When Toyota took a prototype of the all-new Camry sedan to U.S. dealers during the spring of 2010, they got something unexpected: a thumbs down.
“They were not thrilled,” admits
Jim Lentz, Toyota’s top U.S. executive. “They wanted an extra 10%,” especially when it came to what Lentz now admits was a dull exterior design. “So, that’s
what we gave them.” The company responded by refashioning the car's exterior.
Lentz, who concedes that high quality is now table stakes in the auto game, said the new strategy of really
paying attention to dealer insights will help shape the extras that have come to determine which vehicles gets to the top of buyers' shopping lists. "Staying closer to our dealers [gets us] much
closer to our customers,” said Lentz, adding that the message learned is that Toyota cannot simply market itself as a company producing high-quality cars anymore.
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