(Rasmussen) Polls Show Toyota Owners Exhibit More Loyalty Than GM Owners

[Omaha Steve]

Source: US Money Talk

By Janet Peterson on April 17, 2010, 10:33 am Posted in Business News

After bailout controversy including GM (NYSE:GM) and Chrysler, subsequent ratings of these American companies have taken a sharp dip. Accordingly, safety failures of Toyota (NYSE:TM) have also led to its lower rating. Yet, such setbacks have not deterred consumers from recommending Toyota, ahead of GM or Chrysler.

Rasmussen

Rasmussen Report, which is tracking this automobile controversy, states that Toyota owner may be more loyal than either GM or Chrysler owners. Their survey has revealed that 64% of Toyota owners are willing to buy another Toyota. Among them are 40% who believe that they are very likely to buy Toyota, next year. Comparing these numbers to GM cast a different story. Only 57% of GM owners are somewhat likely to buy GM whereas 32% say that they are very likely to buy a GM branded car, next year. Toyota is also a winner on reputability ratings as almost 69% Toyota owners share favorable view of their car manufacturer. GM lags in this category with 53% positive reviews while Chrysler’s rating have slid 12 points to reach an all time low of 32%.
Rising GM Popularity

Still, analysts predict that such numbers should not concern GM. In reality, GM improved its popularity rating by 15% from last June, when only 42% of GM owners said that they were somewhat likely to buy GM vehicle. Moreover, it is predicted that most American adults will buy GM rather than owning Toyota. Such facts are based on findings which suggest that 34% Americans plan to buy GM, compared to 29% for Toyota. Also, 36% Americans say they own a GM car, while only 21% own a Toyota.


Read more: http://www.usmoneytalk.com/business/polls-show-toyota-owners-exhibit-more-loyalty-than-gm-owners-904/

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I thought Toyota owners could use some good news after the news dump this morning.

[Mudoria]

1. Seems like misplaced loyalty

[Mopar151]

3. Those loyal buyers have been selected by the market

They've been told - by Toyota, by Consumer Reports, by other Toyota acolytes - that they buy 'Yotas because they are smart consumers, and that reliability is the most important criteria for purchasing a car. These consumers are now being conditioned to defend their choices in the past by buying another Toyota. Passive safety is a secondary criteria, performance/active safety is well back in third.
Many of these folks never see the bottom side of their car. They don't know from unsuitable hardware plating or poor rustproofing, they're sure all these drive-by-wire failures are some kind of insurance scam.

[frazzled]

4. No, it's experience from owning trouble-free cars

We owned a Toyota Camry for 12 years and then a Prius for the last 4 1/2 (we hope to keep it at least ten years). It's been like a dream not having all kinds of problems we experienced from previous cars. We're loyal because they work.

[proud2BlibKansan]

5. That's exactly what I was going to say

I'm not the least bit inclined to not buy another Toyota. They are damn good cars.

[nyy1998]

6. Exactly

We have owned a Lexus ES for 12 year and it's never gave us any trouble that wasn't avoidable(nails in tires, accidents cause by others, etc). I know Toyota is going through a bad run and they deserve all the blame they've gotten, but I hope they learn a good lesson in corporate ethics and turn around. I know I will root for them.

[Maat]

12. I've owned my 2006 Prius for four years now.

I've haven't had one problem, and I've always at least gotten 45 mpg per tank.

[divideandconquer]

16. Toyota has a lot of well documented problems with engine sludge, rust, rollover issues, etc

A lot of people have good luck with American cars, especially later model ones but the recent CNN story about high mileage cars showed US cars doing very well. Consumer Reports self selecting surveys would never be accepted in scientific circles or even political ones but somehow are accepted as gospel as far as cars by many. These total dumbasses at Consumer Reports said the Ford F series Super dutys and Jeep Wrangler are 2 of the worse cars available. This shows they are total idiots and the proof is trying to buy either one of these great vehicles used. These are the strongest used cars out there in the marketplace, a Jeep Wrangler and big diesel Ford truck, and Consumer Reports displays their ignorance like an emperor with no clothes on this idiotic call.

