The ongoing kerfluffle over Toyota’s recall of over 2m vehicles for a gas pedal defect which (allegedly) caused unintended acceleration has caught much of the automotive media flat-footed. How could it be, many have wondered, that the automaker most associated in the US market with the concept of quality has slipped so badly? As TTAC’s Steve Lang recently discussed, Toyota has been on a decontenting binge since the mid-to-late-1990s, putting profit above the quality obsession that had defined its operations up to that point. As a result, the current generation of decontented Toyotas and accompanying quality issues and recalls can be seen as the culmination of a long-term trend. But why did that transition take place? Though it’s easy to blame greed and mismanagement for the decline in Toyota’s quality, the decline in standards was actually a natural progression of Toyota’s constantly-evolving, efficiency-obsessed production system.
Tagged as development, Editorial, Kaizen, Lean, Lexus, Product, production, Quality, Recall, Suppliers, Takahiro Fujimoto, Toyota
Recent Comments
bumpy ii - The Japanese didn’t do that. Their own bumbling and poor product eventually did them in. Half of that list doesn’t even exist as...
ToxicSludge - I have to ask myself….where will this end? Does the govt have the power to order a recall on vehicles that fully met the safety standards at the...
juror58 - I bought my first Civic in 1973 and subsequently owned a 1977 five speed (back when five speeds were considered “sporty”), an 1984 wagon, and a 1989 wagon....
mattfarah - super easy. And the wheels weren’t tastless, I painted them gold just for the shoot. There are dozens of S600′s on Craigslist LA...
Summicron - Thanks, Alpha “Tolerance is such a long-faced religion…” My take, too. I say what I want here and then get intelligently burned or...
krhodes1 - Do you need a trained technician to change the battery in your laptop or cell phone? Assuming it is designed to be swapped, of course. It’s...
mcs - “Just turn the car on its back…” Just pop open the sunroof when the car is upside down and you’d have an interior cleaning function as...
Magnusmaster - When I first saw the Duster in person I was reminded of a Nissan SUV.
bjchase55 - If I may suggest a stage 1 tune (I went with APR). Around 255hp and 320tq, it brings the car a whole new personality. The torque is intoxicating. *giggles*
Scoutdude - Prior to 1985 Subarus were 4wd with either a simple coupling engaged by a lever or a electronically engaged clutch, there...