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#67 of 116 OK pick a side..... by larsb

Jun 29, 2006 (9:45 am)

If you ARE a believer of the CNW study, then Toyota has 4 of the Top Ten cars. No other company has that many.
 
Toyota ALSO has more hybrids than anyone else.
 
Regardless of the "dirty side of Toyota", they do more on the "clean side" than anyone else does.

#68 of 116 Re: OK pick a side..... [larsb] by ateixeira

Jun 29, 2006 (10:41 am)

Replying to: larsb (Jun 29, 2006 9:45 am)
They're a very large company, so they do more of both.
 
But look at the volume of sales - the hybrids represent a much smaller peice of the pie than Tundras do.
 
-juice

#69 of 116 Re: OK pick a side..... [ateixeira] by larsb

Jun 29, 2006 (11:36 am)

Replying to: ateixeira (Jun 29, 2006 10:41 am)
Of course Tundra sells more than Prius. But is that Toyota's fault in the least?
 
No, it's not.
 
People buy what they want to buy. The fact that more people want to buy Tundras than Priuses is not Toyota's fault.
 
Look at F150 pickups - more people in America want them than any other Ford vehicle, and that is not Ford's fault either.
 
As a car company, all you can do is PROVIDE clean cars - you cannot FORCE people to buy them. Toyota PROVIDES more clean cars than anyone else.

#70 of 116 Re: OK pick a side..... [larsb] by gagrice

Jun 29, 2006 (1:22 pm)

Replying to: larsb (Jun 29, 2006 11:36 am)
Of course Tundra sells more than Prius. But is that Toyota's fault in the least?
 
Yes it is their fault. You can go to any Toyota store and have your choice of Tundra PU. Color & Options. You cannot even find a Prius for sale on most Toyota lots. I believe it is planned that way. They only want to sell as many hybrids as they absolutely have to and still maintain that faux green facade. You can sugar coat Toyota all day and they will still smell like a rat.

#71 of 116 more from the misleading CNW report.... by larsb

Jun 29, 2006 (2:44 pm)

In many cases the jargon was overly technical and aimed at scientists and engineers. In other cases, the analysis was incomplete not taking into account the energy cost of simply conceiving of a new automotive idea or “off loading” manufacturing energy requirements to suppliers. In the latter case, for example, by requiring parts suppliers to perform sub-assemblies and “modules” that go into the production of a vehicle, it removes that energy usage from the assembly plant to the supplier production line. In some cases, Toyota being one, it allows the manufacturer to claim a significant reduction in plant energy usage and an improvement in efficiency while, in reality, the energy costs have simply been moved from one site to another.
 
Notice how evern at the outset, they have a bias against Toyota.

#72 of 116 Re: OK pick a side..... [gagrice] by larsb

Jun 29, 2006 (2:47 pm)

Replying to: gagrice (Jun 29, 2006 1:22 pm)
Gary, come on now..... Look at the MARKET FORCES involved.
 
There are simply MORE BUYERS who want a Tundra. It has nothing to do with limited supply of the Prius. If there were 250,000 buyers a year wanting Priuses, Toyota could supply all those cars, no problem.
 
Priuses FOR A WHILE were rare and scarce, but right now they are not. Maybe in Cali they are still rare, but that's because all the lefties want one to show how Green they are.
 
Every Toyota dealer in Phoenix has two or three Priuses on the lot every time I drive by.

#73 of 116 Re: OK pick a side..... [larsb] by gagrice

Jun 29, 2006 (4:23 pm)

Replying to: larsb (Jun 29, 2006 2:47 pm)
There are simply MORE BUYERS who want a Tundra.
 
I think if you look at the record. Prius and Tundra both sold about the same amount last year. Wanna bet which was easier to find? You can go to the Prius thread and there are still people on wait lists for the Prius. It is a Contrived shortage nothing less. There is no reason for there not to be as many Prius available as any other car. I was at two dealers in the last month to look at the FJ Cruiser. San Diego Toyota had neither FJC or Prius, they had a row of Tundras a block long. El Cajon Toyota had one FJC and one Prius and a whole back lot filled with PU trucks. The simple truth is they do not want to lose one single opportunity to sell a PU truck and they could care less if you buy the Prius. I think it is still a loss leader. Of course we have hashed that out before. If it is not true why aren't the Prius readily available after 7 years on the market. Prius sales are off by about 25% from last year this time. Yet people cannot get them without a wait on both coasts. Where are the promised hybrids of every color. They are the color green alright. Green back dollars. They have done nothing but raise the price. Where is your dream of every one owning a hybrid? I can tell you it is not Toyota's dream. It is more like their nightmare. I have to believe you have plenty of hybrids in AZ. I think two posters went to Phoenix to buy the Camry Hybrid that is now the car they love to dole out to eager buyers.

