As I watch the Toyota debacle unfold with WAY too many articles striking fear across the world (SOME of it warranted) one question keeps rolling through my mind.
"If One Of The Big Three Was The One With The Toyota Problem, Would THEY Have Acted As Swiftly And Stopped Sales and Production?"
I know this may offend a lot of people but knowing what I know and having over 30 years of experience watching the Big 3 driving one of the biggest business segments right into the ground, my gut feel tells me no.
I CANNOT imagine Ford, GM or Chrysler STOPPING production and halting production of their 8 most popular models so quickly.
It would have been spin city for as long as possible before REAL action was taken.
The Explorer rollovers, the Firestone debacle (not just picking on Ford here, just the two glaring examples that came to mind as I was writing this) and many others have occurred but no one took such swift, radical action as Toyota is doing.
You also have to admit, there is NO company on earth faced with what Toyota is experiencing, that could manage this SITUATION perfectly.
No question the twist-tie thing was nonsense but remember, big ships take a long time to turn.
So under the circumstances I give Toyota A LOT of credit for these BOLD moves.
It will cost them a lot short term but when we look back, I think people are reasonable enough to understand that every company has issues but it takes a lot of guts to admit you are wrong and do the best you can for the customer.
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