Toyota's New Focus

[Vizzy]

Well I think Ford and even Hyundai have to be concerned because Toyota, unlike GM, isn't blind to their mistakes and they already are taking drastic measures to regain their position as the worlds highest quality product and most profitable manufacturer.

The bottom line is that from the late 70's until the mid 90's Toyota made the most reliable and durable cars out there, overall and trounced the fat, lazy, arrogant big three! I think you'll see incredible improvements in their products over the next couple of years. I'm certain that they will likelu regain their top dog position in the automotive world. Am I happy about that, not really, but cars are going to be very high quality, durable and reliable, over the next decade or so. Now if they could just put some of the character, driving dynamics, and technical simplicity back into the equation.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: Vizzy
Well I think Ford and even Hyundai have to be concerned because Toyota, unlike GM, isn't blind to their mistakes and they already are taking drastic measures to regain their position as the worlds highest quality product and most profitable manufacturer.

The bottom line is that from the late 70's until the mid 90's Toyota made the most reliable and durable cars out there, overall and trounced the fat, lazy, arrogant big three! I think you'll see incredible improvements in their products over the next couple of years. I'm certain that they will likelu regain their top dog position in the automotive world. Am I happy about that, not really, but cars are going to be very high quality, durable and reliable, over the next decade or so. Now if they could just put some of the character, driving dynamics, and technical simplicity back into the equation.


So we will wilfully forget the:

-Sludge fiasco and Toyota's lack of dealing with it until it became a class-action lawsuit.

-Truck frames that rot out faster than the body on an 80's Civic (and this is a MAJOR safety hazard).

-An issue with out of control cars that apparently can't be stopped.

Toyota is not the automotive God. They have screwed up just like all the other manufacturers have. It is the nature of anything run by human beings.


What I think is GOOD is that at least they aren't just running with the blinders on like GM did and are at least making an effort to turn the ship around. Kudos to that.

 

[Vizzy]

Originally Posted By: OVERK1LL

Toyota is not the automotive God. They have screwed up just like all the other manufacturers have. It is the nature of anything run by human beings.


What I think is GOOD is that at least they aren't just running with the blinders on like GM did and are at least making an effort to turn the ship around. Kudos to that.


That's the thing.....most huge car companies will either deny their issues, or run and hide,or both, but Toyota is not doing either, instead they are facing up to their problems and addressing them head on with the set goal to eliminate the problems and return to their strengths.

If they achieve their goals they will definitely be difficult to compete with once again. The biggest dislike I have for Toyota products (with a few exceptions like the last Celicas which were very entertaining to drive and well built too) are that they are somewhat dull and uninspiring to drive but that never was their cup of tea and most US drivers don't mind either.

 

[nthach]

At least Toyota has a somewhat a proactive approach when things go wrong. Honda denies EVERYTHING and ANYTHING wrong with their products. They won't fix the tranny issues that plague their post-2000 models. They don't know why some S2000s and Civic Sis are eating through synchros.

I still think any V6 Honda is a ticking timebomb.

 

[saberz]

GM and their nameplates were successful, in the past. And partially successful in early 2000-2004. I don't speak ill against them, my family is heavy on GM, I was a big Chevy guy myself but can appreciate a business strategy that works.

There are always two sides to any story, plan etc. Toyota chose to expand and make a division soley for the purpose of youth and low cost vehicles.

GM had somewhere like 7 divisions. Chevy was the poor mans GM, Pontiac was supposed to be the performance division, Saturn the economy division, GMC was a MIRROR to Chevy but with added Luxury, Hummer the macho/off-road division etc etc.

The problem was, aside from Saturn and Hummer, the other divisions were far to alike. My statement was to emphasize that sometimes its smarter to seperate and have that seperation be 100% different.

Other times it may seem smart to build up a new image in with ones own image.

When you look at Toyota, Honda and Nissan for the younger crowd Honda just sticks out like a youth brand. Youth is my example, but you have a lot of culture around Honda and NHRA etc.

Nissan seems the next in line, you think of Nissan you think fo the Z or SX.

Toyota you think Camry, Corolla. The Supra and Celica were not huge money makers but have fans and followings. The MR2 was not popular until the 90's. It made sense for Toyota to break away from its own image.

 

[grampi]

Originally Posted By: 440Magnum

Toyota can't go back to "90s quality and reliability" because that was nothing but a myth anyway. Yes, they made GOOD CARS in the 90s and still do, but they were nothing better than any other brand, and thats exactly where they sit today.


Sounds like you need to do a little research. There's a lot of reliability data available that supports the notion that Toyotas were (and many still are) the best built and most reliable cars on the planet. If you haven't seen any of it then you are blind!