84Cressida

I'd rather Toyota be the best automaker, rather than the largest. The Avalon, GS, IS, FT86, and LFA show they really are striving to be the best. Others like the Camry show they're just after a sale's title.

If Toyota was #1 with the lineup they had 20 years ago, that would be something.

LeX2K

I've seen a Toyopet in person, it was certainly crude mechanically. But it did not give the impression of being flimsy at all, in fact it seems like a very solid car. The engine was instantly recognizable as Toyota. If you want to see what a Toyopet is, clicky.

LeX2K

Would be nice, but I'm not sure that is possible. A Camry today built with the same care and quality as in 1993 would probably cost as much as a Lexus.

mmarshall

OK, I'll partially agree....perhaps I used the wrong term to describe it. But my point was that, in a collision with one of the big, tank-like 5000-lb. Detroit monsters of the time, the simple laws of physics pretty much dictated which car was going to come out second-best. That was also, of course, back before seat belts and other safety equipment was routinely installed in a lot of vehicles.

mmarshall

Interesting you mention a 1993. Many automotive historians feel that the 3rd-generation 1992-1996 Camry was the best ever built. I agree from a quality and refinement stance, but the present Camry probably has the best interior....MUCH better, IMO, than the previous-generation's cheapness inside.

The 1993 Camry, on average, also rode significantly better than the new one....the difference was quite noticeable. Since then, suspensions (unnecessarily, IMO) have stiffened and tires gotten lower-profile.

LeX2K

Auto accident injuries (assuming you lived) back them were atrocious, so many hard surfaces to bang around against, plus no crumple zones so the various bits of the car would be pushed right into you, or through you. I'm sure in a Toyopet you were pretty much done for if you slammed into the likes of a Cadillac. Reading that .pdf from Toyota, the Toyopet was horribly underpowered to the point where it could not even get up a decent sized hill, literally. So if you were in an accident, it was the other guy that was going fast not you!
I think the current generation Camry has a nicer styled interior for sure, but the quality of materials is nothing like a generation 3 Camry. Everything in that car was built to survive an apocalypse, inside and out.
The low profile tire craze and stiffer setups really hurt ride quality and comfort. I find the trend stupid, but is seems to sell cars, if one company goes with it the others have to follow. The generation 2 Camry rides even better than the gen3, but too softly sprung for some people. I personally love it, bumps that other cars pound over, mine basically ignores. The 92-96 Camry is a great compromise between handling and ride comfort I wish Toyota would go back to it.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/n...car-maker.html

Toyota regains crown as world's biggest car maker

Toyota said sales last year soared 22.6pc to 9.75m vehicles, while Nissan saw a 5.8pc on-year rise to 4.94m units.



Honda, Japan's number-three automaker, recorded sales of 3.81m vehicles, up from 3.09m a year earlier, as strong US and Asian demand boosted its results.

The latest figures confirmed that Toyota regained the global sales crown lost in 2011 to US-based GM, as the Japanese quake-tsunami disaster hammered the firm's sales and production.

Robust Asian sales and a pick-up in North America helped drive sales for Japan's big three, offsetting weak demand in Europe and the effects of Tokyo's diplomatic row with Beijing, which sparked a Chinese consumer boycott of Japanese goods in the latter part of the year.

Nissan said it posted record sales in the United States last year, underscoring the pick-up in demand in a key vehicle market.

However, Nissan, part-owned by France's Renault, warned in November that its net profit for the fiscal year through March would be down 20pc to 320 billion yen (£2.2bn), citing its heavy exposure to the Chinese market.



Less affected by the dispute, Toyota hiked its profit forecast to 780 billion yen for the same period, up from 760 billion yen, although it trimmed its annual sales forecast to 21.3 trillion yen.
A strong yen and uncertainty in China and Europe dented Japan's automakers, with Toyota largely crediting its better profit outlook to cost-cutting, including a decrease in labour, research and development expenses.
Honda has blamed the ongoing territorial row - and a strong yen - for a 20pc cut to its annual profit forecast.
The long-standing row flared again in September when Tokyo nationalised an East China Sea island chain that is also claimed by Beijing, setting off huge demonstrations across China and the consumer boycott.
Japanese factories and businesses across China temporarily closed or scaled back operations over fears of being targeted by angry mobs.
The tension prompted Nissan's chief executive Carlos Ghosn to warn that the firm would think twice about making new investments. It has several production plants in China with a new factory in the northeastern city of Dalian planned for 2014.
On the production side, Toyota said it made 9.9m vehicles last year, up 26.1pc, while Nissan posted a 5.5pc production increase to 4.88m units in 2012.
Japanese firms have also struggled with the high yen which hurts manufacturers by making their products less competitive overseas and shrinking repatriated foreign income, hitting efforts to cement a recovery after the 2011 natural disasters.
The yen hit record highs around 75 against the dollar in late 2011 and remained strong through most of last year until Japan's new conservative government swept to power last month, vowing to fix the nation's long-suffering economy.
Its promises to pressure the Bank of Japan for aggressive easing has weighed on the yen, sending it on steep dive in recent months.
Toyota shares were down 0.57pc to 4,315 yen and Honda was off 0.58pc at 3,400 yen while Nissan bucked a fall in the broader market on Monday by closing up 2.4pc at 895 yen.

wasjr

Glad I could help put them over the top. Bought 2013 ES300h 12/31/12.

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

I don't care they are the biggest. I'd rather they continue to focus on quality and quantity will follow

mmarshall

Paul/Mods:

Repost?

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...ker-again.html

spwolf

more sales, more profits means more models, more engines, etc, etc :-).

Especially when it comes to Lexus, it is good that Yen is 20% weaker since October, it means more models out of Japan...

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

thanks. merged.

-J-P-L-

I knew Toyota would be back on top after recovering from the Tsunami. They continue to get better and better and as far as I'm concerned the only automaker, all around, worth signing on the dotted line for.

Toyota leads at building the best overall product.

Key areas:

- still tops on quality/reliability
- non-offensive designs (mostly very good looking cars)
- roomy, space efficient interiors
- excellent ergonomics
- a fuel efficiency leader
- a model for just about everyone
- comfortable rides

LexFather

In addition they are doing it building sports cars, sportier cars and in many cases class leading cars. You don't have to be bland to sell.

mmarshall

Not to knock it in any way (it's a fine, highly-rated, small sports-coupe), but much of the BR-Z/FR-S (including the chassis/drivetrain) actually came from Subaru. Toyota (as I understand it) essentially did the body/interior and overall planning.