Worried Toyota dealers in U.S. adding own voice to PR push

Every Toyota dealer should be ashamed. They all abetted in the crime. They profited from the customers who had flawed parts changed in secret. There's nothing they can do to earn redemption - not only did they fleece their own compatriots they abetted in the fraud that led to a near collapse of the US auto industry. Shame on anyone who has added support to Toyota - especially since you had zero idea of what Toyota was really like on the inside. To say you were duped may be okay but....

they abetted in the fraud that led to a near collapse of the US auto industry.

GM and Chrysler only have themselves to blame for that.

MrUSA: You have no idea what has been happening in the US auto industry. The two compnaies had to pay the full costs of retirement etc... Toyota switched fulltime worker's contracts to part time without their knowledge - have you been reading the papers? ALl the missing pensions? Toyota was operating without costs. Recalls were done in secret and billed to the owner and parts makers - they also collected labor twice. Toyota double booked production volume - inflated numbers to show bigger gains and raise stock value - funds fled the US makers. Themselves to blame? ANd don't bother mentioning hybrids because they had sweetheart deals to avoid the stringent regulations that make the vehicles virtually impossible to build in the US - the materials used are so toxic it is impossible to work with them in the US - Toyota built in Japan and used bribery to get them in. If you had knowledge of what has really been happening in your country you'd be looking at this issue through different eyes.

Take a look over the years at the amount of recalls the big three have had compared to Toyota, those are the facts. Take a look at the resale values. There is a reason why cars have good resale, it's because they are reliable and are made well. Toyota will implement serious quality controls into place to make sure something like this will not happen again. Product quality is paramount to their company identity and they have worked too long and hard to let this destroy the Toyota brand.

I like the opportunity that GM and Ford has here to regain market share. The US economy can use the help and jobs. They just need to keep doing the great job of much improved car quality and fresh vehicle design over the last 5-10 years. Toyota will be working to get their reputation back to where it was, so the US makers need to stay focused.

Just don't tell me Toyota is not a great company, because they have demonstrated for decades how to be the best at manufacturing cars. Many other companies have emulated they way this company does things. Overall, they have been the reference standard for all manufacturers in the world. I know everyone has been waiting to knock Toyota off their mountain, just keep in mind the millions upon millions of cars they have consistently built that have had a minimal amount of problems and are the reason behind the reputation of quality that has been the envy of manufacturers the world over.

sfjp330: you're not an insider. In the industry they laugh at posts like yours - posts that paint them as perfect as their paid-for press created images. Toyota has been cooking the books on vehicle quality. Resale value has been artificially set - no recalls have been made at manufacturer's expense. The dumb customer has been duped into paying for the fixes which by the way have been equal to the number reported at the Big Three - See how Toyota stands in Germany - they're lower than Mazda in claims per vehicle. Here's to illustrate how screwed the vehicle quality rating system is; Ford builds the Ranger. Rebadges it to Mazda and the ratings begin - in the US and Australia. How do they stand against one another? Mind you it is exactly the same truck and made by Ford. On average the Mazda rates 8 places higher than the Ford.

unscrejects at 10:53 PM JST - 24th February. Toyota has been cooking the books on vehicle quality. Resale value has been artificially set

Resale values are based on supply and demand just like any other product. Consumer decides the real value and they are not artificially set.

So what if they use Ranger is used in Mazda trucks, Ford Escape also is used by Mazda SUV. Well Ford builds Focus, Fusion, Edge, which are Mazda technology in disguise, from Mazda 3, 6, and CX9. The Flex and Taurus use Volvo platforms. However, Toyota does not use other manufacturers platforms and engines. Austalian built Pontiac G8 uses Chevy 6.0 engine. Landrover used 4.4 BMW engine, this is common on the industry.