...and Auris hasn't even hit the streets yet!

you wrote
"there is no feeling ..."
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Many Toyota's from the past are a little drab but todays Toyota's are different. The FJ Cruiser and Yaris are downright spunky and different. The Prius is one of the most interesting cars ever made. I cannot say so much for the Camry, Avalon or Corolla which to me are quite boring but well made cars.

In Green Car Congress, this news is important in that as Toyota is making more hybrids, its profit is rising and rising...seems to confirm my initial suspicion that Toyota's hybrid program is a profit-making activity and not a money-losing enterprise that is being subsidized by other sales.

This is good news, since, eventually, the price of hybrids will come down on par with regular models and this will change the fuel-efficiency level of the new auto fleets substantially, as more people will consider to buy hybrids.

"Oh, what a feeling!"
(goggile is entitled to his opinion, while others will vote with their pocket books)

After driving a Camry, I got the impression that the car had been "Americanized". Not only the styling but the way it drives. Toyota did a great job of determining what Americans would buy and then turning the Camry into that. Unfortunately, that is not the kid of car I like to drive. So I doubt I will ever drive a Camry.

Toyota fully deserves the many successes it is now enjoying. Toyota has been smart about & kind to its largest consumer, the US-American market place. They have brought manufacturing to our shores & taught us that we can actually make extreme-quality products here at home & still compete in the market.

Toyota seems to genuinely care about the future of the planet, its citizens & our future well-being; actually ‘walking the talk' that too many others have eloquently laid before us only to be later uncovered as foundationless rhetoric. More manufacturers of everything need to have a Toyota attitude about our world and its citizens.

Research has shown that the US-American buyer is becoming better informed each year & that increase in intelligence is being very clearly manifested by where we are opening our pocketbooks most often.

Toyota has benchmarked a level of quality for the $ that benefits its buyers tremendously & is a benchmark that most of the world's manufacturers are having a very difficult time meeting but, will meet, beat or go out of business & frankly, that is good, not only for us as the US-American consumer but, the world as a whole.

We often speak of protecting our autonomy (we really mean our wealth) but, we are figuring out slowly that somehow it has to allow for an ever increasing ‘global economy.’ Toyota has laid out a very successful global plan that we would do well to at least copy if not improve upon. Interestingly, they are quite willing to share those concepts with us as they understand something we seem to be pretty thick-headed about & that is; when you help others, you help yourself.

Shame that we don't get the super tight feeling Avensis over here in the states, but as mentioned, Camry is what N. America demands and that's what we get. Interesting that they use the chasis for the razer sharp Scion Tc.

Anyone driven an Avensis D4-D 175hp D-Cat, the Lexus IS engine? how does it compare with VW Tdi?

Andrey, I'm pretty sure they don't make the MR2 or Supra anymore.

I wonder how much of this profit is from hybrids and how much is from big trucks and SUVS?

I wonder how much of this profit is from hybrids and how much is from big trucks and SUVS?

Since they didn't really sell big trucks and SUVs in large numbers for most of their history, yet have been very profitable for a long time, I would say you're stretching for an explanation.

Toyota's doing great. Love their cars.

toyota WELL DESERVES the huge profits it now earns.

i bot my 1st toyota in 1971. long before it's bulletproof reputation was established. (bought for other reasons.) in the first 7 years of ownership, replacement of broken parts cost me LESS than $25! all other expenses were just for normal wear and tear items.

2nd new toyota was a '93 truck. only warranty claim was for a failed thermostat. cost to me, $0.

have also bought 3 used toyotas. similar rock solid reliability and low maintenance/repair costs.

toyota simple makes the TOUGHEST VEHICLES made on the planet. NO ONE ELSE even comes close.

pizmo, Im pretty sure they have been building the landcruiser for a lot longer than they have been making the hybrids they get so much credit for.

That has nothing to do with what I said. I said they didn't rely on a large volume of sales of large vehicles for their profitability throught their history.

That said, are you now saying that Toyota would not have been extremely profitable all these years without selling the Land Cruiser?

I'm just wondering how many hybrids they sell compared to how many gas guzzling trucks/SUVs they sell. These kind of figures would be interesting to read before we start slapping them on the back for being green don't you think.

This thread has nothing to do with "slapping them on the back for being green" - it's about their record profitability, and some here are basically claiming they only make money by selling big gas guzzlers. Common sense and even a rudimentary understanding of their corporate history invalidates such a hypothesis.

As for their sales figures, those are readily available. The amount of profit made off of each specific vehicle is going to be proprietary.

Seeing as this topic is on Green Car Congress I think it does have to do with commending them for being green and profitable.

I think you're reading into it too much.

I had a look for the sales figures but couldn't find any that listed them by model. Any links?

The Auto Channel is a pretty good resource for such things. Here's October's numbers:
http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2006/11/01/027342.html

I'm sure Toyota corporate puts out those releases on their website as well.

As for people claiming they only make money by selling gas guzzlers I don't think thats strictly true but manufacturers do make more proffit of big trucks and SUVs than off cars.

Fact is Toyota is the world's richest auto company, and they didn't build that wealth by relying heavily on large trucks and SUVs over the years. That's basically the angle your questioning takes.