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It comes as no surprise really that Toyota's (NYSE:TM)most recent quarter surpassed all expectations as the rapid-selling Japanese automaker smashed past estimates as Toyota reported record sales and net profit for the October-December quarter today. As Doug McIntyre posted on earlier, Toyota's net profit was $3.55 billion for the quarter. And yes, while Toyota is selling cars (and trucks?) like crazy here in the U.S., General Motors(NYSE:GM) and Ford Motor Co.(NYSE:F) are seeing one disastrous quarter after another. GM even delayed its quarterly report from last week to sometime in February.

What else can Toyota do? I agree with Doug in that the untouchable part of the U.S. market that still won't buy anything but "American-made" cars (many of which are now made in Mexico...hello), but at some point a few of these millions of customers may want to venture into the trendy and fashionable designs coming out of Toyota (and Honda and Nissan, too) instead of the staid and boring designs much of Detroit produces these days, even in 2007.

Now, both GM and Ford are world-class automakers with operations and sales the world over. What both failed to recognize -- unlike their overseas competition -- is the trend for style in a car that has universal appeal and great gas mileage, while not betting so much business on niche vehicles like gas-hogging SUVs. Whew -- that's a mouthful, and Toyota took the first big bite.

Also check out some other earnings reports that we're following, and let us know your thoughts on earnings expectations.

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