Toyota: The Weakness

Misleading title. What is Toyota's weakness? (scabriofoxone...shaddap!! :-)..)

Read the whole article...

IMHO, Toyota's weakness is their styling because the only reason I would buy one is for the reliability and on that issue it's shrinking fast, the other car companies are catching up.

You can't just lift a few lines off a Ferrari and put a squiggly line in the hood and get me to buy one, it's not gonna happen.

VW was huge when the Bug ruled the world, Ford was huge when the Taurus ruled the world, Honda was huge when the Accord ruled the world and Sony once ruled the electronics world with no end in sight. Guess what, none of them are at the top now and this was only a few years ago(except for VW) when they were on top. Everything is cyclical. There are just as many people betting that Toyota will tumble as there are that Toyota will rule the world very shortly. Everyon has a weakness. Toyota may not have one now but one will pop up.

Another TTAC Toyota rant. Some of the comments were dead on accurate tho.

Toyota has a strong legacy with the super exotic 2000GT (my dream car, natch), MR2, Celica and Supra. In trucks, certainly the The FJ and Land Cruiser are historically revered. Even the Camry and definitely the Corolla have built up legacies. Now 10-20 years from now, I am sure we will be able to add the Prius to that list, while hopefully a resurrected Supra or Celica will come back to inherits its legacy.

Actually the lack of a legacy of innovations is a big thing to many.

Ever heard of something called the "Silent Majority". This is what Toyota is.

ON side note - Not a day goes by without a attack on Toyota.

Hmmm, this article indicates nothing but the big loss of the other car companies, and yes they're called, CARS companies not BRAND companies, what's a brand? every product is a brand. The author of this article shows the loss of other companies not being able to compete with Toyota and instead of fixing their problems yet they claim that Toyota has no brand and it builds cars only, to that I feel so sorry that someone like Alan Mulally said this shows how idiot he is and where he'll be leading the "brand" he's building.

For those that say Toyota has no design or image, trust me it does and that's Toyota's image and design and style, maybe you don't see the sporty look in all of its models because they're 10s of thousands less than the competitor sportier looking cars, don't compare a Camry against an A4.

Back to the brand and history, so lets say that the German or American car companies have history. Lets start with the German, if they decide to build a pickup truck would that pickup truck have an image and not Toyota's pickup truck? who builds pickup trucks before the other here? I've been saying this for so long, the phrases, image/brand/history/pristege these are all crap, these are the words of someone lossing and not knowing what to do. When two kids get into a fight the losing one cries and swears at the other because he doesn't have any power to beat the other kid, and that's exactly what these phrases are for anyone that uses them. So if Ford brags about its brand, well news flash Ford, your brand is junk, the same for the other 2 giant American car companies.

So if this article has any base that means ANY new car company shouldn't exist because it has no legacy/brand/history and this business is all about that. loool

In short, the author of this article is a complete idiot and if he leads a company may God rest that company's soul cause its going down the drain with such stupid and idiotic idiology.

Toyota's weaknesses are (i.) it can't please all of the people all of the time - some myopic idiots can't see that Toyota brings competition to the marketplace and forces competitors to cut prices and improve their products (ii.) it is the most valuable auto manufacturer in terms of market capitalization - so there are many jealous competitors trying to understand and better Toyota's products and processes (iii.) it doesn't show deference to "old Europe" brands like Mercedes and BMW - and in going head-to-head with them Toyota is stepping on some egos.

It's not only about brand, price, and reliability - it's also about time and place. That being said, people are looking for more fuel efficient cars today - Toyota's Yaris, Corolla, Scion hatch meet the need. So too do the Toyota hybrids (Prius, Highlander, Rx400h, GS450h). Consumers aren't stupid - when they see best fuel economy, best price, best reliability, best safety marks, best green energy - they buy!

Toyota is great. The only people that hate Toyota and its products are the people who are jealous that Toyota is running their favorite brands out of business (Chevy, Ford, Mercedes, BMW, Audi, etc.)

I agree that Toyota is easily the most powerful brand in the world, but they are definitely not putting "Mercedes, BMW and Audi" out of business. Lexus sells one car worldwide for every 7 of one of the three brands mentioned, and the competition always increases.

Besides, why would I be jealous of a Toyota driver? They drive a Toyota! I drive an S4! See the difference in price, power, style, luxury, speed, smiles-per-mile!

MB, Audi, BMW - don't play in the same leagues as Toyota, if they did they would be crying now. Lexus is still gaining momentum and it will take a while to get people from around the world to accept Lexus - BMW and MB will stay at the top for a long time - because in reality they are not bad cars.

Not like the GM products which are worse compared to their competitors MB, BMW, and Audi are not in that position.

- This is what I meant.

actually, the domestics NOW surpass the germans too in reliability.

the ONLY thing the german fan boys can legitimately crow about, is MAGIC FEEL and supposed prestige.

