丰田王者归来

    在与众多竞争对手的角逐中，通用汽车（General Motors）、福特（Ford）和克莱斯勒（Chrysler）正在迎头赶上。它们开始重获丰厚的利润，并以品质出众、操控出色的产品赢得了前所未有的赞誉。在一些竞争白热化的细分市场上，它们也推出了有能力脱颖而出的车型：福特的中型车蒙迪欧（Fusion）热销大卖，经销商忙得不可开交；雪佛兰全尺寸羚羊（Impala）则获得了权威刊物《消费者报告》（Consumer Reports）史无前例的高度评价。

    但是，仔细审视销售数据和刚刚发布的财务报表就会发现，七月的最大赢家——请冷静——还是丰田汽车公司（Toyota）。

    这种说法只会让底特律车企的忠实拥护者嗤之以鼻。他们很正确地指出，今年美国本土车企的市场份额已经增加了，而丰田的份额则略有减少。同时他们也会很有理由地抱怨，由于日元贬值，丰田获得了不公平的竞争优势，同时还用大手笔优惠来大肆促销。

    他们说的都没错。不过还是请看看上个月市场的实际情况：

—更多美国人购买了丰田车，而非雪佛兰。棒球、热狗、苹果派和丰田，有谁不喜欢吗？尽管丰田的经销商数量要少得多，丰田在美国最热门的车型——全尺寸皮卡没什么竞争力，但这些都不妨碍它在美国的强势地位。

—还是在七月，美国丰田汽车销售公司（Toyota Motor Sales in the U.S.）的轻型车销量超过了福特公司——这也是在它经销商数量少得多、且皮卡销量也远不如对手的情况下。福特确实迎来了自己的丰收年，但就上个月来说，丰田的销量超过了福特，成为美国第二大汽车公司。

—丰田似乎正在朝着今年全球产量达到1,000万台的目标大踏步前进。这将创造汽车厂商史上最为空前的产量纪录。而通用汽车和大众汽车（Volkswagen）将只能争夺老二的位置。

    就像一位分析师欢呼的那样：“日本武士已经王者归来！”

    丰田宣布，将向2009至2010年间因突然意外加速事故而蒙受损失的丰田车主提供16亿美元的赔偿。尽管如此，它仍然迎来了七月这一波业绩猛增。这个赔偿方案将根据折旧水平，向卖掉或换购车辆的丰田车主提供125美元到10,000美元不等的赔偿。但个人受伤及随后展开的不合法意外致死诉讼将不在获赔之列。首个对簿公堂的诉讼将在洛杉矶发起【本周三，丰田还因安全带隐患主动召回了342,000辆塔克马（Tocoma）皮卡】。

    General Motors (GM, Fortune 500), Ford (F, Fortune 500), and Chrysler have been gaining ground from competitors, posting solid profits, and winning historic praise for the quality and drivability of their products. They are producing standouts in some of the industry's most hotly contested segments. The mid-size Ford Fusion is selling as fast as dealers can load the delivery trucks, while the full-size Chevy Impala has won an unprecedentedly high rating from influential Consumer Reports.

    But a closer look at the sales numbers and financial results just published reveal that the big winner for the month of July was -- hold for it -- Toyota.

    That assertion will draw hoots and hollers from Detroit loyalists. They point out -- correctly -- that the local teams have added market share this year while Toyota(TM) has lost a smidgen. And they will complain -- also correctly -- that Toyota is getting an unfair advantage from the cheap yen and is boosting sales with unusually high incentives.

    All true. Yet take a look at what happened last month:

--More Americans bought cars and trucks with the Toyota emblem on the hood than with the Chevrolet bowtie. Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie ... and Toyota, anyone? That's despite the far lower number of Toyota dealers and Toyota being far less competitive in the industry's hottest segment: full-size pickup trucks.

--Also in July, Toyota Motor Sales in the U.S. sold more light vehicles than Ford Motor Co. -- again despite having far fewer dealers and selling far fewer trucks. Ford has been having a fabulous year, but last month, Toyota outsold it to become the second-largest car company in America.

--Toyota appears well on its way toward producing more than 10 million vehicles worldwide this year, which would represent an all-time record for any automaker. GM and Volkswagen will have to fight it out over second place.

    As one analyst gleefully exclaimed, "The samurais are back!"

    Toyota's July surge came despite the announcement that it would pay $1.6 billion to compensate vehicle owners who suffered financial losses as a result of sudden, unintended acceleration between 2009 and 2010. The settlement will compensate Toyota owners who sold or traded in their vehicles at a loss with $125 to $10,000 per car, depending on the level of depreciation. It does not, however, cover individual personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits that will have to be contested later. The first case to go before a jury is starting in Los Angeles. (Toyota also announced a voluntary recall on Wednesday of 342,000 Tacoma trucks over faulty seatbelts).