Originally Posted by onzedge

I have mixed feelings about Toyota as a company. They could do far better than they are doing, but it seems like they are going for the "Sell as many cars as possible to non-car people" approach. Their cars bore me to tears. If I was given an ultimatum and had to pick between being devoured by rabid jackals or driving a Prius/Corolla/Camry for the rest of my life, I think I would have a hard time choosing.

That's said, their manufacturing processes and improvement approaches (to the process, not product) are second to few. The works of Ohno, Shingo, Ishikawa and all those guys gave us excellent strategies and approaches to improving production in any industry. Kanban, 5 S, 5 Why, single minute die exchange's, Poke Yoke -- all came from Toyota...

Their cars suck though.