Talk of a Toyota Bailout is Ridiculous and Absurd

Have to agree with the article. Toyota is in a much different situation than all the other car companies. They have huge cash reserves.

According to media they are about to report a 7 billion dollar operating loss- Oh shoot an operating loss at Toyota!!!! But they can't blame the industry, Toyota is still profitable...err...Hyundai is still profitable. Must be mismanagement, Must be the fault of these big 4 companies. And if you subscribe to the thought that Toyota is a great god, why is Hyundai picking up share?

Perhaps it comes down to cost and media attention.

In many ways it is too bad our government and the constituents weren't more leading edge to offer loans--Especially, when the frozen credit markets are largely due to lack of proper governance.

The US doesn't subsidize our exports in the same way Korean does for Hyundai, nor do they allow GM to cook their books; remember Hyundai's scandals???? ????

"Unbiased journalism" from Tundra Headquarters. Who needs the WSJ or CNBC when you can get your financial analysis from a Toyota truck blog and forum.

So you don't know how to read a financial statement either?

TundraHQ, I'm no stranger to balance sheets, income statements, cash flows, etc. Part of my job is investment research and I wrote my MBA accounting term paper last semester on F and GM's troubles.

My comment was directed at the fact an "article" from a Toyota Truck fanboy site is considered a legitimate source for posting when a plethora of research and articles on this exact subject is available from mainstream media and investment research sources.

I don't get it. You call us biased, but you don't disagree with our conclusion. What am I missing? Do you choose to ignore our article and worthwhile conclusion because we're not part of some mega-media corporation?

Sadly, Toyota fanbois are still in denial.

And sadly, Star is still a hater.

Hater of what...lies? You got to be kidding.

Hater of anything that you do not like or is not like you.

Let's coexist! Because everyone loves multiculturalism, right!! Everyone loves freedom, right?

Qur'an:9:5 "Fight and kill the disbelievers wherever you find them, take them captive, harass them, lie in wait and ambush them using every stratagem of war."

Ishaq:324 "He said, 'Fight them so that there is no more rebellion, and religion, all of it, is for Allah only. Allah must have no rivals.'"

+100 if I could nanner.

Don't be jealous Turbo, I'll still show you some love...

i cant believe the koran just said that about nonbelievers...thankfully, most muslims dont live like that

The situation is plain and simple.

2008 profits:
Toyota :.... USD 22.61 billion
VW AG: ..... USD 5.8 billion
GM (2007):.. USD -38.7 billion
Renault:.... USD 3.4 billion

This should put things in perspective regarding Toyota "bailouts".

So where's the truth?

It's even simpler. US Government provide domestic carmakers with unfair competitive advantage over other manufacturers by borrowing taxpayer money below market prices. So did French and Italian government. German government performed an even worse move, they simple GAVE every German buying a new car and scraping the old one EUR 2500 of taxpayer euros. It's not a loan, it's a gift they will never have to pay back. And since they buy virtually domestic cars only, this is a direct not loan but subsidy for Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Opel.

So managers at Toyota decided they can't accept their competitors being supplied with cheaper (or free, as in German case) cash and decided to apply for the same. A logical move in the perspective of 2009 protectionism.

Good points downtoearth.

— ErichHartmann:

> You rearranged the words to suit your own needs.

Yeah, it's pain in the ass to accept reality, nicht wahr, Herr Hartmann?


> The German government DISCOUNTED € 2,500 of every new car bought

And since when it's the government job to lower car prices by subsiding deals from taxpayers' money? The effect is exactly the same as the buyers being given the cash when signing the deal.


> that satisfied the current and future emission laws.

The second part of your sentence is just useless and has been added only to distract readers' attention from the first one which is just a manipulation. Every car that goes on sale has to meet emission regulations, hasn't it? So what's the point of saying it? :)


> Really, really pathetic.

Your denial of what is taking place in Germany is by a mile more pathetic. Let's read on:

Berlin (dpa) - Die große Koalition will mit einer «Umweltprämie» der leidenden deutschen Autoindustrie helfen. Das zeichnete sich am Abend in den Beratungen von Union und SPD in Berlin über ein zweites Konjunkturpaket ab. Käufer von Neuwagen sollen 2500 Euro Prämie bekommen, wenn sie ihr bisheriges, mindestens zehn Jahre altes Fahrzeug abmelden. Für diese Maßnahme seien im zweiten Konjunkturpaket etwa 1,5 Milliarden Euro vorgesehen, erfuhr die dpa aus Koalitionskreisen.

