Autoblog

Bringing his experience heading Lexus with him when he defected to Ford, Jim Farley's got his eye on some premium-Toyota style brand growth. Ford's past party line has been that the Lincoln nameplate is strictly for North American consumption, but Farley's been conferring with other Forders like Peter Horbury about taking Lincoln worldwide. Lexus is enjoying rapid growth in markets like Russia and Saudi Arabia, so it's not a new concept for Farley, and Horbury has previous global-brand experience, as well. Whether Ford intends on turning Lincoln into an American Lexus (whatever that might mean) isn't clear, but our domestic luxury marques sometimes enjoy a better reputation elsewhere – witness Buick's stature in China (Counterpoint: witness Cadillac's stature in Europe). The newly unveiled MKS is a good weapon to shoot across the globe, riding on a platform that originated at Volvo. We don't think Lincoln will swipe customers from Volvo, as they're likely different groups of buyers - so what it really may mean is more potential buyers to snap up Ford's production capacity.

Thanks for the tip, throwback!

[Source: Auto News - sub req]

The Woodward Dream Cruise is officially 16 miles long, extending along historic Woodward Ave. from about 9 mile Rd. in Ferndale all the way into Pontiac. There's a proposal on the table, however, to expand the Cruise all the way into downtown Detroit where Woodward Ave. originates, rather than having it begin in Ferndale. The argument is that there would be no auto industry without the city of Detroit, so it should be included in the Cruise, as well. To do so would expand the cruise eight miles, making it a total of 24 miles long.

Having covered the cruise for four years now, this blogger can tell you that despite being 16 miles long, the real action happens within a four-mile stretch between 11 mile and Maple Rd, with the intersection of 13 mile and Woodward being the unofficial epicenter of the action.

The Woodward Dream Cruise is hard enough to see in one day just walking between 11 mile and Maple. Covering it for a site like Autoblog is even harder. Extending it into downtown Detroit would do little to improve the event, and in fact would make it a nightmare for attendees who want to take it all in. It would no doubt benefit the tourism industry in metro Detroit, which is most likely the impetus behind the push for expansion.

As for the argument that Detroit should be included because of its contribution to the industry, should we then have Cruisers hop on the highway and head down to Dearborn? There are many other cities in Michigan that have also had a significant impact on the auto industry, but Detroit is the largest metropolitan area and therefore gets most of the credit. If we were to be honest, the entire state of Michigan deserves the credit, and it can still be honored by cruising once a year north of 9 mile.

[Source: Detroit News]

Shinichi Sasaki (pictured), president of Toyota Motor Corp. Europe, stated last week that the automaker plans to increase purchases from such German companies as Continental AG and Robert Bosch GmbH. Suppliers from the Fatherland already provide around 25 percent of the division's parts. According to Sasaki, the increased purchases are part of Toyota's goal to sell more than a million Toyotas and 45,000 Lexus vehicles by the end of 2005.

Related:
Toyota scouting Europe for new plant location?
Honda, Toyota's plans for the Fatherland
Europe new battleground for U.S. and Asian automakers

[Source: MarketWatch]

Like any business, Toyota Motor Co. is always looking for new markets, and it appears to have struck oil deep in the heart of Texas.

The Lonestar State already accounts for 70-percent of Tundra pickup truck sales, and the automaker is now opening dealerships called "rural opportunity markets" (ROMs), in rural areas in the eastern and central sections, far from its traditional urban areas. The new expansion is part of Toyota's plan to maintain its current growth rate, which analysts predict will be halved between now and 2010.  

"Right now, their momentum is strong enough to keep them at 5-to-8-percent [annual growth] for the next couple of years" says Wes Brown, an analyst with Iceology, a consultancy firm. "After that, I think it will be in the 1-to-2-percent range."

While Toyota is building new dealerships, its luxury brand Lexus is becoming a part of the Texas community. The division is now the official luxury car for the MLB's Texas Rangers. Lexus receives in-park and on-air advertising; has had several sections of Ameriquest Field in Arlington branded and offers free valet parking to anyone driving a Lexus to a home game.

More details on the Toyota rural dealerships and the Lexus/Texas Rangers deal can be found at the links.

[Source: Dallas Morning News and Dallas Business Journal]

One issue Toyota Motor Corp. faces as the automaker continues its rapid growth is too few experienced management types, especially for its overseas operations. According to Reuters Business Channel, the company has stretched its current staff worldwide.

"We have 280,000 employees at the group, and less than 70,000 of those at the Japanese parent," says Mitsuo Kinoshita, executive VP of human resources.

The company has been taking steps to resolve the issue with alacrity. Materials that spell out "The Toyota Way" are distributed to workers. There is a school at the base of Mount Fuji, Japan to train foreign managers. The Global Production Center, which trains management handling the overseas plants, has expanded with branches for the North American and European markets. (Details are provided at the link.)

But the biggest issue is trusting foreign management to be more self-reliant, a tough proposition for this deeply-Japanese company. Says Kinoshita, "We're afraid of slipping, so we can't help but interfere. But we can't let this (stretched resources) go on much longer."

[Source: Reuters]