Frankly, I'm surprised no one has brought this up yet..........so I will. To the mods - before you move this thread somewhere else, please reconsider because this is not just about Toyota, but the world auto industry.
Ok.........the Toyota fiasco. What do you think will happen with all of this? For me, this goes waaaaaay beyond Toyota. It goes without saying that this is going to shake the confidence of the consumer when it comes to buying a Toyota for the foreseeable future - whether it's deserved or not really makes no difference, it's going to happen. People still need to buy cars, and this could be a MAJOR turning point in the future of the auto industry........the first "dent", so to speak, in the (what we thought was) un-penetrable armor that seemed to protect the japanese auto industry. You see, perception can stronger than reality, and in this case perception could threaten to cover up the reality, unfair as that may be. Is it possible that perception could cloud the consumers confidence in the ENTIRE japanese auto industry? I'm not saying it will, but I'm not going to say it's impossible either. We have some recent history that gives us room for thought.........look at what just happened in the last 2 years with the american auto industry - not just Ford, or GM, or Chrysler.......but the INDUSTRY. Separate companies, separate management teams......yet all making similar mistakes. Does this similar "group mentality" exist within the japanese industry, and if so might we see other major recalls from the other companies because of similar miscalculations to the ones that Toyota made? Consumer confidence in the ENTIRE american industry was badly shaken because of what happened in the last 2 years, and it's quite possible that the residual perception of what's happened to Toyota could affect sales of the entire japanese auto industry as well.
Finally..........how will the REST of the industry ultimately respond? I'm sure that Ford, GM and Chrysler are all breathing a sigh of relief - basically thinking "thank god our problems aren't front page news anymore". How about the rest of the industry? Will they be ready and prepared to "pick up the slack"? There's potentially going be A LOT of customers considering other brands now, and the change in market share over the next 1-2 years could be DRAMATIC...............and just think - I haven't mentioned anything about China yet! Perception can be a powerful tool here, and with China being the largest market in the world now fortunes can change dramatically here as well. The ramifications of all this is potentially staggering, and I'd really like to hear some other opinions from all of you. Speak up!:thumb:
Ok.........the Toyota fiasco. What do you think will happen with all of this? For me, this goes waaaaaay beyond Toyota. It goes without saying that this is going to shake the confidence of the consumer when it comes to buying a Toyota for the foreseeable future - whether it's deserved or not really makes no difference, it's going to happen. People still need to buy cars, and this could be a MAJOR turning point in the future of the auto industry........the first "dent", so to speak, in the (what we thought was) un-penetrable armor that seemed to protect the japanese auto industry. You see, perception can stronger than reality, and in this case perception could threaten to cover up the reality, unfair as that may be. Is it possible that perception could cloud the consumers confidence in the ENTIRE japanese auto industry? I'm not saying it will, but I'm not going to say it's impossible either. We have some recent history that gives us room for thought.........look at what just happened in the last 2 years with the american auto industry - not just Ford, or GM, or Chrysler.......but the INDUSTRY. Separate companies, separate management teams......yet all making similar mistakes. Does this similar "group mentality" exist within the japanese industry, and if so might we see other major recalls from the other companies because of similar miscalculations to the ones that Toyota made? Consumer confidence in the ENTIRE american industry was badly shaken because of what happened in the last 2 years, and it's quite possible that the residual perception of what's happened to Toyota could affect sales of the entire japanese auto industry as well.
Finally..........how will the REST of the industry ultimately respond? I'm sure that Ford, GM and Chrysler are all breathing a sigh of relief - basically thinking "thank god our problems aren't front page news anymore". How about the rest of the industry? Will they be ready and prepared to "pick up the slack"? There's potentially going be A LOT of customers considering other brands now, and the change in market share over the next 1-2 years could be DRAMATIC...............and just think - I haven't mentioned anything about China yet! Perception can be a powerful tool here, and with China being the largest market in the world now fortunes can change dramatically here as well. The ramifications of all this is potentially staggering, and I'd really like to hear some other opinions from all of you. Speak up!:thumb: