Some Irony here. What's that saying... "When the shoes on the other foot.................." or something like that.
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Toyota envy

Why the world's most successful automaker gets so much grief -- and why it doesn't deserve it.

FORTUNE Magazine
By Alex Taylor III, FORTUNE senior editor
May 1, 2006: 11:49 AM EDT

NEW YORK (FORTUNE) - Always the subject of backbiting and criticism from its rivals, Toyota could be excused these days for feeling as if it has a larger target than usual painted on its back. The more successful it becomes, the more flack it gets.

Lately, the volume and intensity have been increasing. Opponents use a familiar tactic: They take a fact that supposedly puts Toyota (Research) in a bad light and then use that to build an entirely spurious argument. The latest examples:
Hybrid backlash
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Weak sales of Ford's Escape hybrid and Honda's (Research) Accord hybrid have caused some journalists to roll out the old canard that hybrid gas-electric vehicles will never succeed because they don't pay for themselves. The reasoning: Buyers will never recoup in fuel savings the extra money they laid out for the electric motor.

The equation will certainly change as the price of gasoline zooms past $3 per gallon. But people buy hybrids for a variety of reasons, including being the first on their block with a new gizmo and doing good for the environment.

Toyota marketing addresses those differences by pitching the Toyota brand to tree-huggers and Lexus hybrids to performance seekers. The new GS 450h supposedly goes as fast as a Porsche 911 and still gets 23 miles per gallon. And if anybody cared to look, Prius hybrids are still moving off dealers' lots at a rapid pace.

As one Toyota spokesman pointed out, "People will never save enough money on paper maps either, but they are still willing to pay $1,000 for a navigation system."
Excessive ambition

This fall, Toyota starts production of its latest fullsize pickup truck. Judging from the auto-show concepts, Toyota got it just right. But critics have noticed that rival Nissan was forced to back down from its aggressive production plans for a fullsize truck and they figure Toyota will have the same problem.

They attribute it to the stubborn loyalty of Ford (Research), Chevy, and Dodge truck buyers, who seem to have their brand affiliations tattooed on their skin. So they whisper that Toyota is being far too ambitious by planning capacity to make 300,000 trucks -- more than half again as many as Toyota sells with its current truck.

The boo-birds seem to forget that Toyota controls twice the U.S. market share of Nissan, indicating a huge body of satisfied buyers who are likely truck customers. They also ignore Toyota's sterling reputation for quality and durability, which has earned it a unique position in the market. You simply can't compare the resonance of the Toyota brand with Nissan among U.S. customers.
Creeping arrogance

Journalists love to seize a single fact or incident and inflate it out of proportion. So when the executives unveiled the new Toyota flagship, the LS600hL, at the New York Auto Show in April with some legitimate trade puffery, they jumped on it as a sign of the pride that comes before a fall.

Most notably, the event unleashed a diatribe from influential auto blogger Peter DeLorenzo. "Toyota's press conference for the new Lexus LS600hL was one of the most embarrassing displays of unbridled arrogance ever unleashed by a car company," he wrote.

"The tone, the language and everything about the presentation confirmed to me that the 'creeping' arrogance that has been brewing at Toyota for years has finally blossomed into full bloom for everyone to see. Toyota not only hinted that the 600hL would be the best car in the world, they came right out and said it - and the tone they used suggested that there was no need for us to attend any other manufacturers' press conferences because we had just witnessed the only newsworthy event at the show. These people are headed for a big fall, but predictably, they will be the last to see it coming."

We'll see. When it announces year-end earnings on May 10, Toyota is expected to report a 12 percent gain in revenue and an 11 percent gain in net income - more than enough to secure its position as the world's most profitable automaker. That should be enough to keep it on top of the automotive pecking order for a while longer - and perhaps get the critics to shut up for now.

 

I have noticed the tone of Toyota advertising these days is very arrogant, even snobby. I am not impressed.

 

I saw a new Camry going into work today. i didn't even know the 07s were available yet. This guy was zooming accross lanes (in a 35) to get ahead of everybody. Nice looking V-6 but it is still a Camry. I made sure to downshift heading into the red light he got stuck at to give him a good burble of pissed off exhaust. "Yes", I thought "but will your pseudo dual exhaust ever sound this good". He switched lanes and made a left at the next light.

