Toyoda talking about Toyota

lwien

lwien

Well-Known Member
I don't know if any of you have been watching these Congressional hearings, but watching the grandson of the founder of Toyota, who just took over the reigns as CEO and President of company less than a year ago, being grilled by these congressmen is really interesting. Knowing a bit about Japanese culture, this must be about as painful for him as it could possibly get. I don't think I've ever seen a stellar reputation of a company get hammered as much and as quickly as this.

If this happened at an earlier time, this guy would have committed Seppuku long before he would ever subject himself to this public humiliation.
 
lwien,
Ash

Ash

vaporist
This really is historic. I haven't been watching but I read he said that "Toyota had lost its way" and something about mixing up priorities (safety, quality & volume). Where I work the mantra is WWTD (what would Toyota do). It's going to be hard to say that now without just a tinge of irony. :/

I suspected things might not be quite right when they started chasing the big truck/suv fad a few years back. Too bad for Toyota, they blinked and the market knows it. This really is a huge opportunity for Honda, Hyundai and Ford. The title of "Best Quality" is suddenly up for grabs. If one of these other companies takes it it will be the student surpassing the master. :ninja:
 
Ash,
F

finchrock24

Proud MMJ Patient
Meh, although its a big deal...I'd still buy a Toyota. Well, I'd buy Honda first, but then Toyota. Ford? No. I honestly think congress had its way with Toyota to promote the US manufacturers. I didn't see congress grilling Ford/Bridgestone when their tires/SUVs killed...how many people? Congress is fucking stupid anyway....
 
finchrock24,
Ash

Ash

vaporist
Congress is going easy on Toyota due to how much $$$ they're getting from the company each year in PAC contributions. Congress is about getting elected, not about helping GM make a profit.

Look at quality rankings for the last several years. Toyota is definitely loosing its mojo. After this little fiasco I'm thinking they will fall much further. And, btw, I drive a Toyota (Lexus) and love it (except for that door handle that freezes shut in very cold weather). ;)
 
Ash,
S

SSS

mmj patient under siege by the obama admin
although toyota has made mistakes this issue is largely media fueled. it's a shameless attempt to prop up u.s. automakers by slagging a rival. fortunately, the consumers are going to benefit because toyotas are still better than anything the big three manage to crap out.

i just had the transmission on a dodge truck with slightly over 100,000 miles take a shit. typical uaw craftsmanship. when toyota looks like they've hit rock bottom i'm going out and getting a new toyota truck. because chances are i'll get to 200,000 miles on general maintenance on a toyota engine as opposed to draining my life savings trying to keep an american vehicle alive.

i currently have a corolla with 70,000 with nothing but regular check ups and oil changes. and montana isn't exactly easy on a vehicle. go to any car rating site and compare a low end corolla with any comparable american car. you can't find a u.s. made vehicle in that price range that's worth a damn.

thank you media for beating on toyota so i can get a great deal on a solid ride.
 
SSS,
lwien

lwien

Well-Known Member
finchrock24 said:
Meh, although its a big deal...I'd still buy a Toyota. Well, I'd buy Honda first, but then Toyota. Ford? No. I honestly think congress had its way with Toyota to promote the US manufacturers. I didn't see congress grilling Ford/Bridgestone when their tires/SUVs killed...how many people? Congress is fucking stupid anyway....
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But they sure as hell grilled them when they squandered their bailout and came flying into the meeting on their corporate jets. They read them the riot act. And when Firestone was having issues with failure rates, congress grilled the hell out of them as well.

But yeah, I do agree with you about congress being stupid. It's really kind of embarrassing to hear some of these idiots talk and realize that these jerks are running our country.

Don't know if you saw it yesterday, but Toyoda broke down in tears when he was addressing the US dealers. In Japanese business culture, that is unheard of. Hell, it's unheard of in any business culture, but in Japanese society, it's especially odd for a President of a major corporation to display his emotion like that.
 
lwien,
max

max

Out to lunch
The title of "Best Quality" is suddenly up for grabs.
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Honda was named best car maker by somebody (Consumer Reports?) a couple of years ago. This was before Toyota's current big troubles, but smaller problems were already cropping up back then.
 
max,
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