By virtually all accounts, the Japanese auto manufacturers are winning and the Americans are…well…we’re losing.

Let’s take just one example. Toyota increased US sales in September by 25% over a year ago. Over the same period, GM’s figure dropped 3.1%. What’s the difference? Paul Ballew, GM’s chief industry analyst says that a lot of the problem is because of misconceptions about the brand’s fuel economy – a rough thing for buyers to be ill-informed about when the media’s so focused on fuel prices. As a result, they’re going to aim a lot of their advertising at the fact that 23 of their models have fuel economies of 30 mpg or greater on the highway.

Too little, too late? Perhaps it’s too soon to tell. But truth is Toyota is ahead because they’ve stayed smart. They haven’t gotten lazy. You can say it’s quality, marketing or any number of other things. Really, I think the Japanese manufacturers are in the right place at the right time. Too often, it’s easy for “the big guys” to get comfortable at the top only to turn around one day and see they’re not there anymore – replaced by somebody smarter and harder-working. That’s what happened to US manufacturers. If you’re already on top, don’t let it happen to you. It’s called protecting the high ground. If you’re not there yet, work harder and smarter than whoever is already at the top. If you do that consistently, you can win.

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