Why Honda and Toyota Are Slipping
Instead of taking advantage of U.S. automakers' woes in the past few years, the Japanese automakers let themselves slide.
Formerly the Teflon Dons of the auto industry, Honda and Toyota dominated in innovation, quality and profits for the past 20 years. And when Detroit went into distress in 2008, it would have been reasonable to expect them to take advantage of things such as General Motors' downsizing to four brands from eight. But they didn't. And now Toyota's share of the U.S. market has dropped by nearly 3 percent since 2009, and Honda's by almost 2 percent.@ thebeltway, do some research! the biggest recall in the auto world was from an american brand, the only reason toyota was bashed on was so other car brands can have a chance and sell there cars, the media helped with that,
American cars recalled, nor have I ever had my Mazdas, Nissans, Mitsubishis, BMWs or Volvos recalled
thay all have been recalled in the past you just dont want to see whats there.
Cars break, regardless of make or model: true.
I worked in Toyota service: true, and I am still in the automotive industry.
I've personally owned 4 Toyotas, and countless others in my family: true ('89 Camry, '91 Tercel, '92 Camry, '95 Pickup)...I guess the only "lie" there is that I couldn't actually count the number in my family. I just didn't care to.
My screen name indicates I have (or had?) a '94 Cadillac: true. I've had 3 '94s, and a '93. I've also owned Buick, Chevy, Plymouth, Lincoln, Nissan......off the top of my head.
American and other manufacturers' car quality has improved over the past couple decades while Japanese has stabilized or declined: true.
Yes, GM vehicles were junk in the 80s, as were most American cars. Yes, GM has re-badged Toyotas (Nova, Prism, Vibe, etc.). Toyota has also taken parts and technology from GM as part of those deals. Get your head out of your ****.
Who cares about recalls? I would much rather have a recall than a breakdown from poor quality!!
For what it's worth I agree with you 100%. You may or may not have noticed that I NEVER take part in the arguments over who has the most recalls. I'm actually sick of reading those comments and I usually skip over them. I could care less about who has recalls. Recalls typically mean nothing and they are free. Who cares?
I have personally only received three recalls (two domestic and one foreign) in my entire life and only ONCE did they actually have to replace a part (foreign).
I have based most of my purchasing decisions on cost of ownership, reliability (not recalls) and fun factor. Because of that, I have landed in a domestic automobile far more often then an import. That's just my experience.
@Badass94Cad,
It has a lot to do with how some people define a "problem." A friend of mine is on her third transmission in her Accord. However, if you ask her about the car she still says to this day that she hasn't had a single problem since she bought it. When I inquired about the transmissions she was adamant that the transmission replacements "didn't count" because she "drives the car too hard."
It makes you wonder, what other issues has the car had that "didn't count."
If problems from "driving too hard" don't count then I can also say that I have never spent a penny on a repair for any vehicle that I have owned.
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