Toyota pres admits quality woes are growing pains
Duh. Anyone intimate with the product offerings of General Motors over the past three decades could tell you that the bigger an automaker gets, the harder it is to maintain quality levels that your customers expect. Toyota is learning this lesson first hand, and its president, Katsuaki Watanabe, admitted as much recently to reporters in Japan. At the same time, he cautioned, "The fact that Toyota is growing globally suddenly shouldn't be used as an excuse." True dat.Toyota is obviously taking measures to address its recent spate of quality problems, attempting to track down the root causes and correct them to prevent future occurrences. But Watanabe also made mention of something he called the "big company disease". He was referring to a sense of arrogance within the automaker, one that most likely has contributed to the company's hiccups. No one doubts the hard work and perseverance that Toyota has dedicated to reaching its lofty position as a global sales leader, but it better learn quickly that even more effort is required to remain there.
[Source: The Detroit News, Photo by TORU YAMANAKA/AFP/Getty]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
zamafir 2:43PM (3/13/2008)
I'm glad their facing the problem head on and hopefully will be dealing with it.
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Steve B. 11:59PM (3/13/2008)
Don't they know what they're doing? You don't take responsibility for quality issues and face them head-on. You whine to your government about exchange rates, lobby for a "chicken tax," and wrap yourself in the nationalism.
Morons.
FThorn 2:45PM (3/13/2008)
What's Japanese for "DUH!" ?
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AlexP 3:03PM (3/13/2008)
Hyundai of course.
I don't know how many times this month you've used that as a reply and I'm probably the only one noticing, but sh*t's getting old man.
Ryan 2:49PM (3/13/2008)
Toyota used to make enthusiasts cars too, the MR2, Celica, Supra etc were are all fun to drive - now they just make boring appliances...
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TwinTurbo3000GT 5:48PM (3/13/2008)
where do i get the supervillan-chair thing he's riding in? lol, that looks like the most exciting thing they make.
nuclearchip@aol.com 2:52PM (3/13/2008)
Oh yeah......let's priase Toyota for attempting to clean up a huge mess! When Ford and GM do it, you all bash them! Rice Burner lovers! Toyota is a scab paying company who is out for a Huge Profit! And nothing more! Boring looking and now quality to match!
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steveo391 3:34PM (3/13/2008)
At least somebody else out there agrees with me
naggs 3:37PM (3/13/2008)
i agree than it is silly to praise a company for announcing a plan to for a committee to assess the feasibility of increasing the priority level for quality
its is at least as ridiculous to bash a company for only caring about "Huge Profit". companies have accountants and shareholders, not caring souls. they will do everything they can get away with to make money.
like bashing a politician for structuring a campaign around trying to get elected
psarhjinian 2:52PM (3/13/2008)
One of the things I like about Mr. Watanabe is that, unlike a lot of other executives in this industry (Schrempp, Zeitsche, Lutz, Piech, Wagoner, Ghosn) is that he admits problems and doesn't grandstand.
You see the same from Alan Mullaly and Takeo Fukui: no gong-banging or self-delusion, just "we screwed up, here's the problem, here's what we're going to do to fix it." And you'll note that despite it's recent slips, all three of these men's companies (yes, Ford too) set the benchmark for quality.
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sw 8:33AM (3/14/2008)
Camry, Corolla/Matrix and Tacoma - Yep, all amazing vehicles for the job they were designed to do (keep in mind they weren't designed to be sports cars).
Fusion/Mazda6, Ford Edge/CX7 - Not as reliable as the camry but the most exciting bang for your buck family sedan. Edge/CX7, the first crossovers I wouldn't mind the garage.
Civic, CBR600RR - Civic's a great driving reliable car, one of the better bikes on the market
Yeah, I see where you're going with this
Franz 2:57PM (3/13/2008)
That's the attitude they should take. It's obvious that their quality levels have been slipping lately, so it's good of them to admit it. Let's hope they get back on track. Now, if only they'd make something exciting to drive I might be tempted to own a Toyota again. Right now they have about the most boring vehicle lineup anywhere.
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psarhjinian 3:11PM (3/13/2008)
You can't blame them for boring. They made a lot of exciting cars in the past and they didn't sell in nearly the same numbers as their boring sucessors did:
AE86: Outsold by the front-drive Corolla and it's ilk
MR2: Outsold by the softer, less extreme Miata
Celica (excepting the flabby 6G): Market dried up, people went to small SUVs or breathed-on compacts.
