Nikkei: Toyota Recall Ruins Reputation
Today’s Nikkei [sub] says that the latest Toyota recall “is seen as a major dent in the side of the leading Japanese automaker’s reputation as a builder of reliable automobiles.”
Financially, the recall “is not expected to have a major impact on Toyota’s earnings for the current year through March 31 because the company had more than 400 billion yen in reserves for dealing with recall costs at the end of the previous fiscal year.”
However, the matter will most likely snowball: “The company is still investigating whether similar problems exist for models sold in other countries. But because the same accelerator pedal mechanism has been used in some European models, the recall may be expanded.”
That’s the Nikkei in Tokyo. Not a bunch of posters on message boards. Note: Audi’s “unintended acceleration” set the brand back by nearly a decade in the USA, never mind that the NHTSA concluded that the majority of unintended acceleration cases were caused by driver error. A truly sticky accelerator can have more serious consequences, especially in the current environment, in which everybody fights for his own survival.
Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.
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Well damn, don't think there's much to add to this one.