Toyota replaces Ford as No.2

[askia47]

In the recent issue of Business Week it was annouced that Ford has lost its No.2 spot in the global auto marktplace to Toyota Motor Comapany. Just some news i thought you didnt know.

 

[skylineGTR_guy]

whos #1?

 

[The359]

General Motors

 

[skylineGTR_guy]

Oh, I don't follow that kinda stuff. Thanks for the info.

 

[LoudMusic]

Does that include consumer vehicles only or does that take into account commercial vehicles like semi-trucks / airport luggage haulers / etc etc ... ?

 

[askia47]

im not to sure they didnt explain

 

[The359]

This is for all consumer vehicles if I remember correctly, or for total vehicles says altogether.

 

[The Vanishing Boy]

Well thats a hard lesson from Ford for fumbling for the past decade, but right now, they're doing better so far than GM. GM keeps screwing up with their models (like the dissapointing Corvette, and the Civic-copied Cobalt).

 

[1X83Z]

This doesn't make any sense - is this in profit, sales, or some other measurement of 'company size'?

 

[vat_man]

It's for total vehicles sold. An article here.

Let's not even talk about margins on those vehicles - I heard Ford US cut off subscriptions to trade publications last week, telling employees they could get that sort of information from free internet sources.

Which, whilst they could, is pretty cheap.

 

[1X83Z]

Originally posted by vat_man
It's for total vehicles sold.

How did this not happen years ago? Toyota's got a global presence; they sell extremely well in all world markets particularly Japan, China, and the US which are key especially as their sales are still growing in those markets; they've got a strong brand presence in Europe, South America, and Australia and they make the official truck of the Taliban - plus, the Corolla's been the most popular car on Earth for years. Even with Ford's popularity, I'm extremely surprised this is just happening.

 

[vat_man]

I suspect Europe would be the difference.

 

[NIAL8U]

Ford is nothing special, I don`t know why it has only just happined now, it`s obvious toyota is way better, I mean look at their names, FORD=Fix Or Repaired Daily and toyota =toymotor, I would rather the toy motor then the hassel of constant repairs

 

[Takumi Fujiwara]

You have to remember, Toyota is the #1 make. But GM is Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick, Saab, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Hummer, GMC, and more that I can't remember ATM. It's just so huge.

 

[vat_man]

Not so - the Toyota figures include Lexus and Daihatsu.

 

[audiracing]

I'm not suprised that gm is number 1. Think about it between Buick, Chevy, Pontiac and GM they probably sell more cars then Toyota.

 

[1X83Z]

Originally posted by Takumi Fujiwara
You have to remember, Toyota is the #1 make. But GM is Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick, Saab, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Hummer, GMC, and more that I can't remember ATM. It's just so huge.

Yeah - and of those, Saab is the only one that finds a market outside the US. GM's number one primarily because of Vauxhall and Opel, I'd bet.

Not so - the Toyota figures include Lexus and Daihatsu.

And newly-functioning US brand Scion which probably managed about 1000 sales in 2003.

 

[Joey D]

As soon as ford gets the new Stang out and the F-150 sales going they'll grab the spot back. Why toyota would be number 2 is beyond me, I never thought they were any thing special. Sure they have some good cars, but what do they have that other cars companies don't? I know they have sales, but other then that???

 

[1X83Z]

Originally posted by BlazinXtreme
Sure they have some good cars, but what do they have that other cars companies don't? I know they have sales, but other then that???

So you've named good cars and sales. Add to that a good name and a reputation for reliability - what more do you want?

 

[Joey D]

Ford has a great name and a good rep as far as I know. Everyone I know with a Ford loves them and said that the engines are near bullet proof.

I just want to know want sets them apart?

 

[Famine]

Originally posted by NIAL8U
Ford is nothing special, I don`t know why it has only just happined now, it`s obvious toyota is way better, I mean look at their names, FORD=Fix Or Repaired Daily and toyota =toymotor, I would rather the toy motor then the hassel of constant repairs

How very worldly and unbiased of you.