#74 of 116 Reasons for Prius "shortage" - not contrived: by larsb

Jun 30, 2006 (8:46 am)

From this page:
 
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/columnists/14254279.htm
 
Even with Prius shortage, Toyota gains vs. GM, Ford
By Frank Michael Russell
Mercury News Assistant Business Editor
 
Toyota continued to gain ground against U.S. automakers GM and Ford last month, even though it couldn't make enough of its popular Prius hybrids to keep up with demand.
 
The Japanese automaker said its sales were up 7 percent in March compared with a year earlier, driven by a 15 percent jump in truck and SUV sales. But Prius sales were down 22 percent as production problems slowed down Toyota's effort to supply the high-mileage gas-electric vehicles to its U.S. dealers.
 
Ford, meanwhile, said its sales were down 5 percent, mostly because of shrinking interest in its SUV lineup. Car sales were flat, but truck and SUV sales dropped 7 percent. Ford Explorer sales were down 25 percent.
 
Another one:
 
http://www.mixedpower.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1127
 
Prius Shortage Won't Improve `Until Later This Year'
 
Toyota PriusIf you're in the market for a new Toyota Prius, you're probably in for a long wait. According to a report today from Bloomberg News, sales of the gas-electric hybrid were down in April, but that was because of a production shortage, not a decline in the vehicle's popularity.

 
So, it appears that the Prius shortage is related to "production problems" and not "We are Contriving to Make Them Scarce To Keep Popularity Up" problems.

#75 of 116 Re: Reasons for Prius "shortage" - not contrived: [larsb] by gagrice

Jun 30, 2006 (9:52 am)

Replying to: larsb (Jun 30, 2006 8:46 am)
but that was because of a production shortage, not a decline in the vehicle's popularity.
 
That gives credibility to my argument. Prius production by Toyota is being stone walled. Toyota does not want to sell anymore hybrids than they need to keep the green glow. If you could go into any Toyota store and have the same selection of Prius that you do Camry or Corolla I would say they are wanting to sell the Prius.
 
IIRC you made some statements a couple years ago that Toyota would get production up to demand by early 2005. It is now the middle of 2006 and they are still dragging their feet. No problem getting a big ramp up of RAV4 V6 gas guzzlers. They are up 53% over last year. Amazing how Toyota can build vehicles when they want to.

#76 of 116 Camry Hybrid rolling off same line in Japan as Priuses = fewer Priuses made by larsb

Jun 30, 2006 (10:44 am)

http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060519/NEWS01/605190345/-- - 1/BACK01
 
Hybrid harbinger
By Jon Newberry
Post staff reporter
 
Zoom MELVIN GRIER/The Post
Joseph Toyota's sales and leasing consultant Jim Steinau talks with Marion and Bill Cooley before they take off to test drive a 2006 Prius.
ADVERTISEMENT
 
Just as Toyota is starting to sell hybrid versions of its popular Camry sedan, U.S. sales trends of Toyota's groundbreaking Prius hybrid are slowing for the first time since consumer demand surged more than two years ago.
 
The timing isn't mere coincidence, nor is the cause a shortage of willing buyers for Toyota Motor Co.'s gasoline-and-electric-powered Prius, according to company officials. Rather, the problem is that there are even fewer Priuses available than there were last year, when waiting lists often stretched to six months.
 
"Production numbers are a little lower this year at the moment. We're basically selling all we can get," said Sam Butto, a Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. spokesman in Torrance, Calif. "It isn't from a lack of interest from the public. That's for sure."
 
The car that led a revolution away from gas-guzzlers was a novelty when it was introduced, its image instantly polished by movie stars commuting around Hollywood in theirs. Today, you're more likely than not to pass a Prius on your Interstate 75 commute. They've gone mainstream as gas prices have gone up and hybrid technology has proven itself. Given the public's embrace, automakers are responding by building more hybrids.
 
Ironically, production capacity for Priuses in Japan is constrained because Toyota recently began making Camry hybrids - which are just hitting West Coast showrooms - on the same assembly line. That should change later this year when Toyota's manufacturing plant in Georgetown, Ky., starts producing a hybrid version of the Camry. It will be the first Toyota hybrid made in North America. Until now, all the Toyota hybrids sold here have been imported from Japan.
 
When Georgetown begins producing hybrid Camrys later this year, it will initially source its hybrid components - including specialized electric motors, generators, transmissions, and batteries - from Japan. But Butto said the recent shortage of Priuses isn't tied to a scarcity of hybrid components. "I don't think that is the problem. It's basically a shortage of vehicles," he said.
 
Victor Vanov, a spokesman for Toyota's North American manufacturing headquarters in Erlanger, Ky., said start-up of Camry production in Georgetown should help alleviate the Prius shortage.

"The ultimate goal is that when Camrys are being produced in Georgetown, that will free up capacity for more Priuses in Japan," he said.

Messages Page 8 of 12

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