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Toyota president emerges to criticism

Detroit Free Press -- TOKYO - Japanese news media and business experts sharply criticized Toyota's president Saturday for what they called a delayed and unconvincing explanation for the massive recall that has sullied the world's biggest automaker, a Japanese corporate icon.

Akio Toyoda, the founder's grandson appointed to lead Toyota last June, emerged Friday to apologize and address criticism that the company mishandled the crisis. But he stopped short of ordering a recall for Toyota's Prius brake problems.

Among the reactions:

• "Words are not enough. The company's crisis management ability is being subjected to severe scrutiny." - An editorial in the Nikkei business daily

• "Utterly too late. The entire world is watching how Toyota can humbly learn from its series of recent failures and make....

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Submitted Feb 08, 2010 By: Martinman

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honda0105 Champion Author Tallahassee Posts:15,266 Points:1,142,300 Joined:Nov 2008	Message Posted: Feb 9, 2010 4:05:32 PM Ignore honda0105 Report Abuse I wonder how many Toyota folks (esp in the US) are now panicking and "finding" more "issues" so they can possibly get rid of their vehicles?
honda0105 Champion Author Tallahassee Posts:15,266 Points:1,142,300 Joined:Nov 2008	Message Posted: Feb 9, 2010 4:01:53 PM Ignore honda0105 Report Abuse At least Toyota is facing up to it.
computernut2008 Champion Author Ohio Posts:4,255 Points:900,345 Joined:Oct 2008	Message Posted: Feb 8, 2010 11:56:31 PM Ignore computernut2008 Report Abuse Fix the damned things and move on..This is getting ridiculous.
NHLiveFree Champion Author New Hampshire Posts:7,205 Points:1,170,885 Joined:Jun 2008	Message Posted: Feb 8, 2010 6:56:54 PM Ignore NHLiveFree Report Abuse ctriverrunner Please read the news. Totota has been ignoring and denying the problems for over three years!!!
ctriverrunner Sophomore Author New Hampshire Posts:230 Points:74,930 Joined:May 2007	Message Posted: Feb 8, 2010 6:07:12 PM Ignore ctriverrunner Report Abuse Glad the Japanese media is reporting the truth and holding people accountable and not trying to pass the blame onto the US Govt.
danreino Champion Author Twin Cities Posts:6,275 Points:1,143,170 Joined:Mar 2008	Message Posted: Feb 8, 2010 5:58:16 PM Ignore danreino Report Abuse time to face the music..
RAC110 Champion Author Massachusetts Posts:3,985 Points:1,472,525 Joined:Mar 2003	Message Posted: Feb 8, 2010 5:54:50 PM Ignore RAC110 Report Abuse they now are making amends for not keeping up with the problems earlier
richnc Veteran Author North Carolina Posts:452 Points:194,130 Joined:Mar 2006	Message Posted: Feb 8, 2010 5:53:23 PM Ignore richnc Report Abuse I want a car that will not ever have a problem. I want it to have safety features that will aways prevent me from getting hurt. I want a car that will not require any maintenance. I want a billion dollars. And I am not being unreasonable.
dualtech Veteran Author Massachusetts Posts:493 Points:147,170 Joined:Feb 2006	Message Posted: Feb 8, 2010 5:52:20 PM Ignore dualtech Report Abuse Reminds me of the Ford Pinto issue. Took too long to admit a problem
dualtech Veteran Author Massachusetts Posts:493 Points:147,170 Joined:Feb 2006	Message Posted: Feb 8, 2010 5:42:37 PM Ignore dualtech Report Abuse This reminds me of the US auto makers a couple of decades ago. I guess no matter who you are when they get too big they forget about the customer.
Romey08 Champion Author Virginia Posts:4,232 Points:1,024,250 Joined:Apr 2008	Message Posted: Feb 8, 2010 5:35:14 PM Ignore Romey08 Report Abuse Toyota just needs to fix the problem to save face and quickly
