What are some positive things about Toyota?

Impressive_Instant · 17 Jul 2010, 05:09 pm

I'm writing an article about Toyota and the bad rap it's been getting... what are some good things toyota has done or proven to us in the past of why they dont deserve all this critisim. I added that they were one of the first companies to come out with a hybrid that became very common in the US which was the prius and that fuel cost are pretty low.

Dylan · 17 Jul 2010, 05:12 pm

2JZ Supra

blanderswake · 17 Jul 2010, 05:18 pm

Well, they should be pretty much theft-proof by now.

Click here, read profile please; Now, don't go too far! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA will report you!

omG · 17 Jul 2010, 05:24 pm

yes, they were also the first company to introduce hybrids to luxury brands such as Lexus. Also they're reliable and easy to maintain. Mention the IS-F, good 5.0L V8 and definitely the amazing V10 that the LFA has, its a V10 the size of V8 but weights like a V6.

@ANTHONY////////////////////////////////////

Yes the LFA is very expensive, but at least its not made of plastic and it actually works....Unlike the ZR1, i do admit it has a good supercharged engine....it doesn't work. the tranny is unreliable and the whole body is made of plastic....and might i forget what's that glass in the bonnet.....huh? a plastic glass covering the engine....is the what GM can think of just to show some craftsmanship....

I could hardly care about performance just for this moment....there are better cars than ZR1....well if i include german cars that is. Japanese cars are about reliablility.....

If you have a poll of LFA or ZR1....i am sure people would pick the LFA, cool dashboard, its reliable cause its a toyota, carbon fiber, strong. it willl just go on and on. The LFA was actually built by the F1 team of Toyota, something that GM lacks, BMW Audi Honda Nissan all own an F1 team.

LFA has been cancelled for quite a while ago. Toyota knew about this and they decided to cancel it. it was never a failed attempt....it was just overpriced and nobody would've bought it, thats why it has failed, the car was produced and the ones who own it, admit its quiet a car, especially the cool dashboard and the way it revvs. tell me how many people do you know own a ZR1....over that anyone would attempt to get an M3, the most practical car in the world.....

BTW.....136 LFA have been sold in Japan overall...

http://www.carsuk.net/lexus-lf-a-sold-out-in-japan/

anthony · 17 Jul 2010, 05:27 pm

so you only have one positive point?

for your information the hybrid was not to make a greener future it was to give consumers only the image to help them with sales by improving the companies appearance.

prius is a vehicles with a short life expectancy and alot of components very harmful to the environment. the tires on the prius are special that help the vehicle achieve it fuel economy of 50mpg. but these tires wear out really fast. means more tires in landfill, not to mention a hidden cost. prius tires only last about 16-20k. please look up more about this.

people who buy prius, buy them to pretend they are doing good for the environment, and to save on fuel. however they are actually much more expensive vehicles to own when you consider the high maintenace, and hidden costs of driving a hybrid. not to mention they cost alot more in the first place.

the only thing positive i can think about toyota is they are light weight to push around when they breakdown, and when you get into an accident with one, you get to use them as the crumple zone and walk away with no damage to your vehicle.

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

@OMG, the LFA costs 400,000 dollars. do you own one. anyways most cars in the $70,000 dollar range kick its ass. the zr1 at about $110,000 (just a fraction of the price beats it at everything. the company is actually loosing tons of money on the over priced %&#$%#$. i heard they made 500, but have only sold 2 so far. LFA, lexus failed attempt.

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

back @JHUNT, only a toyota fan would brag about weak millage of 130k. you do not know what reliable means. you have obviously never owned an american car. life expectancy is much higher for american vehicles. i am laughing right now the millage you listed. thank you for making my day. and yes low life expectancy like all japanese cars. but then again to you 100k would be considered long lasting. all about perspective i guess. you koolaid drinker.

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////@american idle

japanese cars have never been better. it has only been percieved. difference is people are starting to see the truth. now you see them for what they are. american cars have always been good. we dont make lemons and never have!

your right about our image though. they werent previously good on gas either, and that didnt help. ill take reliabilty over good gas milage though.

