Written by: Jimmy Sesto
Toyota is it's own worst enemy right now with these recall issues. In comparison Toyota has accidentally shot it's self in the foot and while bending over to check the wound they shot themselves again in the leg. If they are not careful they are going to blow their head clean off. Auto manufacturer's recall millions of vehicles every year and this year is no different than any other except Toyota has no idea how to deal with a massive recall. Allow me to throw some numbers and facts at you here. The 10 biggest recalls in U.S. history are in the following order according to company;
1)Ford 2)GM 3)GM 4)Ford 5)Ford 6)Toyota -
present recall 7)Ford 8)GM 9)VW 10)Honda. So as you can see this recall although thought to be the biggest by most Americans is out done by 5 different Ford and GM recalls. These numbers don't even take into consideration the Ford-Firestone fiasco because it was a tire issue and not a vehicle problem. If the Ford-Firestone fiasco were to count then Ford would beat it's current first place position by millions and millions of vehicles. So what is the difference, why is Toyota catching so much heat on what should be regular auto manufacturer duties? Anyone that knows me, knows I bleed blue as in the Ford Blue Oval but allow me to pick on them a little more here. Ford, every year recalls an absurd amount of vehicles, I know this because I worked there. Ford implemented 95% of all its recalls while I worked for them and it is always better to do recalls voluntarily rather than government enforced. In fact Ford replaced nearly 20 million tires in the early 2000's for damage control on the Firestone fiasco. As a manufacturer you never want the government to get involved in recalls because debacle's like the current Toyota recall happens. So although Ford was mandated by the government to change all Firestone tires on Explorer's and Expedition's, they went all the way for their customers and changed any Firestone tire on any Ford during the defective time period at a cost of $3 billion. Ford could have went the government route like Toyota currently is and it would have cost them less than $1 billion but would have cost billions and billions in sales on the long term. Ford did not blame Firestone, the CEO of Ford at the time Jacques Nasser, went on national TV and appoligized while extending an offer of changing all Firestone tires, not just on the named vehicles but all Ford vehicles of that time period. Ford took a hit that year but muscled through and did the right thing. Toyota's CEO Akio Toyoda and no I did not misspell his name, I think maybe he did but I didn't. He is the grandson of the founder of Toyota, in essence he is the William Clay Ford (
chairman of ford) of Japan. He has been doing his best to avoid the media and he turned down a request made by the U.S. government to be interviewed by a panel. He later accepted, after I am sure his advisors told him it was the smart thing to do. So how can Toyota get through this major problem of what should have been a routine recall? Easy, address it to the point of overkill by doing whatever is needed to reassure the public. Also do whatever is needed to get the U.S. government off your backs with their magnifying glasses inspecting everything you do now. Any customer that does not have a recalled vehicle but is still unsure about their Toyota, invite them to a dealer to have their car inspected for free. Ford, Gm, Honda, and even VW have gone through major recalls virtually unknown to the public because they addressed them quickly before the government could make a spectacle out of the recall. The Ford Focus has been recalled over 10 times but you never even heard a whisper from the press because Ford did the recalls quickly and quietly. Take note Toyota! To all you Toyota lovers out there, no need for despair, this is a small dent in what is usually an impectable reputation. Toyota will survive and they are and still will be a very high quality company.
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