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]