Reply #2: for decades, Toyotas were considered reliable, well-built vehicles

[ixion]

and they held their blue book value well because of that.

This should be an important lesson for them. When you trade quality for cost-savings, it will bite you in the ass every time.

It seems to be a sadly typical trend. A company produces a good product, so they rise to the top of the heap. That's the way it's supposed to work. Inevitably, though, once at the top, they try and maximize profits by cutting quality. This is true not just for multi-nationals, but for local and regional stores as well.

That a company rises to the top and maintains quality is a sadly rare occurrence.