WedgeOne Veteran Author Ontario Posts:354 Points:170,175 Joined:Apr 2008	Message Posted: Feb 8, 2010 5:31:39 PM Ignore WedgeOne Report Abuse I have been finding references to "Tiger Woods" all over some blogs. Can someone enlighten me as to why he is being used in context to oil, gas and car recalls? As I see it, Woods got caught having an affair. The news media tackled it like a piranha at feeding time. As far as I am concerned marriage and affairs are private things regardless of status and should be left alone. Along that line of thought, I fail to see what the reference implicates. I just finished reading the article and found something amusing. The NHTSA picked Toyota instead of say GM or Ford to push for more regulatory power. Not that it matters at this point though... And yes it happens to the best and worst of us. How we handle it will determine what happens to people's perception. Also, I have heard from other people that took their cars in that the recall was just a precautionary measure. And the dealerships were busy full of people wanting to buy Toyota vehicles. Oh well, one problem down and now onto the next... Prius! I also agree on the getting to big for it's britches part and letting the little things slip by.
janctx Champion Author Lubbock Posts:2,715 Points:882,880 Joined:Nov 2007	Message Posted: Feb 8, 2010 5:30:28 PM Ignore janctx Report Abuse aw too dang bad
mplato Champion Author Columbia Posts:5,982 Points:1,364,170 Joined:Jun 2004	Message Posted: Feb 8, 2010 5:30:19 PM Ignore mplato Report Abuse the Japanese society can be cruel.....
jb107 Champion Author New Jersey Posts:7,214 Points:2,155,580 Joined:Sep 2005	Message Posted: Feb 8, 2010 5:29:17 PM Ignore jb107 Report Abuse Some of our CEO's should step forward and take the blame instead of their multi million dollar bonasus.
mvosevich Champion Author St. Louis Posts:5,453 Points:1,108,165 Joined:Aug 2004	Message Posted: Feb 8, 2010 5:26:13 PM Ignore mvosevich Report Abuse Toyota is going to find out its VERY expensive to sit on your hands.
gasforus Champion Author Michigan Posts:6,776 Points:1,727,615 Joined:Dec 2005	Message Posted: Feb 8, 2010 5:25:37 PM Ignore gasforus Report Abuse Chicken!!
NashGas Champion Author Nashville Posts:2,136 Points:444,520 Joined:Dec 2009	Message Posted: Feb 8, 2010 5:22:55 PM Ignore NashGas Report Abuse Imagine that.
Martinman Champion Author Mississippi Posts:11,760 Points:1,659,270 Joined:Sep 2005	Message Posted: Feb 8, 2010 5:17:02 PM Ignore Martinman Report Abuse MS Steve from MIssissippi posted... "At least he doesn't have to apologize for taking BILLIONS of dollars, just to stay in business." . Ah, actually, Toyota DID take a "bailout" from the Japanese government: Toyota Seeking Government Bailout in Japan It was initially reported as "$2 billion", but I recall reading that Toyota received $2.2 billion from the Japanese government. This is in addition to the money it receives annually from the Japanese government for research.
TopGunn Champion Author Baltimore Posts:6,821 Points:2,150,355 Joined:Aug 2004	Message Posted: Feb 8, 2010 5:09:35 PM Ignore TopGunn Report Abuse Happens to the best and the worst.
dkinsf Champion Author San Jose Posts:2,450 Points:739,620 Joined:Mar 2007	Message Posted: Feb 8, 2010 5:05:00 PM Ignore dkinsf Report Abuse I wonder if any of the US car company CEOs would do this after their recall.
DavoIL All-Star Author Chicago Posts:630 Points:611,185 Joined:May 2009	Message Posted: Feb 8, 2010 5:00:46 PM Ignore DavoIL Report Abuse Toyota brought on many of these problems & its silly to blame the U.S. for any of it
katiejayWV Champion Author West Virginia Posts:1,858 Points:713,225 Joined:Nov 2008	Message Posted: Feb 8, 2010 4:59:06 PM Ignore katiejayWV Report Abuse He keeps apologizing. Just fix the problems. He is in the position to call all the shots.
Bubba44612 Champion Author Ohio Posts:5,183 Points:1,421,070 Joined:Aug 2005	Message Posted: Feb 8, 2010 4:58:27 PM Ignore Bubba44612 Report Abuse Got to big to fast and let the little stuff screw them. Where is the quality?
