it's the ultimate insult, that's akin to saying, "our products are so much superior than yours. we can charge whatever we like."

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Don't be fooled, David. Toyota will have to raise prices soon due to the falling dollar and rising yen. This is just Toyota playing with the American media and consumer yet again.

They can't keep the same profit margins on vehicles with the current currency rates. They have to raise prices regardless.

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Whoa....is this an April fools joke?

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you guys have it all wrong, it is simple economics. A company as large as GM or Ford going under would have a detrimental impact on the US economy. It would affect the purchasing power of all US citizens not just (former) employees of GM and Ford. Toyota is mearly attempting to help prevent a economic collapse that would effect the company. The only way Toyota can help its competitor is by raising its own prices effectively giving GM and Ford an added incentive over Toyota. However, i do sure this is favorable given current exchange rates as well. As well as making Toyota look like they care about there American counterparts. They don't, economics or exchange rate, they are protecting there bottom line.

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Most of the main cars that they seel are maid here. The changes in currency valuations do not effect those cars as much. Any price increase probably would not be that significant only because they can only charge so much more than Toyota or Nissan.

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Backlash? Against quality products for a good price? Yes, there's patriotic fever sweeping the nation but I don't think Americans will attack Japanese products like what's happening in China. Give Americans some credit after WW II and the Japanese intermint (sp?) camps. If I were GM and Ford, I'd be a bit insulted.

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Besides Toyota already charges a little more than Ford and Chevy, but if they increased the difference between the cost of a Freestar and a Sienna by $500, no one would notice. The same difference applied to the Corrolla would make much more of a difference.

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see, this is simple economics, but not necessarily in the sense some of you are talking about. if ford or gm goes 'under' who do you think will buy them. make no mistake, ford nor gm will ever pull a rover, if they go 'under' toyota buys them, that simple. this is simply a way to raise profit margins, plain and simple. if someones in a toyota dealership, odds are they are looking for a toyota, $500 per car wont change that, but $500 per car adds a nice chunk of change to toyotas bottom line

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Neither GM nor Ford will go broke and if they did, the U.S. factories of competitors would build more cars and employ the people needed--most likely without the high, union wages and benefits which are crippling the U.S. manufacturers now.

As a GM stockholder, I'd lose my investment and would be unhappy about that, but the world wouldn't end without GM and Ford to build crap when other car makers would surely give consumers what they want.

A price increase by Toyota will NOT protect GM and Ford--they'd just raise their prices to make short-run profits. They did this over 20 years ago when the Japanese put "voluntary" import quotas on cars. That was supposed to give domestic manufacturers an opportunity to make their cars competitive WHICH THEY NEVER DID!

Phooey on the jokers who run GM (and Ford, too).

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Buy Freedom GM's and Ford's. Too funny!

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Although some ignorant yahoos may cause a ruckus here and there and the media will be there to make a big deal out of it, I seriously doubt we or the Japanese expect anything like in the past... That is unless some politicians decide to make it their smoke screen/reelection agenda. I just hope Bush Jr. doesn�t decide to pull a repeat of his daddy�s embarrassing fiasco with the Japanese. (I still can�t believe that he asked them for a moratorium on quality control so Americans can catch up! And why didn't he ask the Germans too?) But whether intentional or not, I have no doubt that some of those drastic measures helped keep Chrysler afloat. Between the huge import tariffs and voluntary quotas, the Big Three were able to raise their prices and pad their bottom lines. So there may be some truth to Toyota�s logic. But I agree that the real reason is profit, as foreign governments no longer buy US dollars to create favorable trade.

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Nobody here really watches the economics of today do they? Toyota must raise prices either way.

Get over it. Toyota is not the "bargain" it was once percieved as.

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It will only end up boosting Toyota profits in the same way restricting thier importation did years ago. Toyota is an extremely savy company and I'm certain they see themselves as the Number one carmaker in the United States over the next few years.

They are just backing off right now (for political reasons only) in order to prevent any regulatory (or goverment involvement in reducing the pension/healthcare situation with GM/Ford/Chrysler) that would result in putting the American companies on a "more" even playing field with Toyota.

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People have short memories. Toyota is all too aware of the rampant Japan Bashing which happened in the 80's. The Asian community also remembers Vincent Chin, who was killed by an angry autoworker who mistakenly assumed he was Japanese (he was a Chinese American draftsman) back in 1982. In an age where "patriotism" is at an all time high, it pays to be careful.

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Just saw this - "Toyota won't help U.S. rivals"
http://money.cnn.com/2005/04/26/Autos/toyota.reut/?cnn=yes

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aah, dave beat me to it.
very funny.

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Very interesting comment by Toyota president. The last thing that Honda and Toyota want is to eliminate the competition totally. Bad idea in the long run.
I have an old 1967 Consumer Reports; they were rating 8 TV sets monochrome (black and white). 2005: all those companies vanished from US.

It is stil surprising that GM and Ford still sell cars after 30 some years of bad critics from their own medias. this is the last straw that can break teh camel's back and Toyota knows it. Even if Hollywood and movies have good and vilains, it is not the same thing in business. The termination of Ford and GM would create a huge backlash against Japanese industry that would not be unnoticed.
Just the fact that M. Okuda talked about it is a sign that they feel that the wind could change direction. The fact that Toyota will be numero uno in a near future will make them the future "Darth Vader", not the underdog anymore.
The press already started to attack them( Very tough critics of the Avalon by a Auto journalist lately).
There is still romm for fair competition; M. Okuda is a very clever manager.

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If the American auto industry would produce better quality products then I don't see any reason why the American auto industry would have any problems staying on top.

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Can we get another article about Toyota's response?

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Now Honda's in the act?

http://www.detnews.com/2005/autosinsider/0505/27/01-194606.htm

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