Wow, talk about a PR nightmare...... a car company that built it's reputation on quality now facing some serious issues. According to the statements made in the investigation, they aren't sure if the recall fixes will actually solve the acceleration problems. I'm a very loyal Toyota customer, and really think they build one of the best cars you can buy............but, gheez this issue is kinda scary. Thoughts???
They blew it - plain and simple. I OWN a Toyota... but I really question their leadership at this point - they KNEW of these problems and hid them. Ever seen Fight Club? Ed Norton's character explains how car makers have a complex formula for dealing with defects - depends on how many folks die before they take a step to halt the problem. Toyota has publicly brought the Norton character effectively, to life. It will take them a LONG time to recover. I'm sure many will blame US car companies and the unions for a media assault on Toyota - I'm sure that has something to do with it. But the reality remains the fact they KNEW there were problems, they KNEW people died because of them, and they CHOSE to do nothing in order to save money. Too bad - how much this blunder will cost them will take years to be revealed. But I do think the days of their superiority in "quality" will take decades, if ever, to recover. Jedi
On the one hand, it's just another top-of-the-hill giant facing the pains of huge failure. The big fall bigger and harder. You can't be #1 in quality or sales in any market forever. It's Toyota's turn to fail. Were this news out of GM, because of the outdated stigma against them, people would just go "Oh boy, not again..." but it's Toyota so everyone is in shock. In actuality it's about time this happened. The law of averages caught up with them, so to speak. Japanese cars are not superior and this proves it. Moreover, this is also about the fallibility of emerging technologies that are over-engineered into cars today. The more electronics you introduce into a car, the greater the chances are of an untraceable meltdown. Cars are too complex today and this is also the issue. They're saying they cannot find the problem in the software --but it *is* an electronic issue. They can't find the problem in the wiring, in the electronics, nor in the software. So where does that leave them? ------> looking really stupid. What does that say about more and more software-dependent cars? Cars have become the Windows-on-wheels that frequently crash and freeze, a hard drive rolling down the street. You want that in a car? It doesn't exactly inspire driver nor consumer confidence. These are key questions.
Toyota problems are, as you have probably guessed, part real and part hype. The February issue of Car & Driver has an interesting article on a test done on a couple of cars, just to understand how bad this can be. There may indeed be problems with gas pedals and other components in the cars, but regardless of what's happening with the engine: - the engine can be switched off - if one shifts in neutral, the car will not continue to accelerate - the brakes on 99% of the cars in circulation are powerful enough to overcome the engine Toyota should hire Audi as a consultant in this.
I understand it affects about 2 cars per million. Statistically nothing. .0002% The engine is switched off by pressing the start button for 3 seconds, just like a hard power off on a PC. Neutral.....yep -- no gear, no go Who did Toyota surpass as the #1 auto manuf in the World? Who did the US Govemnt just buy out?? Who is conducting this inquisition, err, inquiry? Just a thought.
Audi came back, so will Toyota. They both build excellent cars. I continued to buy Audis, and I would not hesitate to buy a Toyota. Its like flying just after 9/11, probably the safest time to fly. Toyota will pay even more attention to these issues, as did Audi.
This is why I will only buy a Nissan when it comes to Japanese autos. Even during economic downturns, they still build sports cars. Toyota has only cared about making money (which is why they don't build sports cars) and this is more proof. Thank god I have never owned one of those cars and never will. They don't even look good...Lexus LS...Camry are the same damn thing.
The Jap cars have long joined the ranks of "lookalike" transportation appliances with every year growing larger, heavier, uglier, boring to drive, geriatric styling (Camry, Accord, Corolla, Sentra, etc...) Yes, most of us know they don't really design cars, but can't they apply some self creativity and not carbon copy each other? While these and other issues have turned away buyers towards Euro cars, a real good answer these Japs have to redeem themselves, comes as a final slap on the customer's face - now playing at your local dealer showroom -, featuring a sparkling new NISSAN GTR sitting next to a VERSA, or even worse, the upcoming $ 350,000 supercar by Lexus, will also be flexing its muscle next to an LS 350, AKA velvetized Camry. "I got it, Toyota".
Just an extremely unfortunate problem that was handled horribly. I love toyotas and always will but I question others. I work at Enterprise, I believe we had around 40k toyotas (btwn camrys, corollas and prius) that we had to recall. The service department had our cars done in as fast as 5 minutes (per car) and as long as an hour so we were satisfied. I love the brand but obviously in shock at how they did and did not handle the situation. Interesting to see what they will do to gain market share back. I would only imagine lots of advertising on quality and reliability as well as discounts/incentives...
