Toyota Motor loss

Unsold 2009 Corollas and Matrixs sit at a Toyota dealership in the southeast Denver suburb of Centennial, Colorado. Photo: Associated Press

For only the second time since its founding in 1937, Toyota Motor Corporation posted a loss of $2.5 billion for the financial year. The Japanese automaker cited falling car purchases in the US and a sharp appreciation in the yen against other currencies, as the reasons for its loss.


Toyota Motors had last posted a loss way back in 1938; since then the automaker has consistently been in the black, pumping out efficient and affordable cars that were snapped by consumers worldwide. But now with the credit crunch, and falling consumer confidence, car sales have been hit in the US. And the virus has spread to other markets as well.

To promote business performance Toyota Motor Corp. has appointed Akio Toyoda its new president. This is the first time in almost 14 years that a member of the founding Toyoda family would hold the company's presidency. However Toyota is better off than US automakers; the company still expects to post a net profit for the fiscal year ending March 2009. Plans for new cars and plants in emerging markets stand. Toyota will build the hybrid Camry in Australia's Altona plant.

Toyota Motor Corp. will also continue to fund car racing. Earlier this month, Honda Motor Co., Japan's No. 2 automaker, announced it was pulling out of F1. In recent weeks, Subaru and Suzuki have both quit the World Rally Championship, citing concerns about the global economic crisis. F1 cars have been reducing costs under direction of their governing body; Toyota has not had an F1 victory in seven years but has said it will stay in the expensive but glamorous sport.

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Celebrity favorite

The Mercedes-Benz BlueTEC, was awarded the title of Green Car of the Year 2007, for its clean diesel technology. The SUV version (above pic from autoblogreen) is popular among many Hollywood celebrities like Kyle McLaughlin, Kim Cattrall, Gary Oldman, Emmy Rossum, and Naomi Watts.

Lovely Emmy Rossum says, "My ML 320 BlueTEC has all the power and luxury you'd expect of a Mercedes-Benz, plus the efficiency and low environmental impact of an economy or even hybrid vehicle"

British-Australian actress Naomi Watts got the Mercedes-Benz Bluetec as a gift on her 40th birthday on September 28, from her actor boyfriend Liev Schreiber.

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F1 cars reducing costs

The car racing economic slowdown phenomena has moved from stock car racing to Formula One. Formula One teams and world motorsport governing body the FIA have reached agreement on Wednesday over radically reducing costs in response to the present global economic crisis.

Max Mosley, president of FIA, had most notably proposed a single engine for all F1 teams, made by Cosworth, and a standardised gearbox. According to Mosley it would reduce costs by 80%, crucial at a time when Formula One has been hit severely by the economic downturn, with Honda pulling out of the sport last week.

Earlier on Wednesday, Mosley called for F1 engineers to innovate as they try to ride the shockwaves caused by the global credit crunch.

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US auto industry

The US House of Representatives proposes a $15 billion auto industry bailout, which sets up a level of government oversight and control not seen since World War II. This is in sharp contrast to the relatively lax terms of the recent $700 billion bailout for the financial services industry.

The draft plan Democratic leaders sent to the White House this week sets up a two-stage process loosely tied to the timetable of the outgoing and incoming presidential administrations. It allows the Bush administration to launch the rescue effort, but leaves key decisions about the scale and scope of the overhaul to the incoming Obama administration.

While the plan allows cash to begin flowing to struggling auto companies as early as next week, a long-term restructuring, including any sacrifices to be made by various stakeholders, is put off until March 31. In exchange for bridge loans, the auto industry would give government an ownership stake, or warrants for company stock, and control over the terms of retrenchment.

In one of the most controversial elements of the proposal, Democrats propose banning auto manufacturers accepting financial assistance under the new law from "participating in, pursuing, funding, or supporting in any way any legal challenge (existing or contemplated) to state laws concerning greenhouse gas emission standards."

On Monday, the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) released a report that converted the miles per gallon (m.p.g.) values in the companies' business plans to greenhouse-gas (GHG) emission rates. If those company projections are accurate, both Ford and GM would "easily meet the 2015 California GHG standards nationwide," the report concludes.

Gail Russell Chaddock in the The Christian Science Monitor

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Car racing economic slowdown

Ingo Hoffman, a legend of stock car racing, will be in his last race on Sunday at Sao Paulo, Brazil. The German Ingo Hoffmann has been stock car racing since 1979, winning 12 titles. Ingo started his car racing career in 1975, with fifth place in the English Formula 3. He came to the Formula 1 in 1976, debuting in the GP of Brazil with a 11th place. Raced Formula 2 in Europe and South America in 1979, and participated in the Brazil's first season of Stock Car, winning his first title in 1980. (from OGlobo)




Meanwhile Reuters reports that the professional stock car racing circuit is getting hit by the economic slowdown and hard times in the auto industry. Unlike most U.S. sports, NASCAR is heavily dependent on sponsorships, with corporations such as DuPont, Coca Cola and the three major U.S. automakers holding long associations with the sport. Dozens of smaller sponsors spend millions to have their names linked with a team, race or track.

The chief executive of NASCAR, Brian France, said that the racing circuit has held discussions with some corporate sponsors about either pulling back or withdrawing from their roles completely.

France noted that the economic slowdown is putting pressure on advertising for its television partners, including News Corp's Fox, and has placed on hold any plans for NASCAR to expand to cities like New York, Seattle or Denver.

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