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[ECHOKnight2000]

When I was a kid, there was a joke asking, "What would you find at the head of any slow moving line of traffic?" Answer: "An old woman in a lime-green Valiant." Today however, the answer would be "a white-knuckled old man or woman in a silver-grey Corolla."

Toyota has worked for years to perfect their strategy of selling cars to people who hate cars. Really. Do car enthusiasts buy Toyotas? No way. The people who do buy them are those who know nothing about cars, don't want to know anything about cars, don't want to maintain or ever fix a car, but need a transportation device to move them from point A to point B. To them, a car is merely an appliance, and for them, we have Toyota. Through building competent vehicles and careful manipulation of the brand and image,(don't overlook this part), Toyota succeeded in cultivating a perception of their cars being superior in reliability and longevity, even though most of us know this is no longer true. As a result, flocks of people bought Toyotas as they expected them to be the least likely to be a problem. It certainly wasn't because they were inspiring.

I for one am delighted to see every scratch that is made in Toyota's carefully polished image, as with each we move a little closer to the truth under the shiny facade - they're just another car company and they're not perfect either.

I enjoyed the comment another reader made about the service manager saying that three weeks on the job had ruined his faith in humanity. A friend worked for several years at a major auto-parts retailer, and his eventual assessment was that, "80% of all people are stupid." I've found his tongue-in-cheek comment to be amazingly accurate.

D.G.
Calgary, Alberta


This guy is my hero!! I totally agree. He hit it on the nail. The old school Toyota was better but yes now its just another car company. Soon it will fade if it doesn't change. They know this especially trying to get new younger demographic. Lexus has the same problem. Get with the times Toyota. I don't wish for their demise and I know that won't happen soon. But I'm glad things are coming to light. Even Scion has suffered Toyotanization. Its become just and extension of Toyota cars but with a Scion badge. Okay they are but the point is to attract young buyers. They have gone off the beaten path. Making over blown cars that have no performance or even fun factor to them.