TP,
mate im sorry that you are too biased to have a civil discussion about the auto industy or vehicles in general.

i also feel really sorry for you that toyota offers you no real desirable vehicles, and am even more sorry that you have to display such a bitter attitude towards anything that isnt a toyota

I take my obnoxious statements back. We’re all car enthusiasts, bound to have different views – no point of boiling it over.

My apologies Nm.

Peace.

We should all consider such actions from time to time as a little humility will go a long way to creating peace and harmony.

It’s no news. Anyone who’s had real life experience such as myself will know that the cars can have their problems just like any other make. I know they’re better than average, but no more than that. Certainly not perfect.

“OH WHAT A DISEASE”

Quality: the standard of parts or componentry used in the assembly ofa particular car.. as well as the way the part or the car is assembled; that is Fit and Finish which then effects how long the item will last or function

A chain is only as strong as its weakest link.. the more weak links you have the more likely the whole car is going to fail

Reliability: you can have the most technologically advanced Toyota [oxymoron] which has a number of computer problems causing it to breakdown etc
Yet I could have an Old Holden or Ford without EFI etc whih starts first time everytime and gets me where i want to go as there is less moving parts and therefore less to go wrong

NASA spent billions trying to make a Pen that would work in space… the russians took a Pencil

The rapid growth did affect quality overall… but its not all Toyota. Contracted Suppliers is responsible for half the problem. Meeting dates and beating each other in releasing new cars to the market is one reason to this. The addition of new suppliers that are “new” to the Toyota process is HUGE factor in quality issues.

How would I know? Because I’ve whinged and stated many times, I deal with suppliers a lot, its HUGE part of the job.

And I can probably safely say, not affecting any confidential agreements, that a lot of problems have been rectified, of course not all will be determined and counter measured but Toyota is putting a lot of effort in “ironing” out the issues.

And that comment about Toyota having similar quality as Japanese manufacturers…
How obvious do you want to be?

Back in Uni, engineering especially autmotive/manufacturing streams have units specifically studying Toyota’s process. TPS, JIT etc…. all studied by engineering students as benchmark process for the industry. In concept it was easy to understand, seemed simple… now I’m actually in the field and employed by the company… everything is much more complex and “consumers” will NEVER get it… of course… you guys just pay the money… marketing and the dealerships and “brocures” and reviews are all your reference…. thats it. Honda, Mitsubishi, Nissan etc, the industry in Japan all share knowledge and they help each other. They respect each other.. as corny as that sounds, its actually true… same suppliers for a lot of parts etc… most if not all of them use process system that was derived from Toyota….

The comment about Lexus… again, people simply brush it off against the Euros, as they want to feel good about their purchase. But Lexus considering their experience in this echelon of cars, is going to dominate this category… from their, watch them target the exotics and 100K+ range and do a good job their also…. you have to compare in context and rate of improvement and Lexus/Toyota has got all the answers at the moment.

On my very first day as employee, the first thing we read was the policy… and Toyota’s policy had a bit in it where it stated “Respect others and respect the customer” etc.. thats one of their outlines in the policy… then we compared it to GM’s…. GM had a line that said “… to satisfy company share holders”

One base their everything around customer…. the other… making money… again its actually not as naive as it sounds. Even the promotion process is different, GM pays their executives based on projects and success of that project… they get huge bonuses. Japanese companies in the other hand, do not have the same “bonuses”… they do get benefits based on experience and loyalty to the company. But successful results is expected.. as opposed to american based companies, rewards based on the amount of sales a car does. The hard working people at the plants are also treated and rewarded the same way as white collar employees… one reason I just have so much more respect for the japanese manufacturers. Although, I am sure due to recent success and trends, GM and Ford have made huge strides to replicate some of the methods…

I’m not sure who wrote the article but I have to ask if people agree that Toyota was, before it’s current woes, “king of reliability”? I’m sure we can all recall studies run by J D Power that said Lexus was at the top of the heap but while Toyota owns Lexus, Toyota branded cars aren’t built like Lexus branded cars.

Personally I wouldn’t bet the farm against Toyota improving. While they are masters at marketing, they wouldn’t have built such a following without actually being able to provide consistent products that people are willing to buy again and again. Boring yes but thats another topic and please don’t raise the old chestnuts that most people are stupid or don’t care about what they drive.

NM RESPONSE: Mine is an essay…..whats your thesis reply this topic? Those who boast need it most! I will let you make an idiot out of yourself as doing a credit to that end!