Japanese Automakers Beginning To Look More And More Like Detroit

Japanese Automakers Beginning To Look More And More Like Detroit
Five of Japan's eight automakers are expected to post significant losses in the next few weeks. Demand for their cars and trucks in the United States, their biggest market, has plunged nearly 35 percent in the past year. Scores of suppliers are on the brink of bankruptcy. Thousands of workers have lost their jobs, and many are losing their homes.

These are challenges Detroit has been struggling with for years.

But this is not Detroit.

This is Tokyo, where laid-off auto workers are sleeping in parks, financiers are fretting about the impact of a General Motors Corp. bankruptcy on already weak parts makers, and the heads of once-invincible automakers like Toyota Motor Corp. are watching sales decline and losses mount.

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Agent009Agent009 - 4/9/2009 10:44:51 AM
-5 Boost
david969- in case you haven't noticed in the last month I have been called a Japanese, Korean, US, and even German hater.

I think we spread it all around and that is part of us showing as many sides as possible.

But more importantly allowing you to respond in a most any manner, we never edit a comment, and rarely delete them. Freedom of speech is what it is all about around here. Only when you step over the line do we smack you down.

Try making half the comments here on another site and you will be banned. The end result is that you are getting what we consider a bias slant at other sites. If you can't express your beliefs then why go there?


91z4me91z4me - 4/9/2009 11:39:51 AM
+13 Boost
Time for a new slogan 009. Autospies: your source for equal, unbiased hating.


MrBratwurstMrBratwurst - 4/9/2009 12:52:27 PM
+12 Boost
009 has already secured his new nickname: YourLocalBmwDealer


Agent009Agent009 - 4/9/2009 2:28:01 PM
-5 Boost
mrbratwurst- FYI- I don't currently own a BMW


NItePhireNItePhire - 4/9/2009 3:20:25 PM
0 Boost
009 is right TTAC would have kicked some of you guys would be out of here.


crslmncrslmn - 4/9/2009 4:05:37 PM
0 Boost
Why does everyone think the Japanese automakers are too perfect to have troubles. Toyota and Nissan spent alot of money to make full size pickups and S.U.V.s which are not selling very well.


JordanskiJordanski - 4/10/2009 1:44:15 PM
0 Boost
I still can't figure out why people on this site hate Toyota so much. Is is our fault they know how to build good cars that don't require periodic maintenance or will fall apart if you drive over a pothole too quickly?


inspirion7inspirion7 - 4/9/2009 10:16:06 AM
+4 Boost
uh, poverty. No work, no money. That is reality.


inspirion7inspirion7 - 4/9/2009 10:14:40 AM
+2 Boost
"If Detroit's sin was its over-reliance on big truck and sport utility vehicle sales, Japan's sin has been its dependence on the U.S. car market. As demand for vehicles collapsed in the United States, so did Japanese exports."

With the failure of the housing market, the money most had to purchase vehicles has dried up. This in turn has devastated the automotive market, and now America is blamed for it.

Our financial problems yes we own them, but no one told the Japanese or China or Gucci, Prada or who ever to solely base their profitability on our market. Now the world is BLAMING the U.S. for its issues. We fart, the world blinks. Going forward, it would be wise to diversify in various markets if I were a company with International reach.


Agent009Agent009 - 4/9/2009 10:46:54 AM
+3 Boost
I agree fully. Many makers placed most of their eggs in our basket, thus giving them all the same woes.


roundwegoroundwego - 4/9/2009 10:17:55 AM
-12 Boost
HA HA HA look at his effin slippers!!!


_43LE_43LE - 4/9/2009 11:02:09 AM
+8 Boost
It's sad and really revealing about one's character when someone laughs at the misfortunes of others. No one really laughs when the US automakers do poorly, but why when others do?


roundwegoroundwego - 4/9/2009 11:13:02 AM
-7 Boost
Who are you trying to kid.


_43LE_43LE - 4/9/2009 11:41:23 AM
+11 Boost
Not kidding with anyone. That's the difference between me and you (Crappy/Cheasyrider/BigCheasy/roundwego...how many more iterations will we face?). You laugh at the unfortunate while I don't. Why would I laugh at the US automakers? Their downfall affects me, I live in North America.


roundwegoroundwego - 4/9/2009 2:00:46 PM
-6 Boost
Why are you impersonating el34? I know you want the domestics to fail


_43LE_43LE - 4/9/2009 2:08:33 PM
+5 Boost
I am not impersonating EL34, in fact I am his exact opposite. Impersonating means doing things like another person, do you understand? Shall I go s...l...o...w...e...r for you? You must be really deluded to think that I would want the domestics to fail. If they fail, we all fail...you don't get that, but I'm not surprised. Remember, we're laughing at you, not with you...


roundwegoroundwego - 4/9/2009 2:29:10 PM
-5 Boost
Impersonater.At least 34 makes sense.Closet hater.


