TurboDog

I am curious with all of Toyota's quality issues right now, how it will effect there sales once they complete all of their recalls. Do you think their image will remain the same and sales will continue as normal, or do you think people will be hesitant to buy a Toyota and sales will slump therefor driving their prices down and their incentives up?

meeko031

Not for me, I will still buy a toyota when the time comes. It's a machine, toyota found the defective part and is replacing it. Toyota may need to overhaul their quality control but its still a dependable product. My 1990 corolla is still running strong, slow but strong!

Hacker15e

Toyota's halo has been slowly tarnishing for several years all ready.

They built some phenomenally economical and high quality vehicles through the 1990s, and the reputation of those cars has carried them through recent slides in quality.

These latest issues won't kill them, but it will probably kick them off the top of the hill they've been resting on for a few years.

skifree

Toyota definitely took a beating in the PR department and perhaps they should have when you consider the scale of the recalls. However, I am disappointed that GM was basically given a free pass the government and the media on their latest recalls. Granted, Toyota recalled a lot more cars but it was still massive.

TonyWilliams

The gas pedal thing really took Audi out of the running back in the day.

I think Toyota will be fine, overall, but they have taken a sales hit. Ask the dealers.

skifree

Audi also handled it in the worst possible way. They were poised to overtake Mercedes Benz and BMW in total sales until that happened.

mmaviator

I just bought this new toyota key bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbooooooooooooooooooooooa aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaddddddddddddddd.

jungle

Good observation-there are parallels. The largest being that much of the fuss has been generated by media with an almost complete lack of ability to do any sort of real investigative journalism. The media also played a large and inept role in the Audi situation.
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Reported sudden unintended acceleration
Audi's U.S. sales fell after a series of recalls from 1982-1987 of Audi 5000 models[15] associated with reported incidents of sudden unintended acceleration linked to six deaths and 700 accidents.[15] At the time, NHTSA was investigating 50 car models from 20 manufacturers for sudden surges of power.[16]

A 60 Minutes report aired 23 November 1986,[17] featuring interviews with six people who had sued Audi after reporting unintended acceleration, showing an Audi 5000 ostensibly suffering a problem when the brake pedal was pushed.[18][19] Subsequent investigation revealed that 60 Minutes had engineered the failure — fitting a canister of compressed air on the passenger-side floor, linked via a hose to a hole drilled into the transmission.[17] Not the first or last instance of rigged automotive tests presented as fact by the media.(jungle)
Audi contended, prior to findings by outside investigators,[16] that the problems were caused by driver error, specifically pedal misapplication.[16] Subsequently, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) concluded that the majority of unintended acceleration cases, including all the ones that prompted the 60 Minutes report, were caused by driver error such as confusion of pedals.[20] CBS did not acknowledge the test results of involved government agencies, but did acknowledge the similar results of another study.[21]

With the series of recall campaigns, Audi made several modifications; the first adjusted the distance between the brake and accelerator pedal on automatic-transmission models.[15] Later repairs, of 250,000 cars dating back to 1978, added a device requiring the driver to press the brake pedal before shifting out of park.[15] A legacy of the Audi 5000 and other reported cased of sudden unintended acceleration are intricate gear stick patterns and brake interlock mechanisms to prevent inadvertent shifting into forward or reverse.

Audi’s U.S. sales, which had reached 74,061 in 1985, dropped to 12,283 in 1991 and remained level for three years.[15] — with resale values falling dramatically.[22] Audi subsequently offered increased warranty protection [22] and renamed the affected models — with the 5000 becoming the 100 and 200 in 1989[16] — and only reached the same sales levels again by model year 2000.[15]

A 2010 BusinessWeek article — outlining possible parallels between Audi's experience and 2009–2010 Toyota vehicle recalls — noted a class-action lawsuit filed in 1987 by about 7,500 Audi Audi 5000-model owners remains unsettled and is currently being contested in county court in Chicago after appeals at the Illinois state and U.S. federal levels
wiki

So what is the truth?

Read this for an informative real world test:2010 Toyota Camry Stuck-Throttle Brake Test


Car and Driver also ran real world tests with similar results.

The savy got a real deal on an Audi a while back, other deals are out there thanks to misinformation or intentional disinformation.

Ottopilot

Nows the time to buy a Toyota. It's a good brand and they are giving them away. 0% is a good deal. They just called me today to see if I wanted to replace my '99 Corolla. I don't, but it's a good deal.

FlyOrDie

Toyota is the new swine flu.