I welcome Toyota's deep pockets and top quality... GM to Sell Its 20% Stake In Fuji Heavy Industries Toyota Will Buy an 8.7% Holding In Maker of Subaru Sport Wagons By JATHON SAPSFORD Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL October 5, 2005 10:05 a.m. TOKYO — General Motors Corp. rocked the Japanese auto industry by announcing it would sell its entire 20% stake in Fuji Heavy Industries Inc., driving the maker of Subaru sport wagons into the hands of GM's archrival, Toyota Motor Corp. Toyota said it would pay roughly $315 million for an 8.7% stake of Fuji, saying that antitrust concerns – Toyota already has 45% of the Japanese car market – discouraged it from buying more of Fuji. But the move underscored the diverging fortunes of GM, which is struggling financially and losing market share, and Toyota, which is increasing both share and profits in the vast majority of auto markets around the world. Fuji Heavy President Kyoji Takenaka told reporters Wednesday that GM and Fuji Heavy have agreed to dissolve their relationship, and would rethink key joint projects. Fuji Heavy will continue to partner with GM in producing the Saab 9-2, a sport wagon, but Mr. Takenaka said the two will cancel plans announced last year to develop a Saab wagon-sport utility crossover vehicle, which will cause Fuji to take a charge of roughly $50 million during the current fiscal year related to the project. "The two companies [GM and Fuji] concluded that mutually beneficial large projects are unlikely in the future," Fuji's Mr. Takanaka said. But Mr. Takenaka, sitting next to Toyota Executive Vice President Mitsuo Kinoshita, was quick to stress Fuji would now sit down with new partner Toyota to explore possibilities for a new range of areas for cooperation. Toyota's role in the troubles at GM, which is losing money in its core auto operations, has been the subject of much speculation ever since Toyota Chairman Hiroshi Okuda told reporters this spring that the Japanese car industry should give the struggling car makers of Detroit some "breathing room" lest it spark a political backlash, and at one point even suggesting raising prices, an idea Toyota immediately dropped after objections from its sales team in the U.S. Japan's media has been rife with speculation over how else Toyota might ease the pressure on Detroit. Speaking in Tokyo at a surprise news conference Wednesday evening, Toyota's Mr. Kinoshita denied that the transaction between Toyota, Fuji and GM was in any way designed to ease some of the relentless competitive pressure on GM from Japanese car makers. "This has absolutely nothing to do with providing [GM] with assistance," Mr. Kinoshita said. But the move will undeniably provide GM with financial leeway. GM suggested in a statement that the sale of the 157 million shares in Fuji Heavy would yield between $700 million and $800 million. Toyota will buy 68 million of those shares, while Fuji's treasury department will buy up another 90 million shares from the open market, offsetting the impact of GM's plan to sell its remaining stake, 89 million shares, in the market.
man... I tell you, the american car makers are now feeling the collective weight of 20 years of sitting on your ass. The cobalt should have replaced the cavalier after 5 years. Its all old technology. They've been milking the SUV and Truck cow for too long and are now getting spanked out of their core markets too because of gas prices...
I think GM is worst off of the bunch. Ford has the government car field (Crown Vic, what was GM thinking stopping production of the Caprice?), and the new Mustang is allegedly selling like hotcakes. Plus, they own Volvo passenger cars division which makes a fair amount of coin. Daimler-Chrysler has interesting designs and the balls to put out some pretty different vehicles, like the PT Cruiser and the 300C. GM? Well.. let's make the SSR, a way overpriced truck thing that 20-somes might want to buy except they can't afford it. And look, the PT Cruiser took off, let's make a clone of it! And whoa hey, check out Ford and their new Mustang, let's release a 'retro' Camaro! To hell with 'em.. other than the Corvette, they can roll over and die for all I care.
That's not the Camaro concept.. that series of images was made by a high school kid and has no relation to GM.
either way, GM represent everything there is to hate about detroit right now. H2 built on lame suburban chassis, FWD full sizes, big heavy Corvettes, overpriced chicken-taxed silverado trucks for 30 years.... big, bloated fat cat executives, market analysis with all the intelligence of a metric bolt, global badge engineering rather than actually making something worht producing themselves....
it just ticks me off that capable people IN gm are subject to the stupid decisions of the executives only interested in what they think effects profit. Only they're ignorant....
GM sucks BALLS!.........D-Chrysler rules!!! hahahahahahaha if they bring back the Camaro every trailer home will be quickly adorned with one