Toyota was in the paper no less than three times today.
They are already profitable and continue to plow money into investments for the future. It was good to see the comment about healthcare though. More businesses need to get this issue out in the media.
Toyota to Boost Spending, Turning Up Heat on GM
May 11, 2006
TOKYO -- Japan's Toyota Motor Corp., which is threatening to surpass General Motors Corp. as the world's largest car producer, plans to pull further ahead of its U.S. rival when measured by the amount of money it is pouring into new plants and equipment.
Its spending plans illustrate the different fortunes of Asian-based auto makers and their Detroit rivals, even as they compete in similar markets. Toyota lacks the costs of pension and medical benefits borne by GM and Ford Motor Co. for union employees and retirees, a legacy of their previous labor agreements. In Japan, Toyota spends $97 per vehicle on employee health care, while the government covers retirees. That compared with $462 per vehicle for employees and $1,038 per vehicle for retirees for GM, according to consulting firm A.T. Kearney.
The Toyota minivan has more American parts than a Ford Mustang? More than a little irony there as Toyota replaces GM as the premier "American" car company.
Mom, Apple Pie and...Toyota?
Ford Says It's Patriotic to Buy A Mustang, but Sienna Is Made In Indiana With More U.S. Parts
May 11, 2006
Few sports cars have captured the nation's imagination like the sleek Ford Mustang, a 21st-century reincarnation of an American classic. The Toyota Sienna minivan, by contrast, speaks to the utilitarian aesthetics of Japan: refined interiors, arm rests and lots and lots of cup holders.
Yet, by a crucial measure, the Sienna is far more American than the Mustang. Statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that were publicized in "Auto Industry Update: 2006," a presentation by Farmington Hills, Mich., research company CSM Worldwide, show only 65% of the content of a Ford Mustang comes from the U.S. or Canada. Ford Motor Co. buys the rest of the Mustang's parts abroad. By contrast, the Sienna, sold by Japan's Toyota Motor Corp., is assembled in Indiana with 90% local components.
Here is a list of the 12 best selling cars n April. 3 are SUV's but 6 are Toyotas! Only 2 "American" cars made the list.
