2.24.2010

Toyota Customers and Their Confidence

As the congressional hearings on the Toyota recalls continue on Capitol Hill here in the US, Zogby International released the results of this interactive poll. Although it's interesting that most of the general adults surveyed still believe that Toyota vehicles are more safe than those produced by other automobile manufacturers, it's the information gleaned from current Toyota owners that's the most revealing: 39% believe that Toyota vehicles are more safe than other vehicles while 47% believe that Toyota vehicles are equally safe as other vehicles.

As the hearings continue today with testimony scheduled from Toyota president Akio Toyoda and the resulting media analysis and spin, most will be curious to see how these poll results might change. What are your thoughts of this poll? Are you surprised by the results? In regard to the congressional hearings, there has been much conversation about the intent and motives. Do you feel the hearings are providing a fair forum for Toyota and its customers?

2 comments:

Dean Bliss said...

I'm not a big fan of congressional hearings. They seem to degenerate into political posturing, and they raise questions in my mind about what's really being accomplished, and how in the world some of these people got elected. Having said that, though, I think Toyota is learning a lesson about what it's like to be number one. Number one not only includes sales and revenue, but scrutiny as well. In addition, being a foreign company which recently displaced a U.S. company at number one doesn't help. I hope Toyota learns from this and come out a stronger company. I believe that they will.

Sunny B. said...

Am I surprised by the results of the recent Zogby poll where, "85% of Toyota owners believe brand is more or equally safe as other vehicles. Overall, majority of adults says same (64%)" ?
No, because despite the massive recall, Toyota owners are generally happy with their cars. They have come to equate Toyota with good quality for a good price.
I view all the recall of some 10 million Toyota cars from the past 6 years as the right the thing to do.
This seems like a very cautious move and very different approach than that of corporations who use a pure cost/benefit analysis to determine whether or not they should do a recall (e.g. oft cited Ford Pinto recall)
These Congressional hearings seem like show trials: 'Hey Taxpayers, look at us go after the bad guys!' These are the same people that gave billions to bail out the banks with virtually no transparency as to the details of the bailout plan, payback and whether members of congress have been lobbied/paid by the very financial institutions they are shovelling our money at.
Furthermore, not to sound even more cynical, but it is fact the government bailed out/now owns US car companies. These show trials seem like a great way to knock down the #1 competition for US cars!