Keith Watanabe * NET 2.0

i see tons of hype for an unknown entity that i commonly rip on called google. i love google. obviously, i use it in terms of ads for this site. however, as a stock pick i can't conscientiously pick it when they are an unknown with extreme volatility. on the other hand, i can say with confidence that this other stock, Toyota, is one that i'd pick (if i had some money!) why so? cars aren't going away. matter of fact more cars are springing into existence as more teenagers grab their licenses and purge their parents of their hard earned money. or families that feel one car just isn't enough. look at LA. just that hell zone alone with it's lack of sincere and expedient commitment to avoiding traffic congestion makes it certain that cars are going to stay around for a while. but it's not just that. it's the fact that oil is a finite resource which is plummeting and heavily unstable. bush is big on his talk for finding alternative fuel solutions, but where's the funding? he's more willing to take America into debt than putting the same dollars into education and research for alternative fuels. what a hypocrite. then if you look at something say Nigeria hitting an oil spot and seeing a jump in oil prices, you'd realize that there's a massive problem in dealing with the politics of such a critical resource. that's where a company like toyota comes in. no this isn't an advertisement for them although i wish i could get a commission if it meant their stock rises big time after this recommendation. the thing is that you have to look at their background and the way their economics work against the US manufacturers. i feel in the next 10 years, toyota will experience an unprecedented growth period that will consume GM, Ford and Chrysler's marketshare, especially in America. most of it is due to high quality in balance with cost. and of course, that focus in quality will primarily be on the hybrid and alternative fuel sources. the thing is that the American automotive industry is still trying to reorganize their processes and have admitted to not being able to move forward with research as they'd like. while this goes on, Toyota (along with Honda and other Japanese automotive companies) will place a tremendous amount of money into research. also, they will diversify into areas like name recognition cars as in the lexus that will compete against high end models like BMW, Mercedes, etc. the net effect is that toyota is going to do really well, barring any scandals or political snafus that might be engendered by the American automotive industry to bar further entry into the American market. either way, if you want to do some good investing, put the money into toyota.