Toyota: Lesson learnt, and learnt well

Toyota: Lesson learnt, and learnt well

Reputations are a funny thing. You can build one up through years of toiling, to a point that you think it’s bomb-proof, and wake up one day and find that it has all come unstuck faster than you can say, well, ‘reputation’.

Usually, it just takes a single instance to deliver the damage, but for something along the lines and size of an automotive company, that sort of thing needs far more weight, as well as recurrence. The point is, if it happens long and fast enough, the implications aren’t going to be pretty, and the first thing to go out the window is that erstwhile solid reputation.

The last 18 months has seen just that, in the case of Toyota. Once known as the automotive equivalent of the Borg (the “have you ever seen a Corolla break down?” tagline shouted that empirical belief best), the squeaky clean rep it has had isn’t as impossibly impenetrable as it was, for sure. Growing too big too fast, as it was succinctly put, has brought about some rather testy gremlins for the ride.

Read more after the jump.

Toyota: Lesson learnt, and learnt well

Having what seems an endless number of recalls, from fixing ‘stuck’ gas pedals trapped in the floor mat to potential fuel leaks, has been the very big issue, one that started in August 2009 when four people died in a high-speed crash involving a Lexus in the US.

Since then, the company has recalled more than 14 million vehicles worldwide to address all the various issues and problems that have come about. Happily, US regulators did clear the company last month of blame on the electronic flaw front.

Electronics, it was said, were not responsible for the sudden, unintended acceleration issue and that the problems that came about were due to mechanical defects (dealt with in recalls) and “pedal misapplication,” where instead of applying the brakes, the accelerator was stepped on.

Toyota: Lesson learnt, and learnt well

Yes, it remains the world’s largest automaker (by a shade), and there’s no doubting its technical ability and technological accomplishment, which runs with the best in this regard. It will remain a leader, working its magic by building a wide net of overlapping models that ultimately snares buyers on the basis that if one model doesn’t work, another will eventually appeal. Always worked, and always will.

What has changed is how the company is perceived, in some quarters at least, and more importantly how the company perceives its customers. The idea that everyone takes everyone else for granted for dependability is very much a thing of the past. So it is hoped.

With a record US$48.8 million paid in fines for three recalls, the company has learnt much in the process and, as it tries to put its reputation right again, has vowed to heed customer complaints quickly and efficiently, as well as upgrade the safety technology in its vehicles. Among these are a brake override system that automatically cuts the throttle when both brake and gas pedals are simultaneously applied.

Toyota: Lesson learnt, and learnt well

Granted, it isn’t the only Japanese company to be afflicted by recalls, which really isn’t as bad a word as it’s made out to be. The problem is that the entire current episode happened to start with it, and in volume and scope, no other company has been that harder hit.

Of course, much of what transpired happened in the United States, a place where you really don’t want to be cocking up, well, not on a consistent basis to the tune of countless recalls. Europe sang the tune too, but to a significantly lesser degree. And Asia, well, remained quiet, with the exception of Japan, and so remained unscathed in the wake.

The idea that the consciousness is a frail thing must have occurred to the company, which went about pre-empting anything of such a nature from spilling over to these parts through a familiarisation trip to Japan to showcase the workings of the company.

Toyota: Lesson learnt, and learnt well

Organised by Toyota Motor Asia Pacific late last year, the visit took a bunch of Malaysian journalists over a wide variety of presentations in Toyota City as well as the technical centre in Higashi Fuji, and while everything was largely presented via a technological point of view, one couldn’t help but feel that beneath the veneer of the studio presentations lay the real message of why the trip came about, which was to impart that Toyota had learnt the lesson well and was going about correcting approaches in its building process.

Something in a large organisation’s psyche, however, dictates that speaking openly about it isn’t done – the subject of what had changed in the process from before wasn’t delved in great detail, despite plenty of questions, though it was revealed that the Early Detection, Early Resolution (EDER) phase had been strengthened within the basic job process loop, and more checkpoints were in place.

