Toyota to Add Investigative Vehicle Offices;

Toyota made recent announcements about extending its development process, and now the automaker is putting more engineers in U.S. quality offices. Used Toyota models such as the Camry can be found at a Cincinnati used car dealer. Toyota's German competitor, Volkswagen, has models that can be purchased during VW Specials. The move is Toyota's latest in an attempt to increase quality control, remove manufacturing defects, and prevent further recalls and reputation damage.

Ford vehicles can be purchased at a Ford Lincoln Mercury Birmingham dealer and Ford has not had major recall issues lately. There will be at least seven Toyota offices in the United States that will be staffed with engineers and specialists. These employees will be part of an investigations unit that will look into any customer complaints about Toyota models. Each of the offices will have a specialization in a particular issue, and each office will employee three to five staff members. Toyota also has several other quality control programs commencing at the moment. The offices will be implemented over a period of one year.

The Swift Market Analysis and Response Teams (SMART) were set up by Toyota to investigate the acceleration problems that have made headlines since 2009. This team is a separate entity from the new quality control offices that Toyota is establishing. The latest move for the U.S. field offices are a response by Toyota's United States branch that has sought more autonomy in vehicle quality control and other areas.

Toyota has issued nearly 11 million recalls since late last year. The company will continue to make major moves in order to reduce liability and improve automobile design to eliminate the chance of a recall in the near future. The new task forces are designed to look at all areas of customer complaints including but not limited to: warranty claims, customer complaints, online blogs, social media, e-mails, NHTSA filings, lawsuits and legal claims, and essentially any discussion of Toyota news or defects.