andy82471

I hate to say this, but this isn't going to be a big deal. I am sure the lawyers from both the plaintiff and the defendant will make sure there won't be any trials. I am sure Toyota is going to offer her a fantastic amount of money just to go away. It won't be anywhere near $190million dollars but more like somewhere in the neighborhood of 25 to 30 million and we will never hear anything from her again. She becomes and instant millionaire and TOYOTA's reputation remains intact.

Very bad. Just when it seems GM was coming out of the hole.

I would love to see if a Silverado or an F150 could take that kind of punishment. If it could that would be a huge boost for GM and FORD.

I think that is true for about 90% of the driving population. And that is why the Camry is such a runaway success. Personally I would prefer to teleport myself to my workplace rather than grinding through rush hour traffic but I can't

Is it just me or does she look like the Ghost lady from the movie " THE GRUDGE".

Well conservative yet elegant and handsome is what people prefer. I think Ford got the design right this time. But the Enclave interior looks a lot better than this although i dont think the Edge is that bad either.

Is it just me or does the bright orange looks kinda tacky? Something a teenager who wants to stand out might prefer. Interiror looks fine IMO. Hopefully the Edge and the upcoming Enclave can give the Highlander and the Pilot a run for their money. So does the Edge compete with the Highlander or RAV-4 ?

Saturn would play a big role in GM's comeback attempt. I think the AURA looks very competitive with the Camcords in the powertrain department although I still think OHV engines don't belong in a Saturn. I also think the next Gen. Malibu should get the 3.6L engine as an option. That could really help retail sales figure.

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Stor...hoo&siteid=yhoo Well it is deja vu all over again. The domestics losing ground to Asian imports. At least the GMT 900s are doing good. But GM really needs to pay attention to its car side. They can't depend on truck sales to carry them through forever.

http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.ef31962/3007 Ouch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Check out this pic. His brand new 07 Camry being hauled to the dealer at the back of a flatbed truck because of transmission failure. Yikes !!!!!!!!! Not good Toyota.

Toyota Motor Corp., Japan's top automaker and the world's second biggest auto company after General Motors Corp., churned out 779,381 vehicles in March globally, up 12.5 percent from the same month of last year Wow look at TM's March production number!!!! That comes to more than 9.3 million vehicles annually. Does anyone know GM's March production number ? This race is becoming very interesting. It looks like GM could very well fall to No.2 by the end of this year

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/060424/japan_auto_...ction.html?.v=1 TOKYO (AP) -- Global production at four major Japanese automakers rose in March, but the country's second largest, Nissan Motor Co., reported a decline, the automakers said Monday. Toyota Motor Corp., Japan's top automaker and the world's second biggest auto company after General Motors Corp., churned out 779,381 vehicles in March globally, up 12.5 percent from the same month of last year Its overseas output rose 19.7 percent to 366,391 vehicles, the 51st consecutive monthly gain thanks to increased production in almost all regions, Toyota said. Toyota's domestic production jumped 6.8 percent to 412,990 units, the 7th straight month of increase last month, and a record high for the month. At Nissan Motor Co., worldwide production slipped 1.7 percent to 342,165 vehicles in March, with production in Japan falling 12.2 percent to 136,413 vehicles. Its overseas output rose 6.7 percent to 205,752 units. In the United States, the Tokyo-based Nissan's production fell 13.6 percent to 76,080 vehicles because of declined output of Xterra SUVs and Titan pickup truck models, but production posted an 8.5 percent increase in Britain and a 20.5 percent in Spain. Honda Motor Co. reported a 5 percent increase in global production to 336,884 vehicles, as an 11 percent rise in worldwide output offset a 4.1 percent decline in domestic production. Boosted by production increases in North America and the rest of Asia, Honda's output abroad totaled 214,466 vehicles, while production in Japan came to 122,418 units last month, the Tokyo-based Honda said. At Mazda Motor Corp., overseas production surged 49.1 percent to 31,592 vehicles in March, while domestic output posted a 7.1 percent increase to 87,998 vehicles. The Hiroshima-based Mazda Motor, which is 33 percent owned by U.S. automaker Ford Motor Co., said the company's production in and outside Japan rose amid steady demand for Premacy/Mazda5 and Roadster MX-5 new models as well as the Atenza/Mazda6 models. Mitsubishi Motors Corp. reported its global production rose 2.1 percent to 133,366 vehicles, with a 33.6 percent increase in domestic production offsetting a 25.2 percent decrease in overseas output.

Well, Toyota executives themselves admitted that the Tundra and the Sequoia were benchmarked against the F150 and the Expedition respectively. So no surprise with the design. But you are right the truck does look dated although I dont think it qualifies as ugly.

I am guessing once the new ES and LS starts hitting the dealership, sales should go up significantly.