Where in the past, every complaint was reliant only on field reports (which took time to filter in), now complaints via the phone from a customer as well as from websites have been added into the mix, hastening the process. A complaint is now quickly followed by an analysis and investigation of the customer’s vehicle on-site, and if there’s a problem, the details are moved along at a far quicker pace; Toyota says that resolution is 30% quicker than the year before.

Toyota: Lesson learnt, and learnt well

Also, an additional four weeks has been added to the timeframe before a model is launched. This ensures that more time is spent on R&D and specific quality checks, with additional manpower of 1,000 people being devoted to this task, adding on to the man-hours worked on a vehicle, making for 1.7 million in all.

Away from that, there was plenty of opportunity to showcase the technology and engineering over a number of presentations, starting with a visit to the flooded road test facility, where vehicles wade at selected speeds through water-filled troughs (up to a metre deep) to ensure their ability to handle more than a mere rain squall without choking.

When asked if any cars had actually failed and stalled attempting the test, the station’s engineering head said that there was once where a sedan from a certain German marque didn’t make it through – I’ll leave it to you to guess which brand.

Toyota: Lesson learnt, and learnt well

The next round of presentations involved suspension and related component durability testing, as well as electro-magnetic compatibility. Toyota has eight vehicle EMC chambers in Toyota City, the first of which was built in April 1979, and the last two in April 2009.

The chambers vary in size, and each measures a different scope of testing through an assortment of frequency ranges, from 20MHz to 100GHz. Tests range from high and low frequency emission, electrical and radiation immunity, on-board antenna as well as nearby external antenna to smart key range evaluation. It’s all bound to give you a buzz.

The two highlights of the programme, however, were within the confines of the technical centre in Higashi Fuji. The first was a crash test involving a Crown Majesta against a Yaris at the centre’s impressive crash test facility, prepared for us visiting journos.

Toyota: Lesson learnt, and learnt well

One offset front smash-up later, you’d think it would be the end of the Yaris, but while the front had pretty much been hammered in, it didn’t mess with the little car’s cabin integrity; the doors could be opened without fuss, surely good news after any crash. The Crown was obviously in much better shape, given its size and mass.

Speaking of crashes, the main occupants in these were also highlighted, and provided for a fascinating study. The ubiquitous crash test dummy in Toyota speak is designated as a THUMS, or Total Human Model for Safety. Jointly developed by Toyota Motor Corporation and Toyota Central Research and Development Laboratories in 1997, Version 1 of the AM50 occupant and pedestrian came about in 2000.

Toyota: Lesson learnt, and learnt well

The original incorporated major bones and ligaments, with 80,000 elements in all. By Version 3 the element count was 130,000, and the brain was also in. Version 4, which came about last year, contains 2,000,000 elements, and features remeshed bones and ligaments, brain as well as internal organ simulators. As for model variations, the AM50 male has since been joined by the AF05 female and two age-specific children models, a six-year-old as well as a nine-year-old. There’s also a pregnant dummy, so it’s quite the happy family.

With an assortment of other regular crash test dummies, the THUMS get to enjoy going through a whole lot of rather murderous tasks. From frontal/lateral impact to thorax, side impact, bone fracture, ligament rupture to whiplash tests, they take such abuse to see what happens to the human body in crashes. From outside the car, they simulate pedestrian impact accidents. All this, and they come back for more.

Here’s some interesting trivia regarding crash test dummies, something that I observed at the centre. They don’t have to wear clothes, but rather strangely, they do need to wear shoes. In this case, men’s working shoes. Apparently, it’s a requirement as part of NCAP testing. Quite bizarre, don’t you think?

Toyota: Lesson learnt, and learnt well

On to the second highlight of the trip, and this was to drive a car in the world’s largest and most advanced video game machine. Which is what the centre’s driving simulator is.

The driver sits in an actual car placed inside the dome, which measures 7.1m diameter, and performs driving operations while video images are projected onto a 360-degree spherical screen taking up the entire interior of the doom. The images come courtesy of eight Barco Sim6Ultra liquid crystal projectors, at UXGA (1600×1200) resolution.