_43LE_43LE - 4/9/2009 3:08:57 PM
+5 Boost
No matter how slow or simple I can explain things this guy won't understand.

Remember Crappy/Cheasyrider/BigCheasy/Roundy, at you not with you...thanks for the entertainment!


roundwegoroundwego - 4/9/2009 10:18:24 AM
-9 Boost
Looks like mamasan kicked his ass out!!!


zliveszlives - 4/9/2009 11:26:28 AM
-3 Boost
that looks like chinese writing... but i am no expert.


answeranswer - 4/9/2009 11:30:48 AM
+15 Boost
I know most people coming here (including agents like 009) aren't the most keen observers nor are they financial experts.

But how can people really not understand that this is a global economic problem?

The Asian brands are hurting, the European brands are hurting, and the American brands are obviously in the same boat.

There were some ways each region could have better prepared for this perhaps, but all were equally surprised by the severity and the quickness of the downturn.

To say Japan's automakers were the only ones that planned poorly, or are the ones suffering the most is to represent bias in its purest form.

Why the hell can't autospies just focus on cars and leave the economics and politics junk to people that know what they're talking about???






PlanBPlanB - 4/9/2009 1:32:27 PM
+11 Boost
Amen, you get the best post of the day award.


222max222max - 4/9/2009 12:03:46 PM
+4 Boost
Hear, hear!


222max222max - 4/9/2009 12:05:50 PM
+1 Boost
But at least this time the title is pretty accurate. But you could probably find an equivalent article which discusses Europe's auto woes as well. It's not like they are somehow in a better position.


PerformanceGuyPerformanceGuy - 4/9/2009 1:20:36 PM
+7 Boost
American, Japanese, and German automakers are all looking the same. So no point in trying to make one worse than the other, just shows how bias you are. Which is pretty pathetic.


RobotoRoboto - 4/9/2009 3:17:01 PM
+3 Boost
what are you tryng to say with this silly post??GERMAN CARS ARE DROPING THEIR SALES AND FALLING FACE PLANT!!
listen buddy i live pretty close to germany and the german automakers are not going through their best times...LMFAO
at the german car cheerleaders tryn to diss the number one automakers!!
funny kid, check out this article from one of my buddies in autospies...this was posted a few days ago...get real info fatty boy...
Mercedes Benz Sales Remain In The Dungeon - Down 25% For March

Agent009 submitted on 4/1/2009 Official AutoSpies Timestamp: 1:51:42 PM

8 user comments | Category: Auto Sales | Source: www.autospies.com

Daimler AG today reported sales for the Mercedes-Benz Cars division (Mercedes-Benz and smart combined) of 17,348 units in the U.
S. for March 2009. All sales figures in this release are on an unadjusted basis unless otherwise noted.

Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA) today reported March sales of 15,602 vehicles, a decline of 25 percent. The volume leaders for the month were the C, E, and GLK-Class with sales of 5,008, 1,978, and 2,598 respectively. On a year-to-date basis, the company sold 15,602 new vehicles, a decrease of 30 percent over the comparable period last year.

smart USA recorded 1,746 sales in March 2009. This figure represents a 1 percent increase over March 2008, and a 42 percent increase for the first quarter 2009. The enthusiastic response to the smart fortwo indicates that the micro-car segment is a viable transportation option in the U.S. The smart fortwo offers the right balance of power, outstanding fuel efficiency, innovative safety features, environmental friendliness and excellent value. There are currently 75 smart centers operating in 35 states.

Detailed vehicle sales information for MBUSA will be announced later today in a separate press release issued by Mercedes-Benz USA
VOLKSWAGEN SALES DROP...


Volkswagen of America, Inc.
today announced March 2009 sales of 15,720 units, a 19.7 percent decrease over March 2008 sale of 19,587 units.

Volkswagen’s stylish new CC, designed to blend sports car dynamics and dimensions with sedan comfort, posted its best sales month ever with more than 2,300 units sold.

