Hudson

I believe that Toyota will continue to increase it's full-sized market share little by little. While the above example shows that pickup buyers will cross shop brands, the "extreme" owner loyalty comes in the full-sized pickups. I don't see many Silverado or F-Series buyers moving to a Tundra (although a few will), I see more coming from Ram Trucks and even more coming from Colorado, Ranger, Tacoma, and Frontier owners who have outgrown their "little" trucks...just like the S10 example above.Not only doesn't Toyota expect to sell 900,000 trucks soon...they can't. By the end of 2007, Toyota will have the capacity to build around 300,000 Tundras. They'll expand San Antonio and add another plant before they can even think of rivaling GM and Ford's full-sized truck market. I think the first-generation Tundra's styling was "macho" and rugged, but 7 years later, it's soft compared to the competition. I don't see why buyers would be turned off by this move to a more rugged look...Dodge buyers appreciated the change in 1993 and Ford buyers don't seem to have been turned off by the latest restyling of the F-Series.

Except for the fact that Scott Stapp doesn't know squat about cars....hey, you might have a point there!

That's not a Ginetta, is it?

This is confusing. Let's say that Ford and GM have roughly 35% market share each and the rest (Dodge, Toyota, and Nissan share the remaining 30% of the full-sized market. How can Toyota, Nissan, Honda, and Hyundai add volume and not increase market share? You expect Ford, GM, and DaimlerChrysler to gain volume as the Asian brands gain volume?Anyway you cut it, if Ford and GM keep their volumes (which I think is possible, but improbable) while Nissan and Toyota add volumes...and Hyundai will definitely enter this market, then Ford and GM will LOSE market share. Everything still has to add up to 100% in the end.

If she can act, it won't matter. And any honest man will tell you that it's the FAT that makes a woman a woman.

As I stated earlier, you are correct. The second-generation Sienna is built in Princeton while the first-generation model was built in Georgetown.

Actually, I think the very limited production of the V16T was only one year, back in 1991. The difference might have been between prototype and "production" (or just different prototypes).

And few people know that he pronounced his last name "DO-rant."

I've heard numbers of 9,000 and 10,000...and that the ACCESSORIES (not the chassis) couldn't handle those speeds. It was published in Motor Trend or Car and Driver back in the day.

He possibly got confused since the Sienna is now built in the same factory with the Tundra and Sequoia and not in Georgetown with the cars.

Sorry if this is a repost...but I thought some people might find this interesting: Edmunds.com Launches CarSpace, Automotive Lifestyle Social Networking Site Host of Most Established Online Automotive Community Takes Bold Next Step SANTA MONICA, Calif. – February 27, 2006 – Edmunds.com, the premier online resource for automotive information, today announces the launch of CarSpace (http://www.carspace.com), an automotive lifestyle social networking Web site for anyone with an interest in automobiles. At CarSpace, each member can express an automotive identity and meet friends who share automotive interests. “Online social networks like FaceBook, Friendster, LinkedIn and MySpace are very popular, yet none specifically taps into the automotive world the way CarSpace does,” said Matthew Kumin, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Edmunds.com Media. “Last year’s successful launch of our online automotive enthusiast magazine Inside Line demonstrated just how active the automotive community can be in response to an exciting product. We’re confident CarSpace will garner a massive following of consumers and industry insiders.” Edmunds.com has dominated the online automotive community space since the 1997 launch of its Town Hall Forums, a popular place where automotive hobbyists and enthusiasts share their experiences. In introducing CarSpace, Edmunds.com leverages nearly a decade of online community-building experience to offer members a variety of exciting options that have been unavailable until now. “CarSpace introduces more functionality and innovation to the online automotive community,” said Sylvia Marino, Senior Director of CarSpace. “Our vision for CarSpace is that everyone interested in automobiles and the Internet will link together and share photos, opinions and information about their favorite cars through this dynamic new medium.” Features of CarSpace include: · Friends – This favorite feature of social networking sites allows members to create and manage their own network of automotive friends. Members can invite an unlimited number of friends to join and link to friends found in the system, then can share experiences and easily send and receive friends’ messages. · Searchable Member Profiles – Profiles of members can include cars they currently own, cars they are interested in, automotive interests, hobbies and demographic information. Member profiles are searchable based on all these criteria so new friendships can be forged. In addition, members will also be able to provide user IDs for their AOL and Yahoo! instant messaging screen names in order to achieve instant online availability status. · Groups – Discussion groups are focused on specific vehicles of interest, vehicle types and themes such as car safety and performance modifications. These groups are built upon the foundation of Edmunds’ popular Town Hall Forums. · Blogs – CarSpace hosts four blogs, each of which invites member participation: o “The Driving Women,” by the female editors at Edmunds.com, discusses best cars, dealing with dealers, family safety and a wide variety of other topics o “Karl on Cars” offers readers road tests, musings and general commentary on the automotive industry by Edmunds.com’s Editor in Chief Karl Brauer o “Straightline,” by the Inside Line editors, is the ultimate car enthusiast blog o “Strategies for Smart Car Buyers,” by the Edmunds.com consumer advice editors and industry analysts, discusses tips and advice on buying, selling and leasing · Photos – Members can upload photos and create photo albums, and browse and search other members’ photo albums. · Mailbox – Each registered user will be provided with a personalized e-mail account ([email protected]), along with 50 MB of storage space for photos and messages. For more information or to begin building a network of automotive friends, visit www.carspace.com. About Edmunds.com, Inc. Edmunds.com is the premier online resource for automotive information. Its comprehensive set of data, tools and services, including Edmunds.com True Market Value ® pricing, is generated by Edmunds.com Information Solutions and is licensed to third parties. The company supplies content for the auto sections of NYTimes.com, AOL, CNN.com and About.com, provides weekly data to Automotive News, and delivers monthly data reports to Wall Street analysts. Edmunds.com also publishes Inside Line (www.insideline.com), a free online magazine for auto enthusiasts. Edmunds.com was named "Best Car Research Site" by Forbes ASAP, has been selected by consumers as the "Most Useful Web Site" according to every J.D. Power and Associates New Autoshopper.com StudySM , was ranked first in the Survey of Car-Shopping Web Sites by The Wall Street Journal and was rated number one in Keynote’s study of third-party automotive web sites. The company is headquartered in Santa Monica, Calif. and maintains a satellite office in suburban Detroit.