Source: http://www.ad-hoc-news.de/koalition-fuer-umweltpraemie-von-2500-euro-beim-autokauf--/de/Politik/19972962

So this is not even a bailout (which is another word for a loan that has to be paid back) but a subsidy. It will cost German taxpayers, as stated above, EUR 1.5 us-billion ~= USD 1.9 us-billion at current exchange rate.

Why would you take the money if you did not need it. If they take this bailout money (low interest loan or whatever else you want to call it), they need it. Just the talk of taking the money is going to hurt them. If only the US government would back their automakers the way Japan does.

Did you actually read the article?

leave it to low IQ German fanboys to come up with these fabricated cheap shots :)

FACT: Toyota is the richest most profitable automaker in the world, with over $18billion in CASH reserves.

Denail at a river in Egypt fanboys.

Honda thinking about getting in line.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=aAE5Ndf7gEkY&refer=asia


This is from Bloomberg NOT A RABID FAN SITE.

Whatever way you spin it, Toyota asked the government for money. Pure and simple.

I love how outraged people are at the simple mention of tarnishing a already crumbling reputation for Toyota/Lexus

Toyota, We are going to see if your brakes are as big as you claim them to be because you are going downhill and nothing is stopping you. Ever since Toyota decided they wanted to be the biggest automaker and take over the world, their quality has gone down.

I'm still going to sell my Dodge and buy a Toyota.

A lateral move, imo.

All carmakers should avail of their respective government's bailout fund because its there, its available and its at a very low interest. Most probably its payable when able. Toyota and profitable car companies can use the money for some really advanced r and d. Toyota can easily repay this loan whenever.
The way I see it, Toyota is just grabbing the opportunity to use "cheap money".

Yep - that's exactly what's happening.

I love it - "about the author" is a Toyota advertisement LMAO. I think that sums it up.
FYI, If Toyota really had as much cash on hand as their cooked statements say, they wouldn't have asked for $2b in loans. $2b in loans (which must be repaid, unlike the German subsidy) is not worth the huge PR hit they took and the ice cold bath shareholders took for that announcement. Especially not if they're *profitable* and already sitting on 18+ billion. Why take something you don't need if the results are overwhelmingly negative? Something stinks here.

That smell is the BS you're spewing. I bet you think the moon landing was a conspiracy too, right?

oh, and in response to downtoearth:

The German subsidy on cars is no different than any of the other subsidies that every government around the world is handing out to their constituents. Automotive subsidies are no different than new home buying subsidies - period. They're also no different on a balance sheet than writing off a donation or your lost assets. All are government subsidies, designed to promote specific consumer behavior. Japan has them too. Perhaps they don't subsidize the same exact things as we do, but they have them just the same. L2P

Its clear people in here don't travel outside of their small state b/c if you knew about Japanese economics, you would know this is not unusual.

Well I doubt this statement. Currently none car company is in "excellent financial position". In good definetly but excellent, NO!

Let me start by saying I have an inside Toyota perspective on this so called bailout. This bailout is the stupidest thing I have heard in a while! I can say that I know for a fact that Toyota has enough cash on hand(not in banks and cold hard cash)to buy GM and possibly one of the other big three... Think about what they are doing if they are asking for some low interest loan from thier government. They borrow at low interest, lets say 2 percent, then lend this money to buyers at, lets say 4 percent, that is two percent PURE PROFIT at no cost to them. You typical big 3 losers don't think about how to make money when an oppurtinity arises you
most likely are thinking of how much its going to cost this year to your car on the road! I also seen that someone had mentioned something about toyota recalls in the past few years, those are voluntary recalls to take care of the consumer and not government mandated. The big 3 will leave you responsible for thier screwups unless the government mandates it.. been there done that, will not do it again. If you want to have a battle
of facts let me know, leave your imagination to yourself!
Toyota has plenty of money, trust me....

ToyotaWorker94...Well said because Toyota is truly a phenomenom and Lexus is the heir of this greatness.

all Toyota will regret there car soon !, Toyota want to be #1, watch there Quality how low it goes, time will tell !