Even Lexus is far from perfect...

[Quattrings]

Toyota to recall 57,000 Lexus models April 13, 2006 - 1:44PM Toyota will recall about 57,000 vehicles worldwide from its upscale Lexus brand, due to faulty parts in the device that winds seat belts. The recall affects the Lexus GS and IS models sold in North America, Japan, Europe and other markets, the world's No. 2 automaker said in release issued Wednesday. Passengers may not be able to buckle up due to the faulty parts. The vehicles were produced between July and December last year. Of the 57,000 vehicles, about 29,000 vehicles will be recalled in North America, 11,000 in Japan, 10,000 in Europe, and the remainder in other markets. The move could deal a blow to Toyota, which is known for its reliable products. The recall may have a greater impact in Japan. It comes at a time when Toyota is striving to step up its Lexus car sales in the domestic market, after falling far short of its sales target for the upscale cars, which were launched in Japan in August last year. The latest news also comes after Toyota made Japan's biggest-ever single recall of 1.27 million cars last year, due to a defect in the switch for front lights. Toyota Motor President Katsuaki Watanabe has repeatedly warned that his company needs to focus on quality even as it ramps up production to keep up with rapidly growing demand for its vehicles. © 2006 AP DIGITAL According to Reuters, automaker Toyota is calling 57,000 2006 Lexus IS and GS models both in the U.S. and overseas for potentially faulty front seatbelts. The recall affects 29,000 units plying American roads, along with a further 11,000 Japanese examples. Lexus dealers will replace the buckles in both front seats, which can presently jam due to a faulty part. No accidents attributable to the defect have been reported, and the automaker advises that drivers can avoid the issue by 'releasing the seatbelt slowly.' Toyota has not released estimated recall costs. [Source: Reuters via CNN/Money] Lexus isn't perfect?

[hemants]

[Quattrings]

[April]

the head gasket problems on many 4 cylinder engines produced in the late '80s and early '90s? I went through a couple of heads, and I'll never buy another Toyota (plenty of other problems too).

Lexus however, makes enough money to allow for extensive smoothing of feathers. Hardly the case with Audi, despite being VW's most profitable division.

[April]

They say that with the proliferation of models and ever greater sales numbers, the odds are bound to creep up.

• case in point.

[hemants]

[hemants]

Of course, they'd have to catch up to the Americans first.

I think part of the issue is electronics. German cars have electrical gremlins. They should outsource all electronics to Japanese companies.

I for one would never buy a German made DVD player.

[April]

So should Audi use cheap shiny hard plastics and less than perfect shut-lines in the quest to make a car more like the Japanese? How about leather using heavy metals instead of organic dyes? Orange peel free clear-coat that wraps around all the surfaces? Smoothest stamping dies in the industry?

From my conversations with people who work on designing Audis, they already spend a lot of unpaid overtime to get things right. They have a fraction of the staff found at BMW or Mercedes. That means they must depend more on suppliers to get things right, because they don't have time to test everything themselves.

Car makers have a limited budget for any given model, and so they address whatever aspects they feel will target their demographic best. Every car maker and every model they offer, has a different matrix - and a different demographic that is either well served for the most part, or the model languishes.

[hemants]

(1) traded some of that fit and finish for reliability

or

(2) increased the price slighly and provided more reliability

Remember, Germans are now behind American cars in reliability.

And I don't think that there's much difference between Audi's leather and, say, Lexus in terms of utility for the customer.

[April]

luxury makes, and over-time (paid and unpaid) is very common as it is. With VW's cashflow situation, Audi isn't going to get any more than it's getting now in the way of resources, and the present expertise is in creating that great fit and finish (along with other things). One downfall for them, is because they run so lean, they have to outsource a ton of things. That means they can't always integrate or scrutinze things as closely as something created in-house.

You've been around long enough to recognize the pattern of failures - if and when they come - and they are almost always items obtained from outside suppliers. Now whether Audi doesn't give them enough specifics, the supplier cuts corners when they shouldn't, Audi doesn't have the budget to pay for full top flight engineering of that outsourced part, testing is incomplete, or the design just wasn't that great in concept anyway, can be subject to debate.

Of course I've been conditioned by Alfa ownership for years, and as it says under my sig, my priorities are a tad skewed;-)