Did I call this, or what?

Not long ago, I wondered here if it was just me, or was Toyota stupid for basically leaving their area of expertise behind and venturing into the land of gas-guzzling full-sized vehicles, a-la-Detroit.

This just in; Toyota is stupid!

According to a report on the CBS evening news this evening, Toyota posted its first operating loss in 70 years during 2008!

Well, let's do the math, shall we?

2008 is 63 years removed from the utter devastation and destruction of the Japanese empire via American atomic bombs and incendiary bombs in 1945. 70 years also encompasses a time since the post-war period, when buying Japanese was tantamount to buying from Iran, or Osama Bin Laden. It's also part of the time period that saw them evolve from a single model (called Corolla in America) to multiple models, all of which were renowned for their reliability and fuel economy. So, the first operating loss in company history begs a question, doesn't it?

If you survived all of that, Toyota, how on earth did you manage to lose money in 2008?

Well, I'm sure there's a lot of "reduced world economy" talk or "overextended credit markets" talk, or other blah, blah, blah, excuse, excuse, excuse talk, but I really don't want to hear it, Toyota! If you survived an atomic bombing, the utter and total devastation of your national economy, and the word "Japanese" being synonymous with "crap," and still managed to turn a profit, how on earth can a little economic turmoil in 2008 cause you to lose money?

You got away from what you know, that's what!

You made your money making small, fuel-efficient cars and compact trucks! Now, you hang your hat on a behemoth Ford F-150 wanna-be truck and not so fuel-efficient SUVs and luxury sedans? You got away from what you know, Toyota, and now you're paying the price!