Has your perception of Toyota changed?

[Red Squirrel]

Wait so Toyotas are made in the US? I always figured they were made in Japan. I know they are tested here in Canada (and probably other places too) though. There is a cold weather testing plant in my city, it's actually somewhat top secret and I know where it is since I had to go setup some meteorology equipment there.

 

[Squisher]

We all know US makes the shittiest cars - it's just logical inference that making Toyotas here has contributed to its decline.

link?

 

[MJinZ]

link?

Chrysler.com
Ford.com
GM.com
CNN.com
Google.com
Bankruptcy.com

 

[MBrown]

Not really.

 

[DesiPower]

We all know US makes the shittiest cars - it's just logical inference that making Toyotas here has contributed to its decline.

+1
Well... not the shittiest but definitely behind German and Japan. Once they started expanding their production base in US like there is no tomorrow, it was just a matter of time b4 it fell apart. In fact some 3 4 years back there was a news about some ppl getting fired from some toyota's quality control div in CA for not signing off on sub par breaks, news was about they suing the contracting company they worked for which was hired by toyota, for wrongful termination or something like that... I heard it on NPR, tried to look up on the internet and of course, it was no where to b found...

 

[PsiStar]

Many auto makes have final assembly in the US ... tariffs and all that crap. It is very difficult to identify what is foreign assembled. As an asside, why do you think that the name brand CPUs are socketed? Final assembly is just plugging in the CPU in the US ... any bubble gum chewer can usually do that for cheap.

I am a Consumer Reports fanatic. When I want a car I go there. Where else can you get as many opinions (other than ATOT) but condensed to red to black buttons? If you don't like them ... offer up an alternative other that your own opinion.

Anyway, I usually go thru CR & pick the auto style that I am interested in, has the most filled in red buttons, can afford, and go that way. For the past few years that has been a car associated with Asia ... not Europe or the US. But the car is still assembled in the US.

Have you noted that the supplier involved in the re-call is US only and Japanese made Toyotas have not been affected? I would like to find that news reference again ... but not tonight.

 

[Colt45]

These are the only toyotas I like, so no change, I guess...

 

[Pliablemoose]

Many auto makes have final assembly in the US ... tariffs and all that crap. It is very difficult to identify what is foreign assembled. As an asside, why do you think that the name brand CPUs are socketed? Final assembly is just plugging in the CPU in the US ... any bubble gum chewer can usually do that for cheap.

I am a Consumer Reports fanatic. When I want a car I go there. Where else can you get as many opinions (other than ATOT) but condensed to red to black buttons? If you don't like them ... offer up an alternative other that your own opinion.

Anyway, I usually go thru CR & pick the auto style that I am interested in, has the most filled in red buttons, can afford, and go that way. For the past few years that has been a car associated with Asia ... not Europe or the US. But the car is still assembled in the US.

Have you noted that the supplier involved in the re-call is US only and Japanese made Toyotas have not been affected? I would like to find that news reference again ..

1.) The Consumer Reports surveys are pretty generic, and they're completed by average people. A hit on brake problems could be ANYTHING to do with the brake system, from accelerated wear of the pad on the brake pedal to complete failure, so I don't put any weight behind their reviews. Plus they've admitted their recommended vehicles are essentially biased, they would give a blanket "buy" rating to all Toyotas, and that's BS, it's been a running joke in the industry for some time now.

2.) The Prius has been recalled, and it's 100% made in Japan.

 

[MixMasterTang]

Wow, some of you guys are your anti made in america stuff are insane.

Toyota's president apologized Friday for the massive global recalls over sticking gas pedals as the automaker scrambles to repair a damaged reputation and sliding sales.

Toyoda said the company was moving quickly on the global recalls covering 4.5 million vehicles for sticking gas pedals, about half of them in the U.S

 

[Tangerines]

They used to have my respect, but after this mess, no more. The biggest sticking point for me was that they've known about these problems for several years now and haven't done anything until they were widely publicized. I can't see myself purchasing anything from Toyota in the near future.

 

[soccerballtux]

it hasn't changed, their cars still drive to 300k and GM's still struggle to hit 175k.

 

[shortylickens]

Yes my perception has changed. But I didn't like them in the first place.

Sooooo, now you do like them?

With regards to this thread: Even with the current issue Toyota still makes far superior cars to any of the big 3 American companies. I think some of us forgot or never knew that American cars were routinely built like shit for decades, and only Ford has started to slowly ease out of that habit recently. Even when they charged more & more each year for their overpriced, crappy vehicles they still moved plenty of work outside the country, whereas Toyota opened plants inside the U.S. and hired Americans to work there.

