Fifty years ago, Toyota Motor Co., a virtually unknown upstart, entered the U.S. market. Last month, Toyota predicted that it would become the world's largest automaker in 2007, overtaking General Motors. In U.S. auto sales for 2006, Toyota passed Chrysler Group and became No. 3. That is a remarkable accomplishment for a company that began by reverse-engineering U.S. models. Today, Toyota stands for quality automobiles, a relentless drive to cut costs and constant efforts to give the customer what he or she wants. It is a simple formula for success, but one that will become increasingly hard to follow.

Toyota plans to build 9.4 million vehicles worldwide in 2007, a 4 percent increase over 2006. It is estimated that GM is unlikely to make many more vehicles than the just under 9.2 million it manufactured last year. GM has one-quarter (23.4 percent) of the U.S. market, where Ford has long been No. 2. But Toyota expects to surpass Ford in the U.S. market in 2007. Toyota also sees growth in Europe and Asia, where sales are expected to rise 9 percent and 15 percent, respectively.

Toyota has endeavored to produce automobiles that consumers want and can rely on, and that cost less than competing models. As a result, the Toyota Camry is the top selling car in the United States and the Prius hybrid leads in sales for that category as well. With gas prices reaching record highs, buyers the world over are increasingly conscious of fuel-efficiency ratings, a key selling point of Toyota -- and of most Asian automakers for that matter.