“People complain about gas prices, but they don't change their buying habits. We've been saying that gas prices have to hit $3 a gallon and stay there for six months to see a change in behavior.”
“Ironically, GM has lost just about exactly what Toyota has gained. In North America, it's very much a situation right now where Toyota is moving forward while GM is really managing its decline and trying to figure out how to manage such a big company with such a big market share decline.”
“They're building products that consumers want, and they're also well-managed, so they don't have any turmoil or anything like that. From a business standpoint, there really isn't much stopping Toyota at this point.”
“Sometimes you say a new year can bring a clean slate and refreshment, but that's not the case for 2006. 2005 was a tough year, and 2006 will be another tough year. In the U.S. market, I don't see a let-up of the pressure on GM and Ford from the Asian car makers.”
“North America continues to grow in importance for Toyota on a global basis. Putting something like a production support center in the U.S. only makes sense as they continue to add plants.”