Jhunt · 17 Jul 2010, 05:30 pm

I agree with hybrid....they're the greenest automakers

Anthony:

Prius is not an expensive car to maintain....Ford Fusion Hybrid is

Prius has short life expectancy...are you brain dead....Prius can go past 130K with no battery problem. I have a friend who owns an 05 prius, his prius is at 132K, no major problems

(1) Reliability

With regard to reliability, I will use AutoOnInfo.net?s measures. AutoOnInfo.net converts Consumer Reports' 5 motor vehicle ratings into grades:

A = "much better than average"

B = "better than average"

C = "average"

D = "worse than average"

F = "much worse than average"

and then uses the standard 4.00 scale to convert the letter grades to Grade Points:

4.00 = A

3.00 = B

2.00 = C

1.00 = D

0.00 = F

and then computes a Grade Point Average for each vehicle for each of four 4-year age ranges and then computes an average GPA and awards a grade based on this average using the following ranges:

A = 3.50 to 4.00,

B = 2.50 to 3.49,

C = 1.50 to 2.49,

D = 0.50 to 1.49,

F = 0.00 to 0.49.

By this method, Toyota has a 2009 Auto Reliability GPA of 3.62, over a 6-year history, and a Reliability Grade of A. For comparison, here are some overall 2009 Reliability GPAs for several lines:

The Toyota line: 3.69 (A)

The Honda line: 3.50 (A)

The Ford line: 2.16 (C)

The Chrysler line: 1.61 (C)

The Chevrolet line: 1.36 (D)

and overall 2009 Reliability GPAs for several manufacturers:

Toyota Motor: 3.67 (A)

Honda Motor: 3.47 (B)

Nissan Motor: 2.61 (B)

Mazda Motor: 2.42 (C)

Ford Motor: 2.14 (C)

Hyundai Motor: 1.97 (C)

The Chrysler Group: 1.34 (D)

General Motors: 1.34 (D).

(2) Durability

On AutoOnInfo.net?s High Mileage Roster, there are more than 758 Toyotas with more than 550,000 miles.

Also, by AutoOnInfo.net?s detailed computations, a typical Toyota at 19 years of age appears to be about as trouble free as a typical General Motors vehicle at 3 years of age and a typical Toyota at 15 years of age appears to be about as trouble free as a typical Ford Motor vehicle at 3 years of age.

(3) Consumer Reports? Worst Cars

On CR?s 2010 list of Worst Cars, In fact, there are very few Toyotas on this list. Here is each of the major manufacturers? share of this Worst-Car list:

Honda Motor: 0%

Toyota Motor: 1%

Nissan Motor: 3%

Ford Motor: 10%

The Chrysler Group: 18%

General Motors: 41%.

(4) CAA?s Excellence Awards

From 1983 to 2003, the Canadian Automobile Association has given Pyramid Awards for "vehicle engineering excellence in terms of actual, long-term, reliable performance." Toyota Motor Corporation has overwhelmingly dominated this measure of excellence. Here are the number of Pyramid Awards received by each of the major automobile manufacturers:

Toyota Motor: 18

Honda Motor: 3

Nissan Motor: 3

Ford Motor: 1

The Chrysler Group: 0

General Motors: 0

(5) The Reputation Institute?s international survey on trust, esteem, admiration, and favorable feeling

Here, too, Toyota Motor is the best of the automobile manufacturers. Here are the rankings for the automobile manufacturers with major sales in North America:

Toyota Motor: 6th place

Honda Motor: 20th place

Nissan Motor: 161st place

Ford Motor: (without a place in the top 200)

General Motors: (without a place in the top 200).

In summary, the Toyota is a very good vehicle comparing to other manufacturer companies.

(As an aside, all this information is free at AutoOnInfo.net, and many of the pages are available in the PDF format, so you may download them to your computer or your USB flash drive and print them at your convenience.)

Source(s):

Generally:

http://www.autooninfo.net

and specficially:

http://www.autooninfo.net/2009AutoGPAs.p?

http://www.autooninfo.net/2009LineGPAs.p?

http://www.autooninfo.net/2009Manufactur?

http://www.autooninfo.net/HighMileageRos?

http://www.autooninfo.net/ToyotaAgeEquiv?

http://www.autooninfo.net/UsedCarsToAvoi?

http://www.autooninfo.net/CAAAwards.aspx

http://www.autooninfo.net/ReputationInst?

American Idle · 17 Jul 2010, 05:34 pm

Jim Press, a former Toyota executive of 36 years and the highest ever ranking U.S. born exec at Toyota said the Japanese gov't payed for the development of the Prius. Fair competition? I think not...

Anyway, Hybrids are only a temporary patch. I consider them stupid. They do not solve our dependence on oil, and a diesel car like the VW Polo BlueMotion will get 75 MPG. The main reason companies like Toyota invested in hybrids is because they can make money off them right now because they're better than regular gas powered cars, but because gasoline engines need regular maintenance and have lots of problems they will continue to make money after the sale. Electric cars on the other hand are extremely reliable and almost never need servicing after you purchase them. That was part of the incentive Toyota dn GM had to kill off the electric car nearly 15 years ago. But while Toyota is wasting our time with hybrids GM and Honda are pushing hydrogen fuel cell vehicles closer to reality.

