thegriffon

Seriously it leaves the Statesmen/Caprice as the only vehicles in this market segment (although the 6-cyl Ssangyong Chairman comes close). It should embarrass Ford that the smaller Chrysler 300 sold better than the Fairlane/LTD in recent months. Of course as things are going Ford will have to close and with not enough work for local suppliers Holden and Toyota will have have to source more parts overseas.

Ehh, the Park Avenue isn't built in Australia, and Holden is not known for that kind of differentiation, especially for the interior.

Which reminds me:"We regret to announce that Peerless Confection Company, manufacturer of quality hard candies in Chicago, Illinois, since 1914, will cease operations effective April 30, 2007. Declining consumption of hard candy and the increasing prevalence of imports and offshore production are two major factors influencing our decision. To remain competitive in this environment would require us to move our facility offshore, which is not an option we are willing to consider. To do so would betray our tradition of quality and our commitment to our family of workers. For 93 years Peerless has been proud to offer our customers the finest quality hard candies made in America. That tradition will continue until the last piece of candy is produced. The Board of Directors has made the decision to cease operations at a time when our financial position enables us to offer each of our employees a generous severance package." Now, while a decline in sales of hard candies is understandable (partly due to the myth it causes tooth decay), the rise in imported hard candy (mostly from China) is retailer-driven, and has nothing to do with customer preferences. Who in their right mind would buy Chinese candy over American candy, at any price? I used to buy American hard candy every Christmas, now I couldn't if I wanted to because retailers no longer sell it. They'd rather boost their profits by selling Chinese candy canes.

flee

The Crown is no longer widely offered outside Japan and a very few Asian markets. It gets down to production utilisation. In the US and Australia it would have to be imported, as there is no volume vehicle it can share a plant with, unlike the Camry-based Avalon and the Aurion (which is a Camry).Nissan simply doesn't have the money or the marketshare to offer as many rwd sedans as it once did, so they've all been culled down to the Skyline, Fuga and Cima, all badeg as Infinitis outside Japan (and probably soon inside Japan as as well). Only Toyota has the market share to support 6 sales channels with different models, and multiple rwd sedans at different price points. Outside Japan, you effectively get the Corolla and Lexus channels, and sometimes Daihatsu. The more expensive Toyopet and Toyota channels with their rwd lineups are too much clutter in markets where Toyota usually has closer to 10% of the market (sometimes much less). While a V6 and V8 Crown may sell better and at higher prices than the Aurion, it would be much less viable for Toyota to produce locally in a plant which can barely afford to upgrade to a completely new Camry.

It's not a slightly larger-displacement V6. It's the same V6 but in the Asian (Thailand, China etc.) Camry body (slightly different sheetmetal, identical under the skin), which is paired with the 2.4 L or the old 3.3 L elsewhere.

Apparently not, but there are two other possibilities.

Don't forget the Avalon replaced a rwd sedan at Toyota, a car that Toyota still builds for the Japanese and Chinese markets—the Mark X/Reis (now on the same platform as the GS and Crown). In the Japanese market it is a direct competitor for the Nissan Skyline (aka Infiniti G35). As mentioned by some others mentioned the larger and more expensive Crown is another option, available with both V6 (Royal and Athlete) and V8 engines (Majesta) and produced in both China and Japan. Of course the Crown is an expensive option, probably not much cheaper to build than the GS (which is essentially a rebodied Crown after all). Since it's no bigger than the Camry you'd have to question how it would fit in a lineup that already includes the ES350 and Avalon. Unlike Japan Toyota doesn't have the luxury of 50% market share and 6 different sales channels (including Daihatsu).

Corollas are also made in Japan, even though the Japanese Corolla is different. Tariffs make the importation of pickup trucks uncompetitive. Of course a number of these vehicles are not made by Toyota, but by affiliated companies: Toyota Auto Body: Prius, LandCruiser, LX470 (and a host of vans and SUVs not sold in the US) Kanto Auto Works: Century, Crown, Corolla Spacio, Corolla wagon, Isis, Yaris sedan, SC, Auris Central Motor Co.: Raum, MR-S, Scion xB, Corolla sedan, Corolla hatchbacks Gifu Auto Body: Hiace Daihatsu Motor,Co., Ltd.: Rush, Passo, Probox, Succeed, bB, Porte, SIENTA Hino: Dyna, Townace/Liteace, FJ Cruiser, Toyoace, Hilux Surf (Japanese market 4Runner) Toyota Industries Corp. (the original textile machinery company Toyota Motor was spun off from): Yaris hatch, RAV4