Toyota: Lesson learnt, and learnt well

The dome is moved, under precise computer control, by one of the world’s largest simulation apparatuses, 35m high and 20m wide, made up of a turntable, tilt system, vibration actuator and other devices capable of realistically simulating turns and any number of other driving manoeuvres.

In addition, the driving simulator provides a faithful simulation of the actual sensation of driving, including velocity and acceleration. Furthermore, realistic sounds are added to give the driver an experience of driving that comes as close to reality as possible.

In theory, it sounds wonderful enough, but in use, the application takes some getting used to. Orientation is the main issue. The movement transitions are there, just that you’re sitting there being fed cues you don’t get in driving under real-world conditions (like air, for one. There’s no windscreen, presumably to improve visual acuity and airflow within the static bodyshell. So yes, there’s no ‘driving under rainy condition’ testing).

Toyota: Lesson learnt, and learnt well

It’s not the claustrophobia that gets you, however, but rather the slight lag in cue synchronisation, visual and movement-wise. You step on the pedal, the simulator responds with motion, but the visuals engage with a fair bit of delay. The result is that your eyes and brain don’t quite match it all together, and by the end of the session in the driver’s seat, you do end up feeling a bit funny.

While the sim allows a vehicle to touch 300kph, because the mechanicals haven’t the outright speed, simulating a high speed twist and jink session with, say, a FT86-II is simply out of the question.

Aside from the syncronisation anomaly, which can presumably be gotten around once you’ve piled on the miles, the simulator does a grand job of aiding development – ‘driving’ it shows how accurate measurements can be taken in terms of driver behaviours and response to objects, both moving and static, as well as alertness levels.

Toyota: Lesson learnt, and learnt well

At the end of it all, the entire trip did serve to show how adept Toyota is, technically and technologically. But that was never the contention in the first place – a company doesn’t get to where it is like Toyota has by being anything less than being suitably accomplished, and it certainly is first-rate, as you’d expect.

Somehow, along the way, in that effort to grow at such a ferocious speed and rate, things went amiss, something that the company is now acutely aware of, having paid a hefty price in monetary as well as psychological terms. While the visit to Japan showed that measures have been taken to get things back on the rail correctly, the road to absolute recovery for a reputation that for so long has been bomb-proof will take some time to accomplish. Not that it plays any significant part here in Malaysia, though.

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Anthony Lim

Anthony Lim believes that nothing is better than a good smoke and a car with character, with good handling aspects being top of the prize heap. Having spent more than a decade and a half with an English tabloid daily never being able to grasp the meaning of brevity or being succinct, he wags his tail furiously at the idea of waffling - in greater detail - about cars and all their intrinsic peculiarities here.

 

Comments

  • Unforgiven on Mar 04, 2011 at 6:03 pm

    Lesson learnt, and learnt well, do we do the same?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
    • peYn0 on Mar 05, 2011 at 1:15 pm

      Still vios is number 1 foreign car in malaysia.!!!!

      malaysia boleh!!!!

      1 malaysia, 1 toyota,1vios!!

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • zhongbie on Mar 04, 2011 at 6:04 pm

    GJ TOYOTA !!!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • rallyfan00 on Mar 04, 2011 at 6:06 pm

    nice article anthony.. very detailed and fair i think.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
    • kimi_ on Mar 04, 2011 at 8:15 pm

      This is the type of car every Malaysian should deserved with proper RND and CRASH TEST…But sadly most of our local produced car dont even have any international crash test rating….

      In thailand and indon, toyota vios and altis only serve as taxi….but here is regard as something LUXURY thanks to the heavy tax.

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      • scoobylution on Mar 04, 2011 at 11:57 pm

        i dont understnd why people always look down on a car that are use a taxi. it doesnt mean that car is sucks. in germany merc and bmw are use as a taxi also. does it mean both car sucks?

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
        • Someone on Mar 05, 2011 at 8:42 am

          I think kimi’s not trying to look down on it, just pointing out how much we have to pay for good cars here.