Anyway, good luck trying to push your agenda. Well, not really. I completely ate your last argument, and I'm sure there is nothing you can up with to claim Toyota is the best that I can't disprove. Toyota made some of the most reliable cars throughout the 80's 90's, and early 00's. you can easily prove that, but that has no reflection to their current in today's market. If you claim that you must also accept that American cars are the most luxurious, stylish, and generally best because they were from the 30's-60's.

@Jhunt:

Chevy volt > Prius

Consumer Reports rates cars with a problem rate of 3% or more to be "Much worse than average". That's nothing. there is such a small difference between the best and worst its ridiculous to buy a car these days based solely on reliability. I own a 2003 Saab 9-3, which according to CR shouldn't even be running right now. It literally got all black circles. in 7 years one window switch needed replacing and if it sits out in the sun it trips the passenger seatbelt warning light. I don't care. That is not worth stepping into a boring as beige Toyota that drives like the suspension is made from mattress springs topped off with a cheap interior.

The reliability ratings you posted are not applicable to current cars. They take averages over the last 4 years, but in the last 4 years the American and Korean makes showed drastic improvements. GM cars before 2008 were all ranked poorly, but new models introduced since then have all been very well rated, as near as good, if not better than Toyota. The years covered in your study were 2004-2008. Why point to old data when it is clear newer American cars have obviously improved, even Toyota fanboys must admit that. Considering my experience with an "F" GPA car anything that ranks average or better should be flawless.

Looking at 18 years of CR's worst cars is not an accurate way to represent today's auto industry. Yes, historically American cars have been crap, so that's going to hold them back. If you look at CR's current list of top picks 2 are from Toyota. Another 2 are from GM. Also, look at Consumer Digests list of Best Buys, which is based on quality and cost of ownership: http://consumersdigest.com/award_page.html

It is dominated by GM with Ford in second. Toyota's nowhere to be seen. This is based on the newest model year of the cars available today. Looking at 20+ years like AutoOnInfo does not represent todays cars clearly and is just a way to twist the facts in favor of Toyota. Yes, Toyota made reliable cars for several decades and still does. Yes, American companies made garbage for most of that time, but their new cars are just as good, if not better than everything else. Obviously when you throw in 25 years of domestic garbage its going to screw the facts. If you look at JD Powers dependability study, which is taken over 3 years, the #1 make is Porsche, followed by Lincoln and Buick, two American companies. Even then it still works against the domestics because, since then several new, better cars have come out and are not included. The website AutoOnInfo uses deceptive methods to 'Prove' their point. What they've proved is over the last 40 years Toyota, and Japanese imports have generally been superior. Not exactly a bombshell...

And on the CAA's excellence awards. Again, the timeframe. Why does it suspiciously end in 2003? I know Ford won the two awards last year. I don't know and can't find the historic list of winners, but I'm guessing the cutoff date was used to pick facts and force your agenda. So I basically just proved you're manipulating facts. Why should I, or anybody else trust the rest of what you said? If you can give me a legit reason you stopped counting the awards for the last 7 years, please, let me hear it.

And who cares about reputation. I think we learned what happens when we give corporations too much trust, didn't we? They're all about one thing: money. Toyota tried to hide their problems to save $100 million, and for years got away with it because of their reputation.

JerryJ · 17 Jul 2010, 05:36 pm

You have to remember that the media is in the ratings business (and the politicians are in the vote business), not in the unbiased truth business. There is no point in having a breaking news story about GM or Ford because everyone knows they have recalls. Toyota hasn't had many so it's news. Now that everyone's heard that Toyota can have recalls too it's no longer news and so there isn't much more to say. The fact that many of the "problems" reported by the media turned out to be hoaxs or driver error didn't stand in the way the story about "bad Toyota".

It's more important to see what cars have the best owner satisfaction rating, like the Prius, rather than dubious news coverage.

For a technical look at Toyota's problems: http://techno-fandom.org/~hobbit/cars/storm.html

HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA · 17 Jul 2010, 05:40 pm

Toyota is awesome PERIOD.

Alan · 17 Jul 2010, 05:50 pm

There are no positives to Toyota. They are a prime example of failed capitalism, greed, and money mongering, as well as lying to the public, and risking peoples lives by selling defective cars that have killed many people, then blamed it on the drivers. America and the world will never forgive Toyota.

What are some positive things about Toyota?

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