The Toyota Difference, From the Ground Up

We all know how reliable Toyota cars and trucks are. They have the best reputation on the road for longevity, reliability and, subsequently, resale value. But just what makes these cars so reliable? What is it exactly that puts Toyota ahead of the rest on so many levels?
To understand how Toyota engineering evolved into such reliability, you must understand the origin and culture of the company. The underlying philosophy at Toyota is quality over all else, and it has been since day one. And the only way to ensure the highest quality is turning the largest profit possible.
Not only is the quest for quality worth examining, but Toyota’s business model. And not only just the business model itself, but in comparison to its competitors. Take GM, for example; the company was built on a model in which unions forged the culture and the ensuing business model. Because employees and labor unions determined the business model at GM, like most American automakers, they determined company profitability.
Deep seeded and innate to the GM Company culture, the expensive demands of labor unions effectively drive down profitability, which GM allowed to happen. Expensive labor like this allows less positive return for loop investment into the Company in such things like research, design and quality components. It also is responsible for driving manufacturing in all industries overseas seeking much more affordable labor costs.
Unlike GM, Toyota from the onset was focused on generating profitability. If a plant is costing the company money, for example, there aren’t any labor union contracts preventing the Company from shutting it down and sustaining profitability. Being in the driver seat on turning a profit allows Toyota to reinvest in a better- and increasingly profitable- consumer product. This profitability edge is what gives Toyota a leg up on GM, Ford and Chrysler.
These values also compliment the management style at Toyota. Much different than how domestic manufacturers run a ship, Toyota managers are in their positions for a much longer period of time, a huge component adding to the importance of reliability.
Whereas domestic managers were looking for profit from quarter to quarter- and weren’t in their position anymore when the industry and customers came looking for answers- Toyota managers maintain their employment for decades. This encourages a culture of accountability and curbs the dramatic shifts in direction and focus seen with domestic automakers.