BTW, I know a guy bought a used Toyota Avalon with 60k miles and was bragging about how great it was all the while he had it idling and the parking lot filled up with blue oil smoke. A couple months later he was bragging about how Toyota only charged him a little under $6000 grand to put a rebuilt engine in his sludgemobile.Many Toyota owners exaggerate how great these cars are. How did Consumer Reports miss over 3 million defective Toyota's in this lawsuit? <http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2007/01/toyota_sludge_settlement.html>
The 2 things I hate most about Toyota is their endless quest to game the legal system and their use of close to slave labor in japan in the form of "guest workers from China and Vietnam who are lied to and their passport confiscated and worked 16 hour a day, some even dying.http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3796/the_dark_side_of_the_toyota_prius

All the way back in the late 90's the great Toyota set their check engines lights in California so they wouldn't go off and then were caught and lawyered their way out with the Bush misadministration.
<http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news02/toyota_air.html> Yeah they really care about emissions!
..

[NoGOPZone]

37. Consumer Reports is the only magazine who caught the GX460 handling problem

How do you reconcile this with the Toyota bias you've imagined?

Also, can you name me an auto reliability survey that doesn't use a self selected sample? Surely you realize JD Power and TrueDelta use this method, and MSN's method is at best a varaitation.

[Mopar151]

33. Thank you all for lining up to prove my point.

Toyata built decent cars for you, and has managed your perceptions well. I'm glad none of you has had a rusty pickup confiscated by Toyota, or, as far as you know, been subject to recalls.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

38. I had the same recurring problem with every Toyota I owned,

They kept getting stolen...

Unfortunately I didn't consider a Toyota when I bought my last car - after my Tercel was destroyed (beyond economical repair) in a collision with a runaway dumpster. I just didn't see the value for the money relative to Honda or Hyundai.

[MurrayDelph]

40. That's my experience, as well

I had a Chevrolet that died after six years and 55K miles (and was unable to find a mechanic/dealer willing to address my problems; they just kept pretending the problem didn't exist).

I had a Ford that needed it's second transmission at 19K miles, and it's third at 55k. It went on life-support (repairs costing more than the car was worth) at 66K. (And when a warranty repair was needed, they were too damned busy. But they always found time for the stuff they could charge for)

When I went to Japanese companies:

I had a Toyota Celica that didn't go into life support until 8.5 years and 187K miles,

followed by a Honda Accord, that was still healthy when I traded it in after 7 years and 118K miles (I only got rid of it due to an injury preventing me from driving with a clutch),

and am now on a 2002 Prius that has 166K after 8 years, and is still doing nicely.


So, my loyalty towards Japanese cars is based on having had good products and mechanics willing to stand behind the work.

[boppers]

9. Reliability vs. performance?

Yeah, that pretty much says it in a nutshell.

Consumers, for some odd reason, prefer a car that actually works.

Crazy, I know.

:sarcasm:

[AwakeAtLast]

21. Has Ford been forgiven for the Pinto?

I would say they have. I think Toyota can be, too.

[divideandconquer]

26. I bet comparable year Japanese cars were just as bad as the Pinto for poorly protected gas tanks

I also bet comparable year Toyota 4runners are just as bad as Explorers for rolling over. Oh yeah, I forget the best 4runner the new Lexus V8 version was just withdrawn from the market for rolling over!
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/driveon/post/2009/09/68498180/1

[AwakeAtLast]

29. And people are still buying Fords

just like they are still buying Toyotas. That was my point.

[amandabeech]

35. I never wanted to ride in the 4runner because it looked like it would

roll over taking an easy turn at 5 mph.

Talk about high center of gravity.

[PJPhreak]

41. I had a 89 4runner...

22re/5-speed...Best danm car I have EVER had!!

Paid $3600 for her,Used with 67,000 on her...Sold it for $4500 eight years and 380,000 miles later...thats right 447,341 on the Original Engine and Tranny!

Only a Deisel would begin ot get close to that.

And yes they are tippy...So is a Jeep,Exploder,Blazer ect,they are 4X4's fer christs sake! You do not drive them like a Porsche!

[enlightenment]

2. GM makes some great cars. So does Ford. And Toyota.

They all have issues at times (and I believe they all have tried to deflect attention away from those issues when they occur). Autos are imperfect products; humans are imperfect beings. Sometimes those imperfections combine to create larger problems.

