Akio Toyoda: “Our pace of growth was too quick”

Akio Toyoda: “Our pace of growth was too quick”As we previously reported, Toyota president Akio Toyoda was summoned to Washington to attend a hearing of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on February 24 titled, “Toyota Gas Pedals: Is the Public At Risk?”, which the boss of the world’s biggest car company dutifully accepted.

For the hearing, Toyoda, grandson of the company’s founder, had to submit a written testimony and be prepared to provide a five minute opening statement and answer questions posed by Members of the Committee. He’s probably facing some serious grilling this very moment, and while we don’t know what’s going on in Congress, here are some standout excerpts from his written testimony:

“Quite frankly, I fear the pace at which we have grown may have been too quick…Toyota’s priority has traditionally been the following: First; Safety, Second; Quality, and Third; Volume. These priorities became confused, and we were not able to stop, think, and make improvements as much as we were able to before…and our basic stance to listen to customers’ voices to make better products has weakened somewhat”

“I am the grandson of the founder, and all the Toyota vehicles bear my name. For me, when the cars are damaged, it is as though I am as well. I, more than anyone, wish for Toyota’s cars to be safe, and for our customers to feel safe when they use our vehicles”

Personally, I feel that Toyoda’s apology is heartfelt; he is not in an enviable position, having to bear the brunt of the public’s anger even though most of the “confused priorities” were in place before he took office mid last year. I was sitting in the front row of the packed press conference at last year’s Tokyo Motor Show, listening to Toyoda share his dreams of bringing back fun and driving pleasure to Toyota, thinking that he’s the perfect man to lead the world’s largest car company – how many car company presidents go racing after all? But I fear that with more pressing problems on his plate, his original misson might be sidetracked. And that’s a loss to car enthusiasts across the world.

Read Toyoda-san’s written testimony after the jump

PREPARED TESTIMONY OF AKIO TOYODA PRESIDENT, TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION

COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND GOVERNMENT REFORM

FEBRUARY 24, 2010

Thank you Chairman Towns.

I am Akio Toyoda of Toyota Motor Corporation. I would first like to state that I love cars as much as anyone, and I love Toyota as much as anyone. I take the utmost pleasure in offering vehicles that our customers love, and I know that Toyota’s 200,000 team members, dealers, and suppliers across America feel the same way. However, in the past few months, our customers have started to feel uncertain about the safety of Toyota’s vehicles, and I take full responsibility for that. Today, I would like to explain to the American people, as well as our customers in the U.S. and around the world, how seriously Toyota takes the quality and safety of its vehicles. I would like to express my appreciation to Chairman Towns and Ranking Member Issa, as well as the members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, for giving me this opportunity to express my thoughts today.

I would like to focus my comments on three topics – Toyota’s basic philosophy regarding quality control, the cause of the recalls, and how we will manage quality control going forward. First, I want to discuss the philosophy of Toyota’s quality control. I myself, as well as Toyota, am not perfect. At times, we do find defects. But in such situations, we always stop, strive to understand the problem, and make changes to improve further. In the name of the company, its long-standing tradition and pride, we never run away from our problems or pretend we don’t notice them. By making continuous improvements, we aim to continue offering even better products for society. That is the core value we have kept closest to our hearts since the founding days of the company.

At Toyota, we believe the key to making quality products is to develop quality people. Each employee thinks about what he or she should do, continuously making improvements, and by doing so, makes even better cars. We have been actively engaged in developing people who share and can execute on this core value. It has been over 50 years since we began selling in this great country, and over 25 years since we started production here. And in the process, we have been able to share this core value with the 200,000 people at Toyota operations, dealers, and suppliers in this country. That is what I am most proud of.

Second, I would like to discuss what caused the recall issues we are facing now. Toyota has, for the past few years, been expanding its business rapidly. Quite frankly, I fear the pace at which we have grown may have been too quick. I would like to point out here that Toyota’s priority has traditionally been the following: First; Safety, Second; Quality, and Third; Volume. These priorities became confused, and we were not able to stop, think, and make improvements as much as we were able to before, and our basic stance to listen to customers’ voices to make better products has weakened somewhat. We pursued growth over the speed at which we were able to develop our people and our organization, and we should sincerely be mindful of that. I regret that this has resulted in the safety issues described in the recalls we face today, and I am deeply sorry for any accidents that Toyota drivers have experienced.

Especially, I would like to extend my condolences to the members of the Saylor family, for the accident in San Diego. I would like to send my prayers again, and I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a tragedy never happens again.

Since last June, when I first took office, I have personally placed the highest priority on improving quality over quantity, and I have shared that direction with our stakeholders. As you well know, I am the grandson of the founder, and all the Toyota vehicles bear my name. For me, when the cars are damaged, it is as though I am as well. I, more than anyone, wish for Toyota’s cars to be safe, and for our customers to feel safe when they use our vehicles. Under my leadership, I would like to reaffirm our values of placing safety and quality the highest on our list of priorities, which we have held to firmly from the time we were founded. I will also strive to devise a system in which we can surely execute what we value.

Third, I would like to discuss how we plan to manage quality control as we go forward. Up to now, any decisions on conducting recalls have been made by the Customer Quality Engineering Division at Toyota Motor Corporation in Japan. This division confirms whether there are technical problems and makes a decision on the necessity of a recall. However, reflecting on the issues today, what we lacked was the customers’ perspective.

To make improvements on this, we will make the following changes to the recall decision-making process. When recall decisions are made, a step will be added in the process to ensure that management will make a responsible decision from the perspective of “customer safety first.” To do that, we will devise a system in which customers’ voices around the world will reach our management in a timely manner, and also a system in which each region will be able to make decisions as necessary. Further, we will form a quality advisory group composed of respected outside experts from North America and around the world to ensure that we do not make a misguided decision. Finally, we will invest heavily in quality in the U.S., through the establishment of an Automotive Center of Quality Excellence, the introduction of a new position – Product Safety Executive, and the sharing of more information and responsibility within the company for product quality decisions, including defects and recalls.

Even more importantly, I will ensure that members of the management team actually drive the cars, and that they check for themselves where the problem lies as well as its severity. I myself am a trained test driver. As a professional, I am able to check on problems in a car, and can understand how severe the safety concern is in a car. I drove the vehicles in the accelerator pedal recall as well as the Prius, comparing the vehicles before and after the remedy in various environmental settings. I believe that only by examining the problems on-site, can one make decisions from the customer perspective. One cannot rely on reports or data in a meeting room.

Through the measures I have just discussed, and with whatever results we obtain from the investigations we are conducting in cooperation with NHTSA, I intend to further improve on the quality of Toyota vehicles and fulfill our principle of putting the customer first. My name is on every car. You have my personal commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to restore the trust of our customers.

Thank you.

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Danny Tan

Danny Tan loves driving as much as he loves a certain herbal meat soup, and sweet engine music as much as drum beats. He has been in the auto industry since 2006, previously filling the pages of two motoring magazines before joining this website. Enjoys detailing the experience more than the technical details.

 

Comments

  • Neville on Feb 25, 2010 at 9:30 pm

    When he appointed, im pretty gobsmacked because at last Toyota will have a someone that is born to love cars and not the profit report. So sad to see that he have to bear the grunt of the previous management

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  • Tiadaid on Feb 25, 2010 at 9:43 pm

    Being no.1 is not all that important if it meant sacrificing part of your core values. Isn't profitability more important. There are several carmakers that strives for profitability, rather than outright size, BMW's one if I'm not mistaken. I mean, look at GM. They were no.1 but are they any better? Not really

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  • Jaybond on Feb 25, 2010 at 9:53 pm

    Now probably Toyota should focus more, on the quality, rather than expansion.

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  • toyolta on Feb 25, 2010 at 10:51 pm

    quality?i saw quantity only..crap

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  • Mysticmind on Feb 25, 2010 at 10:53 pm

    kah kah kah!!!!

    too 'quick' until unstopable.

    kah kah kah!

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  • trav_da_man on Feb 25, 2010 at 11:07 pm

    Provided he survives this fiasco, he will be as great as Carlos Ghosn. At least his generosity and commitment on this issue has made him strong. His passion on cars and bring back exciting cars is commendable. Having him to set down is not the solution, else will worsen Toyota badly.

    Toyota might lost sales in the US but hopefully they will regain strong in europe and asia.

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  • dejavu on Feb 25, 2010 at 11:07 pm

    If only all heads of car manufacturing groups hv d same view.

    If only Tengku Mahaleel would hv said d same for P1's famous windows, pimple prone roofs n bonnets etc. But then again, it would be d case of 'kucing bertanduk'

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  • odi862 on Feb 25, 2010 at 11:10 pm

    Perhaps with this issue, Toyota will put up more in ensuring their reputation will not go down due to quality issue.

    At least they do recall the faulty cars not like our "pride of the nation" brand that only ask the customer to change the faulty parts at their shitty service center.

    "Install first and if there are any faulty ask them(the unlucky customers) to change the parts at the service center"

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  • scottloeb on Feb 25, 2010 at 11:11 pm

    Instead of summoning Toyoda-san, why not call upon the great Watanabe-san? I'm pretty sure he knows about the issues and maybe Cho-san can assist him. If Ohno-san and Shingo-san is still alive, I'm pretty sure they'll commit harakiri. They cant even accept simple defect, furthermore this kind of scandal.

    The Toyota Way – Respect for People & Continous Improvement.

    Very strong word but never really being followed by the mgmt. Hope that is changed. Gambate kudasai!

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  • chiewwl on Feb 25, 2010 at 11:12 pm

    P1 or P2 giv such statement? No gonna happen..

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  • staff on Feb 25, 2010 at 11:29 pm

    because the car has his name… he MUST rectify this… if not, not only the car being cursed… also his family..

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  • chiewwl said,

    February 25, 2010 @ 3:12 pm

    P1 or P2 giv such statement? No gonna happen..

    ——————–

    wtf is that?

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  • feel like buying a Toyota after his speech….Now Toyota has no choice to improve or else….

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  • We Want Justice on Feb 26, 2010 at 12:28 am

    i read Kosmo online today..
    http://www.kosmo.com.my/kosmo/content.asp?y=2010&…

    "Wanita sebak cerita kes Toyota

    RHONDA SMITH sebak semasa memberi keterangan mengenai siasatan keselamatan kenderaan Toyota di bangunan Capitol Hill, Washington kelmarin……………….."

    So???

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  • We Want Justice on Feb 26, 2010 at 12:29 am

    WASHINGTON – Hari pertama siasatan panel Kongres Amerika Syarikat (AS) berhubung isu keselamatan kenderaan Toyota kelmarin dikejutkan dengan tangisan seorang wanita, Rhonda Smith yang menceritakan dia nyaris maut semasa memandu sebuah Toyota Lexus.

    “Anda patut malu, Toyota kerana tamak haloba. Begitu juga Pentadbiran Keselamatan Trafik Lebuh Raya (NHTSA) kerana gagal melaksanakan kewajipan anda,” katanya sambil teresak-esak.

    Menurut Smith, dalam insiden pada 2006, dia nyaris tidak dapat mengawal keretanya apabila kenderaan itu tiba-tiba mencapai kelajuan 160 kilometer sejam walaupun dia tidak memecut.

    Wanita itu memberitahu, dia telah membuat aduan mengenai masalah elektronik kenderaannya tetapi tidak diendahkan oleh Toyota atau NHTSA.

    Bagaimanapun, aduannya kali ini didengari Jawatankuasa Tenaga dan Perdagangan Kongres yang bersidang bagi menyiasat aduan orang ramai berhubung kelemahan keselamatan kenderaan keluaran Toyota dan beberapa syarikat pengeluar kereta lain di AS.

