By Robert Farago
October 9, 2008
Not the best metaphor for a writer (or reader) who’s feeling a bit thick-headed this AM (although I have to say, Jay, that Coppola’s Director’s Cut chardonnay is wicked pissa). Anyway… first we had Honda’s robot playing violin for the Grosse Pointe gadflies at the symphony hall. Now Toyota is expanding– as in opening not closing– a new facility in York Township. Toyota’s press release re: their new Toyota Technical Center (TTC) is full of gloating, snickering and sneering. Not. But it does feature some of the same characters we last saw sticking their noses in the federal taxpayers’ trough, rooting for bailout billions on behalf of ToMoCo’s competitors. Yes, Shigeki Terashi, TTC president, “celebrated the grand opening of its new engineering and safety testing facilities here today with Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm and U.S. Congressman John Dingell, as well as several hundred government officials, community leaders, suppliers and Toyota team members.” Those team members will now be “engaged in engineering design, prototype building, vehicle evaluation and engineering, materials engineering, powertrain tuning and design, regulatory affairs and advanced technical research. TTC has developed the Avalon, Sienna, Solara, Tundra and Venza vehicles for the North American market.” Now what?
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POWERED
October 9th, 2008 at 11:21 am
Coup de grace.
October 9th, 2008 at 11:35 am
Damn that Avalon is fugly. Venza front & junk-in-the-trunk rear from the Solara. Toyota’s getting dowdier every model year.
October 9th, 2008 at 1:34 pm
Regarding the Avalon, I disagree. It’s a svelte, classy “full-size” near-luxury sedan, as opposed to its bloated fatass yachtlike competitors in the Crown Vic and Grand Marq.
October 9th, 2008 at 1:38 pm
A good move by Toyota.
For the relative low cost of some office and warehouse space they can take advantage of the inevitable head for the exits by the best at brightest at the D2.5.
October 9th, 2008 at 2:15 pm
To me that Avalon has a sort of Caddy vibe going on. I dunno why really.
October 9th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
Maybe my Brother-in-law can get a job there before Delphi sets him adrift in next year’s round of cuts.
October 9th, 2008 at 7:59 pm
perfect, now if they can only bring back the Supra and the turbo-charge Mr2.
October 9th, 2008 at 9:01 pm
perfect, now if they can only bring back the Supra and the turbo-charge Mr2.
Sadly, this is exactly the wrong time. If you’re lucky, you might get the Aygo and the Camry wagon.