34 replies to this topic

[birdistheword]

I was thinking of getting a Prius (well, eventually)...wonder if I should get one now or wait 'til they shrink the gap between supply and demand? Toyota will start making hybrid Prius in US By DEE-ANN DURBIN, AP Auto Writer Toyota Motor Corp., the seemingly unstoppable juggernaut that saw its U.S. sales double in the last decade, has come back down to earth. Stung by rare double-digit sales declines and burdened by a growing inventory of slow-selling pickups, Toyota said Thursday it will start producing the Prius hybrid in the U.S. and will shut down truck and SUV production to meet changing consumer demands. Toyota was the latest automaker to announce major production changes in response to lagging U.S. auto sales. Industrywide, sales have dropped 10 percent in the first six months of this year and are moving at their slowest pace in more than a decade. High gas prices have accelerated the drop in pickup and sport utility vehicle sales faster than automakers had predicted, and they're scrambling to keep up with demand for smaller, more fuel-efficient cars. "Toyota isn't immune to $4 gas and the recession in the housing market," said Erich Merkle, an auto analyst with Crowe Chizek and Co., a Grand Rapids accounting and consulting company. "It's almost as though Toyota always defies gravity, and in this case, they don't." Toyota said the moves will not affect any full-time workers, who will get training and do other projects during the shutdown. But the company is laying off around 700 temporary workers at the affected plants. Toyota said it will start producing the Prius in late 2010 at a plant it is building in Blue Springs, Miss., just northwest of Tupelo. Toyota already builds a hybrid version of the Camry sedan in Kentucky, but this will be the first time the Prius, which has been on sale for more than a decade, will be built outside of Japan and China. Prius sales fell 34 percent in June as Toyota failed to keep up with demand for the car, which gets 46 miles to the gallon. Priuses are sitting on the lot for just four or five days before they're sold, according to Tom Libby, senior director of industry analysis for the Power Information Network, a branch of J.D. Power and Associates. By contrast, the Toyota Tundra pickup is on the lot for 64 days before it is sold. "Any additional Prius production is going to be extremely timely," Libby said. Toyota will suspend production of the Tundra pickup at its San Antonio truck plant and the Sequoia sport utility vehicle at its Princeton, Ind., plant for three months starting Aug. 8 because of declining demand. Next spring, it will stop producing Tundras in Princeton and will consolidate all truck production in San Antonio. The Princeton plant, which is about 20 miles north of Evansville, will now make the Highlander SUV, which originally was scheduled to be made in Mississippi. The Princeton plant will continue to make the Sienna minivan throughout the shutdown, Toyota spokesman Mike Goss said. Toyota's U.S. sales fell 21 percent in June compared with the year before, an even steeper decline than the industrywide slump of 18 percent. While sales of the Sequoia were up, likely because the model was recently redesigned, Tundra sales fell 54 percent. "We're very pleased in North America that we got this decision made expeditiously, because we had a couple of factories where we weren't utilizing the capacity and that's a concern," Goss said. Officials in Mississippi cheered the announcement, even though it will delay the opening of the Blue Springs plant by several months. "Mississippi thinks long term and in the long term this is a grand slam home run," Gov. Haley Barbour said in a statement. Toyota generally doesn't lay off full-time workers during shutdowns, as U.S. automakers do, and this will be no exception. The San Antonio plant employs 1,900 people, while the Princeton plant employs nearly 4,500, although only 2,000 of those build the Tundra and Sequoia, Goss said. All will stay on the job, along with 891 workers in Huntsville, Ala., who make engines for the Tundra and Sequoia. "In our view, we don't just want to send everyone home because it makes for a bad startup condition when we start back in November," Goss said. Princeton plant spokeswoman Kelly Dillon said employees will be working on safety and quality improvement projects during the shutdown. Goss said some workers may also do volunteer projects. Toyota has been dismissing temporary manufacturing workers who were employed at the plants, Goss said. The Princeton plant laid off 400 temporary workers last year, while the San Antonio plant will release 200 temporary workers by August. The Alabama plant also is laying off 70 temporary workers by August. Goss said Toyota doesn't yet have a cost estimate for the changes. Since there is no equipment in Mississippi yet, the primary new expense will be retooling the Princeton plant to build the Highlander. "It's not an inexpensive deal for us to do this, but we think long term it's going to be a great investment," he said. Jim Schmidt, a director at the manufacturing research group Harbour Consulting Inc., said Toyota has some of the most flexible plants in the industry and should be able to convert them without major investments such as new robots or paint shops. "That's why when you see Toyota announce something like this, they can do it relatively quickly," Schmidt said. Toyota has 13 North American plants and two under construction in Mississippi and Ontario. The automaker has more than 43,000 workers in North America. Toyota's moves follow production cuts at General Motors Corp. and other automakers. GM said last month it is cutting shifts, reducing assembly line speeds and temporarily idling seven factories because of declining consumer demand for truck-based vehicles. Chrysler LLC recently announced plans to close a minivan factory and cut a shift at a full-size pickup factory, while Ford is cutting truck and SUV production, cutting salaried workers and ramping up production of the Focus small car. Toyota's U.S. shares rose $1.12, or 1.2 percent, to $92.60 in New York trading. ___ AP Business Writer Tom Murphy in Indianapolis and Associated Press Writer Jack Elliott Jr. in Jackson, Miss., contributed to this report.

