There was a time when people would buy Toyotas solely based on their reputation for excellent quality. That reputation has been heavily questioned the last decade or so to the point that the former President of the company, Katsuaki Watanabe, felt it necessary to apologize for the poor products produced. So, does the name Toyota still stand for quality or not?
There was a time when you could buy a Toyota pickup and count on it lasting for practically ever without anything more than the occasional oil change and new brake pads every 100,000 miles or so. This reputation of reliability vaulted Toyota from a relatively small Japanese manufacturer to the biggest car company in the world given the collapse of General Motors. Then problems started.
Buying a Toyota stopped being a sure thing around the end of the 1990s. Massive problems and recalls started popping up with numerous models. The full sized Tundra had rust issues and the brake systems were problematic. The full size Avalon had a host of acceleration issues. Even the might stalwart Camry was found to have issues. The legendary failing VVT oil line that caused oil to drain from engines was found on many different Toyota models. The Consumer Reports started issuing lower quality ratings for the cars and trucks of the company.
Many loyal Toyota customers were left wondering what had happened. The answer quickly became clear. Toyota was expanding massively as it gained huge chunks of market share in big markets like the United States. As a result, the company was producing much bigger unit counts than it ever had and was doing so in a wide variety of locations across the world. In short, the company was producing quantity, not quality.
Things came to a head when the Japanese government demanded an explanation from Toyota in 2005. The company executives admitted to problems, offered a host of changes and even issued official apologies regarding the situation. Three years later, the problems linger and it has been announced that President Katsuaki Watanabe is being moved to the dreaded "advisor" role while a Toyoda family member moves into the President position.
So, what are we to make of Toyota models in 2009 and beyond? It is unclear since it takes some time for problems to identify themselves. What is clear is Toyota is taking the issue very seriously. The company has announced that development of many new models will be delayed while quality on current models is raised. It has also devoted sizable resources to creating databases of complaint information in an effort to identify and address problems much quicker than the past.
There will undoubtedly be hiccups in the process as Toyota tries to get its act together, but the fact it is acknowledges a problem and is actively dealing with it suggests a positive outcome.
See You Soon...!! Zzuuupppp.....
It's a Plane...!
It's a Bird ...!!
No.. It's SUPERZAM ...!!!
