… but what really is the upside to an investor? I recall during the ramp-up in oil prices and the downfall of GM and Chrysler (2007-2008) that analysts were jumping all over themselves to compliment Toyota and implying the company is destined to greatness.

Auto manufacturing, at least at the low end consumer market, is a very competitive business and margins are very tight. When companies like Toyota have to end up recalling millions of vehicles because of a politically-motivated examination of perceived safety flaws of their vehicles (I am of the opinion that it is far more likely that for most part the company did not design a ‘flawed’ vehicle), it will affect their market capitalization far more than the recent 15% haircut their stock has taken. They are more likely to head down than up.

I have written this without doing a shred of financial analysis on the company – Toyota stock is being psychologically valued at this time by the marketplace, not financially.