Consumer Reports confirms Toyota is slipping

[dsrtdukone]

Sorry if it's a repost, but wow. You know it's a fall from grace when even your most staunch supporter is having reservations about the quality of your products. Just more proof that domestics are (slowly) closing the gap.
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/Advice/ToyotaIsSlippingConsumerReportsSays.aspx

 

[Traveler]

Except Ford isn't gaining either where they need to be...their sedans. Maybe that will change, but Taurus isn't catching on just yet, Five Hundred floundered and Fusion (while a pretty good car) isn't putting that big a dent in the Honda/Toyota machine. Ford needs better marketing.

 

[Gallows]

I'm shocked that Toyota lost its automatic recommendation:lol1: Ford is up to 93% reliability:beer:

 

[thomas91169]

its kinda what happens when, as a company, you stop trying to be better because you need to get to where the big three are, and once you are there youre on top looking down and everyone says youre the best, then you get a big head ego and just assume anything you do from then on will always be the best.

they forget once youre at the top of your game, you have nowhere to go but down. IMO i think Nissan can be the next to grab the top spot, IMO their vehicles are some of the best bang for the buck as far as new cars go, their vehicles in every category are, IMO, better than the competition. 350Z is a great little car, the Altima and Maxima's are very stout for the price (and are no slouch when compared to the upper trim levels of their competition).

Ford needs more marketing and better marketing. Mike Rowe however is an excellent voice for Ford, and will help win back the average american working family to at least walk back onto a Ford dealership, however IMO alot of the blame can also rest on dealerships. while all the other dealers are offering great incentives, i dont ever see anything but retarded markups on Ford's lots, most other dealers you can talk them down to MSRP or under (MSRP is not the price the dealer bought the car for btw), Ford guys laugh when you ask for even MSRP. not good business, they are into moving less cars at higher markups, which means they sell less quantity, and that hurts the manufacturer, whereas a dealership that sells more quantity is constantly ordering more to replenish, which means the manufacturer makes more units and makes money.

 

[YesterdayAgain]

Except Ford isn't gaining either where they need to be...their sedans. Maybe that will change, but Taurus isn't catching on just yet, Five Hundred floundered and Fusion (while a pretty good car) isn't putting that big a dent in the Honda/Toyota machine. Ford needs better marketing.

The discussion is about quality, where Ford is absolutely closing the gap.

 

[svtfocus2cobra]

Ford needs better marketing.

It's a good thing they stole Toyotas Marketing Manager then.

 

[Klay]

its kinda what happens when, as a company, you stop trying to be better because you need to get to where the big three are, and once you are there youre on top looking down and everyone says youre the best, then you get a big head ego and just assume anything you do from then on will always be the best.

they forget once youre at the top of your game, you have nowhere to go but down. IMO i think Nissan can be the next to grab the top spot, IMO their vehicles are some of the best bang for the buck as far as new cars go, their vehicles in every category are, IMO, better than the competition. 350Z is a great little car, the Altima and Maxima's are very stout for the price (and are no slouch when compared to the upper trim levels of their competition).

Ford needs more marketing and better marketing. Mike Rowe however is an excellent voice for Ford, and will help win back the average american working family to at least walk back onto a Ford dealership, however IMO alot of the blame can also rest on dealerships. while all the other dealers are offering great incentives, i dont ever see anything but retarded markups on Ford's lots, most other dealers you can talk them down to MSRP or under (MSRP is not the price the dealer bought the car for btw), Ford guys laugh when you ask for even MSRP. not good business, they are into moving less cars at higher markups, which means they sell less quantity, and that hurts the manufacturer, whereas a dealership that sells more quantity is constantly ordering more to replenish, which means the manufacturer makes more units and makes money.

I don't necessarily agree with your statements because part of the reason Ford's vehicles have lower resale is because they were selling them too cheaply so they could move more metal. Everyone likes a good deal but domestic buyers in particular want nothing but below msrp, even for popular vehicles. Of course, the big 3 trained them this way so it will take to time to reverse this thinking but selling more for the sake of selling more isn't always better in the long run. They need to be making money on each one and that includes the dealer.

As far as the original topic, I am glad even stupid consumer reports is realizing toyota isn't as infallible as everyone believes. I'm sure the only reason they are doing that though is because you can only lie so much before people catch on. They are at the point where they can't claim toyota's are vastly superior to domestics because it isn't true.

 

[HISSMAN]

Maybe it is because Americans are now making most Toyota products in country
?

 

[Traveler]

The discussion is about quality, where Ford is absolutely closing the gap.

Still, if you are unable to convey that quality through successful marketing, it means absolutely nothing. Toyota and Honda offer the perception of quality.