Toyota Can’t Catch a Break

Toyota is having all kinds of problems at the moment. There are lawsuits, sales are way down, and the company posted its first-ever loss this year. Now comes word that the largest global automaker can’t even design a decent floormat. Yes, that’s right, a humble hunk of plastic and cloth meant to cushion the driver’s feet and prevent interior carpet from getting dirty has led to a recall of 3.8 million vehicles. Evidently, the mat can get stuck on the accelerator leading to, you know, accidents. And this is just the latest recall that Toyota has initiated—although perhaps the most embarrassing. How much does this component cost Toyota? A few bucks? Oh boy ...

What’s Toyota, with its reputation for quality and reliability, doing about all this? Here’s BusinessWeek’s take:

Toyota has throttled back on growth and in doing so, its engineers are getting back to basics. Smart move. Remember, GM was the industry’s kingpin when its quality problems began in the 1960s. Toyota seems to have taken that history lesson to heart. But its long-standing edge in quality may have already been dulled.

And not at a good time, either, with Ford (F) and General Motors (MTLQQ) desperate to prove to customers that their cars are just as good as what the Japanese are selling.