Month: February 2007

Toyota’s expansion taking its toll on employees

Toyota’s success over the past decade has come at the cost of quality at times, and now, it’s affecting employees and their families. In a document obtained by Automotive News, ToMoCo engineers and managers are getting worn out, whether it’s from cross-country trips in close succession or the daily rigors of constant expansion. The result is five-percent of employees leaving the automaker in 2006, and 10-percent leaving in 2005. Continue reading Toyota’s expansion taking its toll on employees

Categories:Toyota

Nearly half of Chrysler’s products go to fleets, Pontiac isn’t doing much better

What did Chrysler do with its highly publicized production glut? Unloaded them onto fleets. Between September and February, 48.5-percent of Chrysler’s sales were sold in quantities of ten or more. Even more troubling to dealers and consumers, close to 80-percent were bought up by rental car companies, versus GM and Ford whose rental sales are closer to half of their total fleet sales. Continue reading Nearly half of Chrysler’s products go to fleets, Pontiac isn’t doing much better

Categories:Chrysler, Uncategorized

Cheaper by the Dozen: the race for the $3000 car

Reporting on one luxury car hitting the market after another and a seemingly endless race for the latest in technological breakthroughs, it seems hard to believe, but the fiercest competition in the automotive industry is emerging in the ultra-low cost segment. As markets like India and China continue to develop, their billions of citizens are moving up from bicycles and scooters to low-cost cars, and the sticker prices keep getting lower and lower. Continue reading Cheaper by the Dozen: the race for the $3000 car

Categories:Uncategorized