Randomly Noted

The fiasco at Toyota creates an unprecedented opening for Ford and Hyundai. As Toyota’s brand grows more tarnished, American buyers will look for foreign- and domestic-made alternatives, and this will give a boost to these two auto makers, whose reputations for quality and reliability – as well as attractiveness – have been on the rise. Think about it: If you’ve been buying cars for a few decades – for yourself, for your teen or college-age kids, – you’ve tended to think about Toyota. The Japanese company made good-looking, high-quality vehicles that were so compelling they basically wiped out the competition. In the 1990s, when I advised my elderly parents to replace an aging Volkswagen Jetta, I told them there was only one car they should consider: the ultra-safe and reliable Camry. They bought one and my Mom, now widowed, still counts on it to trundle her around town. Were she in the market for a new car today, I’d have two words for her: Ford and Hyundai. It’s a sign of these fast-changing times that a Korean auto maker and a once-floundering American offer a more-attractive vehicle line-up than the Japanese behemoth. The toll on Toyota will be long-lasting.Have a look at what colleague Liam Denning has written on this topic for Heard on the Street.