    Panel itu ditubuhkan setelah pihak berkuasa pengangkutan Jepun menyatakan bahawa ia akan menyiasat 38 laporan berhubung masalah pecutan mendadak kenderaan Toyota sejak tiga tahun lalu sekali gus siasatan pertama mengenainya di Jepun.

    Sementara itu, Presiden Toyota Motor, Akio Toyoda sekali lagi memohon maaf kelmarin berhubung isu keselamatan kereta syarikat itu yang membawa kepada penarikan semula lebih 8.5 juta kenderaan di AS dan Eropah.

    Masalah pecutan mendadak yang dikaitkan dengan pedal minyak dan sistem elektronik kenderaan Toyota didakwa menyebabkan sekurang-kurangnya lima kematian sebelum ini. – Reuters

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  • kenso on Feb 26, 2010 at 12:36 am

    Say whatever you want about Toyota, each company is only as good as its staffs. Without staffs dedicated to the company's core values, a company is just a shell, an empty husk.

    In reading Akio's statement, it goes to show how great the man is. Made a mistake, admit it, learn from it and move on. He did not shirk responsibility (whoever who started the finger pointing/passing the buck should be fired if he/she is not already). Unfortunately, the current culture of Toyota emphasizing on profit/numbers first, customer satisfaction second (applicable also in Malaysian market) is going to take a while to uproot and eradicate. Having experienced a bad experience of malfunctioning immobilizer locally which has placed me, the driver in danger of collision, I am sceptical of the commitment of the local Toyota management team. Are Akio's statement applicable for the US only or does it have global implications? What are the measures of control Akio is going to develop and put in place to ensure his directives are carried out (how many Malaysians know who`s the MD of Malaysia Toyota and can any of us imagine Mr MD going to an SC testing cars with problems?)? I guess only time will tell.

    Comparing Proton (which is god knows number what in the global automotive industry) against Toyota (world number 1) is unrealistic.

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  • Cross Polo on Feb 26, 2010 at 12:38 am

    staff said,

    February 25, 2010 @ 3:29 pm

    because the car has his name… he MUST rectify this… if not, not only the car being cursed… also his family..

    ——————————————————————

    Jangan takut, memang tak kena makan sumpah nyer sebab banyak penyembah Toyota nie… Kena paksa tarik balik kenderaan untuk pemeriksaan, penyembah mengatakan Toyota perihatin & ambil kisah…. tu kalau tak pasal banyak kes kematian & saman berkaitan teknologi baru tak guna tu (All new SAP tech) sampai kesudah diaorang buat tak tau nyer…. Managment dah tahu benda rosak tapi masih nak sembunyikan…. Tu le nak untung aje…..

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  • vbkcheng on Feb 26, 2010 at 12:40 am

    A good lesson that wvery one should learn….

    In life, are we moving too fast, chasing for the #1 and forgotten what our principt? In sociaty, are we for go our value, and believe that money is everything we need?

    When a company loose focus, confuse priority, it has cause the product and customer to suffer…

    How about human? have you see the cost now?

    We, Malaysian, we is singing "tanah tumpah ku" wish to have what kind of future for our children?

    Time for us to take few moment and think, what is matter in life.

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  • tokmoh on Feb 26, 2010 at 1:06 am

    dejavu said,

    February 25, 2010 @ 3:07 pm

    If only all heads of car manufacturing groups hv d same view.

    If only Tengku Mahaleel would hv said d same for P1’s famous windows, pimple prone roofs n bonnets etc. But then again, it would be d case of ‘kucing bertanduk’

    >>> Haha, recently I heard TM attended Taylor's University College's graduation ceremony to advice grads that their paper qualification is only the beginning or something like that.

    Hmm… I'd really love to see DSZ or Nazir Razak or Dr Amin Khan become the guest-of-honour for my graduation :) TM? Tak Mau…

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  • Persatuan Anti Toyot on Feb 26, 2010 at 1:06 am

    Murderer!