“Volkswagen is encouraged by how well our new products sold in March” said Mark Barnes, Chief Operating Officer, Volkswagen of America, Inc. “Our stylish CC posted its best sales month ever for the third month in a row, and our seven passenger minivan, Routan, doubled its sales over last month. Our 50-state compliant clean diesel Jetta and Jetta SportWagen continue to sell well. Next month our clean diesel luxury SUV, Touareg TDI, will be available in dealer showrooms across the U.S. We’re also eagerly awaiting the arrival of our all-new Golf later this year, which will also be available with our innovative clean diesel engine,” added Barnes.
BMW Sales Remain Low Down 26.8% - Mini Sales Decline 15.9% In March

Agent009 submitted on 4/1/2009 Official AutoSpies Timestamp: 2:


RobotoRoboto - 4/9/2009 3:21:50 PM
+1 Boost
BMW (Bleed My Wallet) SALES DROP LIKE ITS HOT...LOL
BMW Sales Remain Low Down 26.8% - Mini Sales Decline 15.9% In March

Agent009 submitted on 4/1/2009 Official AutoSpies Timestamp: 2:28:39 PM

17 user comments | Category: Auto Sales | Source: www.autospies.com

The BMW Group in the US reported March sales of 21,125 vehicles, a decrease of 22.
9 percent over the 27,404 vehicles sold in the same month of 2008. For the first quarter, The BMW Group also reported a year-to-date sales volume of 51,244 vehicles, down 25.2 percent, compared to 68,529 vehicles sold in the same period a year ago.

BMW Brand Sales

Sales of BMW brand vehicles decreased 24.2 percent in March for a total of 17,520 vehicles compared to 23,115 vehicles reported in the same month a year ago. Year-to-date, BMW brand sales were down 26.8 percent, to 42,731 vehicles compared to 58,365 vehicles sold in the same period of 2008.

"In March, we saw a mixed cocktail of good, bad and ugly signals in the market and for us, I'm happy to say we're starting to see a bit more of the good," said Jim O'Donnell, President of BMW of North America, LLC. "Our sales were stronger than expected back at the beginning of the month and a bit of spring lift puts us in the premium market lead in March and the first quarter as well. No celebrating, however, because further loosening of the credit reins is needed to see even more buying action."

Over the next months, BMW of North America expects sales to be bolstered by new products coming to market. The fifth generation of the BMW 7 Series (http://www.bmwusanews.com/) went on sale in the U.S. in March and the new BMW Z4 will arrive at U.S. dealerships in May.

See additional video commentary by Wayne Orchowski, Vice-President, BMW Sales, BMW of North America, LLC (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egHL2TR2DbQ&feature=channel_page ), regarding BMW's performance in March.

BMW Automobile Sales

BMW's automobile sales are down 23.2 percent in March to 14,767 versus 19,231 in the same month of 2008. Year-to-date sales also decreased 25.8 percent, to 34,240 automobiles compared to 46,153 in the first three months 2008.

BMW Sports Activity Vehicle Sales

Sales of BMW Sports Activity Vehicles decreased 29.1 percent in March to 2,753 vehicles over the 3,884 sold in the same month a year ago. Year-to-date, sales of BMW Sports Activity Vehicles were down 30.5 percent, to 8,491 vehicles compared to 12,212 sold in the same period a year ago.

MINI Brand Sales

MINI USA reported sales of 3,605 automobiles, down 15.9 percent from the 4,289 cars sold in March 2008. For the first quarter, MINI USA also reported sales of 8,513 automobiles, a decrease of 16.2 percent, compared to the 10,164 cars reported in March 2008.

"Like the swallows from Capistrano, we're seeing March bring some life to our segment," said Jim McDowell, Vice-President of MINI USA. "MINI sales are still tracking below last year but the gap has remained stable throughout t


RobotoRoboto - 4/10/2009 3:24:02 AM
-1 Boost
HYUNDAI=CHINEESE RECYCLING COMPANY THAT BUILDS CRAPPY CARS FROM SPARE PARTS OF CASINO MACHINES


JordanskiJordanski - 4/10/2009 1:40:35 PM
+2 Boost
This post is extremely retarded considering the sizeable amount of Toyotas and other Japanese manufacturers who build their vehicles in North America. Can't say the same thing about European cars can you? (Yeah, those brands are the ones responsible for burning huge-ass holes in the whole entire world's economy.) *COUGH COUGH AUDI*


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