The  global Toyota car recall has been extensively covered in the mainstream media. Product recalls are not a new phenomenon in the car industry; even the highest quality marques have them.  So why has so much media commentary, particularly in the US, been full of delighted glee at Toyota’s misfortune? Simple - they’ve had 30 years of hearing and telling each other that US car makers (and by implication the US itself) are rubbish, having been resoundingly trounced by Toyota in market share, production methods,  quality and general admiration.  As Dave Segal wrote in the New York Times last week, “Life … is just high school writ large.”  Finally the smart Japanese kid who has beaten you year after year has failed a test. Schadenfreude.

However, if past experience is anything to go by, Toyota can turn disaster into success.  In the 1980s, Toyota suffered a massive and widespread quality failure in New Zealand.  In a country where cars don’t rust much (for reasons I don’t fully understand), it seemed that the entire Toyota fleet was rotting away, and people referred to their most popular models - Corolla and Corona - as Toyota Corrodas. Branding hell. After a slow start, cash-rich Toyota did something very few other companies could have.  It offered a free  panel repair/replacement to every Toyota owner with a car less than 5 years old (and didn’t quibble if it was several years older).  At the same time, Toyota developed and introduced a virtually rust-proof multi-layer galvanizing process to its body manufacturing, and announced a comprehensive long-term warranty on not just the body, but the entire vehicle.  A carefully-conceived, long-term advertising campaign shifted the Toyota brand positioning away from technical promotion to emotional connection.  The end-result - Toyota became more local than the locals and one of the most trusted brands in the country.

US automakers should watch out.  Toyota may be a bit slow to respond at first, but it has huge resources, and when it sorts itself out, then beware.  Toyota  will be back, and better than ever.