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  • heh, anyone from P1 want to come forward and do this bravely like Mr Toyoda did? I have a lot lot lot of things to complaint & claims. Come forward and be a man..

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  • langatian on Feb 26, 2010 at 1:12 am

    chiewwl,

    malaysian law enforcement is quite dissapoint.

    the gov should call the top management of P1 to the parliment for give a statement about quality issue, so that the rakyat confident about gov enforcement will raise up.

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  • staff on Feb 26, 2010 at 1:25 am

    heh said,

    February 25, 2010 @ 5:07 pm

    heh, anyone from P1 want to come forward and do this bravely like Mr Toyoda did? I have a lot lot lot of things to complaint & claims. Come forward and be a man..

    ******************

    Ask Honda too…

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  • omanjedi on Feb 26, 2010 at 1:26 am

    YES!!!!!!

    finally toyota admit it….bcoz of the 'urgency' to develop & produce as many models as possible, they have forgotten 1 basic principle – thorough periodical testing. With the pace of car development from sketch to the production done in a very dangerously short period, I just wonder how many time each of every components are tested. Is there any recognized standards for this? On road testing – how many kilometers have their clocked for EACH of every vehicle? – is there any standards for this? I doubt the test vehicle ever reach 100k km.

    You may put any type of manufacturing standards – KANBAN, TPS etc, but if the design is flawed- it will continue to remain flawed.

    Toyota should recheck back on their priorities. money is not everything.

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  • staff on Feb 26, 2010 at 1:29 am

    and DSZ did admit Proton fault about the power window during Exora launch wasnt he?

    So?

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  • Alpha on Feb 26, 2010 at 1:37 am

    i still say that Toyota is being sabotaged by GM.americans cn be very manipulative.

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  • Mysticmind on Feb 26, 2010 at 1:42 am

    example 'heh' above are penyembah toyota.

    he not even read the detail, nor care about the "forced to recall".

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  • boleh on Feb 26, 2010 at 2:00 am

    power nya

    "all the Toyota vehicles bear my name"

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  • boleh on Feb 26, 2010 at 2:01 am

    heh said,

    February 25, 2010 @ 5:07 pm

    heh, anyone from P1 want to come forward and do this bravely like Mr Toyoda did? I have a lot lot lot of things to complaint & claims. Come forward and be a man..

    ————————–

    there are no man in proton.

    you buy proton, because you cannot afford better car.

    Change yourself, work hard, and change a better car. Like a toyoDa car ^^

    Ask proton to change? can pig fly?

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  • elite on Feb 26, 2010 at 2:13 am

    proton also thought their pace of growth was too quick…so they built tanjung malim plant with 1 mil capacity…now only 180,000 utilized…

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  • kimi_ on Feb 26, 2010 at 2:55 am

    After 20 years of quality issues of Proton, WHY not even an apology is heard

    from Proton, Please learn Proton…..Admit your mistake of producing craps

    car although quantity produced is low somewhat, then Close shop for god

    sake !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

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  • kimi_ on Feb 26, 2010 at 3:08 am

    There are no MAN in Proton, dont dare to come out issue apology !!!

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  • r u a man urself?

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  • alvin on Feb 26, 2010 at 4:06 am

    ToyoDA your apologize are too late!

    why i said so?i not condemm toyota,just to express my view

    if the problem was identify in 2007,why recently only mass(8.5million) recall & come out apologize?responsible?a largest car maker!..

    reason:Growth too fast?,mean lack of quality control!is it a reason?

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8535573.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8523125.stm

    rented Lexus Crash kill a beautiful lady ,daugther & the family.
    http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_an…
    (We’re in a Lexus. . . and we’re going north on 125 and our accelerator is stuck. . . we’re in trouble. . . there’s no brakes. . . we’re approaching the intersection. . . hold on. . . hold on and pray. . . pray.” )

    Toyota bows and the Japanese art of apology
    http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8508531.s…

    *Somewhat surprisingly, the Japanese media took off the gloves, denouncing his gesture as too little too late.