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          • langit hitam on Mar 05, 2011 at 12:35 pm

            We will look forward to have a much cheaper fuel price for Malaysian(foreigner different price) due to we have pay in advance for a fuel etc in the car tax.
            So? When this will come?

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          • Wisdom on Mar 06, 2011 at 9:51 pm

            The price will only go up.

            http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gasoline_and_diesel_usage_and_pricing#Countries_with_subsidised_gasoline

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  • aduss on Mar 04, 2011 at 6:09 pm

    wau

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  • Annoy-nimal on Mar 04, 2011 at 6:15 pm

    Nice report…
    “…a brake override system that automatically cuts the throttle when both brake and gas pedals are simultaneously applied…”
    Will consumers get the option to override the brake override system?. If not, then I guess there’ll be no more left-foot braking… I hope they dont have it in their FT86. :)

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    • rally_fan00 on Mar 05, 2011 at 10:07 am

      you can’t do left foot braking, and no more heel and toe downshifts..

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  • wolfsburg on Mar 04, 2011 at 6:22 pm

    How come the Crown vs Yaris looks okay but the NHTSA Yaris vs Camry looked disasterous?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
    • alldisc on Mar 05, 2011 at 9:56 am

      there will be difference in results when we crash the 2 cars whether its head-on or offset. and if it is offset, how much does it? 50% offset or just 30%? every country has different criterias.

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    • Critique on Mar 05, 2011 at 12:40 pm

      Think you need to be a bit more specific than “looked disastrous” .. :)

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  • Nellie on Mar 04, 2011 at 6:42 pm

    Good!
    Safety wise: done!
    Environmental issue wise; done!
    Design wise: build sportier cars please!!! Bring back the MR2, Celica and real Corolla original style.

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  • Protonmania on Mar 04, 2011 at 6:49 pm

    so Toyota, where will be your next recall?

    And when you will recall your Vios over here?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
    • Kiddo on Mar 04, 2011 at 11:53 pm

      I’m not a fan of any car company and didn’t want to be mean but you’re such a pathetic person.

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      • Amriji on Mar 05, 2011 at 8:37 am

        Kiddo… I agree with you.

        At least Toyota make a recall if there is any problems. Does Proton do that? Very Scary if you think of it.

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        • rally_fan00 on Mar 05, 2011 at 10:08 am

          amriji… proton has done several recalls the last several years.. they were published in the papers, and customers were contacted personally also..

          be fair.. get your facts right at least.

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        • Kiddo on Mar 05, 2011 at 12:01 pm

          Amriji, thanks for agreeing.

          Yea, like rally_fan00 said, Proton does have recalls, they’re a responsible car maker as well. If I’m not mistaken, Perodua is the one which hasn’t made any recall despite people are cursing bout problems with their MyVis, like the deforming brake pad.

          Not trying to be bias to any car company here. Just stating the problem if not the fact.

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        • peYno on Mar 06, 2011 at 7:05 am

          Amriji.. pls study before u post..
          proton does have recall… but we never heard UMW toyota , perodua do a recall

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          • Kiddo on Mar 06, 2011 at 12:23 pm

            UMW did have a recall but it was their Lexus arm that made the recall here in Malaysia.

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          • alldisc on Mar 07, 2011 at 10:13 am

            if not mistaken, when UMW make a recall they know it as Special Service Campaign and it has been on going since the past 15 years or so.. I worked with UMW in 97-00.

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        • proton had recalled my exora due to air cond thermo amp failure..

          please be fair

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    • kington on Mar 05, 2011 at 11:08 am

      Grow up pal, the recalls in Us were of course made more serious as opposed to GM cars which also suffered similar problems. Protection in the States like what they do here.

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    • Critique on Mar 05, 2011 at 12:47 pm

      That’s a very bleak outlook. Based on?

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    • i can drive on Mar 05, 2011 at 3:18 pm

      Why should vios be recall? im driving 1 for 3 years. there’s no problem with it. it stop when i press the brake. it moves when i press the accelerator. it turns when i turn the steering.

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  • SubbieDoctor on Mar 04, 2011 at 6:55 pm

    About the flooded road test facility, to ensure their ability to handle more than a mere rain squall without choking, WHY in the 1st place the Need for a German car to go thru tat test? The German rented the facility for testing?

