Toyota president Katsuaki Watanabe's non-denial to Automotive News of plans to buy a stake in a non-Japanese automaker sent clouds of speculative exhaust puffing from cranial smokestacks from New York to Tokyo and back. Would Toyota make a move on GM? Could it grab even a small piece of the General, without causing a political firestorm? And what would it gain? Lots of questions, and so far not enough good answers. Anyone? anyone? Watanabe? Watanabe?

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Toyota to GM: Hello, Partner; We Must Break You [internal]

A group funded by Big Three retirees have launched an ad campaign accusing Nissan, Hyundai, Mazda and Toyota of dealing with rogue states that are "state sponsors of terror" according to the US State Department. The Level Field Institute blasted the companies for pursuing business in Iran, Syria and Sudan, while GM, they say, does not. Toyota, for example, "acknowledges pursuing a 20% market share of the Iranian import market, included the opening of 71 new, authorized dealers," according to a report on the organization's Web site. One of the ads, currently running in Roll Call and The Washington Post was rejected by the Detroit News for allegedly being inflammatory to advertisers. What say you? Freedom of speech, or crowded-theater incitement? [Thanks to Brad for the tip.]