Is Toyota really still that good?

[h00t_h00t]

Read the thread, there are no links, its all based off of his mum's opinion.

[Gtek-i]

I'll find the link soon...tomorrow at the latest

[coolieman1220]

google it, see what comes up

[h00t_h00t]

Nothing out of the ordinary, they're doing better than GM and Ford.

[NSXType-R]

Nothing out of the ordinary, they're doing better than GM and Ford.

Can anyone do any worse than GM or Ford?

[Equinox]

Can anyone do any worse than GM or Ford?

good point!

[h00t_h00t]

Yes, Fiat manage to make a mess of everything they touch and then Rover collapsed.

[Dino Scuderia]

Don't know anything about Toyota's reliability trend but I thought this was interesting.

I recently heard a report, I believe from Consumer Reports, which said the reliability of the best Japanese cars has plateaued the past three years, reason being the cost of increasing reliability beyond what it is currently has exceeded what the market will bare in the respective markets.

[kingofthering]

Yes, Fiat manage to make a mess of everything they touch and then Rover collapsed.

you forgot Ssyangyong. It seems that no matter how bad their cars are, they can't die off. They probably make it their mission to make sucky cars.

[2ndclasscitizen]

Don't know anything about Toyota's reliability trend but I thought this was interesting.

I recently heard a report, I believe from Consumer Reports, which said the reliability of the best Japanese cars has plateaued the past three years, reason being the cost of increasing reliability beyond what it is currently has exceeded what the market will bare in the respective markets.

Maybe there's no real way to make them any more reliable

[kingofthering]

Maybe there's no real way to make them any more reliable

I guess they will need to start making them bulletproof (literally)

[TRD_fun]

http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/pro...718&ID=5873092

This isn't a total bust of quality, it's more of an incident that gives way to criticism.

http://www.nyse.com/interface/jsp/NH...sdowjones=true

And finally:

Japan scolds Toyota on recall practices

Yuri Kageyama / Associated Press

TOKYO -- In a rare public scolding of Japan's biggest company, the government reprimanded Toyota Friday and called for improved recall practices amid a criminal investigation into a 2004 accident.

The transportation ministry issued a "guidance" order requiring the automaker to report to the ministry by Aug. 4 steps it is taking to better monitor reports of defects with its cars and speed up communication within the company about possible problems, a ministry official said on customary condition of anonymity.

The ministry did not fine Toyota or find it guilty of breaking the law.

But public prosecutors, who are independent of the government, may still file charges against Toyota Motor Corp. officials under investigation.

Toyota Executive Vice President Masatami Takimoto said the carmaker will do its best to beef up its practices as instructed by the ministry.

"We take the directives from the ministry very seriously," he said in a statement.

The widely reported recall investigation -- coming at a time when Toyota recalls are ballooning -- has been a major embarrassment for Toyota because of its solid reputation for quality.

Earlier this month, police said they were sending papers to prosecutors on three Toyota officials in a criminal investigation on suspicion of professional negligence for allegedly shirking recalls for eight years.

Police say they suspect the three Toyota officials, whose names have not been disclosed because they have not been charged, knew about the problems as far back as 1996 but took no action.

The defects being investigated, a suspected faulty steering part, may have caused an August 2004 head-on crash in southwestern Japan that injured five people, they say.

Toyota has denied any wrongdoing, saying the reported problems had not appeared serious enough to warrant a recall until October 2004, when Toyota recalled in Japan 330,000 Hilux Surf vehicles manufactured between December 1988 and May 1996.

The 2004 recall affected more than a million vehicles sold in 180 nations, including the U.S. and Europe, and some problems had been reported from abroad, according to Toyota. None of the reports from abroad had caused accidents, the company said.

At a news conference Thursday, Toyota President Katsuaki Watanabe bowed deeply and apologized for the recall troubles that had stirred up worries among customers. He denied wrongdoing.

"I take this seriously and see it as a crisis," said Watanabe. "I want to apologize deeply for the troubles we have caused."

Toyota shares, which have dropped from about 6,500 yen ($56) three months ago, dipped 0.69 percent in Tokyo to close at 5,760 yen ($49).

None of this bluntly states that Toyotas are crap of late, though.

[fa22_raptor]

Every manufacturer has recall and quality issues once in a while, and Toyota is no different. I don't think Toyota in particular has been suffering major quality issues more than usual as of late. Having said that though, I recently received a letter from Lexus regarding a fix they wanted to make to my ECU to make it more eco-friendly. Also, my girlfriend's mum's RX330 had a recent brake fix done But these things happen, and that's life.

[IBrake4Rainbows]

Perhaps it's because these models (Tundra, Sienna) are built in the US?

[fpv_gtho]

I guess they will need to start making them bulletproof (literally)

If there comes a point where the technology in the cars is also at a plateau, someone will make a move and try something completely new, which wont be 100% reliable. That could very well be when hydrogen goes mass market.