Special Note: Please note that this scenario is meant to be read as entertainment, not as an accurate prediction of the future. Also note that the viewpoints and opinions that may come across in this scenario are not necessarily the viewpoints and opinions of the author.
What will happen next?
By the year 2037, Toyota has a virtual monopoly on the North American automobile market. This is only possible due to the outstanding quality of their products and the low cost of manufacture.
- Cars and other transport devices are built by largely robot factories. Not quite 'lights-out' manufacture in the 2010 sense; the robots will have excellent vision even into the far reaches of infrared.
- In these numerous 'factories' 90% of the human employees are involved in quality control of one kind or another. There are numerous new specialities in quality control; far more than we would counternance today. Being one of the few jobs not based in the person's home; the human employee will live her workday almost like a traditional 20th century workplace.
By the year 2105, however, this virtual monopoly is considered global. At this time, Toyota will also make spaceships that will use a combination of hydrogen and solar power so that people may be able to travel to Alpha Centauri, Venus, Mars, and the Lunar Protectorate without spending a lot of money.
Why only Toyota?
And why have other manufacturers not duplicated their remarkable success?
- Quality of working environment: Employees from the North American continent (human ones) like to work at Toyota and Toyotetsu. Toyotetsu is consistently voted one of the top ten companies in the world to work for. Japan was one of the first places in the world to deal with hi-density hi-tech living, and have consistantly led the world in this.
- Easy access: Most people in North America will live within 15 minutes of a Toyota or a Toyotetsu factory by 2030. The Toyotetsu factories have excellent transport to them; nearly always they are positioned at prime locations. These prime locations include the hubs of major transport routes. Toyotetsu have been able to achieve this because they are the sole manufacturer of all the most popular maglev trains (which they also own and operate).
- Demise of General Motors: GM eventually tried to solve their union problems and sales problems by moving into increasingly military lines of work when the $15 billion auto loans were approved on December 10 2008 were forced to be paid back to the government weeks later. Their toxic waste legacy (caused by a desperate shift in corporate policy) and litigation by union members (that have been mind-hacked under the guidance of the security services) proved hugely costly. General Motors was unable to take advantage of the peace dividend in 2025 and became bankrupt again (with the business closing permanently by the first quarter of 2031). Ford survived slighty longer than most of their international competition. However, it was not enough to compete with Toyota even after purchasing the Chevrolet but they did not bought out Dodge becuse of Fiat was the powerhouse in the timeline. Ford and Volvo merged to avoid a hostile buy out and continue to this day as an indipendent firm.
- Perks: Toyotetsu employees can purchase cheaper Toyotas, get subsidised transport on all Maglev trains, have long holidays. For every five years of faithful service, an employee gets a ten cent per litre fuel discount for any Toyota vehicle that she operates. Spouses and dependents of Toyotetsu employees never have to pay more than 85 cents per litre for fuel; as long as they are operating a Toyota vehicle. A monthly suggestions contest has a prize where the winning employee gets to be part of the elite design team for a month. All of the suggestions would go into an annual draw; the winner gets to take three other people to an all-expenses paid trip to Japan for six weeks.
Impact on the world
- Toyotetsu will be one of the key components of the replacement of the declining tobacco industry with the automobile and electronics industry in traditional tobacco-growing regions.
- The GDP of Japan rise by 1000% and the GDP of the Canadamerica by 80% by. The GDP of Germany and a reunified Korea drops by 200%. Most non-Toyota making country's GDP drops by 25% but the GDP Italy rise by 1500% becuse of fiat