    The deepest standing bow, head breaking the plane of the knees, is for more serious cases like when the maitre d' can't find your reservations or is apologising for the insect in your salad.

    Or put another way, the bowing of regret was too casual and flippant.

    Mr Toyoda was slammed for mishandling the crisis and made matters worse by underperforming the bow and sleepwalking through the news conference where he was supposed to allay anxieties. *

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  • Desmond on Feb 26, 2010 at 5:13 am

    Good one "elite" !

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  • Dun understand… why? why? NO RECALL from UMW…..

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  • turbo on Feb 26, 2010 at 5:17 am

    Toyota car sucks, toyota recall many cars.

    Will US Consumer continue buy toyota? Yes.

    Proton Car good, buatan msia, no recall problem, only power window.

    Will malaysian continue buy proton? No, if we can, we dont buy proton.

    If you son tells you, if he grows up, he wanna drive a proton, how do you feel? LOL. Bangga. Buatan bangsa kita. kakaka

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  • Aiyooo Kimi,

    Ini cerita tarak kena mengena dengan Proton maa…

    Toyolta settle your problem dulu maa…

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  • Mr Toyoda buat muka kesian sikit semua dah cair.. hu hu

    Yang paling tak beretika UMW… no RECALL for Toyolta in Malaysia.

    Dulu Japan attack Malaya.. pancung, pukul & rogol orang kita… sudah lupa ka???

    Malaysia mudah lupa..

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  • bmpower on Feb 26, 2010 at 5:38 am

    Mr Toyoda, congrats! now your are the most sinfully person on earth!

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  • bobdbilder on Feb 26, 2010 at 7:12 am

    Big returns on high risk. To be the most profitable there was bound to be risk. These were risk that Toyota had agreed to take on.

    This was bound to happen. The Japanese predicted this 10 years ago when they looked at their own trend of working culture. Long working hours and long years of service were traits of the old Japan that rose up through the ashes of WWII. But this culture is history. Its now a culture of nepotism, pay package, overseas assignments. Many outside Japan have not realized this. There was this unrelenting pursuit to become #1. There was so much focus on the US market. There was too much emphasis on EBIT figures. They had full grasp of how to please their shareholders.

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  • he even had to hold back tears after the grilling at congress.

    always "nice" to see someone up there being emotional.

    well, i feel that the Americans are going abit over in condemning and screwing him over but part of the blame is also on Toyota as well.

    so whos at fault?

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  • JACK HAMMER on Feb 26, 2010 at 7:48 am

    yo kimi…

    how many of yur relatives died bcoz of the pwr windows failure??? prfthhhhhh..

    yea..

    BE A MAN.. just when u got busted!! & nowhere to hide… ptuiii..

    gentleman.. ptuiiii..

    people died already lar.. u cant bring back dead people by being gentleman.. ptuiii..

    kimi.. ptuiii..

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  • y2ggy on Feb 26, 2010 at 8:09 am

    Don't know whether Toyota cars in Malaysia effected with this safety issues or not. Just to be honest and share with you all; on CNY i drove back from Miri to Kuching. Along the journey i saw to separate accident involving 2 Toyota vios. One silver and the other one gold color. Both of these accident was a self accident. The silver one hit the tree and the gold one went downhill. Not sure the drivers survive or not. When i ask the witness they said the drivers lost control of their car. Did UMW investigate this accident? If they are UMW personnel in this forum, u can check the accident records and details at police database. The accidents happened along Pan Borneo highway on Feb 14, 2010 (on CNY).

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  • somesay on Feb 26, 2010 at 10:32 am

    is there a conspiracy between American government and their automaker?

    what is the possibility of that to happen?

