Chapter Seven: Toyota Takes Its Turn In The Barrel
Floor mats and sticking pedals tarnish Toyota’s sterling image
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Toyota’s Reputation Is Shaken
Long ago, when his car company was being battered by bad news, I asked an industry publicist how he was coping. He shrugged in a sanguine way. “It’s our turn in the barrel,” he replied.
Until the late 2000s, Toyota seemed unstoppable. I had witnessed its breadth and capability when I traveled to Japan in 2002 to do research for The End of Detroit. I made multiple trips from Tokyo to company headquarters in Nagoya and to Toyota City, its center of manufacturing. Along with meeting other executives, I was granted 90 minutes with its imposing chairman, Hiroshi Okuda.
I was actually only supposed to get an hour, but Okuda repeatedly waved off associates who came to fetch him for his next appointment. Over orange juice, water and ultimately coffee, he encouraged me to keep asking questions. I was later told he enjoyed our conversation because I seemed to have done my homework.
Visits to museums, car collections, factories, offices and even the Starbucks downstairs in the Toyota City headquarters followed. I left Japan convinced that Toyota was a powerhouse ready to make its global move. Based on my conclusions, I wrote that Toyota would pass Chrysler in the U.S. and could pass General Motors by the end of the decade as the world’s biggest car company.
I was right. But in late 2009 and in 2010, the cracks began to appear.