---
title: 'Honest Car Talk: Toyota and Lexus'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=nUJN82VAq6Q'
video_id: 'nUJN82VAq6Q'
date: 2026-08-17
duration_sec: 826
channel: 'savagegeese'
---

# Honest Car Talk: Toyota and Lexus

> Source: [Honest Car Talk: Toyota and Lexus](https://youtube.com/watch?v=nUJN82VAq6Q)

## Summary

This video features an honest discussion about Toyota as a brand, its products, and the experience of dealing with a mega corporation. The hosts explore Toyota's strengths in reliability and residual value, while also critiquing its lack of agility and conservative approach to change.

### Key Points

- **Toyota's Market Position** [00:10] — Toyota is the biggest car company in the world, selling around 11 million cars this year. There are waitlists for basic vehicles like RAV4s and Lexus models, driving up prices even for used cars.
- **Residual Value and Reliability** [02:27] — Toyota's key advantage is its residual value and reliability. An example: a 6-7 year old RAV4 bought for $31,000 was traded in for $21,000 with 87,000 miles, showing insane value retention.
- **The Freight Train Problem** [03:48] — Toyota's size makes it like a mile-long freight train: slow to start, slow to turn, and unable to stop or reverse. This leads to a lack of agility and slow responses to market changes.
- **Iterative Efficiency** [06:03] — Despite being non-agile, Toyota iterates efficiently. They don't make big changes quickly but refine their products over long cycles, which is a strength in their core commodity cars.
- **Desirability and Waitlists** [06:44] — Toyota products are so desirable that even minivans like the Sienna have waitlists rivaling sports cars, sometimes requiring out-of-state purchases. This is unprecedented in the industry.
- **Portfolio Overload** [08:10] — Toyota's enormous portfolio can lead to neglect of core models like the Corolla, while spinning up many other models. This can dilute focus and delay updates to essential products.
- **Long-Term Planning** [10:08] — Toyota plans product cycles 10 years out, which is rare. This long-term thinking ensures well-thought-out core technology, but also means they can't react quickly to immediate needs.
- **The Value of Non-Disposability** [12:15] — In an era of expensive everything, Toyota's products are not disposable and hold their value, which is a major reason people are willing to wait and pay more.
- **Conservative Technology** [12:42] — Toyota is not cutting-edge in technology, audio, or materials, but their conservative approach ensures reliability and ride quality that is 'just good enough', which appeals to many buyers.

### Conclusion

Toyota's strengths in reliability and residual value make it a top choice for many, but its size and conservatism lead to slow reactions and a lack of innovation. The brand's long-term planning and non-disposable products are key to its enduring appeal.

