Toyota / Lexus Tidbits

[rrocket]

The difference now though is that, in 2009, GM is building the greatest products there is, while Toyota is stuck with the same boring lineup with no major changes  coming anytime soon.

And that didn't account for any profits for GM, as they lost another $1.2 billion this past quarter.  Toyota, with their "boring" cars, turned a profit last quarter.  Must be doing something right, eh?

[articsteve]

GM is building the greatest products there is

Well beyond description I think it is fair to say. 

[Patate]

The difference now though is that, in 2009, GM is building the greatest products there is, while Toyota is stuck with the same boring lineup with no major changes  coming anytime soon.

And that didn't account for any profits for GM, as they lost another $1.2 billion this past quarter.  Toyota, with their "boring" cars, turned a profit last quarter.  Must be doing something right, eh?

Cash for clunkers did, yep.
Low inventory from GM kinda avoided them from benefiting from it.


It will take a few years before GM fully emerges from all the chaos they brought themselves in in the first place (of course), but the Lacrosse, SRX, CTS, Malibu, Equinox, and Camaro to just name them, is he proof that soon all their lineup will be worldclass, while Toyota continues to charge 40k$+ for a ES350.  You think the customers will stay dumb forever?

The 2009 Bankruptcy will be memory in a few years, and GM will be back to what it has been a few decades ago:Excellence

[rrocket]

Cash for clunkers did, yep.
Low inventory from GM kinda avoided them from benefiting from it.

What a crock of crap!!  Do you just make this stuff up, or does your fan-boyism prevent you from seeing the facts?  During the Cash for Clunkers program, Toyota sold 18.9% of vehicles to GM's 17.6%.  So don't give me any "low inventory" line of crap.  GM's benefit was nearly identical to Toyota's.  BUT....in overall US sales, GM's market share of 19.6% was BETTER than Toyota's 16.3% market share.  So they were minimally behind Toyota in Clunker sales, but AHEAD of Toyota in overall sales.  AND THEY STILL LOST MONEY.  I know you're a fan-boy and all, but it doesn't matter if GM makes the greatest cars ever devised by man if they can't make a profit.

source: http://money.cnn.com/2009/08/17/autos/clunker_toyota_tops/?postversion=2009081717

[Honda Owner]

Excellence

Hopefully those in the know at GM will be able to spell the quoted word.

[Juke1]

No longer top safety picks

http://www.autonews.com/article/20091118/OEM01/911179984/1257

[mar1990]

No longer top safety picks

http://www.autonews.com/article/20091118/OEM01/911179984/1257

Can you cut and paste the article?  Requires registration.

[Juke1]

Very strange, the link was working this morning in google news and now it's not.  Articsteve is very up and up on automotive news and I think he has the subscription, maybe he could copy/paste the article.

But I found this,

Fewer Vehicles Earn Safety Label With Rollover Test (Update1)

By Angela Greiling Keane

Nov. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Twenty-seven vehicles earned the top safety rating in a U.S. insurance-industry group’s 2010-model crash tests, less than a third of the number a year earlier after a measure of performance in rollover accidents was added.

The top picks did the best job of protecting in front, side and rear collisions, as well as rollover crashes, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety said in a report today. Ford Motor Co. had the most cars on the list, while Subaru, the auto brand of Japan’s Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd., was the only manufacturer with winners in all vehicle classes in which it competes.

Toyota Motor Corp. vehicles were shut out and the number of vehicles on the list fell from a record 94 for the 2009 model year after the institute added a roof-strength gauge to see how the vehicles fared in rollover accidents. The tests now cover the four most common kinds of crashes, the group said.

The picks are “designs that go far beyond minimum federal safety standards,” Adrian Lund, president of the Arlington, Virginia-based group, said in a statement. “Now that roof strength is a priority, we think manufacturers will move quickly to bolster roofs to do well in our roof-strength test.”

Roofs that meet the institute’s standard reduce the rate of serious and fatal injury in single-vehicle rollover crashes by about 50 percent compared with the federal government’s minimum requirement, the institute said.

Toyota, the world’s largest automaker, had 11 vehicles on the list for its 2009 models, including its Lexus and Scion brands.

Camry Missed Pick

The Toyota City, Japan-based company’s Camry missed a top- pick rating because of the rear-end crash evaluation, the institute said. The car’s seats and head restraints were rated “marginal” for protection against whiplash injury, the group said.

Ford, the only major U.S. automaker to avoid bankruptcy, had six top-pick vehicles, including four from its Volvo unit. Dearborn, Michigan-based Ford is in talks to sell the Volvo unit. The Taurus and Lincoln MKS, along with the Volvo S80, C30, XC60 and XC90 made the list.

Also selected were Subaru’s Forester, Legacy, Outback, Tribeca and some of its Impreza models. Chrysler Group LLC’s Dodge Journey, General Motors Co.’s Buick LaCrosse, Daimler AG’s Mercedes C class, Honda Motor Co.’s Element, Kia Motors Corp.’s Soul, Nissan Motor Co.’s Cube, and Volkswagen AG’s Tiguan and Audi A3 were on the list.

