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Toyoda credits Americans for success

Toyoda credits Americans for success

Harry Stoffer Automotive News September 12, 2007 - 3:56 pm EST

WASHINGTON -- The honorary chairman of Toyota Motor Corp. gave credit today to an array of Americans for contributing to the company's success.

Shoichiro Toyoda spoke here at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. His remarks commemorated the 50 years that Toyota has done business in the United States.

Toyoda, 82, is the son of Toyota's founder and was its chairman until 1999. He previously was president of the company and its U.S. operations.

Toyoda noted that the company built just 14,000 vehicles a year when he went to work for it in 1952. Last year, Toyota produced more than 9 million cars and trucks worldwide.

Among the Americans to whom he gave credit for Toyota's success:

W.E. Deming, a pioneering author on quality in manufacturing.

Jim Moran, a former Ford dealer who became a top Toyota distributor and encouraged the company to launch a luxury division, now called Lexus. Moran died in April.

James Hodgson and William Usery, former secretaries of the U.S. Department of Labor who helped Toyota grasp U.S. labor-management relations.

Sean Traynor, CEO of GST AutoLeather, who helped Toyota develop its highly regarded relationships with suppliers.

Toyoda recalled that Toyota's first import to the United States, the Toyopet Crown, was a flop. "We owe a great deal of thanks to America for our sense of the importance of quality," he said.

The Wilson Center, named for the 28th president, promotes scholarship in public affairs. Center President Lee Hamilton, a former congressman from Indiana, introduced Toyoda as "one of the true visionaries of the business world in the last century."

You may e-mail Harry Stoffer at snipped-for-privacy@crain.com

Reply to
Ed White
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Hachiroku, for buying a whole lot of Toyotas...

Reply to
Hachiroku

The various branches of the n5hsr family for buying something like 12 Toyotas since 1974.

Charles of Schaumburg

Reply to
n5hsr

If memory serves, Deming came from the aerospace industry and had tried and failed to get American car makers to adopt aerospace QC methods. He then went to Japan with his ideas.

Reply to
F.H.

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Ed

Reply to
C. E. White

I thank them for making a superior product when American companies are trying to shortchange good working Americans.

Reply to
GoMavs

What? Shortchange them by giving them more benefits and higher wages?

Jeff

Reply to
Jeff

Uh yeah, right... I don't know what lucky job you have but that is not the case for most Americans who walk into an American car company (which is the topic, btw).

As for American companies on the whole... are you being serious? Higher wages and more benefits eh? 50 million Americans (25 of those working class, much of the other half being children) don't have health insurance. Another

50 million could not afford their deductable in time if they had to. How many days a week do you shop at Walmart? With that said, I am not for socialist solutions. I am quite capitalist, but a part of being a capitalist is criticizing capitalist who are not ethical and moral capitalist.
Reply to
GoMavs

Union wages? The average is something like $25 an hour, which is at least as high as the wages Toyota and the other car companies pay.

Who was talking about American companies on the whole? The thread was about Toyota, I compared it to American auto companies.

I am well aware of the problems. But, that has nothing to do with the UAW jobs.

I hate to say it, but that is their fault, just like the people who got mortgages that they didn't understand. The mortgage industry is also at fault, of course.

  1. I have been in a WalMart once this year and will return only for cheap synthetic oil.

Gee, I never heard that about capitalists before.

Jeff

Reply to
Jeff

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Try going to a Super Walmart if you can. I don't even like going to the regular Walmarts, but the Super Walmarts can be great. They have lots, lots, lots more stuff. And the quality is high for much of it.

Reply to
Built_Well

My initial statement was that American auto companies were trying to short change working Americans. Those who are looking for a vehicle, for instance, arent going to buy a piece of shit anymore just because it has an American name branded on it.

There are good companies who treat their employees good without unions. It takes special CEO's at the top who are willing to forfeit a few yachts and mansions, but for the most part, they do exist.

Capitalism requires involvement from Americans. For instance, you and I chose not to shop at Walmart. That is an ethical standard.

Reply to
GoMavs

and a super walmart does a fantastic job wiping out small business while recruiting workers with a false presentation of what will happen to them if they work for Walmart (That one day, they too can be a district manager.).

Reply to
GoMavs

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As with most things, there are good and bad aspects.

One-hundred million people a week shop at Walmart, according to a CNBC analyst.

100 Million.

And Scooty in Florida likes Wal-Mart too. What better recommendation is that?

Reply to
Built_Well

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