No Alex, I wasn't talking about Reliability. The German cars are better because their cars are simply better in design - leave the reliability out.

I meant to say leave the reliability for this one ;).

Well, I was really talking about the U.S. that Toyota (Lexus in this case) who is putting Mercedes, Audi, and BMW out of business. They sell more vehicles than any of them. Worldwide sales however are a different story. Lexus will eventually be among Mercedes and BMW as far as prestigious image goes.

So I just come back from Europe and what do I see here? The Toyota fans claiming that "Toyota has no weaknesses". My God, you guys are so full of it. Every friggin car company has a weakness.

Toyota has many weaknesses. Why don't you guys be humble and ADMIT IT. Want me to name a few weaknesses Toyota has? I'll be glad to write a list for ya. :p

Have I ever sounded like a fanboy and claimed "No, German cars are reliable." Have I, Will? I don't think so.

Toyota isn't perfect. Do you agree? It's a yes or no question followed by a short explanation.

Will, I regard you as one of the better Lexus/Toyota guys on this forum. I don't really think you're a troll but you can be really annoying and biased at times. ;)

Anyway, just admit that Toyota has weaknesses. Every carmaker has them.

Want me to name some from my favorite brand, BMW?
-Interiors could be better
-Reliability could be better
-Design, although subjective, could be less radical

There, I named a few. Your turn.

And don't give me this "Toyota is perfect" garbage. ;)

Toyota is horribly middle-of-the-road. They're the oatmeal of car companies. That's their problem. They could be as reliable as clockwork but I will never buy one. You'll wait a while to get Will to admit that.

audiot, you just epitomized pretty much all of my posts.

Why buy a Toyota when you could buy a Honda, Mazda or Volkswagen?

Reliability is obviously not the answer. Honda matches or surpasses it in reliability, Mazda is Japanese so they're good, and the VW Passat has just been put on the UK's top ten most reliable cars list, right up there with the Toyota Avensis.

Toyotas have no image, so you can't really claim that.

You're never going to reform me. I'd take a Honda any day, for limitless reasons. Their cars are so well thought-out, so fun to drive and yet so easy to be economical in. You once claimed that some people don't want a car that's fun-to-drive. Well, I wouldn't want to be that person, #1, but #2: Hondas can be just as boring as Toyotas if you want them to be. The difference is that they have a fun side, which Toyota unfortunately lacks.

Yeah, we did buy an Accord after test-driving the new Camry sport model. The normal Accord outshone the Camry even with 40 fewer horsepower. The handling was just so much better. And the looks are tasteful, not Toyota inbred.

Some will always want the Camry because of, I dunno... strength in numbers? It's almost a badge of honor for some people to be driving what everyone else drives. But the Accord is the better car for us, even after Camry's ballyhooed redesign.

The Honda Accord is a really nice car. Yet I don't there is anything better in the exterior design of it versus the Toyota. Even after the tail lights. But after you get over it that is a nice car.

The Honda Accord is a really nice car. Yet I don't think there is anything better in the exterior design of it versus the Toyota. Even after the redone tail lights. But after you get over it that is a nice car.


That is what it should be.

All hail the richest car company in the world,Toyota!!!

weakness? what weakness?

on the sales charts, toyota will soon zoom past gm.

on the road, LS460L and LS600h will zoom past every other luxobarge.

off the pavement, tacoma and tundra 4x4s will roll over anything in the way.

off off pavement, land cruisers (and for tight rock towers, swb tacoma 4x4) will make their own roads.

toyota is as weak as GODZILLA. nothing will stop 'em.

Yes, keep up this Toyota propaganda ApexAlex.

Toyota has many weaknesses, but a FANBOY cannot admit them, I completely understand.

I'll name some for you.

Style: Many automotive enthusiasts are turned off by the dull style of Toyota's. It's no secret that the folks who typically buy Toyota's are no car enthusiasts. They view the car as something to take them from A to B and are also value oriented and thus don't care about the mediocre styling.

Drive: Most Toyota's are dull to drive, with the exception of a few others and a few in the JDM market (I drove some in Japan). Again, your typical Toyota buyer doesn't care, but the enthusiasts do. For them, Toyota = turn off.

Want more?

Oh, and please. There are thousands off other SUV's out there that are superior or even better than your Toyota SUV's.

Now, this isn't a bash against Toyota, just mentioning some of the weaknesses you fanboys can't bring yourself to admit.

As far as I'm concerned, Toyota has surpassed GM. When GM says they are the #1 selling manufatcturer in the U.S., people may forget that GM has eight companies in it, while Toyota has three. Toyota has almost beaten GM, with five fewer car companies. Toyota is the real winner here.

Uhmm.. toyota IS Godzilla, they are Japan. They are the Bushido mentality. USA and Europe are walking around in a daze around tyring to play nice while Toyota cuts off their heads.

