john wrote:
>> "Remarkable doesn't begin to describe what's happening to Toyota Motor >> Corp.
>>
>> Its reputation for delivering safe, reliable, quality-engineered
>> vehicles is in tatters.
>
>Actually it isn't. I was listening to an interview today on NPR with an
>automotive safety expert. The Toyota recall for accelerator pedals is
>only the 5th largest recall, and unlike bigger recalls for other
>manufacturers (Ford and GM) it's going to be solved much more quickly.
>Ford has the honor of the biggest recall in history.
>
>What's helping Toyota's reputation is their quick action to fix the
>problems. Dealers are staying open 24/7 to fix customer's cars.
>
>All the experts agree that the damage to Toyota's reputation all depends
>on how quickly they fix customer's cars and how they treat the customers
>during the repair procedure. I don't know if it's the dealers
>themselves, or corporate Toyota that's paying for the perks that dealer
>are offering, but it's very reassuring to the owners. Most people are
>pretty reasonable when it comes to recalls. Tell them about the problem,
>fix it without a hassle, and they're happy. It's pretty rare for _any_
>car to not have at least a couple of recalls with the increasing
>complexity of vehicles.
That last sentence is a hoot. When a GM, Ford, or Chrysler had a recall the "I love Toyota" crowd were all over them, there was no "It's pretty rare for _any_ car to not have at least a couple of recalls with the increasing complexity of vehicles." Now that it's Toyota getting a black eye suddenly a recall is no big deal. And similarly, even though Toyota has known about this problem for years, the Toyota loyalists are claiming how "up front" T is and how "quickly" they are addressing it.... my ass.