Also among the picks were certain versions of Chrysler’s Sebring, Dodge Avenger and Jeep Patriot; GM’s Chevrolet Malibu; Honda’s Civic; and Volkswagen’s Golf, Jetta and Passat.

The institute’s “good,” “marginal” and “poor” ratings are based on tests of vehicle performance and possible injuries as measured on crash-test dummies in a 40-mile-per-hour frontal impact, 31-mph side impact and 20-mph rear impact, along with the roof-strength test.

To contact the reporter on this story: Angela Greiling Keane in Washington at agreilingkea@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: November 18, 2009 07:37 EST

[articsteve]

No longer top safety picks

http://www.autonews.com/article/20091118/OEM01/911179984/1257

Can you cut and paste the article?  Requires registration.

Toyota fails to land 'top safety pick' rating; Ford leads with 6
Chrissie Thompson
Automotive News
November 18, 2009 - 12:15 am ET

For the first time in three years, none of Toyota Motor Corp.'s vehicles received “top safety pick” ratings from an insurance group, as tougher criteria pared the number of selections from 94 last year to 27 this year.



Ford Motor Co. led all automakers for the second year in a row with six 2010-model top safety picks from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, including four from Volvo, a brand that's being sold. Subaru and Volkswagen AG finished next with five qualifying vehicles, and Chrysler Group had four. Offerings from General Motors, Mercedes-Benz, Honda, Kia and Nissan also made the list.

The nonprofit insurance group, funded by auto insurers, tightened its top pick criteria for the second time since it started the award for the 2006 model year.

This year vehicles must have “good” ratings in the institute's rollover testing. Getting that rate requires doubling the roof strength required by the U.S. government, the group said in a statement.

That adds to existing requirements for receiving the “good” label in front, side and rear crashes and having electronic stability control.

Toyota was the only automaker among the six biggest in the United States that didn't have a winner. Before this year, Toyota, the world's top-producing automaker, had top safety picks in every year but 2007. The Camry almost qualified, the insurance group said. But it received a “marginal” rating in a rear crash test because the seats and headrests provided less than desirable protection against whiplash.

Here is a list of the 2010 top safety picks:

Large cars

Buick LaCrosse

Ford Taurus

Lincoln MKS

Volvo S80

Mid-sized cars

Audi A3

Chevrolet Malibu built after October 2009

Chrysler Sebring four-door version with optional electronic stability control (ESC)

Dodge Avenger with optional ESC

Mercedes C class

Subaru Legacy

Subaru Outback

Volkswagen Jetta sedan

Volkswagen Passat sedan

Volvo C30

Small cars

Honda Civic four-door version with optional ESC; excludes Civic Si

Kia Soul

Nissan Cube

Subaru Impreza excludes Impreza WRX

Volkswagen Golf four-door version

Mid-sized SUVs

Dodge Journey

Subaru Tribeca

Volvo XC60

Volvo XC90

Small SUVs

Honda Element

Jeep Patriot with optional side thorax airbags

Subaru Forester

Volkswagen Tiguan


The Camry almost qualified, the insurance group said. But it received a “marginal” rating in a rear crash test because the seats and headrests provided less than desirable protection against whiplash.


Most irritating. 

What they don't elaborate on is that the Camry failed because of the rear middle seat position which has a movable head restraint.  It moves because it allows shorter drivers to see over it which they WANT.  It also moves up manually, but it is tested in the down position.  Hence it fails for an adult, not a kid though.  So who as an owner really gives a sh^t about that. 

However, these morons who oversee these tests generalize the results and make a mockery out of the results.  As a potential buyer and driver which would you categorize as a priority :  a crappy head restraint for a tallish adult in the rear middle seating position which you can adjust higher or a knee air bag so your knees and shins don't shatter. 

[inco]

Doesn't matter why the Camry lost - people will only remember that it didn't win. Other companies will jump all over this, guaranteed. I can see the headlines now - "Toyota Fails in IIHS Testing" -  No models in Toyota lineup pass safety tests. 

Good luck with that....

[safristi]

..... .......... ........ .......    

[Honda Owner]

Appears that the reports of Toyota's demise are prematire:

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/toyota-global-sales-headed-up/

[Juke1]

Toyota Gets Stuck in a Pair of Ruts

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/09_48/b4157060841032.htm

[safristi]

..makes ya YEN
fer tha good olde days..................

[inco]

Floor mat issue and Canada.

http://www.thestar.com/business

[Patate]

Toyota being a crybaby

http://jalopnik.com/5407606/toyota-calls-iihs-top-safety-pick-results-extreme-and-misleading

[Juke1]

...and the rebutal

http://jalopnik.com/5407648/iihs-fires-back-tells-toyota-to-put-cars-where-its-mouth-is

[Greg B.]

Wow, that blue Toyo folded up worse than the '59 Chevy from a few weeks ago. 

[TopGun]

Appears that the reports of Toyota's demise are prematire:

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/toyota-global-sales-headed-up/

A lot of "ifs" there Arctic Honda Owner...

"Still, if only they could sort out their cheapening interiors, lack of sales in Europe, bland styling and letting the competition catch them up, they may claw their way back towards achieving “break out the sake” results."

[Honda Owner]

“break out the sake” results."

They are turning a profit, something no American based car company has done in many years.