Toyota's Tricky Turmoil

Toyota’s Tricky Turmoil:

An Analysis of Ethics in the Automobile Juggernaut

Prepared for Professor Jim Fields

English 203

University of Kentucky

Prepared by John Bartelt

On the date of March 1st, 2010

Memo

Date: March 1st, 2010

To: Jim Fields

From: John Bartelt J.B.

Re: Ethics Paper

Toyota Motor Company has long been a powerhouse in the automobile industry, leading the world in sales and customer service. New information has surfaced as of late, however, that brings to light questionable business practices Toyota has engaged in, which ultimately has lead accusations of the selling of unsafe vehicles. Naturally, Toyota has denied the charges but has offered to fix these problems with those involved, issuing a massive recall of millions of affected vehicles.

This paper will focus on and discuss these accusations and analyze whether or not Toyota truly sacrificed quality for market shares, as well as address the concerns plaguing the dealer and what the lasting effects of this recall will be.

Table of Contents

Introduction 3

Purpose: 3

Methods: 3

Scope: 3

First Signs of Trouble 4

Acknowledging the Problem 4

The Effects of the Recalls 5

Tumbling Reputation 6

Falling Market Shares 6

Customer Losses 7

Conclusion 8

Works Cited 9

Table of Figures

Figure 1 5

Figure 2 7

Introduction

Starting a vehicle nowadays can be as simple as pushing a button. Putting the car into motion and ceasing that motion has been just as easy since before even Henry Ford’s Model T in 1908, more than one hundred years ago. The two pedals of cars have always been considered second nature to most drivers, as most gas and brake without really thinking about it, depending on the situation. But what happens when the car gasses itself without the driver pushing the pedal? What happens if it doesn’t stop when the brake is pressed? Surely such a problem would have been eradicated a century ago when prototypes for gasoline powered cars were...