For decades, Toyota has been the symbol of quality and leadership in the automotive industry not only in Japan but across the world.

The recent Toyota recall (in several countries, including the US), related to sudden acceleration and gas pedal issues serves as a wake-up call and should be viewed in perspective. Based on experience and conversations, some thoughts come to mind:

- Gains in sales related to solid back-up in parts and service. For example, in the Philippines, Toyota, which started out as Toyopet, became the favorite car make of taxi operators because of its rugged reliability and widespread availability of spare parts. No wonder, the Toyota Corolla is the world's best selling car model of all time.

- More practice, the better. Someone had pointed out that as one of the world's leading car makers, more mechanics were likely to have more opportunities of having worked on a Toyota and hence, have become more familiar with servicing the vehicle when needed.

- Corporate responsibility (eg, charities, responsible advertising) and involvement in the community (eg, sports) .Who can forget the memories of basketball stars Robert Jaworski, Ramon Fernandez, Francis Arnaiz, and Ompong Segura in their Toyota Tamaraw uniforms in their classic 1980's Philippine Basketball Association battles with the Crispa Redmanizers?

Whether it is a Crown, Camry, Corona, Prius, Yaris, Matrix, Highlander, Sienna, RAV-4, Land Cruiser, or whatever model of Toyota that you drive, it cannot be denied that years of dependable and reliable driving have generally marked the Toyota experience. The recent recall issues may have created a temporary dent but the important thing is they are in the process of being addressed. Consistent with its Kaizen credo of adhering to continually improving quality workmanship standards or the Toyota way (Total Quality Management or TQM), the overall positive trend at Toyota should continue moving forward.

(Video from youtube.com; posted by  MonBC 09.21.07)