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3 Questions: Steven Spear on Toyota’s troubles





Q. What went wrong with Toyota?






Q. What can Toyota do now to fix things?






The discussions about Toyota recalls is a bit one sided. It would be more fair to talk about this in contrast with other historical automotive recalls. For instance, Despite the scale of Toyota's woes, its recall is not the largest in automotive history, and other companies that have suffered similar stumbles have recovered. The top five car recalls of all time -- all involving American companies, and not including Toyota's latest, which would rank third on the list -- look like this:

1. Ford. In 2009, Ford completed a series of recalls spanning 10 years and affecting 14 million vehicles, including Lincoln and Mercury SUVs, pickups, vans and cars released from 1993 to 2004. The problem was a cruise-control switch that had a tendency to catch fire -- even when the vehicle was turned off.

2. Ford. In 1996, Ford had another fire-related problem. Hundreds of customers complained of conflagrations stemming from faulty ignition systems, which led to a recall of 8.6 vehicles, including Escorts, Mustangs, Tempos, Thunderbirds, Cougars, Crown Vics, Grand Marquis cars, Lincoln Town Cars, Aerostars, Broncos and F-series trucks.

3. General Motors. In 1971, GM recalled 6.7 million vehicles after reports, aired by consumer advocate Ralph Nader, that "[s]cores of engines on Chevies made from 1965 to 1969 ... were twisting loose from car frames, sometimes with the frightening result that the auto's accelerator pedal was pulled all the way down to the floor and the brakes failed."

4. GM. In 1981, GM recalled 5.8 million vehicles after reports about suspension bolts in certain models coming loose and leading to steering malfunctions. Among the affected models were the Buick Regal and Century; Chevrolet El Camino, Monte Carlo and Malibu; Oldsmobile Cutlass; GMC Caballero; and the Pontiac LeMans and Grand Prix.

5. Ford. In 1971, Ford recalled 4.1 million 1970 and 1971 models of several vehicles in which seat-belt shoulder harnesses were found to fray and detach from the metal binding them to the frame.

This should give some balance to the subject of recent recalls. Thane

Are these statistics supposed to justify or minimize the tragedy related to this and other recalls?

The media moguls sold Toyota as the better choice, top quality, etc. The point is, this wasn't supposed to happen with a company like Toyota.

To be "not as bad" as the other guys doesn't cut it. The buying public was sold on the idea that Toyota didn't exhibit the problems akin to North American vehicles.

Your point about the increased complexity is well made. Too, it's worth noting that for things electrical, there can be no visual inspection without going off-line; a person simply cannot see either electrons, or potential. Quality becomes seperated from assembly and rests with the supplier and the engineers. The TPS has been made less relevant by this complexity, in the end.

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