Toyota Falls to Number 3 Auto Manufacurer

No. But VW DEFINITELY does a better job of making cars women want to buy. And that's pretty much all that matters.

Alongside that, Toyota quality is also not what it once was.

 

I just think the earthquake really did take that much of a toll on them in terms of manufacturing.

I'm not some expert or anything but Toyota makes the best vehicles in each class, give or take a few, even with the quality issues. I mean the vehicles from the 80's and 90' only needed AC and power steering. Now the have to have bluetooth, navigation, smooth ride, seats fit for a king and the car has to give bj's in order for customers to consider the vehicle. So what i'm saying is it was easier to satisfy the customer then versus now.

 

+1

They are referring to profits not quality. The Toyota dealership near me has 1 Tacoma, 1 Rav4 and some Camry for sale and that's it. They can't get new vehicles and, as a result, 3 to 4 year old used vehicles are selling at a premium!!

 

You're not wrong in that vehicles are becoming more complex and it's harder to maintain quality levels. And yes, Toyota does still make some of the better cars out there.

But Hyundai is eating their lunch.

Frankly, I could do with some simpler vehicles...especially trucks with vinyl flooring, manual shift transfer cases, and front axles...

 

Weather it be quality or profits, toyota not being #1 anymore means they have something to work towards, which can only benefit the consumer

 

How's the weather?

 

Fuck you!!
im on meh fones

 

Your phone causes you to mix up whether and weather? Impressive.

What was that saying? Oh yea, and spoons make Rosie O'Donnell fat.

Sorry for the OT (wait, this is in OT...) I do hope that this puts a fire under Toyota - whether it was the quality dropping or just the issues they had in Japan of late, they need something to jolt them. I know my 2nd gen Taco can't hold a candle to my dad's 99 4runner or even his old 90 pickup...

 

Also don't forget the runaway vehicle hysteria from last year didn't help either.

 

Amen! I'm sure the earthquake /tsunami had alot to do with it too. All I know is before that all happened my dealership had fj's all over the place. Went to look at them the other day and they only had 2 on the lot.

 

I love my Taco and am lucky enough to have a truck and a daily driver (2012 vw tdi jetta wagon) and my wife drives a 2009 pasat wagon. After driving 2 German engineered cars I am not surprised to see VW on the rise. still love the taco for camping trips and any chance I get to get off the pavement but the VW's are incredibly nice to drive.

 

...are you butthurt because my phone corrected to the wrong "weather"?
if so, your farts must be forever silent.

IMO, that was just a ridiculous show of how stupid our society has become. Once the "me too!"bullshit was done with and the reports came out it was just a blemish on toyotas record. But the earthquake and tsunami definately hurt.
even though its not on the news that much, japan is still hurting big time.

 

Don't worry, it won't last long...they've adopted Toyota's strategy of making cheaper-to-build plasti-boxes:

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2010/08/review-2011-volkswagen-jetta/#more-362300

 

You are right about that! Sad.. I was originally looking at the jetta sedan for a daily driver but the interior was pretty basic. Also looked at the new pasat but have to say the 2012 is a bit of a letdown and I was not ready to move to a CC. I will say my wife's wagon has been the most reliable car we have ever owned. It already has 90k and has had zero issues (knock on wood). I will say both VW's suck off road so i'll keep the taco for sure!

 

With the current economic climate it's hard to produce a vehicle of the same quality as before with more gadgets and gizmos integrated. It was easy back in the late 80's and early 90's to produce vehicles of higher quality for cheaper prices because people had money to spend and the expectation for features was limited to power steering AC and disk breaks.
Plus i don't think there would be much of a market for a vehicle with solid axels (harsher ride), manual shifter (no one can drive one anymore) and vinyl flooring (people want carpet) for the few people like you and me would want.

You're article is interesting though. It looks like it's not only Toyota that has to look for cheaper ways to produce vehicles but all manufacturers.

 

I am in no way, shape, or form 'butthurt' because you can't use your phone.

I was just giving you shit, don't take it so seriously.

 

^ yep

 

220,000 miles on my VW TDi 50+mpg leather and all the stuff I would love to have in my Taco including a diesel. It's not so much woman as it is Chinese, VW,s biggest market is China (they are #1) and it is a huge market. By the way VW was #1 in sales last year before Japan's problems.

 

Not really. Refinement of technology makes it cheaper to produce. Calculators once costs hundreds. You can get them now for $5 or less. The same goes with features like bluetooth, MP3 headunits, and navi. They don't cost near what they used to.

Toyota's biggest cost problem (and this goes for Honda, Nissan, and Mazda too) is the strength of the Japanese Yen against foreign currencies. It makes it very fucking hard to sell exported vehicles at a profit.

They like money.

 

haha i don't care what toyota has to do to fix the squeaky blower motor saggy leaf springs and the throw out bearing issues but, they need to make it happen.

it should have been rectified by now imo the 2nd gen tacoma has been on us soil for a long ass time now and despite the complaints from their customers they keep producing the same way it seems counter productive to me. the us market is really what gave toyota a global foot hold so why not bestow on us the quality and attention to detail that made them famous in the first place?

i love my tacoma but, it has fucking issues! lol my truck is now just one year old and unfortunately it has the squeaky bower motor thing bad really bad! the throw out bearing makes it sound like the diesel that toyota should have made an option in the us and the clutch is absolutely horrible in every sense of the word. not to mention the saggy leaf springs or the fact that these problems have been brought to multiple dealers attention and still not one fuck was given.

imo it seems like they have slipped a good bit in terms of quality control and r&d. that slip is now rearing it's ugly head in the vehicles we drive every day.

i drove a first gen 4x4 regular cab around in 2004 that was in a pretty bad accident and that truck felt light years ahead of my 2010 when it was new i don't understand?