Nowhere to go but down. :) Toyota sales drop in April

[Jp!]

They'll have a harder time at the top.

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/art.../705010437&imw=Y

"GM, Ford and Toyota sales drop in April; Chrysler Group makes gains"

US Auto sales fall by 8%, but Chrysler group jumps pretty good....

* Jeep® brand up 29 percent led by Jeep Wrangler and Jeep Patriot
* Chrysler and Dodge minivans up 10 percent with momentum from “National Minivan Month” in April
* Five-star crash test-rated Dodge Ram pick up rises 2 percent in competitive segment
* Chrysler Sebring sedan rises 56 percent

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It'll be interesting to see what happens once China hits us full force with their nicely updated auto offerings.

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Another angle to look at this general downturn: (and give kudos to Chrysler Group)

#1 - Jeep had the biggest jump....and they are VERY POOR EPA FUEL ECONOMY


General Motors: Down 9 Percent
Ford: Down 13 Percent
Chrysler Group: Up 1.6 Percent
Chrysler Group by brand:
Chrysler: Up 7 percent
Dodge: Up 2 percent
Jeep: Up 40 percent
Toyota USA: Down 4.3 Percent
Honda USA: Down 9.1 percent
Nissan: Down 18 percent
BMW: Up 0.5 percent
Mini Cooper: Up 2.1 percent
Mercedes: Down 1.8 percent
Audi: Up 9.4 percent
Volkswagen: Down 7 percent
Hyundai: Down 4.6 percent

[Jp!]

Plus Ford is now taking a BIG SWIPE at Toyota's Tundra's lack of five star crash results, too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaAB9RhoyJ8&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Ecarscoop%2Eautoblog%2Ecom%2F2007%2F05%2F01%2Fmike%2Drowe%2Dand%2Dford%2Dtake%2Dshot%2Dat%2Dtoyota%2Din%2Dlatest%2Dcommercial%2F

[Lux Interior]

They're doomed! DOOOOM...


Oh, I thought we were talking about Apple.

[viaripatti]

Yeah, they're doomed. I only buy toyotas because I get that lousy 250K miles out of them before there might be any potential costs involved---Unlike U.S cars, whose owners absolutely crow if they get 150K with no serious repair.
My cousin was a Chrysler Mini-van nut and went through 3 of them(don't even TALK about his tranny problems) while I still had that one lousy Toyota mini-van. Then that darn thing went past 400K on the original motor with marginal oil usage(1Qt/3K miles) before a head gasket failed.
Toyotas, Hondas, & Mazdas are just getting "broke-in" at 100K miles.

[deckeda]

Toyota is beleaguered. Just like Apple.

[Jp!]

Apple aspires to Toyota's failure. This would be more akin to MICROSOFT with the marketshare, not apple. And Toyota's design is staid (cept for Scion), just like MS, and unexciting, like MS.

[Lew Zealand]

So the REAL conclusion here is that consumers like new models.

The brands which released new or updated models sold well while the brands which didn't release something new didn't sell well. Which means that for the next month, these"trends" will change completely.

Just like every other month in the auto industry.

[Jp!]

many new models are often supply-constrained and cannot add to a jump in sales for their first month or so.

[Jp!]

local reports relate to Subaru...

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ar.../705020529