 

Modesty is what made Toyota good. If they get too cocky they're going to think they're invincible and eventually start failing. I have a feeling that perhaps build quality issues may be in the not so distant future when they start to up the numbers of vehicles they sell and attempt to cut back on costs.

 

Quit yer b!tching.. GM's had a target painted on it's back for decades. Everybody from the "I hate big companies" to the "environuts". It's the price of adminission for getting to be one of the biggest on the block: people beneath you want to see you fall. I still don't see any "Toyota Death Watch" websites, so Toyota doesn't have it all that bad. The author might note that a good part of the hybrid-backlash is that the car doesn't come close to routinely delivering the 60mpg that Toyota was so eager to advertise. Complain all you want about epa testing, but nobody held a gun to Toyota's head and told them to go out and pimp the number for all it's worth. Toyota engineers certainly knew that the car wouldn't struggle to routinely meet 60mpg, but nobody raised a red flag and said "hey, people are going to figure this out pretty quick - are you sure you want to advertise the hell out of something that people aren't going to get?". I have no problem with the critics on this one..

 

Well, this article obviously shows a bias towards Toyota from the Author. It's probably what he drives.

That's why I hate so many Automotive articles because the final results or conclusions are totally scewed by OPINION. People want to believe they are driving the best out there, so it's obvious that those preferences go right into their articles. This is for Foreign and Domestic alike. I have seen articles by people who are extremely Pro-USA products (which is fine) that bash imports because they are imports - without giving them a fair chance.

I tend to look at specifications and performance numbers and make my own decisions. Generally, I don't even read the "Editorial"...

 

I am not a fan of Toyota but I will say this in their defense: They make darn good cars that do generally last longer than the industry average and they have one d*mn fine marketing/PR machine working for them (probably the best in the industry). That said I do sense quite a bit of arrogance from the big T and Honda as well, "Above it all its a Honda." Yeah that one made me mad too. But give credit where it is due Toyota has had very good quality for quite a while and GM while being industry average has not been a leap above the rest for long enough for consumer perception to catch up.

 

From what I hear Honda's reputation for quality/reliability is slipping down the charts.
They used to make bland cars that never excited. just ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and then eventually died and got scrapped. When companies try and MARKET their reliability IMO it seems to go down. Or in Honda's case, they're trying to squeeze style and features in which hinders their reputation for great products. Not to mention when everybody is going to willfully buy one they would probably cut costs to keep up with demand.

 

They are but they used to be top of the charts. My post was more about Toyota with Honda only being mentioned because of their arrogant marketing. My bad if it was unclear.

 

Arrogant marketing is effective if you've built a reputation off your name.

People expect an air of arrogance from 'premium' brands and well established/reputable brands simply because arrogance exudes confidence.

I mean look at BMW - their campaign for ages has touted them as being the ultimate driving machine, an experience only available in a BMW, etc, etc... that's just as, if not more arrogant.

You guys would LOVE it if GM was able to be just as arrogant, but right now they can't. Their reputation is in forgiveness mode, not boasting mode. If they stay on the right track, GM will be able to brag some day too - and I'll never hear you guys complain about it, either.

 

Heh, I thought this was going to be about a new entry in the Toyota model lineup, called the Envy.

 

They still brag about the stuff they can get away with. Every chevy commercial is "America's number one brand number one value", and both of those are probably arguable.

 

Good point.

Chevy, like a rock.

"Americas most longest lasting, most dependable line up pickup trucks on the road today"

"More power and towing than ________"

"3 out of 5 of JD Power's top assembly plants..."

I mean, I really don't see how what Toyota or Honda is doing is any different? I mean, it's simple marketing. Promotion of a brand.

 

Because those are facts they can be proven or disproven based upon scientific data.

 

It's still the same thing. Only difference is that GM is quoting those sources and making specific claims in order to gain back their reputation. If they simply said "Above all, it's a GM"... people would be like 'uhhh... ok, so above all its a brand of car who's reputation sucks right now?'.

That wouldn't work - they have to, at least right now, cite specific sources. Honda or Toyota would look kinda goofy doing that - even though they have plenty of studies in their favor too - it'd kinda be like Miles Davis telling everyone that he was said to be a great jazz player by Jazz Magazine, september issue. He'd just sound silly doing it. All he has to say is "Hi, I'm Miles Davis".

Now somebody who's reputation isn't so well known or is well known but people aren't that fond of; they may have a different approach to their marketing or introduction.