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I don't disagree with parts of what you've said but like many big biz why change and take the risk of not being customer focus. People buy Toyota expecting their familiar blandness. Change too much you can alienate your core customers.
Direct injection has so far proven it shortens the life span of engines. (Ask Audi)
Toyota has not been a big fan of turbos just look at their car models both domestic and abroad they have abandoned turbocharging in the 90s in favor of high spring I-4 or V6.
Yeah they went from the Toyota supra and the Lexus SC 300/400 RWD coupes that were raved about to the FWD Toyota Corolla/Camry and Lexus ES they went from exciting, fun and innovative cars to boring FWD appliances except for the Lexus LF-A Supercar which does not really count as a car most middle class families can afford or purchase to daily drive.
Toyota/Lexus have lost their way and the Domestics, South Korean brands and other Japanese brands I.e. Ford, Hyundai, Mazda and Subaru have come in a taken away a good chunk of the affordable, exciting to drive practical yet very fun cars to own and daily drive that Toyota lost by coasting on their past image for the past decade.
doing all that coating and producing boring, uninspired appliances has really hurt them and it is going to be hard for them to Re-capture that lost market share IMO.
I think the sad thing is it won't take a ton of work to clean up this awful redesign and although it will never look good, it can easily be made more tolerable. Just change out the front bumper cover with something decent (bumper covers are cheap, the aftermarket is littered with them) and get rid of that cheap fake rear window (maybe fill it with a body matched panel and get rid of the chrome separator).
They certainly are in such peril. I'm sure the Big 3 didn't think anything was wrong with their product planning at the time either but lo and behold, the long term plan did not go so well.
There sales numbers and direction and stock price show otherwise. Every other manufacturer fighting for P2 would kill for Toyotas "peril" right now.
There sales numbers and direction and stock price show otherwise. Every other manufacturer fighting for P2 would kill for Toyotas "peril" right now.
That must be a direct quote from the Big 3 playbook! They felt invincible too at the time but better competition from the Japanese turned the automotive market on its side. It didn't happen overnight but it did happen. I'm open to being wrong and I have nothing against Toyota as a company (no more so than any other business) but they seem to be making a lot of familiar mistakes. Maybe the tide is turning already internally at Toyota and we'll see the fruits of that labor in a product generation or two but I'm not hopeful.
That must be a direct quote from the Big 3 playbook! They felt invincible too at the time but better competition from the Japanese turned the automotive market on its side. It didn't happen overnight but it did happen. I'm open to being wrong and I have nothing against Toyota as a company (no more so than any other business) but they seem to be making a lot of familiar mistakes. Maybe the tide is turning already internally at Toyota and we'll see the fruits of that labor in a product generation or two but I'm not hopeful.
Although I do not think Toyota is on the same precipice as GM was a few decades ago, I do think Toyota is reaching a point where they better start tightening up the ship again. The quality issues have started to become more frequent. The styling department is sub par. The cars themselves show more corner cutting to save on costs. They are already using "tricks" to keep Camry number 1 in sales, such as fleet sales and more money on the hood Toyota Camry incentives and fleet sales cranked to keep sales crown, insiders worried - Autoblog
They are starting to look more like GM when that company pitched over the top of the mountain. The difference, Toyota could put effort into righting the ship... but will they?
If they don't, they are not going away, or going to see huge drops in sales. It has taken GM 30 years just to lose the global sales lead, which they still flirt with... after axing tons of brands and models and are still well behind in many market segments.
Really, there are troubling signs going on at Toyota which would give me pause to assume they will continue to be the company to beat for quality and reliability. (I already do not think they are any longer). If it continues, people won't be fooled long and it will catch up with them.
Although I do not think Toyota is on the same precipice as GM was a few decades ago, I do think Toyota is reaching a point where they better start tightening up the ship again. The quality issues have started to become more frequent. The styling department is sub par. The cars themselves show more corner cutting to save on costs. They are already using "tricks" to keep Camry number 1 in sales, such as fleet sales and more money on the hood Toyota Camry incentives and fleet sales cranked to keep sales crown, insiders worried - Autoblog
They are starting to look more like GM when that company pitched over the top of the mountain. The difference, Toyota could put effort into righting the ship... but will they?
If they don't, they are not going away, or going to see huge drops in sales. It has taken GM 30 years just to lose the global sales lead, which they still flirt with... after axing tons of brands and models and are still well behind in many market segments.
Really, there are troubling signs going on at Toyota which would give me pause to assume they will continue to be the company to beat for quality and reliability. (I already do not think they are any longer). If it continues, people won't be fooled long and it will catch up with them.
That's the rub right there. It took a some time for GM, Ford and Chrysler to feel the burn long enough to improve quality (not just reliability but styling and interior design/quality have improved drastically this past decade) so although the auto manufacturers themselves are finally climbing out of the hole they put themselves in, guess who got stuck with all the awful cars they manufactured for decades? The ignorant consumers who bought them thinking they're still getting the top tier automobile their mom and pop used to drive. Same deal with Toyota right now.
Even Consumer Reports which traditionally favors Toyota's does not like this 2015 Camry based on what they experienced at the NY Auto Show.
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