Toyota becomes the #1 auto maker?

1st of all, Toyota is not #1

Analysts PREDICT that they will become #1

They only beat Ford (#2) 2 out of 12 months in 2006, but Ford out sold them for the year

GM (#1) & Ford (#2), are restructuring & therefore it is PREDICTED that Toyota will become #1

Also don't confuse "brands" with "companies"

for example:

Ford (the brand) was the #1 selling BRAND in America for 2006.

Ford Motor Company, which also includes Lincoln & Mercury "brands" was the #2 in America.

General Motors Corporation (#1) includes their "brands" ie:

Chevrolet, GMC, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Saturn, etc.

Toyota Motor Company also includes Toyota brand & Lexus brand.

FoMoCo also owns & controls their "Premier Auto Group" which consists of several 'brands' including : Volvo, LandRover, Mazda, Jaguar, etc

I can give you many links & articles & statistics if you need further information but I think you got the jist...if not here's a few links to get you started:

http://www.autoblog.com/2007/02/02/ford-is-not-4-s...

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2006/10/toyo...

http://www.thecarconnection.com/pf/Auto_News/Daily...

http://www.thecarconnection.com/pf/Auto_News/Comme...

GM &FoMoCo, by the way, are global & are very popular in Europe:

http://www.ford.com/en/company/about/countrySites/...

Whereas ToMoCo is just getting started in Europe, after GM & FoMoCo have opened the doors for them:

http://www.forbes.com/2007/03/26/toyota-lexus-vehi...

I hope I haven't confused you any more than you already were! LOL !

http://www.workoninternet.com/article_4061.html is a very good discussion on how they got to be the number 1. Now the question is, will they last at number one? Just after it was announced they were number one, this happened:

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TORRANCE, Calif. — Toyota Motor is recalling 419,000 vehicles worldwide to replace a crankshaft position sensor that could come loose, which could stall the engine and prevent it from restarting.

The Japanese automaker said on Tuesday that the recall includes 26,200 Echo and 8,500 Prius models produced during the 2001 and 2002 model years and sold in the U.S.

Toyota says it will notify its U.S. customers of the recall by mail in late July. Replacement will be done at no charge.

Toyota has now issued recalls for about 2.7 million vehicles in 2006.

What this means to you: The Prius and Echo recalls further erode Toyota's previously glowing quality image.

I think in the next few years they will become the number one seller in the world. And yes they will probably remain there.

Yeah!!! They beat Ford (I don't like them so much). Well, sort of, I just like thier SUVs and trucks.

NOOOOO WAYYYYYYYYYY