The news today that Toyota plans on recalling several hundred Prius due to brake problems follows hot on the heels of rumours last week that 19 people had died due to faulty accellerator pedals on Toyota vehicles in the U.S.A alone.
What is going on ? Toyota has always had a terrific and well deserved reputation for product quality and anyone involved in product design knows that quality has to be built in at the design stage where the product should be rigorously tested and key parameter should exceed a certain capability. This approach guarantees a high degree of reliability and integrity with product failures measured in a handful per million.
The enormity of the problems at Toyota indicate a much, much higher level of failure which is incompatible with a quality product.
Toyota are already discovering the high price of possible shoddy design procedures with sales down around 16% last month.
Sadly their reputation may never recover.
Quality is built in at the design stage.
chris@projectsguru.co.uk
