.
.
Good Morning Friends
.
today is Thursday February 4, 2010
.
Take a look at a picture of my old 2004 Toyota RAV 4 friends and tell me if Toyota is doomed. I think there is a lot of scare mongering going on related to Toyota's current problems. It almost smells like a conspiracy. I am somewhat prejudiced of course because I can easily see conspiracies where others cannot. Conspiracies are part of my brain set now. Anyhow, the current travails of Toyota are certainly easy pickings for those who want to attack Toyota and take away market share from them. But, I think Toyota is smarter and tougher than that. They won't let it happen if you want my opinion on the matter. I watched a discussion see link here and here yesterday on BNN's Squeeze Play and they were discussing the issue of how Toyota is handling the crisis. I tend to agree with one of the analysts ( first clip ) who suggests that Toyota is managing their problem in a professional manner. They are not blaming anyone and they are taking corrective measures to resolve the issue. Note that the manufacturing problem involves one of the domestic suppliers here in North America and not in Japan. So quality control is a very key consideration as you can see. I have always been sensitive to this issue when I buy my Japanese products, and my Toyota above was made in Japan.... But, I digress of course. I think Toyota will win in the end, but with some blood spilled along the way of course. Interesting that companies like GM are practicing a bit of predatory marketing by offering incentives of 1000 dollars for their products. One analyst who I agree with says that this is a negative approach from the likes of GM because they should be highlighting their own quality and not competing on price alone. I think the practice speaks volumes for GM and their product and their management. Ford, on the other hand is not engaging in that practice. Once again, I agree with the analyst who suggests that Ford has a better quality story to relay to the market. Anyhow, don't sell Toyota short. They didn't get to be as big as they are by making an inferior product. Keep a stiff upper lip friends and don't forget: tomorrow is my birthday. Surely that is something to live for if nothing else.