Wake up.

Toyota is riding a critical mass of positive publicity that will eventually fall. I'm not saying the cars themselves will get worse, but this halo of great press won't last. It's the easy article to write these days--Toyota can do no wrong--which is giving these Toyota fanboys the confidence to preen on this post. But wait until the fall.

Will!?!?!?!?

:p

nearly ALL the criticisms flung at toyota come from self-styled "enthusiasts" voicing their prejudices.

but guess what? "enthusiasts" make up what, 10 - 20% of new car buyers. the rest find toyota generally gives them the MOST for their money. and if you plan to run your car until the wheels fall off, NO other brand can match them. no other cars will last as long with only minimal (sometimes NO) maintenance.
most toyota owners find the cars "pay for themselves" YEARS before a replacement is ever needed.

toyota is smart enuff to RECOGNIZE this. hence their current success.

and it's a snooty, elitist, and FALSE premise to claim enthusiasts don't like toyotas. i consider myself an enthusiast. with the gobs of money i SAVE owning a toyota, i can ALSO have MORE enthusiast fun with a motorcycle! (i actually have a toyota car, toyota truck, and TWO bikes. previously, it cost too much in repairs to get very far owning multiple vehicles.)

not to mention, it is ALWAYS far more fun driving a slow car fast, rather than having to drive a fast car slowly. and it's SOOO much more fun blowing off a guy with a "faster/sportier" car with sheer SKILL, rather than brute horsepower.

You know, I wasn't even bashing Toyota. All I want is for you people to admit that Toyota has weaknesses.

Instead, you people completely ignore the subject and talk about how smart Toyota is and how perfect they are... GET REAL. Every carmaker has weaknesses, even Toyota.

If you guys can't admit that Toyota has weaknesses, then it's not worth for me to discuss things further here because you guys are obviously blinded, biased and fanboys.

Good day!

we'll admit toyota has weaknesses when you fanboys admit that MAGIC FEEL does not necessarily = best cars made.

in any case, with the Relentless Pursuit of Perfection, improving even on things already good, how COULD a company have weaknesses?

(as compared, f'rinstance, with companies always looking for latest 'innovative' fads before even fixing things not quite right on existing models.)

Uhhhh, i dont understand this useless struggle of a war. Hell i own a Merc, i like it, but I know they have weaknesses. I would say also that Toyota is doing a job well done for the moment, and I really have to prise them. They r fast goin 2 the top spot, but everything that goes up, has to fall, that's the sad truth of nature. Oh n yes, every company does have a weakness.

japanese manager to an american supervisor at the gm-toyota joint venture plant, who had NO problems to report: " 'No problem' IS a problem!"

the toyota way requires NO SITTING on laurels. even when things are going right, vigilance is STEPPED UP on things that COULD potentially go wrong.

IF any weakness dare pop its head up in toyotaland, it will be addressed and QUASHED as soon as it's recognized.

they are RELENTLESS.

ApexAlex is right, they are relentless and until others wake up Toyota will gobble up market share, its already dominant in California - like a storm coming from off the oceans.

I've worked with my uncle as an auto body repairman the past couple of years on the side. We see mainly the largest name-brand manufacturers (Toyota, Honda, GM, Ford, Chrysler Corp., Hyundai, Kia, MB, Audi, VW, ect.), and i have found that Toyota is one of the only ones who keeps even the repairmen in mind when designing their vehicles. Here's one of the biggest reasons: they use simple but rugged clips and retainers that just make sense! believe it or not, the American Big 3 and most German corps. generally use rugged but hard-to-handle clips and retainers to connect many body parts. I'm not being biased to VW, but i worked on a few of them, and i had to use probably 8 or 10 different tools to take 2 or 3 parts off with. Another reason is that on Most Toyotas i've worked on, the parts needing to be replaced came off nearly effortlessly. I can't say that about the Big Three. Most--not all--Toyotas are welcomed to my uncle's body shop. This goes to show that even though Toyota's styling isn't up to par in many people's eyes (though i do like their styling), they keep everyone in mind starting at the drawing board.

toyota at one point actually had engineers redesign and optimize the whole assembly PROCESS.

(in contrast, ford was putting together cars in the mid-50s on the VERY SAME lines on which Model Ts were built! the CARS were new, but the lines and process old.)

in the process of optimizing assembly, i suppose DISassembly for repairs was also improved.

Apex, realize that your point about old lines is due to commuity responsibility, not simple poor management.

Its well known the big three were locked into producing bad cars at old plants just to keep the plants full - this was due to pressure from the union in part, and pressure from local law makers.

Japan has its own issues. They are one of the last countries to deal with overpaid union workers.. of course they had pleanty of extra money w/o any defense budget, but that is going away quikly in the new China dominated east. And we all know there isn't any love lost between those two.