I'll probably be flayed alive for saying this, but I think this article epitomises why Toyota is #1 car manufacturer in the world.

The majority of car buyers out there are clearly not car enthusiasts per se; which is not to say that many of them don't enjoy driving - certainly some of my friends who don't fall into the 'enthusiast' camp drive otherwise quite mundane vehicles, but thoroughly enjoy driving nonetheless.

However, in the balance between being able to afford to run a car and gain the practical and convenience/lifestyle advantages, and yet to have disposable income left to spend on consumer items that many would see as being far more lifestyle rewarding than a mechanical device to get you from A to B, many will willingly trade off notions of prestige or driving passion/involvement for something that will meet their needs perhaps more than their wants, and to do it with the least cost, but greatest quality and reliability.

For many for whom a car is a necessity, but have other lifestyle committments, the choice of a car will be a balance between needs/wants, and commensurate with their income and other outgoing lifestyle expenses, which again will fall into a balance of needs/wants.

The fact that more people choose to drive a Toyota than any other brand, is a testament to the hugely sucessful products that this manufacturer makes; at the end of the day they have made a better, that is to say cheaper and yet higher quality and more reliable mousetrap that more people want to buy more of the time, compared to other competing brands.

Now, from an enthusiast point of view, apart from some stunning past models such as the MR2, nothing that Toyota makes fills me with any real desire to own one. Well, maybe a Yaris as a funky town car perhaps - cute, versatile, very cheap to run and maintain, dead reliable with excellent resale value, and very well made.

But passion? Nope.

However, IMHO there is no engineering reason why the brands that we consider 'prestige' can be outperformed in the quality and reliablity stakes by something so pedestrian in aspiration terms as a mere 'Toyota', and yet of such high quality, durability and reliablity.

Fact is, that when it comes to quality and reliablity, which is what the majority of potential purchasers want in a car, most of the time, Toyota is #1.

It is odd that I have no passion for Toyota whatsoever, but would feel very 'safe' from an financial and reliability point of view in owning one, and can see the quality with my own eyes; whereas as a Mercedes fan, and avowed fan at that, the prospect of buying one fills me with trepidation at the quality/reliability/durability question, as does the ongoing servicing costs.

Both are mechanical devices to get you from A to B, and in the case of say an Toyota Auris v's an Mercedes A Class, or B Class, there is scant difference in terms of mechanical sophistication or technology; one then wonders why the huge disparity in running/maintenance costs between the two different, but otherwise competing brands at that level.

Excuse the rant; this is not a promo for Toyota, nor a damnation of Mercedes, just that thinking of buying a new car focusses the mind fairly quickly away from the dreaming/desire stage, to the 'what is this all going to cost' stage, (purchase price apart) fairly quickly!

A Good Article BTW, and thanks for posting.

Best Regards

John...