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    • Paul Tan on Mar 04, 2011 at 7:31 pm

      Benchmark and comparison. I was once at the development center of a German marque and they had a dark room with headlamps of many many cars Japanese German and Korean etc to study the beam shape and pattern etc.

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    • bobdbilder on Mar 05, 2011 at 8:19 am

      Air intake? A friend of mine had his C200 Komp towed after he hit flooded road in KL about a year ago. Having inlet from the bottom is optimum as air is denser. But you need to make sure that air sucked in through the inlets need to be vented before going through the throttle body.

      It could also be breather for the Automatic Transmission, brakes and differentials. When a hot piece of metal gets a sudden splash of water it quenches. Quenching metals in foundries is used to make castings harder but would also make it a bit more brittle than before.

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  • kete kuak on Mar 04, 2011 at 6:57 pm

    wow!!! very2 long article..
    an empire will normally change every 100 years

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
    • Dont loose.. Japan. keep the work up! I want to continue enjoying the technology and market competition between the europe and Japan. Pl

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    • Amriji on Mar 05, 2011 at 8:42 am

      Not true… Turkish Ottoman Empire lasted for 600 years. Roman lasted almost 1000 years.

      As for business… Cadbury Chocolate lasted for more than 200 years.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
      • tec96248 on Mar 05, 2011 at 10:52 am

        For business, a construction company in Japan has been more than 500 years and some other business more than 100 years already. Shouldn’t be a problem for Toyota.

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  • mitsubishi aspira on Mar 04, 2011 at 7:02 pm

    first to comment…emm very nice buisness plan…hmmm..hmmmm

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  • Being an x-toyotas, “The Toyota Way” is still running in my veins.. Gambate Kudasai Toyota San!!

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  • 1st..hehe…k,reputation?well kalo da toyota,enjin t’cicir pon org lata “ada kualiti~”.. XD

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    • Critique on Mar 05, 2011 at 12:55 pm

      Perhaps you need to ask yourself why ppl behave that way? Why is it that ppl out there have this sort of perception? What has Toyota done / is doing that other are not / not yet?

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  • nadzri m yusof on Mar 04, 2011 at 7:20 pm

    MMA figure shows Hyundai Sonata YF overtake Toyota Camry and Honda Accord February sales.

    Congrats to Sime Darby Auto Hyundai.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
    • scoobylution on Mar 04, 2011 at 7:55 pm

      also teana have better sales compare to sonata, camry and accord.

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      • thats right , that is the current order of sales now… teana>sonata>camry>accord

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
        • reporting the true facts about the sales figures also can get thumbs down? well i guess these must be real ignorant ppl or blind toyota supporters. and there are many i suppose…

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          • Goproton on Mar 07, 2011 at 11:37 am

            Nola those who thumb you down were those Hyundai supporter la coz you brought out teana…..making the sonata a no.2….

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      • Goproton on Mar 05, 2011 at 12:23 pm

        see some ppl tend to ignore the no.1 teana and only mention the no.2 sonata…
        why ah?

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        • Critique on Mar 05, 2011 at 12:59 pm

          A case of Tunnel Vision perhaps?

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        • Sonata_Ass Lover on Mar 05, 2011 at 2:44 pm

          Your sonata just launched not long ago, you want to compare with old model camry? If you want to compare, compare the total unit sold in Malaysia or glodal la, idiot!~

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    • kimi_ on Mar 04, 2011 at 8:08 pm

      But I dont see any sonata YF on the road…mostly are accord

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    • seancorr on Mar 04, 2011 at 9:32 pm

      Can’t seem to find the link to the source ur quoting. Mind sharing?

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    • Kiddo on Mar 05, 2011 at 12:09 pm

      The Camry has been the king of sales for quite some time and it’s now at the end of its ‘cycle life’ so it’s normal that the sales slips and being overtaken by newer competitors but being able to sell several hundred units per month is still very impressive.

