*Snip*
And ironically even the U.S. car makers -- should they survive the next years -- might also be winners in the end, if only thanks to massive government interference and weakness of the main competitor.
There are still far too many cars being made in the world and someone's got to give. It would be a joke of history, if this recall affair would damage Toyota so much, that they would be the one who's got to give, rather than Opel, Chrysler, Fiat, Peugeot or other more likely candidates.
If something like this recall affair would have happaned to Alfa Romeo for example, everyone would have shrugged and filed it under brand character. But since Toyota has created themselves the image of being Mr. Perfect, the fall is deep now.
One thing can be learned from this: Yes, you can approach the car business with a complete no-fun, no-nonsense and only profit oriented attitude, without creating any emotional bond to your customers. But get into real trouble once and your customers will let you fall like a hot potato.
This should be taken as a warning for other mass producers and I'm sure they're watchng any analyzing the whole thing very accurately, to prevent falling into the same traps in the future.