http://images.forbes.com/media/2008/06/04/global_01.jpg
If there was a clear link between savvy business and popularity, Toyota would be this spring's prom queen.
In the latest study from the Reputation Institute, a private, New York City-based research and consulting firm, the Japanese automaker is ranked No. 1 on a list of the 600 largest companies in the world for having the best reputation. Toyota was ranked No. 6 last year and in 2006.
beastC
06-17-2008, 09:13 PM
i love yotas
beastC
06-17-2008, 09:13 PM
i love yotas
Air2TheThrown
06-18-2008, 02:23 AM
#1 is where Toyota belongs.
stephen6119
06-18-2008, 03:34 AM
yeah, if we keep we keep this up, the U.S. economy will be destroyed within a decade or so.
MisterKe
06-18-2008, 09:18 AM
^how so. It's just bad now, but I'm optimistic. It'll get better. YAY! Toyota.
Air2TheThrown
06-18-2008, 10:34 PM
How did you get from world's most reputable company, to U.S. economy being destroyed...
GammaTNT
06-18-2008, 11:45 PM
i guess he is saying no one will buy domestic car in the future.
My friend and I was arguing about Toyota being a global company instead of a Japanese company.
kdepew
06-19-2008, 03:48 AM
That is rediculous. Toyota has had alot of quality issues and recalls in the last few years. Their reputation should take a big hit. It deserves to be tarnished.
I'm not anti-Toyota. I really like my Scion. I just don't think Toyota has extremely high quality anymore. I think they are living on past reputation, not their current quality levels. I'm glad my Scion xA is an old design, a Japanese design, and a Japanese made car. Hopefully, it will have good quality.
If I was putting quality as my primary buying objective, I would look to Honda more than Toyota.
sinjin_dog
06-19-2008, 08:17 PM
Well, I am not sure about this and I am not a Toyota hater.
My 2000 Camry, engine oil sludge issue, my wife's ES330 transmission issue, and 06 xB, windshield crack issue. I am not sure if I want to buy Toyotas anymore.
06CStC
06-22-2008, 03:40 AM
Ah, congrats to Toyota. Hope they continue they upholding and improving their quality. It mite've taken decades to gain that reputation but it can be lost much faster.
Big_Bird
06-22-2008, 04:21 AM
yota 4 life
spring
06-23-2008, 12:35 PM
That is rediculous. Toyota has had alot of quality issues and recalls in the last few years. Their reputation should take a big hit. It deserves to be tarnished.
I'm not anti-Toyota. I really like my Scion. I just don't think Toyota has extremely high quality anymore. I think they are living on past reputation, not their current quality levels. I'm glad my Scion xA is an old design, a Japanese design, and a Japanese made car. Hopefully, it will have good quality.
If I was putting quality as my primary buying objective, I would look to Honda more than Toyota.
And you'd be wrong.
I read a recent study of most reliable automakers, Toyota and Honda were virtually tied, and the only reason Toyota wasn't easily ahead was because of the issues you indicated. They have had a few issues as of late, but they are still the highest quality automaker out there.
They have fallen all they way down from essentially PERFECT to only the BEST.
I really don't see how Toyota hurts our economy either. At this point they have a ton of American employees. I don't really see the difference between Toyota and say GM. The percentage of a car made here in the USA is about the same given that GM has most parts made elsewhere anyhow, the only major dfference is the people getting really rich are Japanese rather than American.
TurtleVan
06-30-2008, 06:33 PM
Well, I am not sure about this and I am not a Toyota hater.
My 2000 Camry, engine oil sludge issue, my wife's ES330 transmission issue, and 06 xB, windshield crack issue. I am not sure if I want to buy Toyotas anymore.
Did you really say windshield crack issue as a quality issue for Toyota? My family has a 1998 Camry with over 347,000+ miles and we never had engine sludge problems.. then again we had the oil change every 3-5K.
kdepew
07-09-2008, 04:20 AM
Spring,
I think maybe you'd be wrong. I think the major quality studies would consider you wrong.
I'm sure there are many reliability/quality studies, and I'm sure there are some that have Toyota ranked very highly. However, the best known studies are consistent in showing that Toyota's quality has dropped. It hasn't dropped for PERFECT to the BEST. It has dropped from the Best to Good, whereas other nameplates have improved substantially. Based on current studies, Toyota is not the top quality automaker.
JD Powers ranks Toyota significantly lower than they used to. In the 2007 Study, Ford ranked highest in 5 of 19 segments. In 2006, Toyota was top in 11 segments. In 2007, they dropped to 4 segements. See the following link (another study saw Toyota drop as well).
In the 2008 JD Powers study, Honda captured 3 segment awards, more than any other nameplate.
Consumer Reports has also seen a significant drop in Toyota quality in their reliability predictions. In 2007, Consumer Reports stopped automatically recommending new Toyota models without reliability data on specific designs. Previously, new and redesigned Toyota models were automatically recommended because of Toyota's excellent track record. They changed their policy because several Toyota models (including the Camry) had below average reliability ratings.
The 2007 Consumer Reports study saw Toyota drop from 1st to 5th. It is true that Toyota brands still did well. However, it is not at all insignificant that Toyota dropped substantially. Headlines for articles include "Toyota skids in reliability ratings", "Toyota Quality Sees Cracks in its Armor", and "Toyota Reliability Plummets in Consumer Reports Survey."
Given the large number of recalls Toyota has seen in recent years (especially 2006), the drops in JD Powers Rankings, the drops in Consumer Reports ratings (including the loss of their automatic reputation status), it is rediculous to suggest that Toyota hasn't seen a significant drop in their quality. They are still a quality automaker. They are not the highest quality automaker. They are not as good as Honda in quality. The deserve to lose their reputation. People shouldn't consider their cars garbage quality, but they no longer should consider them the pinnacle of reliability. You can no longer assume that because a vehicle is a Toyota, it will be high quality. They have seen several models with below average quality.
If you are objective, and don't love any particular automaker, the data is undeniable. I wouldn't shy away from Toyota vehicles because I fear poor quality. However, I would no longer buy a Toyota primarily based on an assumption of high quality.
When an automaker improves their quality, they deserve to be acknowledged for it. When an automaker's quality drops, they deserve to see their reputation drop.
spring
07-09-2008, 12:41 PM
kdepew
What is funny is that I don't disagree with anything you said, and it doesn't prove me incorrect either.
Toyota has had a drop in RATINGS over the last few years, primarily due to a couple errors and recalls of their vehicles. If you break down the reasons for the drop you will see that it is 100% due to those recalls. It is not b/c of an overall drop in quality of the total line. In fact the reliability ratings of numerous Totota vehicles is still the best in class. Honda while they don't receive these extremely high quality ratings, is more consistent overall. Which is due to the few errors Toyota have made with the recalls.
Toyota is not ranked 5th. Honda and Acura are the same company essentially, and Scion is a Toyota as we all know. So in fact they are second or third depending on if you look at Scion or Toyota as your brand.
Subaru has done a magnificent job in really increasing overall quality over the years. Despite this, my Father, whom owns several Auto repair shops, still does not reccomend Subaru over Toyota. The main reason is they are very difficult and expensive to fix if there is a problem.
Toyota will fix the few errors they have made, and you will see once again Toyota will top the charts in regards to the hgighes quality automaker.
LOL @ anyone rating Ford 1st in any category!!!
DSMing91
07-23-2008, 05:03 PM
Well, I am not sure about this and I am not a Toyota hater.
My 2000 Camry, engine oil sludge issue, my wife's ES330 transmission issue, and 06 xB, windshield crack issue. I am not sure if I want to buy Toyotas anymore.