GM in China has several brands—Saab, Cadillac, Buick, Chevrolet, Wuling and Opel.The reasoning is flawed because it assumes GM will not simply lose further market share by cutting brands and vehicles. The real problem is one of reveue per vehicle, not too many brands. The brands people want to cut are still higher volume lineups than many newer entires, and no-one suggests they cannot be supported by current market share. Are middle line brands irrelevant? Yes, but GM doesn't have middle-line brands in the old sense. Saturn, Pontiac and Buick are pitched at the heart of the market (in fact a little below Toyota, Honda and Nissan). Chevrolet, Ford etc. are bargain brands, cheaper than even Hyundai and Kia. For GM this is acceptable, Chevrolet being positioned globally as GM's as a more affordable option, but not every GM brand can be the "affordable alternative". GM needs to raise prices of its so-called midline models to at least match Toyota in order to stay in business. Hence fewer fleet specials, and the much more expensive Vue.

Just because it doesn't sound like investment for North America, doesn't mean it isn't.

What is GM Daewoo spending the money on? A new 6-speed fwd auto (MH8) for compact cars (GM's in-house effort, displacing the 5- and 6-speed Aisin-Warner units as well as the GM and ZF 4-speeds); a new global compact based on the next European platform; an Epsilon II-based Epica replacement for global markets (to battle the Passat and Mondeo); a larger midsize sedan (subsituting for the VE in Korea and where the latter is not a Chevrolet); and the next Aveo (and the underpinnings for the next, US-certifiable, Corsa). North American engineers and designers will be involved in these efforts (part of a 24/7 global engineering organisation), even if they are not explicitly North American programs. Similarly, a big investment in developing new models for GM China means—new Buicks. Investment in new Opels means—new Saturns. If fuel prices rise enough you may even get the next minicar(s.

The massive investment in GMDAT will produce products that will be built and sold in North America, if not the US, starting with the 2008 Saturn Vue. More are on the way, and not just a replacement for the Aveo (the only one to stay an import). Don't forget every Daewoo is a Chevrolet, and that GM is eliminating duplication of effort worldwide.

In no particular order: overseas Ford Focus (Europe, Asia, Africa)—just a shame about the engines. Volvo C30 BMW 1-series 3-door Citroen C4 Berline Opel Astra GTC/Caravan 1.6 Turbo/1.7 CDTi 125 Mercedes B-Class Honda Civic Type R sedan Toyota Allion/Toyopet Premio (still better than the new Corolla, and now cheaper too; but only for more savvy Japanese who have done their homework [which Toyota apparently hasn't]) Toyota Caldina GT-four (ditto).

Pink

"Lawfirm Jones and Macguire has launched a class action on behalf of Ford Explorer Sportrac owners, alleging the vehicle is prone to fire in low-speed rear-end collisions, presenting a hazard to life and property. Plaintiffs are seeking the recall of all vehicles and damages of $1,000,000 for every Sportrac owner."

If everyone buys ethanol vehicles, someone is more likely to build gas stations that offer it. I don't think that anyone can really limi8t sales to rental fleets. If Enterprise wants to buy them, they will. The onky thing they can do really do is not offer the incentives the rental companies have grown to expect. Since they can't get the "deal" from GM anymore, and since GM is cuttingthe number of cheap fleet specials produced, they may as well buy more Toyotas, whether Toyota likes it or not. Come to think of it a base 4-cyl Accord is an ideal rental car, but of course Honda probably doesn't actually build more than a handful.

Misleading headlines. GM plans to increase sales outside NA to more than 60% (already reached), by increasing sales overseas rather than by losing sles in the US. The growth strategy will not cause lost sales in the US, but the proportion of sales will increase if they do. Remember, vehicle development is the biggest proportion of a new product introduction. Upgrading or even building a plant is relatively cheap. From now on almost every model GM invests in to fuel international sales in China, India, Europe or South America will be the core of a North American vehicle program. E.g. demand for a true compact SUV in South America and Europe means the US will get one too. It does not take away from investment in the US.

Compared to competing products the Galant is overpriced in the US market, which does not help.

Mitsubishi is still too embarassed to publicize sales of most models. You'll have to wait for Auto News to publish them Monday.

No but there are sure some chicks there I might want to know better :AH-HA_wink: It's a pity most of them are married.

Why? I always post when I'm asleep. Even when you're awake it's easy to let your mind run ahead of your fingers and miss letters or words if you don't take car.

68 is counting all his post on the old board, and all the other boards he's posted, and every other conversation he's had. If he's been saying for 20 years though, it's nearly 5 times a minute.

Moe than about 225 hp in a fwd compact and it very quickly gets very "ohhh, sh—!!!", as ably demonstrated by the Astra OPC and Mazdaspeed3.

They only sell it in Japan.