All About Japan Autos

Hybrids Electrics Hydrogen Cars

The slowing U.S. auto market and the threat of collapse looming over America’s Big Three automakers may not be hurting even the fuel-efficient, foreign-built cars that are supposedly the auto industry’s life rafts today.

Kicking Tires reports, “Toyota is halting plans to produce its next-generation Prius hybrid at a new plant being built in Mississippi. Sales of the Prius were down heavily last month, and the company points to an uncertain future in explaining the decision.”

Autoblog adds, “Toyota will launch an all-new Prius at the upcoming Detroit Auto Show. The 2010 Toyota Prius is expected to go on sale later in 2009, and with the delay of production in Mississippi, all new Prius hybrids will continue to be imported from Japan.”

Edmunds Inside Line comments, “Toyota’s dilemma in Blue Springs presents powerful evidence that the industry’s problems are not limited to Detroit-based automakers.”

The decision may have political consequences in the U.S. Jalopnik comments, “This is an interesting development in a regional / political Civil War conflict pitting anti-union Republicans from southern states and their foreign automaker allies against Democrats in the north and their domestic automaker / union supporters. According to the NY Daily News, right-to-work states have given over $3 billion in subsidies and tax incentives to foreign-owned car companies since 1992,” so bailout proponents car argue that “southern Senators believe loaning the not-so-Big Three money so they can pay to put people to work building the next generation of fuel efficient American cars is bad. Giving Toyota and others free money to pay people not to work building Japanese cars is good.”

The depressed car market may be bad news for automakers, but it’s leading to some great deals for car buyers. Research the best car deals available in this market.