Marcos Mantis

As shown by many of the posts here, "stupid" comes in all flavors including "import" and "domestic."

Marcos

So do I have to get another question right to complete the pair?

I remember the Villager as well...but I don't recall an Edsel Comet.

It was designed by Marcello Gandini, the same guy who designed the Diablo (before Chrysler toned it down).And the transverse-mounted engine was a necessity since the engine was so long. The V16 was practically two V8s mounted tail-to-tail with the driveshaft to the transaxle coming out of the middle of the engine block perpendicular to the crankshafts. The engine was 4 1/2 feet long (as I recall) and featured two crankshafts, eight camshafts, and 64 valves. The multiple camshafts and crankshafts were necessary because four-foot long shafts would have too much flex.

Cizeta Moroder V16T. More cylinders than FIVE Geo Metros.

Kaiser Dragon

How about the parent of the Isetta....ISO.Iso Grifo.

I think I posted something similar to that on this thread.

A few points. I don't see the H-body cars as being "vastly inferior" to the B-bodies...they had better use of space and were more fuel efficient. But I'm assuming youre point was based on your own personal opinion...with which I can't argue.The Caprice lineup lost the Impala and coupe editions shortly after the introduction of the H-bodies. Any "expansion" of the Caprice lineup was intended to keep the factory going since five brands were down to two (Chevrolet's B and Cadillac's D-body, discounting the few Buick and Pontiac wagons sold) after the introduction of the H-body. After the 1990 introduction of the new GM300 Caprice (and demise of the Safari), the full-sized, body-on-frame lineup EXPANDED with the Buick Roadmaster and Estate, Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser, and Cadillac Fleetwood. In any case, sales of the Caprice did not take off when the Buick, Oldsmobile, and Pontiac versions of the B-body sedans were dropped. And when Buick and Oldsmobile returned to the body-on-frame design, sales were not good enough to keep the factory building them past 1996.

Even if your theory were correct (which it's not), Hyundai wouldn't take it. The union would go with it...and Hyundai's not about to let the union into one of its plants. It'll open one or two more plants in the next 5-10 years, all in the South, and all non-union.

I understand the oxymoronic quality of an "SUV that 'handles well.'" I'm all for SUVs that go off road or cars that handle well.While the minivan absolutely covered an untapped market, styling is a quality that has been missing as much as economical 7-passenger vehicles were vacant from the marketplace in 1983. Styling, in some cases, leads to image which, as we all know, sells most of the SUVs on the road today. Not defending it...just explaining it. Someone once debated the usefulness of "non-functional" scoops on a car. Their use is for styling, which makes them "functional." Just like making a better handling SUV makes the vehicle more useful and more desireable to someone. Whatever floats their boat.

I prefer "Talking About a Revolution" to the more commonly known "Fast Car." Living Colour (the musical act not the TV show) did an excellent cover of "Revolution."