Man this is getting depressing. I hope GM has a good plan B if worst comes to worst. A Delphi strike could be the end of GM as we know it.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060330/ap_on_...DNqBHNlYwM3NDk- DETROIT - Auto supplier Delphi Corp. is expected to ask a federal judge to cancel its union contracts Friday, an action that could lead to a devastating strike, the United Auto Workers said. ADVERTISEMENT Delphi had set a deadline of Thursday to reach an agreement with its unions and General Motors Corp. that would lower wages for its 34,000 U.S. hourly workers, but it appeared unlikely Delphi would meet that goal. In a message on its Web site Thursday, UAW said Delphi would file motions to void its contracts on Friday morning. A message was left seeking comment from Delphi. The UAW, which represents the majority of Delphi's hourly workers, reacted angrily this week to Delphi's latest proposal, which calls for lowering workers' wages from $27 an hour to $16.50 an hour in 2007. Local union leaders have said the UAW won't take the deal to its members for a required vote. GM also hadn't settled with Delphi as of Thursday morning. Delphi would depend on GM, its former parent and largest customer, to supplement its wage offer and give one-time, $50,000 payouts to union members if the offer is accepted. If GM doesn't agree to supplement workers' pay, wages would fall to $12.50 an hour for production workers and $21.50 an hour for skilled trades, the UAW said. If Delphi asks the bankruptcy court judge to void its contracts, the company wouldn't immediately face organized strikes. Judge Robert Drain has scheduled a May 8 hearing on Delphi's request and wouldn't decide whether to void Delphi's contracts until after that hearing. But if Drain does agree to void Delphi's contracts, the International Union of Electronics Workers-Communications Workers of America — which represents around 8,000 hourly workers — has already authorized a strike, and UAW members could authorize one as well. A strike would be devastating for GM, which depends heavily on Delphi parts. GM, which is struggling with declining U.S. market share and spiraling costs, lost $10.6 billion in 2005. The world's largest automaker has been shedding assets in a bid for cash. On Thursday, GM confirmed it is in talks to sell its 7.9 percent stake in Isuzu Motors Ltd. Earlier this month GM sold its 17 percent stake in Suzuki Motor Corp. for about $2 billion. GM also is trying to sell a 51 percent stake in its finance arm, General Motors Acceptance Corp., a deal which could be worth up to $15 billion. The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter that it did not name, reported Thursday that GM was getting closer to a sale. A message seeking comment was left for a GM spokeswoman. GM shares fell 22 cents to $21.93 in early trading on the New York Stock Exchange. ___

Yikes, this guy must really hate GM. Wonder why ? But why pick on just GM only. The maker of Prius also sells Sequoias, LandCruisers, LX470s all over the world.

I guess that means GM has conceded that Toyota will surpass them in terms of global sales. But you are right in the sense that a profitable GM at No.2 spot is far more desirable than a money losing GM at No.1.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060323/ap_on_bi_ge/gm_gmac DETROIT - General Motors Corp. said Thursday that it is selling a majority interest in its commercial mortgage division for $1.5 billion in cash to a private investment group. In addition to the cash payment for a 78 percent stake in the business, GM said that GMAC Commercial Holding Corp. has also repaid $7.3 billion in intercompany loans as part of the deal. That would boost the total proceeds from the deal to almost $9 billion. The announcement comes a day after the world's biggest automaker and its major supplier, Delphi Corp., said they plan to offer buyouts to more than 125,000 hourly workers under an agreement with the United Auto Workers. Workers are expected to start leaving GM by June 1. GM is under enormous pressure to reverse its fortunes. It recently had to increase by $2 billion its reported 2005 loss to $10.6 billion. It has been losing U.S. market share to Asian automakers who are building cars that are among the most popular with American consumers. GM shares rose 23 cents, or just over 1 percent, to $22.24 in early trading on the New York Stock Exchange. The buyer group includes Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., Five Mile Capital Partners and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners. GM said the deal for the commercial mortgage unit stake is separate from GM's announced plans to sell a controlling interest in the its overall finance business, General Motors Acceptance Corp. "This sale is good news for GMAC and provides GMAC with even greater liquidity," GMAC spokeswoman Joanne Krell said. GMAC Commercial Holding also announced that it has changed its name to Capmark Financial Group Inc. The name change will be fully implemented in the second quarter of this year. Capmark "will launch with an investment-grade rating," Krell said. GMAC said in August that it had agreed to sell a 60 percent stake in its commercial mortgage holding business to Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and the other partners, but no financial details were released at that time. The mortgage unit has a loan servicing portfolio of around $250 billion.

Sorry but you are not helping GM's cause by posting non sense driven drivel. I am surprised the host actually allowed this thread to last this long.

Does anyone know how JD Powers do their survey. I have no idea.

Yes, very true. Facts are facts. Like I said I wish it was possible to do a random survey of automobile owners to find out the true picture of automobile dependibility. But the fact remains that Consumer Reports has 6 million paid subscribers and countless more who either occasionally buys them from bookstores or read them. That is a pretty large group of people who considers Consumer Reports as the prophet of product expertise. If Consumer Reports give GM a bad review these 6+ million people could tell their friends and relatives about the "shoddy quality" of domestic cars. I don't think GM needs that kind of publicity right now. This could very well make a lot of people percieve ( I think wrongly) GM managment as a bunch of whiners.

While one can appreciate Ms. Queen's opinion of CR, GM should not try to antagonize CR in any way. A bad review by CR can be a kiss of death for a struggling company like GM. I think Rick did the right thing by apologizing to CR. Btw, Consumer Reports subscription only survey is biased as many people have stated. Any statistician would tell you that a random survey is far more accurate. If CR was in the business of predicting who the next president is going to be, everybody would laugh at them.

http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/cont...=rss_topStories Looks like Toyota isn't doing that badly in China as some people think.

I think Ford will hurt more than GM from this new Tundra. GM still has the power advantage with its 6.0L and 6.2L V8 engine. Ford badly needs a new motor and 6 speed auto or F-150 sales would be heading for a free fall. The 4.6 and 5.4L Triton are two of lamest V8 out there.