[Montana]

Toyota makes great shit. I'm retiring my old Toyota truck this winter so I'm out shopping. I really don't fit in a Yaris but I'm intrigued by it's MPG. The Prius is high on the list as well as the Matrix and Corolla.

[Ent]

Subaru's are pretty good too, but the fuckers sometimes rust out before the motor dies (at least they used to). Personally I can't wait until big gas guzzling SUVs completely die. I bet that will happen in another year or so when gas hits $5 per gallon. I've started to see a few smart cars in my area.

[elcorazon]

I love my prius. It is a perfect car for anyone who regularly commutes in any sort of significant traffic any sort of distance, particularly if they do this alone or with one other person. All those SUV's commuting back and forth to downtown Chicago are stooopid.

[yancy]

Elco OTM. Yesterday at lunch I saw a guy in a nice shirt & tie climb up into a Ford pickup so huge that he almost needed running board steps. I lol'd.

For bonus points it had a massive, heavy duty (and of course pristine & unscathed) grill guard. Useless and heavy. Great for mileage.

[feisty]

Cute. I love the Prius. How do they stand up in the snow?

[elcorazon]

Cute. I love the Prius.

How do they stand up in the snow?

I didn't have any trouble with mine this past winter (first winter of prius ownership) - which had LOTS of snow, mileage isn't as good in winter, particularly with my short commute, but still WAY better than any other vehicle I've ever owned.

[Stan Gable]

I considered a Prius this year and decided against it. (I didn't buy anything else, though, b/c nothing has impressed me. Decided to wait.) My main problem with the Prius was that it felt too harsh of a ride. The switch between gas/electric was extremely noticeable. And for a Toyota, I thought the ride was not as comfortable.

[yancy]

I was pleasantly surprised by how it handled in the snow. I guess the optional VSC (vehicle stability control) is worth the cost. Would extra weight help? It weighs more than pretty much any comparably sized sedan, due to its two engines. Only slid once when a terrible winter storm hit during my evening commute. I probably should have gotten off the road like a sane person.

[Fiat Records]

I have a 2003 Corolla... can't recommend it enough. Last weekend I drove from South Bend to Toronto on less than a tank of gas (about 40 litres). That's 450 miles on 10.57 gallons... so that turns out to roughly 42 MPG.

[undo]

I've started shutting off my engine when I hit stoplights that I know will make me wait more than a minute and a half.

[6ome 9irl]

The high gas prices are a good thing. The highways run like they were meant too with less cars. People are forced to buy more efficient vehicles and drive less SUVS (altogether be smarter consumers). And more oil in reserve.

[6ome 9irl]

I also think a little recession is good now and then, for the same reasons. It's a clear out. Shit business goes under.

[stphone]

good for those who can afford to get through it

[Wolfgang]

Toyota makes great shit. I'm retiring my old Toyota truck this winter so I'm out shopping. I really don't fit in a Yaris but I'm intrigued by it's MPG. The Prius is high on the list as well as the Matrix and Corolla.

I bought a Pontiac Vibe last May, basically the same car as the Matrix and made by Toyota. I love it.

[Fiat Records]

I also think a little recession is good now and then, for the same reasons. It's a clear out. Shit business goes under.

Have to say that I really disagree with this. To some extent, yeah it's true. But it's not like the businesses get shut down in order of legitimacy. It's skewed towards businesses that rely on customers spending their disposable income. Which, during a recession, evaporates to nothing. So some shittily-run ramen noodle company could probably thrive, while a vintage winery, for example, would go under. These are bad examples, but you get what I mean...

Toyota makes great shit. I'm retiring my old Toyota truck this winter so I'm out shopping. I really don't fit in a Yaris but I'm intrigued by it's MPG. The Prius is high on the list as well as the Matrix and Corolla.

I bought a Pontiac Vibe last May, basically the same car as the Matrix and made by Toyota. I love it.

They're identical cars, but the re-sale on the Vibe is a lot less because it doesn't have the Toyota name behind it. Kinda silly, but helpful to know for people in the market for one of them.

[Ashy Larry]

in the doc "they killed the electric car" all the talk from automakers was about how their was no demand for these cars so lets see... to create demand, build hummer start war deflate dollar forclose on mortage build prius?

[pong]

in the doc "they killed the electric car"

If cars were electric: where would everybody in the city plug them in? Just something I thought about walking through Lincoln Square Sunday. It seems like the only people who could feasibly do this are people with a garage.

EDIT: Would stealing electricity become common?

[Ashy Larry]

watch this doc california set up a whole infrastructure only to let it fall apart due to automaker/oil lobby edit: it's not some open plug... it's billed like a gas station

[pong]

watch this doc

california set up a whole infrastructure only to let it fall apart due to automaker/oil lobby

edit:

it's not some open plug...

it's billed like a gas station

Oh, really. Interesting. I still wonder if electric thievery would somehow become common. I am no expert, but I would suspect people would find a way to tap into the system.

it's billed like a gas station

And, therefore, ultimately powered by coal, which is bountiful.