Quote:
Originally Posted by Ming
Honda, Hyundai and KIA at least are well positioned to steal sales from Toyota.
Suzuki could have been well positioned if they weren't trying so hard to emulate Detroit/Toyota and had a lineup here that more accurately reflected their strengths overseas (small cars).
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While this is technically correct, all of you are missing the key point in the article.
Toyota suffered because their product mix in the dealership was wrong. A relatively easy thing to fix.
GM suffered because their small cars are not competitive and their midsize cars just became competitive. The only place GM has significant advantage is in large crossovers. IE people dumping BOF SUVs who still want space.
In other words, Toyota can use their newer, more flexible plants to fix the problem. GM can't sell competitive cars that it doesn't even have ready to go, let alone in plants currently.
Toyota and GM didn't fall victim to anything. Neither one did anything stupid in regards to SUVs / Trucks. No one could predict the tipping point ahead of time with any certainty. Everyone knew they'd take a bath when it finally hit, but there was lots of money to be made in the interim. This is where the media gets it totally wrong. The companies were taking calculated risks, thats what you do in business. They both have hedges - GM has the VOLT, 2 Mode, E-Flex, mild hybrids, E85, diesels, excellent large crossovers. Toyota has hybrids, great small cars, a fantastic midsize reputation.
What happened is the tipping point came a little too soon for GM, and simply surprised Toyota which in 2008 was better setup to deal with it. Had this happened in 2010, it might be different.