Is Toyota's reputation finished? Options

[Ahtong]

Is Toyota's reputation finished and will they lose market dominance over the self accelerating issue? Let's look at this from a local and international perspective.

I don't know about international markets but consumers here are probably too besotted by the badge to care. Most likely nothing will change until local Altises start shooting off Sheares bridge.

I do feel a bit sorry for Toyota because American car makers have been in the red so now is the time to bring out the daggers. It's also hard to tell whether the accidents was caused by faulty accelerator, kayu driver or just some chao keng trying to make a quick buck.

[Darkblue]

Reputation or what all bluff one, Toyota is "STUCK" in people's mind for being good quality and reliable

Drop prices to $50K for Toyota Altis then no problem liao lo.......

Need to earn back trust, and prove that they are better than Koreans ma...... of course Toyota (& BM) must sell cheaper la

[Fcw75]

It is just a temporary setback for Toyota. They will survive.

[Kangadrool]

They are not finished yet, just need more self-reflection and ditch the quest to be no. 1 seller. Nothing wrong with being no. 2. In fact, the full load of shxxts come after when they desired to being no. 1 and their quest for no. 1 is being fulfilled.

[Requiemdk]

It's a huge dent in their reputation that's for sure and that shows in the recent plunge in the value of their stocks. Even the Japanese government stepped in to order them to look into their QC. Mercedes themselves realized a few years ago that sacrificing QC for volume was eroding their reputation.

But... I wonder also why the problem seems so much more exacerbated in America. Remember the recent recall of the McLaren strollers? All the complaints originated from the US even though the strollers were the same worldwide. After all these years, I'd no longer be surprised if you sold someone a knife there and they sued you for selling them something sharp enough to cut themselves with.

[Seevic]

Is Toyota's reputation finished?

Reliability used to be the byword for Toyota.

They can say Bye Bye now....

[Ahtong]

The funny thing about this incident is that the much maligned tomyum models seem to be safe.

[Bavarian]

BM & Toyota has been resting on their laurels for too long.

I walk into BM showroom today and what I see? Boring & sub-standard cars. Where are the Celicas, MR2s and Supras? No doubt the bread and butter models are important to business but its the Celicas & Supras that fuels the imagination. Just see what Evo did to the mundane Lancer. The market is crying out for affordable & small Japanese sports car. See how the 200SX, WRX and Celica did prior. Even RX-8 and MX-5 are very much in demand, kudos to Mazda. Its a wonder what a Halo model can do to a manufacturer's image. I will not be surprised the next generation of car owners will be very much influenced by the racing games they play in arcade today. And you take note that other than AE86, Toyota does not feature heavily in these games.

We mostly agree that the Toyotas made in Thailand are not as good as their bethren from Japan. It started with the Vios, then Altis then Camry. In just 10 years, BM has completed changed its entire line-up by offering inferior cars at premium pricing. They even had the audacity to try to sell the punters a glorified pick-up. No, most of us are not that stupid.

Bread and butter, this is how Nissan lost its place as the No. 1 Japanese Car in Singapore.
Style over substance, thats how Mercedes let their competitors into their kitchen.

Moral of the story is that you can only screw the market for so long before the screwing is mutual. The foreplay has just began.

As a sidenote, I used to own a Corolla (2001 model) and it was one of the best car I have ever owned. Non of the 4 cars I own subsequently is a Toyota. Whatever happened to the Toyota Way?

This post has been edited by Bavarian: Feb 6 2010, 10:53 AM

[V2-g]

different folks, different brands...

some wld still swear by toyota after this incident... some wld jump ship to other brands...

there are always ppl who wld swear by a particular brand and still continue supporting it...

the only thing, is for toyota to wake up their idea, price their products more competitive with better QC and better raw materials used....

also, maybe extend wty, etc.... or find some other ways to make up for all this stuff...

local ppl i spoke to, with regards of toyota woes.. some scared, some bo chup, some dun even know got such issues.....

me on kimchi ride now.. and who knows, my next change might still be a kimchi, or maybe sushi ride, if i got the dough...

[Starry]

how come our Toyotas never got the recall? Our made in Thailand accelerator pedal is ok but the American made one is bad?

I for one, will never consider a Toyota after this. This is not a QC problem...this is a SAFETY problem. Any car companes that doesn't put basic safety into consideration for their design doesn't deserve my money.

This post has been edited by Starry: Feb 6 2010, 11:00 AM

[Watwheels]

That means the parts are from 3rd party suppliers for the region. There's not much reputation at stake IMO, at least they did the right thing to recall their cars. Compare to the scandal of Mitsubishi in 2000, the case of faulty parts that causes safety issues which were deliberately kept under wraps, that IMO is more jialat.

Just Google "Mitsubishi scandal".

Can even find it on Wikipedia...
Partial extract:
"Vehicle defect cover-up

In what was referred to as "one of the largest corporate scandals in Japanese history",[23][24] Mitsubishi was twice forced to admit to systematically covering up defect problems in its vehicles. Four defects were first publicized in 2000, but in 2004 it confessed to 26 more going back as far as 1977, including failing brakes, fuel leaks and malfunctioning clutches. The effect on the company was catastrophic, forcing it to recall 163,707 cars (156,433 in Japan and 7,274 overseas) for free repair.[25] Further recalls by Fuso truck & bus brought the total number of vehicles requiring repair to almost one million. The affair led to the resignation and subsequent arrest of president Kawasoe, along with 23 other employees who were also implicated.[26] Three of them have since been acquitted, with the judge stating that there was no official request from the Transport Ministry ordering them to submit a defect report."



Have the scandal really stop buyers from buying their cars? You be the judge.

This post has been edited by Watwheels: Feb 6 2010, 11:14 AM

[Starry]

Umm...perhaps it is time that every car manufacturer move to the organ type of accelerator pedal. Then no risk of getting stuck on car mats. But perhaps getting stuck on some wires daggling on top...:P

[Yuan]

They need to work very hard to gain back the trust of consumers.

[Picanto]

the vios and altis will still be no.1 in spore

[Forrestcat]

Is Toyota's reputation finished and will they lose market dominance over the self accelerating issue? Let's look at this from a local and international perspective.

I don't know about international markets but consumers here are probably too besotted by the badge to care. Most likely nothing will change until local Altises start shooting off Sheares bridge.

I do feel a bit sorry for Toyota because American car makers have been in the red so now is the time to bring out the daggers. It's also hard to tell whether the accidents was caused by faulty accelerator, kayu driver or just some chao keng trying to make a quick buck.

Yes, finished....

[Starry]

Yes, finished....

Don't think so. One thing about the Japs is that they are very quick in turning around with better products. It is in their blood. Just see how quick they became an industrial power after the atomic bombing of their country in 1945.

[Joseph22]

Hopefully Toyota will drop out as top car manufacturer. Then they will wake up and start being inovative again and provide value for money car. (not talking about cheap here)

[Ahtong]

Actually I got selfish reasons for starting this thread. My current car is a Toyota and so far it has not given me any problems. Whatever was changed is due to wear and tear. However, it is almost time to switch to a new car and my first instinct is to buy a non-Toyota mainly because Toyotas are so boring and ah pek.

However, if the current scandal can manke BM drop prices to the low $50k range, then they are back in contention for my wallet ....... hurhurhur

[RadX]

Well....it will have a difficult time STOPPING the slide of their reputation

pun intended

[Ahtong]

Yeah, I wonder if this will hit the BRAKES on their otherwise RUNAWAY success.

This post has been edited by Ahtong: Feb 6 2010, 12:13 PM