Toyota Goes Back to the Drawing Board

When the Japan company of Toyota decided to start selling its cars in America, the American public was not too happy to accept. After all, Japan had been known for poor quality and cheaply made products that would break easily and could not be repaired. However, after fighting a long hard battle Toyota has proven its small yet reliable vehicles are some of the most successful autos in the world.

On the other hand, Toyota is now experiencing more problems then ever with the recent recalls of sticking gas pedals and brake failure. If it was a single car model with a problem most drivers might be able to forget the horrible flaws that have led to more then a dozen deaths and serious injuries. Since several Toyota models have experienced problems and since almost every model seems to have its own special difficulty it can not be blamed on one individual parts failure. The credibility of this once great automobile company will be left tattered. Americans, as well as the rest of the world, will no longer trust the Toyota brand. Especially since they are a foreign brand which decreases there ability to lean on home town pride and loyalty to bring them back.

Another trust problem that Toyota has brought upon themselves, is the fact that they were reluctant to admit there was a problem. Since Toyota did not admit to a problem they were also reluctant to fix it. This will make the owners of the Toyota models with problems believe that they are going being abandoned. This feeling of abandonment will keep people away even more then the thought that Toyota vehicles are a bad product. Since Toyota abandoned their customers once they just might do it again.

But even the inevitable decrease in sales is not the worst of there worries. The recalled vehicles have to be dealt with. And with so many of them, how are the Toyota dealers going to handle all of the angry, and terrified Toyota owners who need there vehicles now. This will make several of the dealers angry, and perhaps even make them abandon selling Toyota in favor of another automobile that has not caused them so many problems.

Even if the Automobiles are successfully gotten to a repair shop, it is going to cost a lot of money to repair them all. This will drain Toyota's account which will give them less to try and reintroduce themselves as a worthwhile company. Not only will they have to replace the inferior parts with more secure copies, but they will also have to pay for the labor of all the workers as well. That will decrease the reserve funds of Toyota considerably.

All of these things are all amplified by the fact that much of the world is in a recession like state. This means that people will not be buying new cars, and if they are they will want to be positive that they are getting the most value for there money. With the bad publicity that is now surrounding Toyota, their sales will most likely drop even more in this recession.

Can Toyota afford to spend the money needed to reestablish its credibility? Can it survive until the economy allows people to buy automobiles again? Will Toyota be able to pay for all of the necessary repairs? Will Dealers stop offering Toyotas on their lots? Will Toyota be able to reestablish its quality and trustworthiness again at all? All of these questions are yet unanswered. But it most likely will not take more then a few years to be able to find out.

Kelly Olson , Still No Word from Toyota on Prius Recall, AP Business Writer, http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100208/ap_on_bi_ge/as_toyota_recall, Febuary/8/2010