The Crank: Is Toyota finally getting it “right”?

By John LeBlanc Another week, another rash of bad news for Toyota, eh? Last Tuesday, the Japanese automaker was suffering from one of America’s most well respected consumers’ group warning not to buy one of the company’s Lexus 2010 GX 460 SUVs because of a tendency to get a little loose in the corners. Okay if you’re Burt Reynolds, circa 1978. Not so good if you’re avoiding an accident on the way to your kids’ violin lessons. Then, to end the week, a trio of recalls, involving the Toyota Sienna minivan, Highlander crossover and Tundra pickup Copywriters may be working overtime this weekend on a replacement for Lexus’s longstanding Relentless Pursuit of Perfection tagline. And really, does another round of recalls change your view of Toyota after the past few months? But even if you take the most optimistic view that, hey, making a car is complicated, and well, you know, “stuff” happens, it’s how Toyota pointed fingers and stalled in its communicating its problems in the past that critics still take issue with. Toyota’s handling of the current Consumers Reports/GX 460 incident, though, bears some fresh fruit. Toyota may finally be getting it right on the PR front. Instead of finger-pointing or dismissing CR’s test results, Toyota took “the situation with the 2010 GX 460 very seriously,” asked dealers to temporarily suspend delivery of the SUV and promised loaner cars for the 149 Canadians who bought a ’10 GX and wanted to park them at their dealer until Toyota fixes the problem. While instead of fighting it, Toyota Canada’s recall affecting about 270,000 first and second-generation 2WD Toyota Sienna vehicles because of excessive corrosion of the spare tire carrier assembly was voluntary. While this past week’s actions by Toyota are really all that consumers can ask for—and perhaps for NONE of these issues to happen in the first place—this appears like an improvement compared to how Toyota has worked in the past. Small steps, indeed. Are you willing to forgive Toyota for its quality and engineering mistakes if at least the automaker is honest about it? Or is it too late to clear up the Japanese’s newly tarnished reputation?

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