Posted on 06/10/2005 4:04:29 PM PDT by Brilliant
Edited on 06/10/2005 4:07:35 PM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
USA Today permits headline and URL only.
http://biz.yahoo.com/usat/050609/12928284.html
Is Howard Dean the head of Toyota now?
Are they growing up stupid in Japan now, as well?
What business major, or even HS student never heard of "a combination in restrainst of trade?"
Sherman Anti Trust Act.
They don't have anti-trust laws in Japan. That's one of their problems.
I know that.
But we do here, and certainly they have to learn our trade laws to trade here?
This is ruthless jockeying for market share. He's trying to capitalize on his brand and SOUND like a good guy. Surely he is savvy enough to know that GM dare not raise prices when (1) they are hugely overstocked and laying off and (2) they have just publicly committed multi-millions to an ad campaign announcing that they are lowering prices. Ford is not in quite as bad a shape but IMHO unlikely to risk raising prices while GM's are falling.
Thus I contend that this was not a favor to the US manufacturers but rather more like a twist of the knife.
Congress shall make no law... abridging the freedom of speech...
How far we've fallen...
Every conspiracy involves communication. This guy was stupid enough to do it publicly.
Conspiracy? No one has to buy a Toyota. People sure as hell realize they don't have to from GM or Ford. It's their car they're trying to sell, and they should be free to sell it at whatever prices they want, in addition to being free to talk about that fact. Conspiracy! How far we've fallen indeed...
Apparently not. But the really amazing thing is that he said it once, and then several days later said it again. You'd think that there'd be at least one employee in his company who's not a yes man, and who would have pointed out his error the first time.
You'd think that the US Toyota execs would be on the phone to him the minute they heard he'd said this.
Well, you don't have to buy a car at all if you don't want to. That doesn't mean it's not a conspiracy, though.
Actually, since it was only the bonehead at Toyota who said it, and did it, it probably doesn't yet qualify as a conspiracy. Add a bonehead at Ford or GM who takes him up on his offer and raises their prices, and you might have a conspiracy.
He is right though...Toyota would get bashed if GM goes under.
Yes, but his mistake was to talk about it. If he'd just raised his prices, we would not be having this conversation.
"Every conspiracy involves communication."
Back before the Japanese even thought about exporting their cars to US the conspiracy went like this. President of Ford calls President of GM, "Well how's the weather?" "Oh, it's fine". The price of the increase was set.
My point is this talk of 'conspiracy' is crap. Free markets mean freedom for the sellers as well as the buyers. The real shame is his valid concern that politicians will intervene against consumers to preserve GM when consumers and the market are trying to deny it the resources it has been guilty of wasting.
I thinks its all BS....Toyota has been holding down prices for the past several years because GM has had so many rebates going on, and the Japanese historically don't do rebates.
If he was worried about that, he could have just raised his price, and given Ford and GM a lift.
Apparently, he wasn't satisfied with that. He wanted Ford and GM to match it, so he announced that he was doing it in order to give them a break. Or maybe he just thought that making his views public would earn him some pats on the back.
Whatever he was thinking, it was not very well thought out. It's a classic anti-trust violation.
And how do you undo it?
"I was just kidding."
Or, "In order to make recompense, we are going to reduce our prices."
My guess is that there will be a big investigation. The feds will look not only at this, but at everything Toyota does. And the UAW will make sure that they do.
Shame on him for being honest about his concerns of protectionist U.S. politicians. Double shame on him for preferring Toyota stockholders and employees benefit instead of the U.S. government for their superior product that consumers prefer.
My guess is that there will be a big investigation. The feds will look not only at this, but at everything Toyota does. And the UAW will make sure that they do.
Of course they will, they're the leeches that want to be paid $50,000 + benefits for driving 5 screws. I hope he keeps his prices down and let's them sink. They've earned it.
Its just that it sounds like price fixing to me.
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