Analysis and discussion of issues that impact business

In a battle between the world's largest auto manufacturers, I think these 2 articles - here and here - present an interesting juxtaposition. Here's a sample.

“The world-class quality that we’ve built is our lifeline,” President Katsuaki Watanabe told a mid-year news conference dominated by questions over Toyota’s recent quality woes.

“There will be no growth without an improvement in quality. This is the biggest task that this management team must undertake,” he said.

Sounds like a man on a mission.

Cadillacs and Corvettes may be world-class cars. And our (Consumer Reports) list certainly comprises vehicles with the lowest ratings. But aside from being judged as poor, many exemplify how far U.S. automakers have to go to compete in the global market. Because American manufacturers continue to build such  and unreliable vehicles as the (Buick minivan) Terraza, U.S. sales reports for June were unsurprisingly low. Sales and market share continued to fall for American manufacturers and continued to rise for import brands, spearheaded by Toyota's 14% increase in sales.

Sounds like mission failure.

There's a lot we can learn here, I think.