Toyota Takes Action to Improve Quality

Here's an interesting story from Yahoo about an automaker taking steps to deal with its quality problems:

Toyota May Delay Some New Models

OYAMA, Japan - Toyota may delay some of its new models, the company's president said Friday, as the world's No. 2 automaker tries to improve its quality control process in order to reduce a spate of recalls that is threatening its reputation.

(Read the full story here.)

As Toyota grows and adds an increasingly complex product line, there are bound to be some quality problems but it's encouraging to see an automaker take such public steps prior to introducing models to address potential quality issues. The U.S. automakers' approach seems to be to hide quality issues and address them behind closed doors after the fact.

I'm still mystified why Ford and GM are still so far behind the Japanese in quality, product design, reliability, fuel efficiency, etc. Many of the Japanese autos sold in the United States are designed and built here so I don't believe it's a cultural issue. What do you think? If you disagree, then explain the decline in market share--and there's more to it than rising gas prices.

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