Owner’s Manual

Toyota Motor Corp.’s unprecedented decision to halt sales on its most popular models in the U.S. underlines the biggest question dogging the world’s No. 1 car maker: whether it has sacrificed quality in its quest to capture global market share.

The Japanese car maker, which long has been viewed as the leader in automotive quality, told dealers in the U.S. and Canada on Tuesday to stop selling eight models, including the popular Camry and Corolla sedans, in response to growing concerns that possible defects may cause the vehicles to accelerate unintentionally.

We have been following this saga closely for obvious reasons.  For years, Toyota has set the bar for quality and reliability.  Now, it seems, that the emperor has no clothes.  Hopefully Toyota will fix the accelerator problem and get back on track.  But you have to wonder what, if any, lasting ramifications this will have in the mind of the American consumer.  Toyota didn’t even have one model on the IIHS top ten list of safest vehicles.

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