Toyota outsells GM

https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/toyota-poised-dethrone-gm-2021-us-sales-leader-2022-01-04/


WASHINGTON, Jan 4 (Reuters) - Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) outsold General Motors Co (GM.N) in the United States in 2021, marking the first time the Detroit automaker has not led U.S. auto sales for a full year since 1931.

Toyota sold 2.332 million vehicles in the United States in 2021, compared with 2.218 million for General Motors, the automakers said on Tuesday.


GM's U.S. sales were down 13% for 2021 - and down 43% in the fourth quarter - while Toyota was up 10% for the year. GM last had lower sales in 2010 at 2.202 million.

 

That's cool!

I wonder if GM is still selling anything built on a Toyota platform. I'm curious how the sales of those vehicles would count.

 

Don’t think so. The Corolla/Pontiac mashup wagons are long gone.

I think the only current partnership with a car company Toyota doesn’t own is BMW.

 

they thought this was a winner!

 

That's what I thought. The Matrix/Vibe/Vue was awhile ago now. I wonder why the aren't doing this anymore. They were at it for years. Geo was pretty much all rebadged stuff.

Lol! Don't forget this:

 

yeah, GM designers were some of the worst in the industry. where did they find those clowns, and then those that approved their designs? they're barely a notch above children, but they were getting paid!

http://www.iambetterthanyourkids.com/?p=10

 

Not sure where they found them, but, I think Nissan may have hired some of them after GM finally let them go.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skVg5FlVKS0

 

Honestly, with the color matched cladding I think the Aztec isn't a bad looking vehicle. That thing had some cool features, if GM introduced something like that today it will probably be a sales hit with all the OVRLNDRS out there. That thing had a center console that was a built-in removable cooler, seats folded perfectly flat, and the rear hatch opened up clamshell and they had a factory tent made to attach.

Side note, my mom had the Pontiac version of Matrix.( I know the actual name of it, but I refuse to mention it in a sentence referring to my mom) She bought it the first year they came out. You didn't see too many of them at the time, in fact one day somebody followed her into Dunkin Donuts to ask her what kind of car it was . It was actually a really good car, she still has it. Hasn't really been driven in a few years, just sits in the driveway, but she refuses to get rid of it because she still likes it, lol. Just under 200k miles on it, I toy with the idea of buying it off her and using it as a commuter instead of my 4Runner.

 

I feel like this topic came up at a bar in Japan about a decade ago, and some Lexus designers said hold my beer.

 

I don't think the overall shape of the Aztec was bad. But, the details made it look goony. With a facelift, it wouldn't be bad. And, I agree that it could be popular if the released it today. Maybe an AWD version with increased ground clearance.

The Matrix/V××× was appealing to me, as well. I've always loved hatchbacks, maybe because my Dad had an '82 Corolla SR5 liftback that I wish I could have held onto somehow. And, I learned to drive in my Brother's '87 Corolla FX16 (tiny hatch + MR2 drivetrain). Either way, the new Corolla hatch is very appealing to me as well. It would be fantastic for road trips that don't involve off-road shenanigans.

 

I agree it was ahead of its time.... released 10 years+ too early. Regarding its looks, this gave me a chuckle.

The Aztek was noted for its controversial styling. Pulitzer Prize-winning automotive journalist Dan Neil, in naming it one of the 50 worst cars of all time, said the Aztek "violate(d) one of the principal rules of car design: we like cars that look like us. With its multiple eyes and supernumerary nostrils, the Aztek looks deformed and scary, something that dogs bark at and cathedrals employ to ring bells. The shame is, under all that ugliness, there was a useful, competent crossover."[4]