As I was reading the 2007 JD Power Report for long term dependibility, it made me think. If consumer reports shows a low marking for toyota vehicles now (model specific) then JD Power will show a MUCH bigger issue later. As I see it, JD Power is closer to realistic reporting as they are not subscriber based, unlike cr which has a loyal toyota fan base. If that fan base is not used then the problems with the 3 vehicles will show 10 fold. This could easily knock lexus out of the top marking. Not only that; it could knock toyota as a whole out of the top. Hmm . . .

Now add to the fact that in the past few years quality issues and recalls have been a trend at toyota then . . .

With GM & Ford having little on the recall side (newer products) and good rankings in cr (newer products), I could see both of them over taking toyota in the JD Power reports. This could be the game changer.

Now you're getting the idea!

Not only that, but now that Toyota is in the Big Leagues (as is Honda) they are finding it much harder to juggle 15-20 balls in the air, rather than the 4 or 5 that they were each juggling in the '80s.

Toyota's recent troubles are (IMO) not a sign of any trends or anything sinister, but rather a fact of operating a huge, multinational corporation. It is easy to focus on 4 or 5 core models, but the challenges expand exponentially with the complexity of the vehicle (just as Mercedes and their last few years of lacklustre quality rankings) and the number of models.

I'm just surprised just how well Ford is doing....remember when leasing was the only option when playing it safe?

Toyota will fall from the top-it is a matter of time-they are not doing too much at a time, but it seems like they are doing it blindly.....

Honda will stay about the same, as GM and Ford keeping going up...

The ones to watch right now are going to be the Korean automakers....

The Koreans still don't have their business model right. They're operating under the method of "build the car and let marketing figure out how to sell it" Not gonna work. Chrysler tried that one already.

Honda seems to be the most conservative and steady of them all. Their biggest flubs still turn out ok...even when we're laughing at them. I mean really, none of us here like the Ridgeline or the Tundra.... but which screwup is going to hurt the respective company more?