ENGINEER EXPLAINS WHY QUALITY IS GETTING WORSE - WHY PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT HAS BEEN STRANGE

GM would have an annual goal to change their transmission once a year. Meet with several engineers, and ask all of them to make a proposal how to make the unit cheaper. This is how quality goes to crap

David back in the 1990's Toyota Camry, Toyota Corolla, Honda Accord and the Honda Civic always had much better than average reliability but now all of those models are average reliability at best- Honda especially has declined in reliability. The fit and finish on the 2002 to 2006 Toyota Camry was Lexus quality but declined significantly beginning in the 2007 model year.

More tech = garbage cars

My opinion is not that the engineering and design processes during COVID that had a negative effect (although it might be partly to blame), but rather I blame management doing everything they can to 1) reduce part cost (at the cost of quality), 2) increase profits, 3) increase end-of-year bonuses for management and 4) increase stock value for shareholders. I truly do not believe that car companies care at all about the actual customers that they are supposed to serve, or if they do, they have the absolute lowest priority. Of course there's all the tech and ridiculous EPA standards that they're forced to comply with. I'm in the market for a new truck, but I've held off buying anything from model years '24 or '25 due to quality issues. Unfortunately, I don't see quality getting any better. Perhaps with Ram's new updated powertrain warranty we might actually see quality get better, but I'm not holding my breath.

how about cost cutting as the principal driver, EPA Mandates... don't buy Covid as the primary driver, really really disingenuous .

I'm glad somebody said it. Working from home sucks

Very interesting! Makes sense

What? You mean the gaps are getting inconsistent?

🚙👍

We can't blame virtual meetings for the terrible decline in the quality of Toyota's interiors.

This confirms my decision to wait until 2027-28 to buy a new car. Thanks for discussing the impact of the pandemic, David.

For the LX, GX, and TX, with the 6 year refresh cycle we won't be seeing any major changes till 2030.

printing zillions of dollars and other currencies might be causing prices in those currencies to rise?

Covid and Obama/Biden EPA/CAFE draconian restrictions introduced a 2nd Jimmy Carter kind of automotive malaise that resulted in poor quality parts and poor quality control across the automotive spectrum... let's hope that we can make automobiles great again.

Don't blame the engineers. Blame the MBAs running the company. It's the same with Boeing.

Toyota let me down on my 21 Highlander. Tranny, AWD, and many other issues at only 84,000 miles. Done with Toyota. Moved to Honda.

This is what happens when big socialistic government interfere in the free market. They keep jacking inflation . Million of car companies are dead after covid , destroying suppliers and so on. Nothing will be the same again, and know it is the powerful men doing this. They hate freedom!! WEF openly said you will own nothing and be happy, they do not lie about this, they openly are making policies to kill freedom. Americans , european and worldwide, fight for you freedom

After Covid, which was admitted lie by the govt in power, Biden's administeration. They killed many businesses. over 1 million . And thousands of car related companies are bankruput, and they were cutting off supplies by border interference and restricting trucking and shipping. People in france wanted the truck and ships to keep moving and the govt was stopping this. Blame the global men

Can you kindly review the new Honda Passport? Would love to hear your opinion - thanks

My biggest complaint is electronic components. I have had three cars loose their main eBrain, and another car had a known flaw that was failing on most examples of that model–but I sold it first.

This didn’t start with the pandemic. The c-suite has absolutely created this problem. Pay workers less. Less incentive to do a good job. EPA forcing automakers to meet ridiculous standards…lighter parts (cheaper quality), pushing designs to their physical limits…all of this forms the “stew” of horrible quality we see in EVERYTHING we buy. We’re in the dark ages as consumers. I just assume anything I buy will possibly break within the first few years. Craftsmanship isn’t a thing anymore.

Planned obsolescence

This could explain why the Mazda CX-60 is a poorly designed vehicle.

2003 Grand Marquis here, in family from new, 496,000 miles, ZERO rebuilds, only minor repairs from new, only towed 1 time for a fuel pump at 424,000 miles...still runs and drives very good...Zero Blow by, no leaks...still original catalytic converters!!