MS_steve Champion Author Mississippi Posts:2,247 Points:925,610 Joined:Mar 2008	Message Posted: Feb 8, 2010 4:58:02 PM Ignore MS_steve Report Abuse At least he doesn't have to apologize for taking BILLIONS of dollars, just to stay in business.
ladyeagle57 Champion Author Maine Posts:6,595 Points:992,295 Joined:Aug 2008	Message Posted: Feb 8, 2010 4:57:24 PM Ignore ladyeagle57 Report Abuse • "Toyota needs to be more assertive in terms of providing consumers comfort that the immediate problem is being addressed ... and that it can deal with these crises." -- Sherman Abe, a business professor at Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo, in an interview I agree - Toyota needs to make every effort to address the problems and work on PR.
texasvet Champion Author Texas Posts:2,315 Points:261,900 Joined:Jul 2009	Message Posted: Feb 8, 2010 4:31:14 PM Ignore texasvet Report Abuse I still think the American government is playing this rather infrequent problem up to boost Gov't Motors and Chrysler.
sillywagon Champion Author New York Posts:10,811 Points:1,004,000 Joined:Oct 2008	Message Posted: Feb 8, 2010 4:27:36 PM Ignore sillywagon Report Abuse Akio Toyoda "emerged" on Friday. Does that mean if he saw his shadow that we will have six more weeks of Toyota recalls?
pgerassi Champion Author Milwaukee Posts:8,516 Points:1,665,900 Joined:Apr 2007	Message Posted: Feb 8, 2010 4:23:12 PM Ignore pgerassi Report Abuse Toyota shot it self in the foot multiple times.
gass12 Champion Author Omaha Posts:6,170 Points:1,850,265 Joined:Oct 2005	Message Posted: Feb 8, 2010 4:20:22 PM Ignore gass12 Report Abuse They are t slow for the American people it will hurt them big time.
dbatw Champion Author St. Louis Posts:1,686 Points:341,165 Joined:Apr 2009	Message Posted: Feb 8, 2010 4:17:29 PM Ignore dbatw Report Abuse send 'em Bob Lutz, he's a REAL car guy: he'll straighten things out.
96sc1 Champion Author El Paso Posts:7,440 Points:1,142,330 Joined:Mar 2008	Message Posted: Feb 8, 2010 4:09:53 PM Ignore 96sc1 Report Abuse I agree. Complacency is a hallmark of top companies.
DosEquis26 Champion Author Chicago Posts:3,758 Points:1,542,440 Joined:Jun 2006	Message Posted: Feb 8, 2010 4:07:32 PM Ignore DosEquis26 Report Abuse he "emerged"? makes it sound like he's a groundhog
PissedCanuck Champion Author Toronto Posts:5,138 Points:1,192,210 Joined:Nov 2006	Message Posted: Feb 8, 2010 4:04:50 PM Ignore PissedCanuck Report Abuse Just normal of being #1. Where can Toyota go beyond #1? Unfortunately for them and a lot of other former #1 companies, the only other direction that they can go is down, but this is all normal and to overhype all of this is just nonsense.
96sc1 Champion Author El Paso Posts:7,440 Points:1,142,330 Joined:Mar 2008	Message Posted: Feb 8, 2010 4:02:27 PM Ignore 96sc1 Report Abuse Ouch! Ray LaHood is piling on.
heysailor Champion Author Pittsburgh Posts:7,231 Points:1,867,135 Joined:Mar 2006	Message Posted: Feb 8, 2010 3:58:21 PM Ignore heysailor Report Abuse Toyota's messed this up big time
snewwee Champion Author Detroit Posts:6,181 Points:1,250,000 Joined:Sep 2007	Message Posted: Feb 8, 2010 3:57:50 PM Ignore snewwee Report Abuse Tiger Woods all over again.
zeddieiv Champion Author Columbia Posts:5,651 Points:1,490,920 Joined:Oct 2006	Message Posted: Feb 8, 2010 3:54:45 PM Ignore zeddieiv Report Abuse Haven't we exhausted the Toyota topic?
DEG Champion Author Las Vegas Posts:15,397 Points:3,054,380 Joined:Jul 2003	Message Posted: Feb 8, 2010 3:53:46 PM Ignore DEG Report Abuse Toyota will probably learn its lesson regarding safety (like Ford did with the Pinto). However, the damage to its image of quality will have a black mark for quite some time.
pdcarver Champion Author San Diego Posts:1,289 Points:252,370 Joined:Sep 2009	Message Posted: Feb 8, 2010 3:42:55 PM Ignore pdcarver Report Abuse enough allready.
amearly Champion Author Michigan Posts:9,750 Points:2,003,555 Joined:Jan 2006	Message Posted: Feb 8, 2010 3:40:22 PM Ignore amearly Report Abuse More than what you would get from GM or Chrysler