My Take on Bob Lutz

[63GrandSport001]

I think that GM is working on all of the problems that have been listed on this thread, I think that they just need to stay on their current path. Honestly once GM cuts cost even more not even Toyota will be able to keep up in terms of product developement and in the car business product is the number one important thing and the one thing that you need to get right.

Toyota has a great image of making high quality solid cars (even though I think that there are plenty of car companies that do better) and for that reason they have been seeing great market share and sales increases while everyone else is either down or flat. However Toyota has 2-3 major flaws which I predict will be their down fall.

- Toyota's designs really lack any charecter from their base unit to their top of the line luxury models. Their sales success is purely marketing and perception driven people just think that they will not get a better vehicle from another badge.

- Toyota is stretched beyond their means, this has caused delays in a few key debuts and as GM turns up the heat it will force Toyota to stretch even more. Toyota from what I know has had more recalls in 2006 then GM has had and they have a really high recall rate. Engineers are stretched and engineering dollars I believe are stretched to the limits.

- Toyota has become the enamy in many different locations and information of less then proper treatment of workers in Japan is going to catch up with their less then green plants.

I think that 2007 is going to be awesome for GM and suck really badly for Toyota but you never know.

[jlmartin99]

Originally Posted by 63GrandSport001

I think that GM is working on all of the problems that have been listed on this thread, I think that they just need to stay on their current path. Honestly once GM cuts cost even more not even Toyota will be able to keep up in terms of product developement and in the car business product is the number one important thing and the one thing that you need to get right.

Toyota has a great image of making high quality solid cars (even though I think that there are plenty of car companies that do better) and for that reason they have been seeing great market share and sales increases while everyone else is either down or flat. However Toyota has 2-3 major flaws which I predict will be their down fall.

- Toyota's designs really lack any charecter from their base unit to their top of the line luxury models. Their sales success is purely marketing and perception driven people just think that they will not get a better vehicle from another badge.

- Toyota is stretched beyond their means, this has caused delays in a few key debuts and as GM turns up the heat it will force Toyota to stretch even more. Toyota from what I know has had more recalls in 2006 then GM has had and they have a really high recall rate. Engineers are stretched and engineering dollars I believe are stretched to the limits.

- Toyota has become the enamy in many different locations and information of less then proper treatment of workers in Japan is going to catch up with their less then green plants.

I think that 2007 is going to be awesome for GM and suck really badly for Toyota but you never know.

Greetings 63GrandSport001,

Happy New Year to you and your family.

I share your hopes for a good year for GM, however I must say your impression of Toyota seems somewhat out of reality in my view. Toyota produces some of the best autos in the world. That is not to say they are the only ones, but their reputation is well deserved in my view. I was a Lexus owner and from my experience I found their products and services to be tops.

JLM

[63GrandSport001]

Originally Posted by jlmartin99

Greetings 63GrandSport001,

Happy New Year to you and your family.

I share your hopes for a good year for GM, however I must say your impression of Toyota seems somewhat out of reality in my view. Toyota produces some of the best autos in the world. That is not to say they are the only ones, but their reputation is well deserved in my view. I was a Lexus owner and from my experience I found their products and services to be tops.

JLM

Yes Toyota does make some good vehicles, but who has the highest recall rate in 2006? Toyota. Much like GM how you have some vehicles that are exceptional with most falling between good and bad and some bad ones Toyota has the same thing. So yes your Lexus was a great vehicle but more and more Toyota is making less then great vehicles even some crappy ones.

and I have heard a bunch of horror stories from Lexus mainly when something goes wrong with their vehicles. I know plenty of people that will never ever buy a Lexus because of the service they got when they stepped in the show room. In reality and over all Toyota is a average car company and not an exceptional car company they just have exceptional PR and in America that is all it takes.

[Globalist]

Originally Posted by jlmartin99

Greetings Globalist,
You make some very good points as do others on this site, but I the end of the day, I ask my self what value is it really? Just another point of view here.

