Rest in Peace: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/18/business/global/eiji-toyoda-promoter-of-toyota-way-dies-at-100.html?_r=0 .
We got the communication at work today, on one of our breaks. (TMMC Plant, Cambridge, ON Makers of Corolla, Matrix, RAV 4 and Lexus RX350)
Most impressive, he changed small cars from a race to the bottom, POS, to products that even at the low end had quality and durability. He went after repeat business, the hard road, and achieved it. His customers were the young, just getting started and as their careers grew, they remained loyal, and came back again and again. Bob Wilson
He argued that Toyota needed to change the way it made cars if it hoped to survive in the 21st century. His urgings prompted the development of the popular Prius gas-electric hybrid, the manufacturing expert Satoshi Hino wrote in the 2005 book “Inside the Mind of Toyota.” Big decision, better result. Even when engineers pointed that Prius had to be hybrid, a industry first, we never backed up
His big innovation was the TMS, that used the work of demming to reduce costs and improve quality at the same time. This gave toyota strategic advantage that they used to fuel their growth, and other industries have adopted similar procedures.
