Toyota CEO comments on GM

wow... pwned. I think the issue of GM's quality and inability to provide more technology at cheaper costs is GM's reliance on outsourcing.

 

This I believe...

This I'm skeptical about...

 

Yes, I would agree that people who read Motor Trend are interested in power and performance. People who read CR are concerned with long-term reliability. I think the JD Power reliability ratings are suspect, because it's usually 90 days. CR is reporting on reliability of cars over 5-6 years old.

And I got your point, my point is that just because he says it doesn't mean it's true. How about the fact that "EVERYONE" knows that GM's quality is less than any other manufacturer...that speaks "LIBRARIES".

 

GM already does this. It's called the Pontiac Vibe. I'd still rather own a Matrix!

Nate

 

Ouch
Discount the Vibe since it is a Toyota, and GM has 2/46 cars that are not POS. I suppose that is two more than they had a few years ago, if the stories that GM quality is improving are true.

 

So your whole point of this post was to hit a nerve?

Well, you're right, it does hit a nerve with me. It makes me crazy that a country that sent men to the moon and builds 747s can have a company that so badly engineers cars as GM.

Before my Prius, every car I'd ever bought was American made. Sienna, Subaru Dodge. Never had a problem with them. The Camry is made in America, so I'm not concerned with the workers. It tells me that either the engineers at GM suck, or they use cheap parts, or a combination of both.

I want GM to suceed. It's important to our economy and the lives of many families. But they have no one to blame for their current woes. GM is not doing badly because the CEO of Toyota said what he said, or because the media is anti-GM. They are doing badly(among other reasons) because when gas was $.85/gallon, they were pushing their gas guzzlers while Toyota & Honda were reseaching fuel efficiency.

 

Stop being obtuse. The people who report reliability of 'performance' cars in CR are ONLY THOSE PEOPLE WHO BOUGHT THEM.

It is not that hard to understand.

 

Last year they got back over 1 million responses...having done research surveys in medicine, 25% is a pretty good response rate. We always shot for 10%.

And yes, you exposed the secret. When I get my survey...I lie. I say everything was peachy with my Imports even though the transmission fell apart, but a piece of rubber came off my Dodge and it was a major mechanical problem.

One million liars out there. :lol:

 

Yes, that is interesting, but you are jumping to unproven conclusions as to the reason.

I don't know the answer, but here are some possibilities:

1. The 15 GM pieces make up the difference
2. People who buy the Prizm drive it differently than a Corolla
3. People who buy the Prizm maintain it differently than a Corolla


A friend of mine was recently looking for a used economy car, and was thinking Honda Civic. He called me up and mentioned that he had come across a well maintained, inexpensive Prizm. I sent him the same day to buy it, knowing full well he was buying a Corolla.

The occasional difference in Corolla/Prizm aside, do note that the CR surveyed reliability of the Prizm stands head and shoulders above vanity fair GM.

 

Man, I knew it was bad. But I didn't know it was that bad. There is simply no way to spin this into something less than a bad report card for GM.

Like many, I would love for GM to get back to building cars that last well. When I met my wife, she drove a Bonneville and we both loved that car. But it got crappy mileage and it was getting old. Fast forward a bunch of years and she drives a Prius now. GM doesn't make Bonnevilles any more but if they had a hybrid that felt like a Bonne' and got 35-40 mpg, we'd probably give it a serious look.

When we bought the Prius in July ('05) we looked at SAABs and Pontiacs. We liked what we saw. We liked the Prius more. At dinner last night, my wife said, "I love my Prius" when we were talking about cars and how much driving she does.

That's what GM is up against, at least regarding the typical Prius buyer.

I bet I'm not alone is saying that if GM had a serious competitor to the Prius in environmental, efficiency, and reliability factors, I'd be *delighted* to shop for one.

 

Yes, my point is that the Sienna is assembled by American workers. According to that sticker that went on, (by law), 95% of my Sienna was made of "Parts from North America".

And Toyota is not taking. Americans are not stupid. They buy the best product for the money. I never owned a GM, but my father had Cadillacs & Pontiacs. I grew up in GM & Chrysler cars.

 

Toyota may admit to vanilla styling, and sometimes be right.

But their current culture does not abide vanilla reliability and quality.

Very different vanillas.

I can just imagine GM execs in the 70's having a good laugh at Toyota's expense when they heard how a Toyota car is made and supported:

• 250,000 mile average runtime, instead of factory acceptable 100,000 ??? hahaha. Gerreat way to never have a repeat customer. He/She will Die first ! hahahaha
  
  Multi-year bumper-to-bumper Warranty ??? And lose out on all that free repair money ?? Ya got to be kidding. hahahahahahahhaah
  
  Free repairs out of warranty for things the customer thought *should* last longer ?? Yeh, right. And take my wife too, while you are at it. hahahahahahaha
  
  Company apology and free repair for company error ?? BULLSHIT. Once you have your foot on a sucker --- huh ?? Oh, I meant customer -- anyway, you keep him DOWN. That training cost money.

You know why the strategy worked ? Because every year, 100's of thousands of people who have their GM vehicle die within ten years cross over to the land of respect for the customer, and a car built as best as the company can, not as bad as they can get away with.

 

I really don't get you...be happy with your GM cars. Drive them with pride and happiness. I'm sure none of the Prius owners go to GM websites and tell them what an awful purchase they made. Do you feel the need to try and make us feel bad about buying a Toyota?