| I think his words are being mischaracterized here a bit, he admitted they are having success, but is simply taking issue with their absurd valuation relative to their actual success. That being said, given Toyota's tendency to shy away from innovation lately I can see why he's getting flak. He should be, and not just because of Tesla. I'm a diehard Toyota fanboy, because I believe in things being built to last. It's good for the environment, and good for consumers. Nothing frustrates me more cars designed to last only as long as the warranty or lease term. I had a BMW 3 series that I loved driving which broke down far more than a non-performance variant had any right to, so the Lexus equivalent I bought afterwards was a welcome change that I've loved driving ever since. But Toyota has hidden behind their "reliability" moniker for so long, their offerings aren't really competitive in any segments anymore. For pickup trucks, both the Tundra and Tacoma have weak inefficient engines, with the Tacoma having a dog of a transmission. For luxury sedans, Lexus has no performance variants anymore, and their mid-performance variants have fallen woefully behind the competition (the 2021 IS350 has gained 5hp since it's debut in 2006). My wife wants an EV so her next car is looking to be a BMW i3 (despite how much I swore I'd never buy another), and I want a reliable performance car so it seems like my next car will be a used Porsche (with maybe a mid-step at an IS-F, a car Lexus hasn't produced since 2014). They haven't just missed the boat on EVs, their ICEs are falling terribly behind as well, what are they doing over there? Reliability doesn't matter if you're not producing anything people want. |