Although Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM) has created specific marketing companies to help it stir up more consumer interest in vehicle purchases in the U.S., the world's largest automobile company now wants to spend as much as $1 billion in the fourth quarter of this year to bump up sales as much as possible.

Not only that, but the auto company is adding two more hybrid Prius models and is enhancing the margins its dealers receive. Will all of this add up to a large rise in Q4 sales for the automaker? As signs continue to sprout up that the economic recession is nearing an end, customers may start flocking to non-U.S. cars in Q4 now that the "Cash for Clunkers" parade has ended gas efficiency continues to top of the lists of customers shopping for a new car this fall and winter.

Continue reading Toyota to spend $1 billion to reverse sales slide in Q4

Toyota to spend $1 billion to reverse sales slide in Q4 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 18 Sep 2009 16:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Although Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM) has bypassed the now-out-of-bankruptcy General Motors as the largest automaker in the world, many of its cars in the U.S. market are, well, boring. It's true that fuel efficiency is now top-of-mind on the U.S. auto buyer's agenda, but the love for fast sports cars has never gone away. It's just been suppressed.

The new Camaro from GM is proof -- it's affordable, sexy, and a true sports car in its modern glory. It is amazing what having a desirable car can do for an automaker's image, even though one car does not make a company (far from it).

Continue reading Toyota to introduce new sports car to U.S. market

Toyota to introduce new sports car to U.S. market originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 06 Aug 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Toyota creates two marketing new companies to align more with consumer tastes

Toyota creates two marketing new companies to align more with consumer tastes originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 28 Jul 2009 17:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

I recently attended a Lakers' basketball playoff game and took notice of the fact that Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM) was a major sponsor advertising at Staples Staples Inc (NASDAQ: SPLS) Center. This, while our home grown car companies are all on the verge of collapse.

As we write stories on the depressed economy readers frequently comment about "buying American" as a theme that will help the greater good by keeping jobs and money in the United States.

This patriotic notion got me thinking about what would happen if we carried it further? Would we stop advertising and promotion of foreign products? Would we restrict discussion of foreign products in the media all together? Would we limit the production of foreign products here, even if they are providing jobs for Americans?

Continue reading Buy American -- but promote foreign brands?

Buy American -- but promote foreign brands? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 21 May 2009 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Toyota and General Motors: The race to the bottom? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 23 Jun 2008 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM), in an effort to help lagging car sales and reduce dealer inventory has decided to open loans to seven years [subscription required], expanding the repayment terms from the more traditional three or four year term. The longer amortization periods naturally reduce the car buyers' payments, but there is no mention of a bigger problem that is very likely and the reason this has not been done before -- cars depreciate rapidly!

George Borst, chief executive of Toyota Financial Services, said at a financial-services conference in San Francisco that the company started offering seven-year car loans in late summer. These loans, which carry slightly higher rates than 72-month deals, (the previous stretch) have risen to represent 4% of all cars Toyota Financial Services lends money on.

In one way, this could be looked upon favorably by Toyota car buyers. The company has a great track record for building quality products. This reinforces that notion of dependability. However, cautious buyers should understand that this may not play out to their advantage. It is possible that some time in the fifth year, the loan will be upside down, meaning it will have an outstanding balance higher than the value of the car. What happens then?

This could be another case of dealers charging more money (interest) to the poorest buyers, who are not aware of the impact these loans may eventually have. Reminds me of the mortgage mess. In hindsight, the government should have examined the mortgage industry and Wall Street's business practices and risk. Who's watching now?

Sheldon Liber is the CEO of a small private investment company and the design and research principal for an architecture & planning firm.

Toyota extends loans to seven years - BAD 4U originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 11 Feb 2008 11:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Detroit joins the car wars originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 30 Aug 2007 15:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

A lot of business news this week. Here are the highlights:

Falling up: Pfizer Inc.'s (NYSE:PFE) former CEO, Henry A. McKinnell Jr., who stepped down in July, several months before he was to be fired due to investor anger over his pay package, will be getting a retirement package valued at $180 million, with the potential to reach $200 million. According to the SEC filing, McKinnell receives $82.3 million in pension benefits, $77.9 million in deferred compensation, and cash and stock totaling more than $20.7 million. McKinnell was fired as a result of investor anger over his increased pay concurrent with the stock declining more than 40%. Jeffrey B. Kindler, a former General Electric executive replaced McKinnell and recently announced a 20% reduction in Pfizer's U.S. sales force. Merry Christmas! Read the story.

