Didn’t it happen time and time again?
Both companies make utter rubbish.
Toyota is back to the 80s practice of including Rust in the design and the GM cars are once again considering 80,000 miles “Lifetime”
It’s all garbage now. Even BMW. It’s nice garbage, don’t get me wrong but it’s still junk that doesn’t last nearly as long as it should.
I worked for Toyota for several years before they moved their national HQ from Torrance, CA to Plano, TX in 2015. There is much truth in your fable, but it still comes down to quality. Before the corporate move, I bought a new 2015 Sienna. It’s the first (and probably only) brand new vehicle I’ve ever owned. Just look at the depth of the paint job alone compared to a GM product. The Sienna is not perfect, but it’s higher quality is even visually obvious. It drives like a dream, is solid and just a terrific vehicle. Every day I see GM, Ford and Chrysler products. They are serviceable, but their quality is still lacking.
The American car companies sent fact-finding teams to examine the Japanese auto plants when the Japanese cars really started to see in the US.
One of the things the Americans notices was a cord that ran near the entire length of the assembly line.
The Americans asked about the cord.
It was an emergency stop cord.
If a Japanese worker saw a problem with one of the vehicles, he could pull the cord to stop the assembly line and then the problem could be investigated and fixed.
The American car companies put emergency stop cords in all their plants.
The Americans invited the Japanese over to see the changes they had made.
They were watching one assembly line and a worker pulled the cord to stop production. Because he had seen a problem.
The American plant manager proudly explained to the Japanese that this happened several times a day.
One of the Japanese looked at the American plant manager and said,
“None of our employees would dare pull that cord. They would be too ashamed and they would be afraid of shaming a fellow employee. They would just take care of the problem.”
It’s about a difference in national history and culture.
It isn’t just the auto industry that has the same or similar stories.
“It isn’t that they can’t see the solution. It is that they can’t see the problem.” — Gilbert K. Chesterton
I own Honda’s that are built in America.
With the exception of an old ‘54 Dodge pickup, I have never owned an ‘American’ brand.
Growing up we had Fords, Cadillacs, Lincolns and Chryslers. When we began buying Mercedes, Peugeots (the 504 - nothing later), BMW’s and a few other brands, the driving experience and quality was VASTLY superior. We also never had the ‘OOPS what just fell off the car’ moment. Or were stranded by some poorly built device under the hood that stopped all locomotion.
Mercedes, Peugeot and BMW’s quality has vastly deteriorated, as such I drive RELIABLE automobiles.
Our 300 SEL 6.3 was the fastest sedan in the US in ‘71 with a 0-60 time of 6.3 seconds.
Our Honda Pilot can do 0-60 in 6.5 seconds with more than a tad bit less maintenance. And with 4 Nokian Hakkapeliitta 8’s it’s unbelievable in the snow/ice.
It’s a bonus that they are made by US workers.
The only way to understand the conundrum of GM is to accept as fact that their business strategy is the optimization of loss of money and market share. Additionally, they are essentially a health care provider that makes vehicles. Pretty great I’d ones by my experiences I might add.
The caprice classic redesign, the Saturn abandonment, selling Direct TV etc... the evidence is all there.
It’s not about where they make them. It’s about what they make. Toyota vehicles are good and last, GM are not. Every single GM vehicle could be made here and they’d still suck. Every single Toyota vehicle could be made the Third World #$%^hole of your naming, and they’d still be good.
And don’t forget the Unions.
Two canoes were used. One costing $49.99. The other - Union built - cost $109.99 and was inferior in build and quality.
Then the next year Toyota raced against Ford. Their boat his a rock and everyone on it was killed by a defective airbag.
Union legacy costs is a big factor in the equation-fable. Unionization is socialism by community. Socialism doesn’t work never will. FDR was afraid of unions or was a closet unionist and gave in to UMWA as well other unions which immediately started spiraling legacy costs that now are in the billions. The best thing that could have happened was GM to go bankrupt and shedding the legacy costs and all unions. But too big to fail concept ruled the day and a crippled GM continues along.
If you want to read a good book on the car industry, Ford Vs. Nissan, read Robert Lacy’s book, “The Reckoning”.
I opposed the bailout, but I would have taken the "decision made, now let's move forward" approach and bought another if they hadn't screwed the bond holders.
As for now, I'd consider buying one only because Trump won, but they're still not high on my list.
W. Edwards Deming.