      Looking forward to seeing the Camry replacement though. The battle will be tough and the winner will always be the consumers. ;)

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      • the camry will slip out of top spot and remain out just like the altis…competitors are 2 steps ahead of toyota already.

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  • elite on Mar 04, 2011 at 8:11 pm

    proton take note…thats what R&D is all about…not going around shopping with R&D grants…

    proton : ye cikgu

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  • Taiko Magnum on Mar 04, 2011 at 8:57 pm

    Guys,

    Mazda is recalling 52k+ Mazda 6 in US due to .. spiders …

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • seancorr on Mar 04, 2011 at 9:36 pm

    It’s good to see that Toyota is doing a lot to improve safety…even incorporating customer feedback to their system.

    But here in Malaysia…when a customer complains their response is ‘it’s normal la’ KNS!

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    • rally_fan00 on Mar 05, 2011 at 10:12 am

      they had too.. they have no choice… their old system was killing them and starting to crack at the seams.

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  • Respect Toyota!

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  • with the support of Msian, toyota will never fade away. haha

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  • fazron80 on Mar 05, 2011 at 1:20 am

    Usually once you go toyota, you will stay toyota. Your children will be toyota. And your grandchildren will be toyota.

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    • peYn0 on Mar 05, 2011 at 1:16 pm

      cos u’ll be poor, and your target is always the entry level vios. lol.

      3 generations driving vios, what a shame

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      • yewyan on Mar 05, 2011 at 5:13 pm

        bro.. this is wad we call brand loyalty…
        buy a toyota nt indicate dat we r poor…

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        • doctor on Mar 05, 2011 at 8:05 pm

          typical mindset of a malaysian. pathetic. if you don’t like a brand, come up with a justified argument. enough with all these lame arguments. if u’re driving a toyota, then u’re poor????? what an absurd statement, no wonder our politicians pn sampah…

          i’m a medical doctor in HKL, i’m driving a kia forte. my bro’s an engineer with SHELL, and he’s driving a vios. want call us poor? i don’t care. but sheesh, grow up dude

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      • Please forgive Mr. Peynus as protong recently declared losses of RM52Million for Q3 2010/2011 which means probably NO bonus this year. Haha.

        Based on Mr. Peynus’s imaginative world of self-masturbatio* those who drive Protong Juara are really rich and eccentric people (just like him).

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  • Ash Menon on Mar 05, 2011 at 2:33 am

    Hehe, only Anthony’s style would suit this type of article. I love how you’ve left a lot of things unspoken, yet very clear.

    I’ve always been a fan of Toyota’s Kaizen philosophy, and found it very awkward to continue that philosophy when it was producing recalls left and right. It’s good to know Toyota’s back on the uphill.

    But I hope every carmaker prints out this message and frames it wherever their employees can see it: one carmaker’s cockiness caused innocent people to die. No millions of dollars in losses can outdo that one single fact.

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  • SoMeOnE on Mar 05, 2011 at 10:12 am

    actuallly the generations of one make..i see it here with nissan…where grandad drove the datsun and dayd maybe the sunny or sentra and grandson driving the current line up….im no nissan fan but in malaysia..u see more of that…its the one brand where ur old man tells u to go for…toyota became popular in the early 90’s which is rather recent to be 3 generations of recomendations but on toyota…its a circle ..not everybody would stay up….and i personally think the only car maker equipped to challenge them for the top spot in a consistent manner would be VW …

    i respect toyota as a car maker as it is not where it is if it slacked but as the writer subtlly put it..where he stated it wont be an issue in malaysia..that irks me as it is true that we malaysians have this blind loyalty and monkey see monkey do attitude in the manner we go about things ….as in toyota , honda mercedes .bmw…etc..it doesnt stop with cars..if we think phones…there are only iphones ,blackberries and iphones (yea i said it twice) and if we decide to say…get sports stuff..its nike or adidas…im not saying these brands suck. they are actually rather good.but there might be better choices out there from other brands…not only we might something that suits us instead of the other way round..but we would also keep these so call ‘big players’ on their toes if they dun have the market to themselves….which means they would work harder to woo us ….in the end…we are the ones that would benefit from this restraint we show to big brands…

