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The U.S. market is so huge, important and unique that it makes sense for Toyota to allow more decision to be made by people who understand America best.
(Automotive News) Toyota is taking product development authority away from Japanese bosses and putting it in the hands of North American executives as part of its response to the quality crisis that slammed the company last year.
Read more about Toyota.
This Friday, the Business section has two interesting features.
The Business Casual column takes a closer look at toymaker Mattel's funding of research on who kids play with toys.
The At Work profile features a woman who makes "art for animal lovers."
Honda's production was hurt, but, unlike Toyota, it doesn't have the added problem of having to rebuild a battered reputation.
(USA Today) Honda says its U.S. and Canadian plants will be back to nearly normal production by August -- sooner than it expected -- thanks to improving parts flow.
Read more on Honda.
SpaceX is one of the most interesting companies in the South Bay and world for various reasons. Not only is the Hawthorne-based firm dramatically reducing the price of rocket launches, but it's driven by the founder's vision of sending humans to colonize Mars.
However, SpaceX got into a tit-for-tat with an aerospace industry analyst. Read about it in the Daily Breeze.
Here's what analyst Loren Thompson wrote about SpaceX.
And here's SpaceX's response.
Now they're arguing over the scraps. The main part is that Mattel lost control of Bratz, which had already taken a major slide in popularity.
(Bloomberg) Bratz doll maker MGA Entertainment Inc. asked a judge to triple the $88.4 million in damages it won from Mattel Inc. and to award it attorney fees and costs in the seven-year fight over rights to the dolls.In a proposed order filed yesterday in federal court in Santa Ana MGA asked U.S. District Judge David Carter to award it $177 million in punitive damages, $129.7 million in attorneys fees, and $32.4 million in costs. The company also asked the judge to award it $4.3 million in restitution from Mattel based on unfair competition claims.
Read more on Mattel's Bratz case.
This isn't a huge deal, except that it adds to the whole "Toyotas keep getting recalled" narrative.
(AutomobileMag.com) This week, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has issued recall notices for Toyota Tundra trucks with incorrectly configured tire-pressure monitor systems. A small set of old, right-hand-drive Jeep Cherokees is also being recalled so that owners can install required brake lights.
Read more about Toyota's recall.
This only works if you buy a new car after selling your used one, or don't buy any car at all. It doesn't make sense to sell a used car at a high price if you're only going to buy another used car at a high or higher price.
(AP) DETROIT--It's the best time in years to sell your car.People are holding on to cars and trucks for about a year longer than they did before the recession, which has created a tight supply of used vehicles. So few are on the market that prices have risen to their highest in at least 16 years.
Dealers are paying an average of $11,660 for a used car or truck, up almost 30 percent since December 2008.
Read more on selling your car.
Violence from Mexican drug cartels is ruining business opportunities for that country. What can be done to solve this problem?
(AP) Dozens of Mattel Inc. employees were on their way to another day of work making Power Wheels in Mexico's industrial heartland when gunshots erupted around them and a grenade ripped into one of their buses, killing one worker and wounding five.The battle between drug traffickers and the army near the city of Monterrey last week was the sort of violence that is frightening U.S. companies away from new investments south of the border, where organized criminals are increasingly turning to kidnappings, extortion and cargo thefts despite a government offensive against drug cartels.
Read more about Mattel and investment in Mexico.
Toyota has been dealing with a devastating earthquake and tsunami that disrupted production and parts supplies.
That came after millions of recalled vehicles for unintended acceleration dealt a severe blow to the Japanese automaker's reputation for safe, reliable cars.
Then investor lawsuits over the unintended acceleration problem started. Toyota had hoped to avoid that additional legal headache. But a judge will let those lawsuits go forward.
(Bloomberg) The federal judge overseeing lawsuits against Toyota Motor Corp. involving allegations of unintended acceleration made final an order rejecting the automaker's bid to throw out claims by vehicle owners claiming economic loss.
Read more about Toyota.
Just another reason you should feel lucky to live in the South Bay.
I write about it in this week's Business Casual. Here's how I started the column:
People usually don't realize the significance of the times they live in until years later.But I'm informing you now that we South Bay denizens are all living in historic times indeed. Two events in recent months drive home this point.
Read Business Casual.
If you're one of the hundreds of people who file through one of the South Bay's four Yogurtland locations, then you have Dana MacKay to thank.
Here's an At Work profile on MacKay. Here's a sample:
"We've got a gun we've shot a number of times and it shoots straight. The bullet is the location. So with the right bullet, you can shoot straight."
A little bit of good news for Toyota, which keeps getting hit by bad news.
(Cars.com) For the first time since measuring roof strength, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has awarded its highest safety award to full-size pickup trucks.Using the group's revised tests that include roof-strength ratings for protection during a rollover accident, both the Ford F-150 and Toyota Tundra earned the top score of Good in frontal-offset, side-impact, rear and roof-strength crash tests.
Read more on Toyota.
No surprise here ...
(GlobalPost.com) The company says quarterly profits fell 77 percent to 25.4 billion yen (about $302 million), as the disaster has so far cost Toyota $1.3 billion. The strong yen also pressured the company's sales in the past three months.
Read more on Toyota's Earnings.
Good news for those who want to buy less gasoline.
(Nikkei via TreeHugger.com) Prius hybrid models debuting in 2014 will come with plug-in capabilities as a standard feature. Around 2015, Toyota aims to lift global hybrid sales to around 1 million units a year, bringing the total number traveling the world's roadways to 5 million.
Read more on the Toyota Prius.
Marketing one's self like a business or product seems to be trendy. Various motivational speakers promote this idea. Even TV journalist Chris Matthews promoted this in a recent book he wrote. So I gave it a try and documented it in Business Casual.
Here's how I started the column:
Call me Mo-licious.For the past two weeks, I have tried to rebrand myself.
This reminds me of those $400 toilet seats that the military used to get cheated on by military contractors a few decades ago. It happens in every industry, not just the military.
(Boston Globe) WASHINGTON -- Boeing charged the Army excessive prices for helicopter spare parts, including $644.75 for a tiny black plastic motor gear that cost another Pentagon agency $12.51, according to a report by the Defense Department's inspector general.
Read more on Boeing.
Century Precision Engineering was named one of Northrop Grumman Corp.'s top suppliers.
The Gardena machining and tooling company was a 2010 Supplier of the Year Awardee for Northrop Grumman's Aerospace Systems sector based in Redondo Beach.
Century Precision was one of six companies to receive that specific honor, although a total of 56 suppliers were honored in some way.
The awards recognize companies that achieve distinction in product quality, on-time delivery, customer satisfaction and lean processes.
Aerospace Systems makes a variety of military and scientific products including satellites and aircraft sections.
