Why Toyota Is Afraid Of Being Number One
It's overtaking Detroitwith trepidation. Now, the carmaker is relying on ever-savvier PR to avoid the U.S. backlash it dreads
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Ask consumers why Toyota may soon be the largest automaker in the world, and they will point to the Camry. Or the Prius. Or the rav4. (It's the cars, stupid.) Ask manufacturing geeks, and they'll tell you it's about just-in-time production and a maniacal focus on constant improvement. (It's the engineering, dummy.)
But there's another drama behind the carmaker's tire-squealing momentum. It's a story that might be called: How Toyota is winning the hearts and minds of America.