U.S.-BRAND AUTOS NOT AS RELIABLE AS JAPANESE VEHICLES

Only six of the top 33 most-reliable automobiles were American-brand vehicles, while 23 were Japanese. Does this mean that American workers are not focused on quality, or since many Japanese-brand autos are made in the U.S., could it be that design flaws are the culprit? Check out this NBC News report to learn more.

TOYOTA #1 IN GLOBAL VEHICLE SALES IN 1ST QUARTER

There is a new leader in global car sales according to data from 2007 first quarter sales.

From The Washington Post:

General Motors' 76-year reign as the world's largest automaker is over.

Fifty years after its cars first hit U.S. shores, Japanese automaker Toyota has surged past the 20th-century American colossus, selling more vehicles worldwide than GM during the first three months of this year.

The global sales benchmark had been looming for years, and its realization was only a matter of time, analysts said. In the United States, GM still sells the most vehicles, owning about 23 percent of the market, compared with Toyota's 16 percent.

GM had managed to hold on to its shrinking lead over Toyota in recent years, but the two companies are heading in opposite directions. GM has lost $12.4 billion over the past two years and plans to close 12 North American plants by the end of next year. By comparison, Toyota reported a profit of about $12 billion during its most recent fiscal year and expects to open its eighth North American factory in 2010.

For the first three months of 2007, Toyota sold 2.35 million vehicles worldwide, compared with 2.26 million for GM. Notably, Toyota's sales were up 9.2 percent over the first three months of 2006, while GM's were up 3 percent.

Last year, GM sold 9.1 million vehicles to Toyota's 8.8 million.

Toyota expects to sell 9.3 million cars in 2007; GM does not provide forecasts.

NOVEMBER AUTO SALES RESULTS

Here is the list of winners and losers for November U.S. light-vehicle sales (includes light trucks and SUVs). The comparison listed is November of 2006 to November of 2005.

Winners
Acura +24.0% (division of Honda)
Toyota +15.9%
GM +6.1%
DaimlerChrysler +4.7%
Chrysler Group U.S. +2.9%

Losers
Ford -9.7%
Honda -3.0% (Honda brand only)
Nissan -1.6%

This was only the second month ever that Toyota sold more vehicles in the United States than Ford. Toyota sold 196,695 vehicles to Ford's 181,111.

USA Today
WSJ.com
BusinessWeek

FORD RAISING $18 BILLION MORE DEBT, $15 BILLION SECURED

In an effort to raise capital to help finance a turnaround of its North American operations, Ford Motor Company will be taking on another $18 billion of debt, $15 billion of which will be secured by core automotive assets. Ford will be pledging nearly all of the company's North American automotive assets as collateral, marking the first time in its 103-year history that such a move has been made and underscoring the severity and seriousness of the problems Ford is facing. The announcement of the move caused the three main credit rating agencies to slash Ford's existing debt further into junk, or non-investment grade, status.

SmartMoney
WSJ.com
Reuters

LEAKED TOYOTA REPORT SHOWS AMBITIOUS GOAL

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that it has reviewed a leaked document intended for top Toyota executives which sets a goal of 15% market share by 2010. In 2005, Toyota had 11% market share. The company passed Ford as the number two automaker in 2003 and plans to pass GM by 2010. In 2008, Toyota projects production at 9.8 million vehicles, which surpasses GM's 2005 production of 9.2 million, the second-largest output in GM history. Toyota is expecting tremendous growth from the "BRIC" countries - Brazil, Russia, India, and China.

WSJ.com
AP at Yahoo!

BIG THREE AUTOMAKERS TO MEET WITH PRESIDENT

On Tuesday, the CEOs of GM, Ford, and Chrysler Group will meet with President Bush, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, and Director of the National Economic Council Al Hubbard at the White House.

From USA Today:

White House spokesman Tony Snow said Friday that Bush plans to use the meeting to "reaffirm his support for the American auto industry." Snow said Bush also will thank them for their progress on flexible-fuel and hybrid vehicles.

The three topics that will likely dominate the meeting are health care,trade and energy. The automakers also are expected to share concerns about the yen's artificially low value, which helps Japanese firms' profits and hurts U.S. rivals.