Short version. Two words. "Planned Obsolesence". After that. Toyota has the most recalls of any auto manufacturer. Way more than Nissan. Funny how that is. Isnt it.

Finally get to see footage of you both on this trip!! Nice!!

This COVID era dive in quality also translated directly to the RV market in global scope of that sector. I will NEVER, EVER, NEVER, EVER.....buy a used RV made from 2020 onward. I was SO fortunate to have my Class B RV built Just before COVID ht....after that, Wow, the flow of really bad quality hit the entire industry...As for a new car/truck, the best bet is to buy Toyota or Honda and hope quality is being addressed by these two. Domestic???? Not now, for sure. Trust is fading fast for this life long FORD customer...

I bet Mercedes will still keep making horrible interiors.

I still don't believe it is engine debris with the Toyotas. I think it is a design flaw. That would not have gone on for years and even more than what they state in the recall. Also, the business and bean counters at corporate just keep on peeling out quality to save money. Increasing costs with labor and parts and to increase profits. I really only think it will get worse for a while before it potentially gets better. Just my opinion from what I am seeing.

And yet they are charging so much more.

I’ll just stick with my 2019 stick shift Tacoma. At 122,000 miles it’s been rock solid. Zero issues.

I think that the problem is that too much focus is placed on the infotainment system and electronics rather than the powertrain! The government has unrealistic emissions requirements which really screws car buyers because they’re forcing smaller engines to power cars and they won’t last as long 😢

Blame covid for plastic engine parts that will heat cycle and fail

Debris in the engine is a worker quality issue. There is no worker quality issue in Japanese made vehicles. Just saying.

Capitalism.

Real-world inflation skyrocketing, under Bought Off Biden, leads to real-world cost-cutting by automakers, and leaders in other industries, like food

The L87 was introduced (updated) in 2019. What caused this failure. I think what you say may be part of a bigger picture

I think the three biggest stressors are:
1. GOVERNMENT STANDARDS- EPA and NHTSA jointly set Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards in the US to improve vehicle fuel efficiency. EPA also sets emissions standards. Their motto is "If some is good more is better". But they have crossed the line and engineers have had to modify engines to meet these standards at the cost of reliability.
2. CORPORATE GREED - Quality in materials is reduced to increase profit margins.
3. INFLATION - Our response to COVID spending Trillions $$$ caused 25% inflation. This is reflected in car prices.

Good perspective never thought of the time line in development

I still have and will have a 2013 Infiniti FX37 Limited. I have had it for 7 years and no problems except for regular maintenance. In my opinion, they hit it put of the park with this model, but... Nissan let it die just as the segment was taking off. *only mentioning Nissan because you are in the headquarters. I love the acceptable amount of 'luxury' in my car as it serves every purpose I need, no more and no less. A lot of physical buttons and even on this 13 year old car it has a touchscreen. I'm any event, I think the buyers of newer cars want the car to do everything for them instead of actually engaging in the driving experience.

I doubt its Zoom's fault.. its by design. 👎

Poor engineering/design decisions because of teleconferencing or lack of commodity software chips does not seem to explain debris being leftover in Toyota engines. Covid is an interesting postulation. But, I'm guessing it has more to do with cost-cutting measures than anything.

It’s more about the consumer feedback thats causing quality issues and trying to make changes in the name of innovation.

You get to focus on what matters when you WFH.

I somewhat agree except for the zoom calls. I believe it's really the prices of raw materials went up, companies decided to cut corners to produce a product.

I remember GM being one of the FIRST to brag about virtual meetings with not only national divisions but also international, long before C19. What they may have implemented was a culture shift in quality because leasing escalated as well. A chance to cheapen the product.

Quality has been easing for years before Covid…

New entire quality from A to Z across the board are maybe midterm juke at insane prices till things charge I wouldnt buy any of them period

Low quality is not just 1 factor it’s systemic. I work as Quality Assurance professional for over 37 years worked with big companies Toyota, GM Aviation industry and small companies that made rubbish bins😊 all had that common trait, systemic educational problems and management issues. If you don’t address that then you get what you experience now😊 cheers from Oz🇦🇺