Origin Sticker question

3 or 4 of my dealer's stock of 25 Camrys were assembled in "Aichi, Japan."

The origin sticker shows 80 percent U.S.A./Canada parts and 20 percent Japan parts.

The engines and the transmissions both come from Japan in those 3 or 4 cars.

If the sticker says Aichi, Japan, mean "For the second consecutive year, Toyota's Tahara, Japan, car plant receives the Platinum award for worldwide plant quality with a score of 63 PP100. Toyota sweeps the plant awards in the Asia Pacific region, with the Motomachi, Japan, assembly plant receiving the Silver plant award and the Tsutsumi, Japan, assembly plant receiving the Bronze."

Would anyone happen to know if Toyota has any other plants in Aichi Prefecture/State/Province other than the Tahara plant? I'm hoping NOT, because my dealer's origin stickers only show Aichi, without making mention of the city or plant.

I'd love if the Camry I buy were built by the Tahara plant. They are car making gods in Tahara!

Many Lexi are built there--or is that Lexuses...

My only other concern would be the number of Camrys built in Aichi? I'm hoping a lot are built there, since I would guess the quality improves with the quantity.

In 2003, NUMMI assembled 446,199 Camrys, Avalons, and Siennas--a large number I think.

Where do most of the Aichi Camrys go, if not America?

Thanks very much for any insights.

Reply to
Built_Well
Loading thread data ...

This is an interesting question no one seems to have an answer to. I was working at a Toyota dealer this summer and noticed most of the new Camrys were made in the USA. We did have one come in with the Origin Sticker you mentioned. Same thing: 75% US/Canadian content, 25% Japanese. There were a few more after that, but most were made in the USA.

If you look at the sticker again, you will notice that the engine and transmission are of Japanese origiin. Of course, this also happens in about

25% of the cars made in Kentucky.

No one had an answer for me, and I posted this a few months ago when I first noticed it. My best guess: the bodies are assembled in the US minus the drive trains, and then put on one of the Marus and sent back to Japan for final assembly. The reason? Who knows? Perhaps Toyota has to manufacture a certain amount of autos in Japan to still be considered a Japanese auto maker (?) It certainly doesn't make much sense to assemble 75% of a car in Kentucky and then ship it to Japan for the drivetrain; my only other guess is that they are sending parts to Japan and then assembling them there. Notice that the sticker only indicates the parts origin and the *FINAL* assembly, not the entire assembly point of the vehicle!

Reply to
Hachiroku

The county of origin can be determined by the first digit of the VIN#. A '1' indicates assembled in the US of at least 70% north American parts, A '4' indicates assemble in the US of between 40% and 70% north American parts. A '5' indicates assembly in the US of less than 40% north American parts. Camry assembled in the US today exhibit a '4' or '5' with the majority being a '5.' The balance exhibit a 'J' made in Japan.

mike hunt

-- Original Message ----- From: "Hachiroku" Newsgroups: alt.autos.toyota,alt.autos.toyota.camry Sent: Thursday, December 15, 2005 8:06 AM Subject: Re: Origin Sticker question

Reply to
Mike Hunter

Camrys are assembled at the Tsutsumi plant.

Check out the chart near the bottom of this web site if you want to know what vehicles are assembled in what plants:

formatting link

See the web site I referenced above. Toyota has 12 assembly plants in Aichi Prefecture.

The plural of Lexus is Lexus.

Quality does not improve with quantity. Quality improves with improved manufacturing and assembly methods and improved quality control.

NUMMI does not assemble Camrys.

I believe the majority of Camrys assembled in Japan are sold in Japan.

Reply to
Ray O

Anyone ever question this, take a look at Windows. BTW, last Tuesday was Microsoft black Tuesday - don't forget to download and apply the latest bug fixes - most of which fix bugs in other bug fixes which "adjust" other bug fixes, etc. You too Scott!

Back on topic..; though reliable, Camrys and Lexus are sloppy handlers and not much fun to drive. Very Buick like which is probably where Toyota got the idea.

Reply to
FanJet

I'm in the PNW and the majority of the camry's I've seen about here are "J" VIN. Probably has something to do with the ports and shipping.

I have an '03 "J" VIN camry, and have had several "under warranty" problems with it. They aren't perfect over there.

Reply to
timbirr

Gosh, it's just a car not a heart-lung machine.

LOL

Reply to
Justa Lurker

Ray O wrote: snip

snip

I had the privilege to tour Toyota's Industrial Manufacturing plant in Columbus, Indiana, where they make fork lifts. One of the first things several of us noted was that so many of the workers were in a good mood. They weren't partying or goofing off, but were having a fun-loving type attitude towards all things in general. When talking to anyone I came in contact with that day, everyone was at least cordial and polite but, the majority were friendly beyond minimum requirements. The place was clean, if you did see a scrap of paper blowing around, the FIRST person to encounter the paper would pick it up and if trash, throw it away and if not carry it away to where it was supposed to be I presume. I know when you have visitors in a plant that things aren't always what they would normanlly be but, this was beyond that, they projected a warm fuzzy feeling towards outsiders. One other thing most noticeable was if a group had a problem they stop their process, a red light flashes, a siren sounds and everyone converges on the problem. After a very short time period people from other groups come over trying to help solve the problem and people will continue to converge until there is no more room. So, I agree with your statement that quality improves with improvement and is a management function. But in the scenario I saw, the workers were a part of the process to a large degree and probably had a say in how/what/when whatever was done. This is probably a large part of the equation on the worker's attitudes. Finally, I agree with the assessments on how quality is initiated, but if the correct attitudes are conveyed to the working people, input from them solicited and feedback welcomed by management when there's a problem then quality will improve. davidj92

Reply to
davidj92

Toyota has had an obsession with quality since before I went to work for them. They track warranty expense by production range, supplier, POE, dealer, and assembly plant. The team spirit is pretty strong and all associates are motivated to improve quality and reduce expenses. I worked at the POE where accessories were installed, I've toured the Georgetown, Cambridge, and Tahara plants.

I remember reading in the employee newspaper about a guy who installed "Toyota" decals on truck tailgates at the POE who got a huge bonus, something like a half million dollars, for submitting a suggestion on reducing the size of the masking on the decals. He received 50% of the first year's savings. Needless to say, every employee started thinking real hard about how to improve work processes and quality!

Toyota's forklift division used to be called Toyota Industrial Trucks - the acronym was not politically correct so it was changed to Toyota Industrial Equipment, and more recently to Toyota Material Handling.

Reply to
Ray O

Don't put to much emphasis on a JD Powers survey. There are far better measuring sticks for manufacturing plants. Just think not even 15 years ago JD Powers was just an upstart. Careful on quoting a JD Powers survey. Don't forget that JD Powers places Buick ahead of Toyota in their vehicle surveys. For 2005 its 163PP100 for Buick and 194PP100 for Toyota. We know the true story here. My Camry was made in Kentucky in 1989 and I still drive it with 243,000 miles on it. Location isn't a factor anymore.

Tony

Reply to
TonyJ

So, tell us.. what IS the true story?

Reply to
FanJet

I'm glad to hear you've had so much luck with your Camry. Here's to another 243,000 miles!

I was just wondering if you've had to do any repair work on the engine, tranz, or other part of the car, other than regular maintenance?

Thanks.

Reply to
Built_Well

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.