## Transcript

have an honest discussion about Toyota as a brand, some of their products, and what it's like to deal with a mega corporation. Believe it or not, there lists from dealership to get some of the most basic vehicles like RAV4s or Lexus
And what it's doing is it seems to be driving up prices in a lot of cases. >> cases. Even their used cars people are paying a lot of money for. in the automotive world where most products are disposable or everything
loses its value. This company is riding high on its reputation, but let's get started as we take off in the Toyota Sienna.
>> I can't wait, Mark. You know, ever since you put [music] me in this Sienna, my need to breed has increased by at least 5%, at least 5%. spawn, Mark. >> Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, that's
what you do in this, Jack. Or you just turn it into a a weightlifting or a gym, a mobile [laughter] gym. There's There's so many things you can do with this, but Toyota The Toyota Sienna aside and all its innovations, we're here to talk uh
have an honest conversation about Toyota. I make sure I'm keeping an eye on all these flood cameras, dude, cuz I don't >> from the woven city or whatever.
>> Oh, yeah, that's fair. >> Uh so, okay, Toyota is the the biggest car company in the world. They sell the most cars, and uh there's a reason for >> 11 million on track for this year or whatever. It's an insane number of cars.
>> it's it is nuts. When you sell that many cars, there's going to be some pros and cons. We glaze Toyota all the time because if we're talking about a car that I would recommend a family member that's close
to me, I would tell them a Toyota most of the time, either new or used. That's really rare for us other than maybe Honda. Like Honda's kind of default for a commodity car. Of course. >> you were a Fiat man. Everybody in a
>> Yeah, I want everybody in a 500e tomorrow or a Charger EV. So, you know, the reason why is traditionally they have two things going for them that almost no other brand in the world can
replicate very easily and that is residual value. Most of their products cars. The the cars that you need to survive. The one car you need to be able to afford. It lasts usually. It's reliable and it holds its value. That is
>> And this is not just an academic conversation. This is a proven one. A good example, my wife just got rid of her RAV4 for a GX which was probably her RAV4 for a GX which was probably stolen. And the RAV4
was six, seven model years old. Car was $31,000 new. I sold it. I traded it in for 21 grand. That is an insane residual. That car had 87,000
>> So, you know, really, that's that's it. That's the the conversation in a nutshell of why Toyota is so amazing at least in the United States. They have a great reputation for reliability and residual. And with the
price of cars going through the roof, you know, what that's one of the things, a major component. People don't care like the zero to 60 times. They're not going to care about is it the best looking car or what tire it has or what
nitty-gritty that we constantly get into in an engineering discussion. to multiple generations of my family? And I think that's why this car and these cars are so strong. Now, conversely, Toyota has one of the
biggest problems because of their size and scope in the world. And our our personal issues with the brand stem from a lot of the big corporate problems like to the viewers very simply. Toyota is like a mile-long freight
Toyota is like a mile-long freight train. Loaded to the gills, maxed out, max capacity with resources, people, everything you need. This train goes takes forever to get going, and then when it gets going, somebody calls and
something. You need to come back and turn around." Well, by the time they get the message, it's like a year later. They're they're a year behind, and it's impossible to they can't stop the train. And then
instead of figuring out a way to put the train in reverse, they take all their resources, get a thousand people making decisions, get the cranes, get workers, get 25 layers of management, and then instead of going backwards, they build
the track to loop around so they don't have to put the train in reverse. So, everything to do with this brand, it's it's just it's they're so conservative, it takes forever. They're not agile, right? Where you take a brand like
Mazda, smaller Japanese company, they're like a big semi-trailer, a lorry, you know, they're fully loaded, but at least they can find an interstate to turn around on and head back the other way to fix Or like
a Tesla or a Lucid where it's just like, "Okay, we're going to do a U-turn in the they can fix things very quickly, but Toyota cannot. And we've seen this a lot done in Japan. So, anytime something needs to get done
Connected about this specifically with your GX, where it's like the simple things that you would think just fix it, right? Just get it done from a leadership perspective. They don't have that power. Like it just does
not work that way. It's just this massive moving machine that you cannot stop. The inertia of Toyota is so large. It's supply chain, its supplier network. I mean, it's like you can't even chart it. It would be like an interstellar map
systems work. And the people we know don't even know how they work. They've even know how this system works." And it's crazy. >> On the like for the commodity cars, they're not an agile brand. But
conversely, because they're not an agile brand and they don't make big changes, they iterate so efficiently. Like on the GR side, it is a miracle from Akio and the other gentlemen that he leads this company with, but he can build the cars
on the side of the building. He can like make it so. And for those cars, they are not important. When we talk to PR here in the US and any of the leadership, they're like, "As much as you like the GR cars, GR GT, GR 86, GR