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  • Alvin on Feb 26, 2010 at 10:43 am

    Japan's transport minister Seiji Maehara has publicly criticised Toyota Motor president Akio Toyoda, insisting he had responded too late to concerns over the brakes on the firm's flagship Prius models.

    It seems Mr Maehara is even concerned that Toyota's tarnished image could damage both the reputation of Japanese companies and products abroad.

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8506240.stm

    ARe AkioToyoda going to resign???

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  • redfueler on Feb 26, 2010 at 1:10 pm

    so wat???

    belilah barangan buatan Malaysia

    PROTON!

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  • deGonggok on Feb 26, 2010 at 4:28 pm

    so whos at fault?

    Toyota fan. Toyota hardcore.

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  • MyCarMyLife on Feb 26, 2010 at 4:56 pm

    Toyoda , be strong and brave , dont give in too much to the Yanks.

    Remember it is all about money and the US economy, the Yanks know that they and their economy are in deep shit and they always will find a way to stir things up whether financially or politically.

    By the way How many died or were affected seriously by the car defects ( which make doesnt have anyway?) and How many people have they killed or maimed in their War against the rest of the world.?? Tell me Mr Bush!!

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  • alfarabi on Feb 26, 2010 at 5:00 pm

    daym man, this is so sad. check this out

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03m7fmnhO0I

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  • perotiga on Feb 26, 2010 at 6:44 pm

    woww..this toyota problem is the worst possible case i could have imagined!!!..but still malaysian people said 'woww how nice, the GM can say like that' instead of 'bodoh gile toyota!!'..but when u see some proton cars have problems here and there, u would say 'i won't buy a proton!!'..toyota was founded in 1937 but still making the stupidest possible mistake..while proton is only 25 years of age..begitulah kebodohan rakyat malaysia

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  • Noname on Feb 26, 2010 at 7:01 pm

    Hey guys if u have read the newspaper yesterday.. .Not only Toyota and Honda… another H car made a recall in Korea and US. You may realise it is new Hyundai Sonata…

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  • Mazda 3 MPS + ANTI P on Feb 26, 2010 at 8:15 pm

    at least toyota dares to admit their failures. proton on the other hand just never admit their cars suck.

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  • staff on Feb 26, 2010 at 8:18 pm

    to heh…

    haha… you have something to complaint, go and complaint… be a MAN… dont ask ppl to do it for you..

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  • Annihilated on Feb 26, 2010 at 9:10 pm

    I believe everyone here knows that most of the T range of vehicles are passion-less to drive. From the excerpt of Mr. Toyoda-san speech, I would say that he is a brave man to walk into the hearing.

    To be fair, the T-brand had re-written quite a few of auto-industry game-book. Before T came to America, you can hardly be able to own a car that cheaper to maintain, low fc and affordable. Also their L-uxury arm has successfully push others automakers to enter hybrid and not to mention their back-seat passenger creature comfort standard.

    And I strongly believe this plot was non other than part of US effort to save their home grown brand considering GM, Chrysler, and Ford stable also previously got a major life threatening defects. But at least the American put safety first. I hope every brand will be treated equally.

    In a positive way, I'd like to see T brand beats American brands even though I hate T for their soul-less vehicle. I hate UMW-T even more for their outright greediness.

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  • bmpower on Feb 26, 2010 at 10:06 pm

    Annihilated said,

    bla bla bla ..

    Another T blind fan, fanatics, and maybe T salesman.

    FYI, if you think it's only about GM+US brand. then what about china T recall UK T recall and all over the world? Blind supporter a$$hole!

    I don't believe in even 1 cent UMW Toyota malaysia a good. No T cars same with US T cars? Lying! They were people like you. Hiding things to the death. GTH UMW

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  • casey_c on Feb 27, 2010 at 3:19 am

    Toyota Service Centre will not simply replace the defective spare parts. They think Toyota Cars never have problem. They like to relate the defective parts to owner misuse, same like Honda SC.

