In a recent interview with the New York Times, the chairman of Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A, Yukitoshi Funo, said American consumers are “really, really nice people.”

“American consumers,” declared Funo, “are more on the open-minded side, rather than closed minded. They are … they are … really, really nice people … nice customers.”

The Japanese car company sold roughly 7.5 million cars in 2004, 2 million of which were purchased by U.S. residents.¹ The Toyota Camry is the best-selling car in the US.²

Some Americans have recently expressed concern at the impact of Japanese cars on American companies like Ford and GM. The Times interviewer described the political situation as “touchy.” But Funo disagreed. “Each country have a different situation,” he said. “American consumers are more on the open-minded side. . . . That’s the reason we’re successful, and how much we are thankful to the American consumers.”

The U.S. contains 5% of the world’s population but accounts for 26% of the world’s oil consumption.³