Oh, I don't think Toyota will ever reduce it's reliability to the level of American domestic cars and trucks. (loaded statement there. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />)
But seriously, they have and will continue to cut some corners to increase profit, because they can afford it. They didn't become the number 2 automaker just because they built good cars. They've been able to maximize profit by figuring out the best compromise between reliablity, reputation and cost. Reliability might be reduced a bit in some areas, but probably not enough to scare away most customers or perhaps even be noticed by most customers. Toyota still builds a good product, with good fit and finish above all else and will continue to do so. However, I do believe there is a difference between vehicles made in Japan by the Japanese and vehicles made elsewhere. Part of it is a gut feeling, part of it is based on hardcore fact. Just because it carries the Toyota name, doesn't mean it's has all of the Toyota quality. The Toyota Bandeirante which was the Brazilian FJ40 made through 2001, was built in a Toyota owned factory, but yet it was one of the biggest pieces of crap Toyota ever built. It had to do a lot with the people that built them and parts used. When I worked for Honda in the very early 1990s, Honda was building one model of the Civic, the low end CX, in Mexico. It was total junker compared to the other Civics, which were made mostly in Japan. There was a real difference in the quality.
Here in the U.S., Toyota outsources much of it's parts to companies like the Tacoma frame to Dana, that it might otherwise not do if the vehicles were built in Japan. Anyone that's ever driven a Japanese car, knows that it's not just that it was made by Toyota or Honda that makes it so great, it's that it used Japanese built parts, which were not necessarily built in house, but were still just as good.