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  • scottloeb on Feb 27, 2010 at 9:41 am

    Some of the kids here never heard about Jeep Cherokee's infamous pedal issue. Same goes to Ford and Firestone recall regarding the rollover (that happen all over US and some strange cases in the GCC). And that is American car co.

    Now its Toyota. So what? nothing strange. How about recall in Japan? Dictated by Obama administration as well? Some commentator even asked question to Mr Bush. Well make as well ask the late Mr Reagen rite?

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  • wallstreet on Feb 27, 2010 at 3:21 pm

    casey_c said,

    February 26, 2010 @ 7:19 pm

    Toyota Service Centre will not simply replace the defective spare parts. They think Toyota Cars never have problem. They like to relate the defective parts to owner misuse, same like Honda SC.

    ————————————-

    When Toyota or Honda have problems, their fans still think is ok..just luck…but when other make such as the Korean cars have some small issue, they will bash them to the max. And there are the ppl that make HOnda and Toyota so overprice in Malaysia…

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  • Annihilated on Feb 27, 2010 at 4:36 pm

    bmpower said,

    February 26, 2010 @ 2:06 pm

    ——-

    relax pal. in your comment. i both disagree and agree.

    disagree for:

    first i'm not a T fan, salesman, owner or what so ever. my prev comment is that for all the dramas that US congressmen put over their media. you should watch their news channel. it's overhype.

    agree for:

    "I don’t believe in even 1 cent UMW Toyota malaysia a good. No T cars same with US T cars? Lying!… . Hiding things to the death. GTH UMW"

    (except for "the ppl like me" part since i'm not them. I hate T as well and the ah beng-ish T owners – yet, this does not imply to all T owners)

    p/s: i don't easily call ppl a$$hole especially when i don't really understand what he/she is saying. i'm not a fanatic. peace pal.

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  • Eric Foong on Feb 27, 2010 at 6:30 pm

    Our local national car manufacturer learned alot from Jap's car manufacturer, or shall i say even better than them…..the most brilliant sentences from them when u send ur abnormal car to repair is….."Memang macam ini punya OR Biasa la"…..

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  • benyamina mounia on Feb 28, 2010 at 10:07 am

    I wish you Mr AKIO TOYODA a lot of courage and will to face the American congrés, the house TOYOTA was always parmis the world leaders in automobile; the car TOYOTA in ALGERIA has the coast(rib) and considered as a car trés solide.j' had a TOYOTA echo, it was completed on all the plans(shots), I can help you to advertise louse TOYOTA in ALGERIA, LIVES TOYOTA!!!!!!!!

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  • benyamina mounia on Feb 28, 2010 at 10:30 am

    It is the law of the competition, the car TOYOTA always had a good image, and was the first mark(brand) the most sold to the world in 2006-2007, my car TOYOTA echo is trés comfortable, and it is not an erreure girl on the last model ARIUS which is going to put on knees the firm, LIVES TOYOTA in ALGERIA and in the WORLD!!!!!!!!!

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  • With 8.5 mil vehicles recalled in Europe & the US; isn't it funnily strange (fishy) not a single toyolda being recalled here in Bolehland? Prerhaps the QC here is way better than there. Or maybe they sold few toyolda here, the scale of economies is not worth it to recall at all ;-)

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  • justice (Member) on Mar 01, 2010 at 4:51 pm

    P1 & P2, start praying hard.

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  • yes, very strange indeed… coz my colleague experienced her Altis's gas pedal stuck in the floor mat before so makes us wonder if local models are really not affected or toyota owners out there are just not bothered to raise the issue…

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  • benyamina mounia on Mar 15, 2010 at 4:17 pm

    The state of orange in United States did not find better that to attack(affect) TOYOTA for the same problem of the accélerateur, it's child's play because if it is necessary to watch all the bullshit made by the Americans, all the nasty wars, he(it) not of time(weather) maintaining that to be behind AKIO TOYODA to put him(it) on the ground, they are far from gaining(winning) the battle, courageTOYOTA!!!!!!!!!!!

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