Toyota's reputation takes a pounding--MSNBC

Roland · #1 (**permalink**) 10-07-2009, 12:51 PM

An interesting article on the current state of Toyota.

One of the most telling comments from Toyota Company President Akio Toyoda who warned that the company was in a "near rock-bottom crisis."

Not exactly the words you want a Corporate President uttering...

Toyota's reputation takes a pounding - The Driver's Seat- msnbc.com

I'm hoping they get this turned around as Toyota has done a great job of raising the bar over the past 30 years for overall vehicle quality in the US. Maybe a changing of the guard as they seemed to focus more on their scale (be the biggest) vs. maintaining their historic quality control. A chance for Honda/Hyundai etc to step up...

eldaino · #2 (**permalink**) 10-07-2009, 03:03 PM

i dont think honda necessarily has to 'step up' as much as they just need to get back to doing what they do best (i.e. a more competative, sporty civic, continue to roll out cars like the cr-z, fit etc) and away from what is very un-honda (i.e. crosstour).

great article find though. i've always said that toyota had more in common with GM than it did honda.

their quality as of late is AWFUL. anyone who buys a new corolla over a civic sure as heck is not doing it because of the interior.

trancedsailor · #3 (**permalink**) 10-07-2009, 03:05 PM

Toyota needs to bring back the Supra or MR2 if it hopes to survive.

GD3_Wagoon · #4 (**permalink**) 10-07-2009, 03:29 PM

the supra and mr2 are niche cars. if they're going to pull themselves out of the GM shit hole they need to do it with the cars that put them on top: the corolla and camry. Toyota needs to build cars, not appliances that get you from point A to point B; driving should be engaging, memorable, enjoyable, exciting. if they can put all that back into the corolla and camry then they'll avoid the embarrassment of asking Japan's government for a bailout.

great article, i wish toyota all the best.

mikejet · #5 (**permalink**) 10-07-2009, 04:17 PM

Doesn't Toyota make a killing with the Scion brand though?

trancedsailor · #6 (**permalink**) 10-07-2009, 04:18 PM

I don't think Toyota has ANY rwd cars....what a shame. Honda's done with rwd too. Wtf is going on with today's cars?

raytseng · #7 (**permalink**) 10-07-2009, 04:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trancedsailor

I don't think Toyota has ANY rwd cars....what a shame. Honda's done with rwd too. Wtf is going on with today's cars?

They just want you to step up to an Acura or Lexus. RWD in those brands.

GD3_Wagoon · #8 (**permalink**) 10-07-2009, 04:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trancedsailor

I don't think Toyota has ANY rwd cars....what a shame. Honda's done with rwd too. Wtf is going on with today's cars?

Quote:

Originally Posted by raytseng

They just want you to step up to an Acura or Lexus. RWD in those brands.

Toyota FT-86

kenchan · #9 (**permalink**) 10-07-2009, 06:30 PM

considering all the crappy low-end cars toyota has brought the
last decade i think it was just a matter of time they got to where
they are now. garbage like yaris, corolla, matrix, even camry is crappy.

they need to go outside their comfort zone and make a
more car-like car. not some appliance thing.

Fitting · #10 (**permalink**) 10-08-2009, 02:47 PM

They need to bring back quality.
My last car was a Toyota and it had it share of problems.
I would never get another Toyota untill they start improving the quality.
All their cars are now family oriented.
They need a sport car.

TaffetaWhite · #11 (**permalink**) 10-08-2009, 09:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roland

An interesting article on the current state of Toyota.

One of the most telling comments from Toyota Company President Akio Toyoda who warned that the company was in a "near rock-bottom crisis."

Not exactly the words you want a Corporate President uttering...

Toyota's reputation takes a pounding - The Driver's Seat- msnbc.com

I'm hoping they get this turned around as Toyota has done a great job of raising the bar over the past 30 years for overall vehicle quality in the US. Maybe a changing of the guard as they seemed to focus more on their scale (be the biggest) vs. maintaining their historic quality control. A chance for Honda/Hyundai etc to step up...

It's an evolving world, and for awhile, anything with the Toyota label was golden. Things have changed dramatically. Finances and demand. People are now wanting more quality, more bang for the buck. More long-term cars.

If any automaker makes three EXCELLENT cars, I think that's better than an automaker making 50 crappy cars. Models that is.

And I don't mean they have to be large, expensive, luxury vehicles. Or fast, state of the art, sports cars. They just have to be GOOD cars.

Variations of a theme, like the Mini group. No matter which one you buy, it's still a Mini and looks like a Mini.

Scion, there are three cars. You want a Scion, you choose this, this or this. That's it.

Land Rover and Hummer are a couple more examples of limited selection on what they do best (or worst, as the case may be, LOL).

Use the Consumer Reports as an idea:
http://blogs.edmunds.com/strategies/Reliability.jpg

Any vehicle lower than the yellow area, drop it or fix it to be in the yellow area. No matter what maker has it.

Next step, once everything is in the yellow, try to move the "worst" model up into the pink zone. And so on.

Focus on what is done best or can be done best.

It's not that hard. It's like cleaning out the fridge. If it's rotten already, it's not going to suddenly become OK.

As in: "Land Rover, it's so crappy we can't make our chart big enough to show just how crappy it is."