Toyota withdraw from Formula 1

[Stéphane Dumas]

from http://chrishf1.wordpress.com/2009/1...rom-formula-1/

and from AE's "On the table"

(3 red arrows down)Toyota. Publisher's Note: The Japanese auto company has abruptly pulled the plug on its Formula 1 program. The automaker entered the sport in 2002 hell bent on finally trying to do something about burying its stodgy image as an "assembler" of motorized appliances once and for all. And it failed miserably. Toyota is estimated to have spent as much as $2.5 billion - if not more - in its quest only to achieve a few poles and a few podium finishes, and not one single victory. This move by Toyota signifies more than a pullback for financial reasons, it's an embarrassment of the highest degree. This company demonstrated that in spite all of its financial might and technical resources it could not get it done. All they have to show for it now is its new Lexus LFA super sports car, which becomes a $350,000 answer to a question that nobody was asking, no matter how good it is. The bottom line in all of this is that the natural order of things has been emphatically proven yet again. When Honda goes racing, it's part of their corporate soul, and they have won and will continue to win championships when they put their minds to it, because that's who they are. As I've said repeatedly, they don't call it the Honda Motor Company for nothing. Toyota? Not so much. It's a car company, yes, but it's more of an assembler of ingredients than anything else. Racing and winning has never been a part of who they are. It has never driven them, and they've competed over the years when it seemed like the thing to do, not because they believed in it to their core. And so it goes... - PMD

[OLDSCHOOLGMFAN]

Wow, that's crazy! But they have a ton of success in NASCAR, so this is really confusing to me. What happened to this autobuilder? Last fall, it looked like they were gonna take over the world!

['Vette Dude]

Originally Posted by OLDSCHOOLGMFAN

Wow, that's crazy! But they have a ton of success in NASCAR, so this is really confusing to me. What happened to this autobuilder? Last fall, it looked like they were gonna take over the world!

Huh? Success in NASCAR? No sir. Who won the manufacturers chamionship 5 years straight? Who has powered the driver who won the Cup for the last 3 years?

(Hint: Not Toyota)

[nsap]

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