teksp0rt

Uhhh, well, ummmm, Toyota seems to be having some problems.. check it out:

http://money.cnn.com/2006/07/20/news...reut/index.htm

Toyota to redouble efforts at quality

Automaker, plagued by recalls, faces a criminal probe regarding safety issue.
July 20 2006: 6:12 AM EDT

TOKYO (Reuters) -- Toyota Motor Corp., plagued with a rise in vehicle recalls and facing a legal probe into past recall practice, vowed Thursday to step up quality efforts, saying this was imperative to ensure continued growth.

Japan's top auto maker, which has built its reputation on offering safe and reliable cars at reasonable prices, has recalled more than one million vehicles in Japan alone so far this year, and on Wednesday issued a recall of some 400,000 SUVs in the United States, its single-biggest market.
toyota_logo.03.jpg

In a first for the company, Toyota is also being criminally investigated by prosecutors in Kumamoto, southern Japan, over whether its quality-control managers had wrongfully delayed a recall filing that could have prevented a road accident in 2004 that injured a couple and their three young children.

"The world-class quality that we've built is our lifeline," President Katsuaki Watanabe told a mid-year news conference dominated by questions over Toyota's recent quality woes.

"There will be no growth without an improvement in quality. This is the biggest task that this management team must undertake," he said.

Vehicle recalls have been on the rise at most auto makers as they use common components across more models to save costs, and pile on advanced features requiring more electronics parts to add value to their products.

"Given our rapid expansion, there is a need to strengthen the various quality processes," Masatami Takimoto, one of two executive vice presidents overseeing quality at Toyota (Charts), said.

At a separate briefing earlier, Takimoto noted that Toyota had last year set up a new division dedicated to gathering information on glitches from users more swiftly.

Another measure, taken in June last year, would enable the company to keep data on vehicles repaired after the period covered by warranty, he said.

Concerning the pending criminal case in Kumamoto, Toyota executives repeated the company's position that all decisions taken in that case were sound, but apologized for shaking up customers' trust.

Japan's transport ministry, which had summoned Toyota's quality officials earlier on Thursday for a briefing on its recall process, said it would consider ordering the company to improve its business operations if it found problems in its system of handling vehicle defects.

P Zero

All I gotta say is, open up a consumer reports look up any Ford then any Honda. Guarantee the Honda will be better overall across the board.
-P.

teksp0rt

yeah..... i know... Acura is #1 as far as the least amount of defects reported (I think honda is #3)... I just thought it was an interesting article...

P Zero

I work for Acura . Ford had no openings [:@].
-P.

torch red

Better...? Quality wise i have to say YES

Who cares i wont buy one..

SlappyGT

I completely disagree. And I think the majority of these reports are total BS. Having been in the "import scene" for several years, and having sold cars, I can tell you that I saw Hondas have more problems than any other car. I'm talking about Civics, Accords, CRVs, old and BRAND new. I dated a girl whose brand new Civic had several problems, but like most people, she took it in, and they fixed it while stating that several other people had the same problem. I just don't think they report all the problems they fixed. And I've said it a hundred times to my friends, and I'll say it again, Hondas aren't more reliable, they're just cheaper to fix due to the massive aftermarket support they have. People have a false sense of security about Japanese cars. Hell, my 2003 Sentra had 2 recalls, the ECU died, and the headlights liked to fog up. Yeah, Japanese reliability...whatever

BeeStang

I've owned several Hondas, Toyotas, and BMWs, all were bullit proof. Never had a problem with none of them, period. I now own a 05 Explorer and an 06 Mustang GT, all without problems. The stang has around 1200 miles and the Explorer about 11500. Both have given me no problems, none. I also want to point out that I have always driven my cars like I stole them and can honestly say, I'm impressed with the mechanical qualities of Ford products. The only US manufactuer that I would buy from right now.

The US car makers have made substancial progress in reliability of their products IMO. The only thing I think they could really improve on is the overall quality of the fit and finish includng using better quality materials in the interior and exterior. Mechanically, I think they have done an excellent job of increasing the overall quality. Kudos to the US auto makers for this acheivment.

Newbreedgt05

The consumer reports are worthless in my opinion. 3 of the cars that my family owns were given horrible ratings by the CR and they have well over 100,000 miles and still running strong. My uncle reads the CR and always buys the highest rated car. (Almost always a Japanese car). We're always working on the cars for him.

classj

I agree with some of the above. Everyone I know that has german and japanese stuff is always having problems. One guy I know bought his wife a toyota camery. Two blocks from the dealer the car literally stopped with a loud bang. They cancelled the sale and had to return it to toyota corporate as it was a factory defect, and they gave them another new car and some addl service plan on the new car.

We have had three jeep grand cherokees in a row with the latest being an 05 hemi limited. All have been some of the most trouble free cars we have owned, only one problem I can think of and it was minor, and the car was 7 years old by then.

The mustang has been great so far knock on wood.

2k05gt

I have a friend that just bought a Honda Ridgeline RTS and he took it into service, he asked the service guy about honda quality and serivce (He Modded his ridgeline CAI and Tune) He stated that Honda is not a better car per-say, the numbers are skewed by the fact that Japanese Car Companies will do anything to make the customer happy in the service end. they never gave him a second look at the mods he did, the service advisor even gave him ideas for more mods... I can tell you from experence that Ford will never do this.
Once you buy the car all the smiles go away. This High customer sat is what gives Jap cars a good rap.
I owned a Toyota Corolla once, (the only non-american car I ever owned) Total Peice-o-poop, But Toyota did all they could to make it right. Final outcome, I traded it in on a 1990 Mustang GT