As far as motor vehicle deaths are concerned: More people die from impatient, angry, selfish drivers with reckless disregard for traffic laws than those who have died from manufacturing defects.
Only in America could a people kill themselves off so easily on a daily basis and not be upset about it, then call for the crucifixion of a non-american businessman.
Fucking beautiful.

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

yes, but not soley based on what's happened in the past few weeks/months.

first off, their quality is way down. from the shoddy construction and misaligned, poorly put together interior (see new camry/venza), to the crappy plastics (most new models). even some lexus models are seeing cost cutting.

and toyota was aware of the acceleration issues. they chose not to deal with it until it made big headlines, starting with the lexus crash that took 4 lives.

i will NEVER buy a toyota.

 

[herkulease]

No change really. I mean I don't like their "options" when buying a car. Its really package options. Its all or none. can't get just this and that upgrade. There's no way around it. So I hated them for that. Same goes with the Lexus.

They are getting bad press because well they have tons of cars out there.

The ford hybrid reportedly has the same brake issue as the prius does. Just they have like 20K out there the press really doesn't care much about.

Just think back to the 90s with GM and their roll over issues + the whole fuel tank.

 

[Acanthus]

My opinion of them has been declining over the last decade. They clearly aren't making vehicles of the same quality anymore. They still however try to command the same price premium. All the while the American companies have been making enormous strides in QC and IQ standards so I have been liking Ford a lot more and Toyota / Honda a lot less.

 

[NetGuySC]

I still think they make a better quality car than Ford or GM

 

[Kaido]

Not really. At least they're addressing the issue.

 

[Bignate603]

I thought they were overrated to begin, this just confirms it.

 

[bob4432]

guess they would make a drag car, but they aren't that fast...

i had an 02 or 03 tacoma and it was a decent, small, cheap truck and held its value when i sold it in 06 - lost about 1k or so. now, would probably pick on up on the cheap.

can these vehicles not be put into neutral when they start accelerating or do the people just freak out? just like the suv rollovers when a tire blows out - i have had that happen on the highway, and, well, the back of the vehicle just dropped a bit and i pulled over - the vehicle didn't automatically flip or pull me off the road.

 

[shortylickens]

guess they would make a drag car, but they aren't that fast...

i had an 02 or 03 tacoma and it was a decent, small, cheap truck and held its value when i sold it in 06 - lost about 1k or so. now, would probably pick on up on the cheap.

can these vehicles not be put into neutral when they start accelerating or do the people just freak out? just like the suv rollovers when a tire blows out - i have had that happen on the highway, and, well, the back of the vehicle just dropped a bit and i pulled over - the vehicle didn't automatically flip or pull me off the road.

Thats a question I've asked a hundred times and never get a good answer. Anybody who doesnt know how to handle his vehicle in an emergency is doomed to a horrible death, regardless of the vehicles build quality.
If you dont know to to shift into neutral or better yet, gear down to help slow you, then I am not too concerned about your car.

 

[mshan]

it hasn't changed, their cars still drive to 300k and GM's still struggle to hit 175k.

How do Hondas stack up in terms of ultimate longevity (miles and chronological age of the car)?

 

[Squisher]

Chrysler.com
Ford.com
GM.com
CNN.com
Google.com
Bankruptcy.com

So, you are basing your opinion of the vehicles made by US manufacturers by their balance sheet? You do realize the reason GM and Chrysler went bankrupt was principally because of the legacy costs of paying for so many retirees. When it comes to quality, US manufacturers lag behind some foreign manufacturers by decimal points and exceed many others by those same decimal points. The difference between manufacturers when it comes to quality has been has been getting smaller and smaller for the last 20 years and now is so small as to be insignificant. Your average Toyota owner will see 1.3 problems over the first 3 years of ownership, your average GM owner will see 1.5, if you break out Buick or Cadillac you will find that they rival Toyota with 1.3 problems.

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

I still think they make a better quality car than Ford or GM

go check again.
Fusion >>>>> Camry

 

[bob4432]

Thats a question I've asked a hundred times and never get a good answer. Anybody who doesnt know how to handle his vehicle in an emergency is doomed to a horrible death, regardless of the vehicles build quality.
If you dont know to to shift into neutral or better yet, gear down to help slow you, then I am not too concerned about your car.

it will be interesting to know, if neutral or any changing in the gears is locked out it sounds like a serious electronics issue especially w/ a (reported) steering problem. i was watching the local news and they claimed toyota are doing some software modifications that the driver hits the gas and brake at the same time it shuts the engine down? anybody confirm this as the local news is usually about 30% accurate, on a good day.

anybody know what the steering problem is?

 

[StageLeft]

I still think they make a better quality car than Ford or GM

It depends.

Scion is a Toyota brand.