Supra: Market dried up, people went to SUVs or sports sedans
IS300: Too raw to be a Lexus, so they softened it up.
RAV/4 (the small one): People wanted bigger, not agile.
SC400: People wanted a boulevard cruiser, not a Supra in a nice suit.
In every one of these cases, the replacement sold better. You cannot blame Toyota for being boring when boring makes them money.
Franz 3:31PM (3/13/2008)
@psarhjinian :
I don't really blame them... they did what they had to so they could keep making a profit. But in the last 6 years or so other companyies... most notably Mitsubishi and Subaru... have managed to bring exciting products to the mases for a reasonable price. Same with Nissan with it's Z car and G35 twin. Even Acura enjoyed good sales numbers with it's RSX, and all Toyota managed to give us was the T230 Celica and the Scion TC. Even GM jumped on the bandwagon with it's Sky/Solstice and Cobalt SS cars. I think Toyota could've done better on that front: how about the JDM Caldina's 3S-GTE and AWD in a sporty version of the TC? That couldn't have been too difficult to do IMO.
psarhjinian 4:39PM (3/13/2008)
@Franz
I agree that there's a lot they could have done, and that others have done, but I also don't think it's worth it to them. Toyota can't survive as a boutique brand like Mazda does (and Mazda can't do the reverse). I think it's also worth noting than, of your examples:
* Mitsubishi is bleeding red
* Nissan has really only had two hits: the Altima and G35. Both are it's most mainstream products
* Subaru is niche, and they have the same conundrum that Mazda and Saab faced: go mainstream and alienate their followers and _hope_ new buyers pick up the slack (they didn't for Mazda or Saab), or keep hammering away at your niche and be content with your small slice.
* GM, for the few sports- and sporty cars it makes, still makes ends meet with trucks and family sedans.
* The RSX and 7G Celica were cancelled due to flagging sales.
Honda is the only company that's been able to make sporty and mainstream work, and even they've had to back off the sporty quotient in order to grow. Ford, lamentably, has had to do the same thing, and it's more recent North American offerings are softening up, too.
I'd like sporty options, too, but when you're a huge company, it's not as easy to chase a niche and make money. I'd hoped Scion would fill that role, and it still might if sales of the new xB don't pick up.
psarhjinian 4:39PM (3/13/2008)
@Franz
I agree that there's a lot they could have done, and that others have done, but I also don't think it's worth it to them. Toyota can't survive as a boutique brand like Mazda does (and Mazda can't do the reverse). I think it's also worth noting than, of your examples:
* Mitsubishi is bleeding red
* Nissan has really only had two hits: the Altima and G35. Both are it's most mainstream products
* Subaru is niche, and they have the same conundrum that Mazda and Saab faced: go mainstream and alienate their followers and _hope_ new buyers pick up the slack (they didn't for Mazda or Saab), or keep hammering away at your niche and be content with your small slice.
* GM, for the few sports- and sporty cars it makes, still makes ends meet with trucks and family sedans.
* The RSX and 7G Celica were cancelled due to flagging sales.
Honda is the only company that's been able to make sporty and mainstream work, and even they've had to back off the sporty quotient in order to grow. Ford, lamentably, has had to do the same thing, and it's more recent North American offerings are softening up, too.
I'd like sporty options, too, but when you're a huge company, it's not as easy to chase a niche and make money. I'd hoped Scion would fill that role, and it still might if sales of the new xB don't pick up.
vintage 2:40PM (3/19/2008)
That picture= ROFL!!!
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Cervus 3:27PM (3/13/2008)
He must be testing that new chair for Stephen Hawking.
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PJ 4:14PM (3/13/2008)
Watanabe is about as forthcoming and transparent as auto execs get.
Which is why his remarks are better-received than those of most CEOs'. At the risk of drawing (yet) another Toyota/GM comparison, just think: Watanabe's saying this as his company is *gaining* profits and market share. A lot of execs are still blowing smoke, talking tough, and fudging figures while their brands *bleed* cash and buyers.
I blame consumers more than Toyota for the blandification of its products; fat and bland sells. But it does pain me to imagine the sorts of everyday enthusiast cars this company could produce if it had a mind to.
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Ferrariguy123 4:32PM (3/13/2008)
It's their fault for not making any sport cars that people want. Honda/Acura killed the market with the Civic Si, S2000, Prelude, Integra, and RSX. toyota= family car. Lexus is coming up though with the coming up F-series models.
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