Recall? What recall?
Despite stuck gas pedals and other manufacturing miscues, Toyota owners still love their vehicles — and the evidence is sitting there in real and virtual car lots.
A month-long review by The Post of New York retail prices between Feb. 4 and Thursday for the most popular model — the 2006 Camry LE — showed prices virtually unchanged, at just under $13,000. In fact, towards the end of the month, prices even edged up — as much as $200 in some cases.
In addition, a study undertaken by Rice University says Toyota fans remain solidly loyal to the brand and will continue to buy its models despite the shocking recall of 8 million Toyota vehicles due to engineering defects blamed in sudden acceleration crashes. Even non-owners of the brand were unwavering in their admiration of Toyota.
The report said “the overall satisfaction with their vehicles’ quality was equally high among Toyota owners and owners of other vehicles.”
“Before the recalls, Toyota’s reservoir of brand equity was seen as unparalleled among its customer base — that didn’t just vanish,” said Vikas Mittal, a marketing professor at Rice’s Jones Graduate School of Business who headed the study.
His team discovered that among 93 percent of customers who were aware of the recall crisis, there was little change in their approval of Toyota’s engineering and quality. Researchers found the brand enjoyed an unusual “insulation” against the recall’s tarnish.
“The consistent and high level of satisfaction with the brand experience means that their current customers are viewing this performance lapse as an anomaly,” the report said.