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  • Goproton on Mar 05, 2011 at 10:51 am

    mana semua Kia/Hyundai owner?I wanna see comments like ‘my Kia forte is 100000000x safer even without these money wasting facilities…’
    and ‘good bye Toyota’….etc…=)
    dunno why when there’s news from T/H then those ppl will start bashing…lol…and when there’s news from Hyundai/Kia those ppl will bring up T/H from no where too….why ah?

    hmm by the way most of the accident were due to drivers problem….agree?when car manufacture companies improving their safety features but in the same time ppl still driving like a mad dog….even a Volvo will get you killed….
    same goes to the vendors…sticky pedal?Toyota manufacture the pedal in house ?
    that Toyota should be blamed though….QC problem…

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    • peYn0 on Mar 05, 2011 at 1:15 pm

      u must be kia supporter, loves kia, but cannot afford, so continue driving your wira…hem

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      • Goproton on Mar 05, 2011 at 2:35 pm

        haha?I’m laughing at those ppl dude…
        wira ah?hmm I can’t even afford a second hand kancil you know….=(….poor me….
        I’m using a used bicycle….=)

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  • Mirsy on Mar 05, 2011 at 2:12 pm

    I am not suprise that Toyota bounce back fast.
    What most people failed to see that the problem was much of a top level decision problem rather then the company process itself. Their manufacturing is stll the envy of most companies in the world and remain to be emulated by everyone in various industry. If Toyota take the lesson at heart then they will ended up buiding a stronger brand. What I hope under the new president is a more passionate design.

    Such design with the realibility reputation will be an awaresome combination. There seems to be some signs like the FT86 and the Hybrid Yaris. If you say I have a skewed view. Then the answer will be Yes. Maybe because my family owned Toyotas – 3 so far, and the experience has been good thus far. Further, I work in a company who very much is trying to emulate the Toyota process.

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  • well…they could hardly get my Altis alarm system fixed after four months…. so much ” heed customers complaints efficiently”
    Toyota has been living too much on past glories and expired credit. Nuff said, all the fancies stuff they can afford can stay in Japan or wherever they like. This is my last toyota for sure.

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    • ur alarm is made by CSE, local company, hilariously high failure rate, hopefully next altis wont use the same supplier

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    • Hint:- CBU is always better than CKD.

      For instance; you’ll never know, the same CKD power window installed in your toyolta is the same supplier for our beloved protong and perokdua.

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      • No One on Aug 27, 2011 at 2:40 pm

        Kyen’s case obviously prove that CBU is not always better than CKD. Altis is a CBU model for Malaysia.
        lulz is half correct. CKD model are using alarm system from CSE however CBU model like Altis might not be using the same CSE alarm….

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  • learned on Mar 05, 2011 at 3:23 pm

    All the car makers are learning forward everyday. Well, except for one……

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  • I was not a Toyota fan before, but after buying a 2004 second hand Vios for my wife, I realised that all the bad story about Toyota is just a mere lies. Own it, than you know how good it was. Say no more, It was a damn good car !

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  • peYno on Mar 06, 2011 at 6:48 am

    pity Malaysian n ASEAN ppl
    This story actually referred to Toyota market and model in Japan (JDM), Europe and North America.
    It has nothing to do with toyota 2nd class to ASEAN 2nd class market.
    Do you think this story about VIOS??AVANZA?? INNOVA???

    prrrrtfhhhh

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    • Fortbutee_Ass on Mar 06, 2011 at 3:36 pm

      Soooooo??? What car shoud we buy? P1 or P2? KIA? Hyndai? Perhaps benz or BMW? Audi? VW? Volvo?

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  • storboy on Mar 06, 2011 at 3:47 pm

    which one the best, toyota estima 1997 or honda odyssey 1997

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  • Automotive_Critics on Mar 07, 2011 at 6:35 am

    Toyota is the best. Very huge bonus last year

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  • new video! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JX9UNQt2gA

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  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JX9UNQt2gA FT-86!!

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