Toyota became the number 1 sales leader in the U.S. in 2009, something that General Motors held tight to for decades, although oftentimes pundits wondered why GM boasted about its market share leadership while profits and brand image tumbled. At least at GM, that drive to be the sales leader isn't the primary focus. "GM is still one of the biggest car companies but I would say we don't care about being the biggest anymore, because we're not," said a GM source who works in the company's marketing group in Detroit. "Thank god that's not a concern anymore. We just need to be the best." The hunt to be the biggest can be difficult. Even Toyota's own CEO lamented that the company had lost its focus.
Toyota will come back bigger and better than before. This fiasco was a wakeup call. Toyota suffered from some of the same arrogance that caused the collapse of GM, the idea that they were above the needs of the public and they get to decide what the public needs
I doubt it. WE find more and more nations producing their own (cheaper) cars. Expect in your liftimes to drive an Indian or Brazilian vehicle if the government allows them into this nation.
Chinese car and battery maker BYD Co, backed by US billionaire investor Warren Buffett, said it will start sales of plug-in hybrid cars with solar panels to the public in Shenzhen on Monday. The company said it will go ahead with the plan to sell the car to mass consumers as planned, despite rumours that it might postpone the date while waiting for the government to announce new consumer subsidies for new energy cars. “There had been some rumours that we might delay,” BYD spokesman Paul Lin told Reuters in a telephone interview on Sunday. “This will be an upgraded version of the F3DM that we have sold to government and corporate clients.” China: BYD to launch Plug-in hybrid cars for mass market | 4EVRiders.org - Charging Locator and News on Electric and Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles
They'll be back but maybe not as strong as before. On their side is the fact that they've currently only got one domestic civilian car company to compete with, and Ford is making some rather good products these days.