JLM

You are absolutely right. This is just another point of view -- Cheap talk

But every strategy starts with cheap talk, and at the end of the day, which cheap talk do you filter and EXECUTE is what makes good/bad results/companies. And the job of top guys at any company is to LISTEN, FILTER, develop a strategy, SELL it and EXECUTE it. However, in many organization there is the "permission paradox" that weighs opinions -- Your opinion won't matter unless you are highly ranked. So here at GMI we are just talking hoping that GM will pay attention to the messages (some are good and some are junk) we are sending.

[jlmartin99]

Originally Posted by 63GrandSport001

Yes Toyota does make some good vehicles, but who has the highest recall rate in 2006? Toyota. Much like GM how you have some vehicles that are exceptional with most falling between good and bad and some bad ones Toyota has the same thing. So yes your Lexus was a great vehicle but more and more Toyota is making less then great vehicles even some crappy ones.

and I have heard a bunch of horror stories from Lexus mainly when something goes wrong with their vehicles. I know plenty of people that will never ever buy a Lexus because of the service they got when they stepped in the show room. In reality and over all Toyota is a average car company and not an exceptional car company they just have exceptional PR and in America that is all it takes.

Greetings 63GrandSport001,

Mmmm. well if Toyota and Lexus are average, then Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Porsche, BMW, VW, Ford and many other car makers have a long way to go to catch up to an average performer which means they are far below average. PR is one aspect, but independent reviews from various sources are another, from safety, to reliability, to customer preference. Yes, there are experiences in customers complaints for all auto makers and Toyota and Lexus certainly are no exception. Please do not misunderstand my point, I am currently a Cadillac owner coming from Lexus and my experience from Lexus was excellent, both product and service. And I must say, my experience from Cadillac has been excellent as well from a product perspective and service, however, I prefer my current Cadillac STS V8 and XLR products over any other luxury brand on the planet, bar none. But I certainly have a high regard for many other auto makers, including Lexus and BMW, two of my favorite luxury brands.

I cannot agree with your opinion of Lexus or Toyota, I performed an extensive six month evaluation of three luxury brands that include Cadillac, Lexus and BMW and Lexus always ranked very high and was consistently in the #1 position from independent objective reviewers for the last 5 years standing. It is not that I do not believe you and the experience others have had, but that not withstanding, this can be said regarding any auto brand maker. So, objectively Toyota and Lexus deserve their reputation for quality. You should also know, the top three luxury brands over that same period were Lexus, Acura and Cadillac. As part of my evaluation, I did not expect to discover Cadillac faired so well when compared to Lexus and it was a satisfying finding. Subjectively, I determined Cadillac’s style, design, performance, drive feel, features, systems integration, luxury and technology ranked #1 for my requirements and is the reason I traded my Lexus for Cadillac.

All of this comes down to personal preference of the auto buyer and in my particular case I was fortunate to have the combination of objective and subjective evaluations to aid in my decision.

JLM

[63GrandSport001]

If you read my post you would note that I was mainly talking about Toyota and not Lexus, Lexus are solid cars with no souls. I think that Lesux deserves its rep but Toyota doesnt deserve a rep for making solid cars anymore and they do not deserve their rep for being green.

[jlmartin99]

Originally Posted by 63GrandSport001

If you read my post you would note that I was mainly talking about Toyota and not Lexus, Lexus are solid cars with no souls. I think that Lesux deserves its rep but Toyota doesnt deserve a rep for making solid cars anymore and they do not deserve their rep for being green.

Greetings 63GrandSport001,

I did not evaluate Toyota, it was not part of my brand or models. Only luxury brands were part of my overall review with specific evaluation of the three luxury brands I mentioned. OK, if your evaluations have determined Toyota has not lived up to its reputation of quality, who now represents the the best in class in regards to quality now, if it is not Toyota? Thanks in advance.

JLM