How Detroit Can Gain From Toyota's Recalls

The article "How Detroit Can Gain From Toyota's Recalls", found at BusinessWeek.com, discusses how many auto companies in Detroit have the unprecedented opportunity to steal many of Toyota's customers after the Japanese carmaker was hit hard by recalls. Toyota, still a great company, will eventually recover, however this is a huge boost to automakers in Detroit.
After visiting Toyota, Ford's CEO Alan Mullaly, described the company as "the master" and later applied these same production techniques to another company of his, Boeing. Mullaly also urged Ford to create more sophisticated cars that would better Toyota's sedans. Over the past year, after Ford invested billions into the new Focus and Fiesta models, sales began to rise, while Toyota's decreased. Mullaly has also had a big impact on overall quality of the Ford brand, even garnering praise from auto editor of the magazine Consumer Report David Champion who believes Ford now has "world class reliability".
Although General Motors has improved the quality of its cars, the company must remain humble. Another added help to GM is the unveiling of the new Chevy Volt, which could give the company something to really brag about. The Volt will be four times as fuel efcient as Toyota's 2010 Prius, however Chevy will only make 10,000 of this model in 2010 as a way of establishing technological credibility among the comsumers. 2012 is the year Chevy could take the most away from Toyota Prius sales as this year marks the production of 60,000 Volts.
The third Detroit company, Chrysler, may have the hardest time prying Toyota customers away from the company due to their quality scores being extremely low. However, the Jeep brand may attract some.
The article then went on to discuss how the market share of both Ford and GM rose this past year, while Toyota's dropped. This has occured mainly because of Detroit's efforts to "woo" the Generation Y, which likes Toyota, but is less loyal than older consumers. Ford has the biggest opportunity,as it has focused on smaller, more compact cars, such as the Focus and Fiesta. However, Ford and GM aren't the only companies jockying for Toyota's customers. Companies such as Hyundai, Nissan and Honda are all ready to take advantage of the situation. As many will not forget, Toyota remains a top company in the auto industry and once the company comes out of the recall situation it can be counted on to start the comeback campaign. With Toyota employing 40, 000 Americans in six states, it has entrenched itself in the American culture. Toyota knows what type of cars Americans want and therefore the company will regain its strength sooner than later. According to Champion, "If you're going to grab market share from Toyota, you have to do it in the next nine months." If the Detroit companies find a way to convince Americans that their cars are of high qulaity and fun to drive, they just may have turned a streak of another companies bad luck into their own personal gains.