3-4 years and starts from scratch. IMO, it is beyond
stupid to do this and is costing them heavily in market share.
Nicholas Anthony wrote:
> Goes to show you that our Government isnt looking out for the best interest
> of our country and rather the worlds opinion of us, sigh. Imagine if we
> impose the same tactics to Japan they do on our products.
>
> Nick
>
>
> "Grover C. McCoury III" > wrote in message
> ...
>> By Micheline Maynard
>> International Herald Tribune
>>
>> December 27, 2006
>>
>> (Detroit) The new chief executive of Ford Motor, which is struggling to
>> bounce back from one of the worst crises in its history, met last week in
>> Tokyo with the chairman of Toyota Motor, which is poised to become the
>> world's biggest auto maker next year.
>>
>> Ford's chief executive, Alan Mulally, and Mark Fields, the head of Ford
>> operations for the Americas, attended the meeting last week with Toyota's
>> chairman, Fujio Cho, and other top Toyota executives, senior officers at
>> both companies said Tuesday, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
>>
>> Toyota issued a statement Wednesday describing the meeting as a courtesy
>> call, but did not say what was discussed.
>>
>> "We held talks at the request of Ford," the president of Toyota, Katsuaki
>> Watanabe, said in Nagoya, according to Bloomberg News, citing Kyodo News.
>>
>> Toyota and Ford officials, as well as the Japanese news media that first
>> reported on the meeting, indicated that the talks had focused on
>> developing environmentally friendly technology, like hybrid-electric and
>> hydrogen fuel systems, as well as on ways that Toyota could help Ford
>> improve its manufacturing efficiency.
>>
>> The meeting of Mulally, Fields and Cho follows talks held this summer
>> between General Motors, Renault of France and Nissan of Japan.
>>
>> But Ford and Toyota are not believed to have discussed anything that
>> resembled the joint purchasing or car- production ideas that were the
>> subject of GM's talks with Renault and Nissan, which ended in October
>> without any agreement.
>>
>> Ford and Toyota have an association that stretches back to the 1950s, when
>> Ford allowed managers from Toyota, which was trying to regroup after World
>> War II, to study the operations at its giant Rouge complex in Dearborn,
>> Michigan.
>>
>> The visits helped Taichi Ohno develop the Toyota production system, which
>> emphasizes driving out waste, fostering worker involvement and making
>> continuous improvements on the factory floor.
>>
>> Toyota also came to Ford in the 1980s when it was looking for an American
>> partner with which to open its first plant in the United States.
>>
>> The two companies held brief discussions that could have led to a joint
>> Ford- Toyota venture to build a version of the midsize Camry for each
>> company. Instead, Toyota entered into a joint venture with GM that
>> recently celebrated its 20th anniversary.
>>
>> Now, Toyota and Ford may work together again as Ford tries to regroup from
>> a third-quarter loss of $5.8 billion in North America.
>>
>> Cho, who worked under Ohno and ran Toyota's plant in Georgetown, Kentucky,
>> before becoming its chief executive and subsequently its chairman, is
>> concerned about the financial problems facing Ford, an executive at Toyota
>> said.
>>
>> "If he can do anything to help them out of this, he would like to," the
>> executive said.
>>
>> Analysts have said that Ford probably had little to offer Toyota in terms
>> of cash or know-how, though Toyota could be seeking access to Ford's
>> hybrid technology. Rather, they said, Toyota was probably hoping to
>> deflect criticism from Washington as it seeks to overtake GM.
>>
>> "If it forges a relationship with Ford, Toyota is probably hoping it will
>> be seen as a goodwill move," said Chester Dawson, author of "Lexus: The
>> Relentless Pursuit." He added, "Toyota is wary of inciting trade
>> friction."
>>
>> James Womack, co-author of "The Machine That Changed The World," which
>> examines Japanese automakers' American plants, said, "Toyota has nothing
>> to gain, either politically or in the market, by letting Ford fail fast."
>>
>> Toyota, the world leader in hybrid- electric cars, already licenses hybrid
>> technology to Ford, which sells a hybrid version of the Ford Escape, a
>> small sport utility vehicle.
>>
>> Ford has its own hybrid program, but it cut back on hybrid development
>> this year when it decided to place more emphasis on developing flexible
>> fuel vehicles that can run on gasoline and another type of fuel, like
>> ethanol.
>>
>> Ford buys parts for its hybrid vehicles from Aisin Seiki, a supplier that
>> is partly owned by Toyota and part of its global network of parts-making
>> companies. Ford and Aisin have had disputes over the number of parts Aisin
>> was willing to make available for Ford vehicles.
>>
>> Mulally is a student of the Toyota production system and used a form of it
>> on assembly lines at the Boeing, where he was head of the commercial
>> airplanes division before joining Ford in September.
>>
>> Mulally and Fields flew from the United States to Japan and returned
>> immediately afterward, people with direct knowledge of their trip said
>> Tuesday. During an interview Friday, Mulally gave no hint that he had made
>> the trip, which is a round-trip flight lasting about 24 hours.
>>
>> The long journey reflects the value Mulally places on Ford's relationship
>> with Toyota, according to a company officer with knowledge of his views.
>> Only a year ago, Bill Ford Jr., then Ford's chief executive, sounded a
>> more competitive note.
>>
>> "My goal is to fight Toyota and everybody else and come out on top," Ford
>> said during an interview with Time magazine, adding: "I'm not ceding
>> anything to Toyota. They're an excellent company, and they're a terrific
>> competitor, but I look forward to taking them on."
>>
>> Yet another $.02 worth from a proud owner of a 1970 Mustang Mach 1 @
>> http://community.webshots.com/album/18644819fHAehGJAjt
>>
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