Ford Focus named as most reliable car in Germany in 2002 - with no vehicle failing it's 3rd year roadworthiness test, and 99.6% with no fault at all.

Ford Europe kick botty - since they ditched the Escort for the Focus, they've just been going up and up. They are now ranked above BMW for reliability (scored by a Spearman's Rank of frequency of repair and average cost of repair, in "What Car?" magazine). Mazda - a Ford dependant - was ranked 1st. And it blows your "it' s obvious toyota is way better" into another Solar System.

It is almost impossible to buy a bad, unreliable new car in the UK these days - Rover, Land Rover, MG Rover are all a little fragile. Vauxhall aren't too great. The VW Sharan is one of the worst cars on the road. FIAT and Alfa Romeo are permanently last. But the difference between the manufacturers is like the difference between the F1 drivers on the grid (remembering that the last qualifier in F1 can only be 7% worse than the Pole sitter). And idiotic bigotry like yours doesn't help.

 

[milefile]

Both Ford and Toyota are boring as hell.

 

[Famine]

Yes - it was impossible to buy a sub 10s to 60mph Toyota in the UK until they introduced the Celica again in 2000. And then only the 192hp version. The Yaris T-Sport (1.5RS from GT3) is a good car to chuck about though.

Ford have started to get a little more exciting recently. When they killed off the Zetec-S - one of the best handling FF hatches ever (but woefully underpowered) - it looked a little grim. But the Focus RS (more than a match for the Impreza) came out, it all became a little more interesting. Hopefully they'll release the 300hp 4WD Focus Cosworth, but the Ford GT is fairly exciting too. And they showed a 5.0 V8 FR Focus at SEMA this year...!

 

[NIAL8U]

i apoligise, i guess my qpinion comes from a person who is close freinds with people who own such cars as a 1999 christmas edition RZ 3.3 TT VVTi

 

[askia47]

Originally posted by BlazinXtreme
Ford has a great name and a good rep as far as I know. Everyone I know with a Ford loves them and said that the engines are near bullet proof.

I just want to know want sets them apart?

fords are not as reliable, (IN AMERICA) thats one reason

 

[1X83Z]

Originally posted by BlazinXtreme

I just want to know want sets them apart?

If we went car by car, you'd see that Toyota's got a better contender than Ford in nearly every class.

 

[Famine]

In the US.

In the UK market it's the other way around.

 

[1X83Z]

Originally posted by Famine
In the US.

In the UK market it's the other way around.

Yep. Unless I say differently, if I'm speaking to somebody else from the US about two companies selling cars in the US, then I'm referring to the US market.

 

[Famine]

That doesn't even make the slightest bit of sense...

Toyota's UK line up sucks. I've no idea what they're playing at. And as bad as everyone thinks the Yaris/Vitz/Echo Hatch is, it's nothing compared to the Yaris Verso we get over here - a small MPV based on the Yaris with the same engines...

 

[1X83Z]

Originally posted by Famine
That doesn't even make the slightest bit of sense...

I know! Mad! I used to make exceptions for the European and sometimes Latin American automarket, but then I began realising I have no idea what goes on in, say, Asia, and there's no sense excepting Europe and Latin America and not Asia or Japan/China.

Toyota's UK line up sucks. I've no idea what they're playing at. And as bad as everyone thinks the Yaris/Vitz/Echo Hatch is, it's nothing compared to the Yaris Verso we get over here - a small MPV based on the Yaris with the same engines...

Toyota's UK lineup does suck, though they make a lot of money off it - we all know everybody loves the Avensis. Vitz, Corolla, and all the Verso models seem to sell well too, though I can't say as I know too much about sales of any of the others (except Camry which shouldn't even be sold in Europe).

Daihatsu's another story - why isn't Toyota cleaning them up?