Toy Yoda?
Posted on 02/09/2010 7:11:25 AM PST by SeekAndFind
More than 70 years ago, Toyota entered the auto business based on a simple, but powerful, principle: that Toyota would build the highest-quality, safest and most reliable automobiles in the world. The company has always put the needs of our customers first and made the constant improvement of our vehicles a top priority. That is why 80 percent of all Toyotas sold in the United States over the past 20 years are still on the road today.
When consumers purchase a Toyota, they are not simply purchasing a car, truck or van. They are placing their trust in our company. The past few weeks, however, have made clear that Toyota has not lived up to the high standards we set for ourselves. More important, we have not lived up to the high standards you have come to expect from us. I am deeply disappointed by that and apologize. As the president of Toyota, I take personal responsibility. That is why I am personally leading the effort to restore trust in our word and in our products.
For much of Toyota's history, we have ensured the quality and reliability of our vehicles by placing a device called an andon cord on every production line -- and empowering any team member to halt production if there's an assembly problem. Only when the problem is resolved does the line begin to move again.
Two weeks ago, I pulled the andon cord for our company. I ordered production of eight models in five plants across North America temporarily stopped so that we could focus on fixing our customers' vehicles that might be affected by sticking accelerator pedals. Today, Toyota team members and dealers across North America are working around the clock to repair all recalled vehicles.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
I still believe Toyota's problem are temporary and they DID NOT HIDE the problem and were forthright with it when it was discovered ( unlike so many other car companies whose names will not be mentioned for fear of government reprisal ). Besides only 1/10th of 1% of all the cars that are purported to have this problem have been reported.
I expect this problem to blow away within a few months.
I’m hoping to find a great deal on an Avalon once sales resume
Toy Yoda?
other auto’s have recalls all the time.
True, but you often don’t hear the kind of honest apology offered here.
Toyota still remembers the old slogan, “the customer is always right”. How many other companies act that way today?
I’m sure a large part of it will be offering baksheesh to the DNC and Obama.
“I’m hoping to find a great deal on an Avalon once sales resume..”
An Avalon at sticker price is a good deal. It is a fine car.
....but if I can do better.......};^)
then why the big noise about toyota recalls?
I think Toyota should just shut up, fix the cars and go on their merry way. I’d rather buy one of their cars than any other in the price range regardless of the recent problems.
If the healthscare coverage was 0.01% accurate, I would see several bodies along the road each day during my 40 mile commute.
The big noise is because this is probably the first time in close to 30 years that Toyota has anounced this big a recall.
Of course, the fact that the mainstream media chimed in and then Obama’s transportation secretary entered the fray added fuel to the noisy fire.
However, this observation made by one writer at the American Thinker is very relevant :
Imagine that. A CEO of a multi-billion dollar world-wide corporation facing millions of dollars of product liability choosing to go on television and beg his customers and potential litigants for forgiveness.
Toyota even went one more step with an expensive “mea culpa” Super Bowl ad.
Toyota customers probably do have reason to worry about their cars right now, but the head of Toyota is showing the true measure of a man in taking full responsibility (even though industry watchers say some of the policies which led to the flaws are the fault of Toyoda’s predecessor) apologizing profusely, and doing whatever possible to timely right the wrong.
Imagine that: Akio Toyoda isn’t blaming George Bush.
That’s all fine and dandy, but you guys better come up with a plan to deal with your newest and largest competitor, the US government.
That's a misleading statistic. How many 20 year old Toyota's are still on the road? Not 80%.
Exactly the case.
Toyota has an uphill battle before it. The Obama administration and the media are engaged in a concerted effort to damage Toyota's reputation and market share. Some of the slow-recall criticism is deserved, but this is the only reason for the piling-on that we are seeing.
It's a lot easier for UAW powered, Obama-owned, Government Motors (GM) to put their competition in a bad light than it is to produce a high-quality, reasonably priced, competitive answer to Toyota cars.
That is not what it says.
It says that 80% of all Toyotas sold over a 20 year period are still on the road. That might mean something, or it might not, because it depends on knowing the proportions for each year. After all, "all X sold over a 20 year period" which happens to end yesterday, includes a lot of brand-new cars.
So it boils down to an advertising statement. Very pretty, means nothing.
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