I like my Toyota and while I won't be buying another car for awhile - since I keep them until they literally fall apart - I will, when the time comes, do what I did when I bought this one. Look at all the options available for my needs and price range and make a decision based on those considerations - not who manufactures the product.

[metapunditedgy]

7. It's not just engineering for quality; Toyota also engineers for form and function.

My Corolla was a boring little car, but almost every part of it gave me the impression that someone had thought carefully about how a human being would use the car. I drive a domestic now, but most American cars feel to me like they just let the interns design the little bits.

[divideandconquer]

17. The Tundra truck is not only ugly as sin but a worse gas pig than comparable America trucks

Compare the 5.7L Tundra almost worse in class gas mileage against a Dodge Ram with a HEMI! http://www.fueleconomy.gov/ Toyota wasn't the worst because Nissan was even lower!

And whats the deal with the fake hood scoop, door handle hidden in the c pillar and that funny dent in tailgate right from the factory? No form follows function there!

[marybourg]

8. I asked my husband:

"How come our Toyota, which has been in the shop once (for a new hatch latch) in eleven years has been recalled, while our Chevy Suburban, which at the end of 3 years had been in the shop about 21 times, was never recalled? He said: "That's simple. (The Chevys) were in the shop so much, they never had to be recalled. They were always THERE!"

[Maat]

13. HeeHee.

That gave this Toyota-owner a laugh.

[bertman]

15. I, on the other hand, love my '02 Tahoe, which has been reliable and only had one

minor part go bad in close to 150,000 miles now.

I had a girlfriend many years ago who had a Corolla that had over 220,000 miles on it when the interior caught fire--not due to the auto malfunctioning. We bought used seats, upholstery etc. and put it back together like almost new and she continued to drive it for a couple more years.

[doc03]

10. Myself after buying my first Toyota back in 2006 given the

comparable product GM offers I would still buy the Toyota. I have had my Tacoma 4 1/2 years and have had zero problems with it.

[emilyg]

11. I'm one of those owners. Love my Camry.

[Grassy Knoll]

14. Rasmussen is a fox noise ploy, unfair poll , and one sided . n/t

[divideandconquer]

18. The "r' in rasmussen stands for Republican

No one accept Rusmussen polls for politics but for the the Japanese ministry of international trade's favorite son, anything goes

[totodeinhere]

20. Please explain how that poll was unfair and one sided.

They merely asked some questions and the respondents answered. I don't see how it is unfair to ask those questions, and I found the responses quite interesting.

[Grassy Knoll]

24. Scott Rasmusenn is a right wing hack......

He fixes polls , and was a PAID consultant to dubya bush, and if Obama takes a drop in poll numbers,
he is the first fuctard fox noise brings on their shows, and he is usually way bellow the national average.
Just like fox, he has a right wing agenda .

[totodeinhere]

31. I agree with you that he is a right winger. However, I believe this poll based upon my own...

positive experience owning and driving Toyotas. I haven't had as much luck with domestic brands. I realize that my reasoning is anecdotal.

[Goldstein1984]

19. I'm on my second Tacoma pickup

My first Tacoma was never in the shop for anything but routine maintenance. Lost it to a head-on collision on icy roads.

So far, with three years on the road, the same is true for my second.

Both my Tacoma's were made in the USA.

I have nothing against America cars. I travel a lot, and one of my favorite rentals is the little Ford Focus--roomy, good on gas, easy to maneuver in a parking lost. Toyota has me with reliability and comfort, and I see no reason to gamble with a change.

My wife drives a paid-for 2005 Subaru that has never been in the shop.

[divideandconquer]

23. Toyota just closed the UAW factory that built your Tacoma

Toyota is consolidating production of their trucks at their non-union Texas factory since it has lot's of overcapacity due to the failure of the Tundra against American full size trucks.

[Goldstein1984]

27. Yes

It seems that a lot of the manufacturing that's left in the US is migrating to the non-union south.

