Ford-Toyota Link-up Puzzling

Auto industry experts in Tokyo continue to speculate over December's seemingly rushed trip to Japan by two top Ford Motor Co. executives to confer with their counterparts at Toyota Motor Corp.

At the end of their 12-hour flight, President Alan Mulally and Mark Fields, president-The Americas, reportedly discussed environmental technology and manufacturing efficiency with Toyota Chairman Fujio Cho and other senior Toyota executives.

That done, the two apparently turned around and flew back home, with both auto makers playing down the importance of the visit by saying it was a “courtesy” call.

Tokyo experts are tempted to describe the trip as a fishing expedition without bait, during which Toyota executives gave their American visitors a polite hearing for old time's sake, given the Toyota-Ford relationship dates to the 1950s.

“I don't think there is much of an appetite at Toyota to cooperate with Ford right now,” says Chris Richter, senior analyst with CLSA Asia/Pacific in Tokyo.

But The Wall Street Journal reports it was former Toyota Chairman Hirosi Okuda who extended an invitation to Mulally in October.