The sum of its parts: Two of its largest investors are grappling for control over bankrupt car parts maker Delphi Corp. (OTC:DPHIQ). On Monday, a group led by Appaloosa Management and Cerberus Capital Management offered to give Delphi a $3.4 billion to get it back in its feet, in return for a large chunk of the company. Highland Capital Management LP then proposed investing $4.7 billion in the company, trumping the earlier offer. Delphi filed for bankruptcy in 2005 in a move which hurt its former parent -- and top client, General Motors Corporation (NYSE:GM). Read the story.

Not Nyet: A group of record labels are suing Russian music download site Allofmp3.com. The lawsuit was filed in New York on behalf of Arista Records, Warner Bros, Capitol and UMG recordings. They are suing Moscow-based Mediaservices, which runs Allofmp3.com and allTunes.com. The suit claims that the sites are selling songs without permission. Allofmp3.com sells albums for about $1 and charges only a few cents for songs while Apple Computer, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iTunes charges about $10 for an album. Read the story.


baksheesh for bread: The Australian Wheat Board -- largest single supplier of humanitarian goods to Iraq under the UN oil-for-food program -- is suspended from U.S. government contracts for paying bribes to Iraq's former regime. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns said that the step was taken "based on evidence of illicit activities." In November, an investigation found AWB broke UN oil-for-food program rules by paying Saddam Hussein $222 million to secure contracts. Until last week, the AWB enjoyed a 67-year-old monopoly which controlled the export of wheat from Australia. Read the story.

Slippery Slope: On Tuesday, Bangkok's SET stock index plunged 15%. Foreign investors were told that they would only be able to invest 70% of money brought into the country and that they could only recoup the full amount if they left it in the country for a year. This prompted a sell-off that produced the worst day in 16 years for the Thai market. This reminded the global investment community of the 1997 Asian financial crisis when foreign outflows led to a region-wide market collapse. Read the story.

Jackpot!: Harrah's Entertainment Inc. (NYSE:HET) agreed to a $90-a-share bid from Apollo Management and Texas Pacific Group. Harrah's owns U.S. casino firm Caesars and is currently in the process of buying rival Las Vegas Barbary Coast Hotel and Casino from Boyd Gaming Corp. (NYSE:BYD) as well as recently acquired casino operator London Clubs International. This acquisition price is at 35% premium over Harrah's shares two months ago. Read the story.

Iron Men of Hendy: Westinghouse, a former U.S. company now a division of Toshiba Corp., was awarded an estimated $5.3 billion dollar contract to build nuclear reactors in China. The contract includes four nuclear plants -- two in the Zhejiang province and two at Yangjiang in Guangdong. Demand for nuclear fuel continues to grow in China. The International Energy Agency estimates that more than $200 billion will be spent by 2030 on harnessing the atom for energy output. Read the story.

Two-oyta: According to the New York Times, Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F) has concluded that it will be overtaken next year by rival car-maker Toyota Motor Corp. (ADR) (NYSE:TM). The company has enjoyed the #2 position -- behind its bigger competitor, General Motors Corporation (NYSE:GM) -- since the 1920s. Ford's sales fell 10% in the US last month, while Toyota's revenue grew 16%. The reasons for Toyota's expected move upwards in the ranking spans from the popularity of Toyota's Camry to consumer's perception of Toyota's vehicles as high mileage/low gas guzzling. Read the story.

Snow daze: "The blizzard of 2006" has paralyzed Colorado -- forcing airports, businesses and resorts to shut down. The Denver International Airport was closed and more than 1,000 flights canceled through Thursday. Operations were not expected to resume until late Friday. According to the Denver Post, Colorado's economy generated "$216.5 billion last year, which works out to $866 million per working day, assuming 250 working days a year." Meanwhile, Colorado's Transportation Department deployed 800 plows to operate a 24-hour schedule across the state. This may not have been of much help as even the airport runways were covered with snow only 30 minutes after each plowing. Read the story.

No soft landing: The Commerce Department said that the number of new homes built in November was at a six-year low. According to the report, about 1.48 million houses were started in October, 14% below the previous month and 27% lower than a year ago. The number of permits awarded for future housing projects fell to its lowest level since 1997. The housing slump is so severe, that it has affected the wider U.S. economy -- Economic growth in the third quarter slowed to an annual rate of 1.6%, which is the lowest level in three years. Read the story.

Hilary Kramer is a financial editor and money coach for AOL and an authority on investing. Visit her at www.hilarykramer.com.

Top Ten business stories: Week ending December 22 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 22 Dec 2006 14:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.