plaid

Toyotas presence in Cup

plaid - first off, congrats on the first blog, one of these days I will actually think of something to write about and creat another one. Money was definitely a factor in the switch, but more important I think was the support from the manufacturer. With Chevy, Gibbs was probably 4th or 5th in the pecking order, with Toyota, they are most likely at the top of the heap. That factor is in my opinion the main reason why Gibbs switched to Toyota. I also agree that this year you will see some toyotas in victory lane. Mikey, Denny, Kyle, and an oustside chance with Tony.

Toyotas presence in Cup

Plaid there's only one reason Joe Gibbs moved his team to Toyota .. MONEY and lots of it... they have more money than maybe all of the other teams combined... it's that simple

Toyotas presence in Cup

Plaid, first good blog.  Second, as I have said before Gibbs was a canidate to move to Toyota because of what GM did to them with the Pontiac Grand Prix.  They gave Joe less than 6 weeks notice at the end of the racing season that they would not run the Grand Prix anymore.  Joe never forgot this and as soon as his contract with GM was up he had already made up his mind to switch to another brand and Toyota seemed like the logical choice because of money.  Last year everyone was saying Toyota had over $100 million dollars to spend on their Cup ventures.  This along with the fact that Toyota had been through its major growing pains was enough for Gibbs to make the move.  The big question is can/will Toyota come up with the support to keep your driver, Tony, from jumping ship.  Tony is needed as the flag driver for Toyota.  I believe Toyota will make Tony and offer to supply him with all the parts to run Toyota power race cars in all the series that Tony Supports.

As for the Downfall of Ford, just look at thier sales.  To me the biggest problem with Ford is their choice of car they runs.  Look back at their decline and you will see that it started when Ford decided to dump the "T-Bird" for the 4 door Taurus, and now they are running the Fusion.  Where is the sports car.  I know the Impala on the show room floor isn't a sports car but if one looks at the Impala of the 60's it at least had a sporty history.  Dodge runs the Charger, a well know sports car and even though the Toyota Camry isn't a sports car, it has the money backing aspect.  Also, look at the drivers that Ford has, Nothing against  a Matt Kenseth, but where is the colorful driver at?  Ford needs a driver that has a little bit of defiance in him, a rebel, someone that demands attention and they just don't have it.

Thanks for letting me blog.  In fact I like the idea about Ford so much I think I will start a thread on why Ford has fallen to number 4 on the manufacture front.