Here's why: We were visiting a relative in Sumpter, SC. He as a great job in a BD plant, sticking syringes into pouches to be sterilized. I mentioned that I was unhappy with my current employer and was planning to take a cut in pay in exchange for better working conditions and a less rigorous schedule (I was leaving a high-stress job as an environmental engineer at a refinery to take a state government job at half the pay and half the hours). It was a complete mystery to him why anybody would leave a job over working conditions.

[PJPhreak]

22. I love my 'Yota!

When i bought this car(Back in 1994),all I had was $1500-1700 bucks so I knew that I was not gonna be able to buy something that would last more than a coupla years...Boy was I WRONG!

for $1600 cash I bought this...1986 NUMMI Corolla DX 4EC


First of all this Corolla is considered to be the WORST One Toyota built in terms of Build Quality,Engineering,Safety.It has No power to speak of,(90 Hp),the Body is Built like a Starkist Tuna Can,There are ten thousand things wrong with it,Shocks/struts,Brakes,missing side mirrior,Carb Beyond help,burns oil on startup,Stalls,backfires,Farts,Spits and is generally as Cranky as a 90 Year Old Teabagger. It has 191,000 Miles on its odometer at the moment

This Lovely Example of a "People Mover for the Masses" was owned by a pair of U of Az.Students before me...needless to say that they were more interested in studying Members of the opposite sex and pizza than they were in caring for their car,other than Wal-mart oil Changes it got NO maintance at all for the first five or so years of its life! None,Zip,Nada!

I have Driven the Hell outta this car! Both Coasts,36 out of 48 states,Canada,Mexico,Snow,Rain,Roads that would make a Class 5 VW Baja Bug Tremble,Mud holes that would have a Monster Truck Driver Crappin his pants,From minus 42 Degrees to 119 above.

All this abuse and guess what...After almost 17 years of living with it I would go out to my driveway,fire it up,and drive it ANYWHERE! I would not even open the hood and look at it first,just go.

Toyota Owners Exhibit More Loyalty? YES WE DO!

[divideandconquer]

25. Check out CNN's high mileage cars feature, American cars do very well

http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2010/autos/1004/gallery.ireport_mega_mile_cars/index.html

[MkapX]

28. Because they make better cars

I can see why they would, Toyota makes good cars. Not only does their cars have good fuel economy but they are in a reasonable price range. Not like the 35,000 dollars that Chevy Volt is rumored to be priced at. Hopefully america car companies wise up and start making cars with more bang for your buck. I want to eventually buy a Ford Mustang...but at 19mpg and 22highway the 2010 model isn't worth the 20k price tag.

[divideandconquer]

30. How about this 40mpg Chevy large compact for under $20,000?

<http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/2010/03/2011-chevy-cruze-eco.html>

[depakid]

32. When Toyota bloated the Rav 4 and supersized their other rigs, I became a zuker.

Same reliability, better performance and mileage on and off the pavement.

[Burma Jones]

34. My wife and have owned a Chevy, Fiat, Volvo, Infiniti, Ford, Kia, VW, 2 Hondas and 3 Toyotas

I would buy another Chevy, another VW, another Kia, another Honda, another Volvo and/or another Toyota. I currently drive a Camry Hybrid, bought it new two years ago, it has 50,000 miles on it and have not had to bring it in for anything besides maintenance. We had a Sienna which we drove hard for over 100,000 miles with no repair bills until we traded it in on a VW station wagon. I drove my Manual Transmission Corolla for 150,000 miles, replaced the clutch pads once and THAT was all that went "wrong" with the Corolla.

The Volvo was OK, had to put in about $4,000 to fix various problems to get it to go from 100K to 140K miles.

I had a GEO (Later Chevy) Tracker Manual Transmission which was trouble free for 120,000 miles


The Fiat was a disaster

The Ford was a 1986 Taurus, and it was a terrible car

The Infiniti was extremely expensive to fix and maintain.



So, I can see how Toyota Owners come back to Toyota, I've had three of them perform superbly.

[DatManFromNawlins]

36. Toyotas are generally better overall vehicles for the money

Not only are they engineered better, but they seem to be built with actual human beings in mind. Hondas are the same way.

Take Honda vs. Ford. My 2000 Civic has more room in the driver's seat than a freaking Ford Explorer. My line of sight was too high to even drive a Mustang. And their cars have only recently stopped being utterly hideous.

[Name removed]

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