Corolla, doesn't pay the bills, does not matter. What matters is everything else, and those are the cars that we try to sweat the details on, but trying to make big changes quickly is nearly impossible. I will say,
about this brand is they are so desirable. There are wait lists that rival sports cars. Like, if you told me ago that a minivan would have like a year wait, I would never have believed
bit. I mean, it's a lot, and it depends on your area, dealership that doesn't get a lot of allocations where Toyota doesn't give them a lot of a specific car, you could be waiting a long time. You may have to
go out of your area or even out of state in some cases to acquire one of these lovely vehicles. And to me, you know, we were talking about Ford on the way here cars. Like, this is a brand that invented the car, Ford, right? They have
They have to take They They can only make that, but they can't make their own go outside the box to do it. And it's like, how How is that possible? And I look at this brand, like, how can you do be able to keep up with the cars that
I know they're moving production around. The The moving pieces are incredible, but it to me, you know, like in the case of your GX, right? Like >> you're waiting months to get a replacement for it. Like, that It just
For what? It's not like it's a cool car. You know, the Sienna is a cool car, but do I Should I be waiting like 3 or 4 months for it? But, conversely too, you selling more CRVs because they can't get enough RAV4 hybrids made. So, you know,
Toyota is definitely in a unique position. You know, a lot of people glaze them, and then a lot of people just the realities of that. I I think the truth of the matter is when you get to that level that they're at, a lot of
think unfortunately, we've seen that with good example is the Corolla in our old. It's so old. They've had it I can't I they've released. The Crown, a Crown wagon, a bZ, a bZ4X,
wagon, a bZ, a bZ4X, a C-HR. There's so many post like You would think, "Okay, let's put the priority on a Corolla." One of the most Corolla Like that. I mean, but they've spun up all these other models, and it's
just I feel like when they get so big, and I talked about this with the Stellantis, which is Stellantis has a totally other problem of just >> You're going to call it Stellantis or versus
[laughter] highest pedigree corporate brands ever. But, yeah, like you know, it's funny because Stellantis needs to focus on a really core group of like really good products to survive. Where Toyota In
they work or not. Like, they could release like five or six total like show basically average cars, and they're going to be fine. You know, and I think that's a bad place to be as a brand when your your portfolio is so enormous that
it gets lost like I I lost my wallet in my cushion of the couch, you know, like that that's how these cars are for them. >> What what I will say is sure, the actual products because they're all on a modular platform, they can just sort of
push them out, but the the core technology and the core product lines are so well thought out at Toyota that it's hard to dispute. Like when they do product planning cycles, it's not like a couple years or a quarter. We're
>> A couple years ago when we first did that Toyota connected project, a friend I'll tell you what's coming and it's like 10 years out and I'm like, "Oh my like 10 years out and I'm like, "Oh my god." And most brands they don't think
>> Yes. >> To be fair, like they can't. They're Like we we go to the gym, dude. You need you need a quick pump today. Like Toyota they need a quick pump, it'll take them like 10 years to get that
>> It's the pros and the cons. I'm taking you to church, by the way, cuz I think you need to be saved from all your Corvette driving. [laughter] like to see the brand be better at? Like from our perspective, we have a very
>> React to their problems quicker. >> Yeah. I I would agree with you. with some of the car theft stuff and maybe some of the uh software on the inside of these things, they're a little quicker to react and maybe consolidated
would be I mean, not the what the hell am I company in the world, but they would be in an even stronger position because at this point, for a commodity car if you're just
derogatory sense. When I mean commodity, I'm saying a car that you buy to just drive around, enjoy yourself, not enjoy yourself, forgive me. Go to place to bought it because you need it. That's what this car company does better
cost you a whole lot to own. Because at the end of the day, for most people, long time? Will it bankrupt them what the fuel economy is like? And is it a at when I'm running my errands? And that's what this company has done better.
two minivans over there, two Odysseys, and that they that family was They You know how that that That's like drive around the same street in your Corvette trying to attract uh women and
feeling. >> Oh, dude, my uh the >> I want to say that in the final thoughts.
it's not going to change a thing. The The argument in this space is, why are people buying 20- and 30-year-old Toyotas and trying to keep them on the reality. They last. People are willing to pay more money for that privilege.
are waiting on lists. And in this era where everything's so expensive, having a product that's not disposable and holds a huge chunk of its value is just unheard of. And I
not in the cutting edge of technology. They're super conservative. Everything forever. And, you know, if you if you want self-driving, or you want a great audio system, or certain material choices, and
amazing drivetrain, it's not Toyota. They struggle with that stuff. having a drivetrain that typically lasts. Its ride quality is just good enough. Their technology is just conservative enough, and it kind of
works. Like, they're doing all of these things, and as a whole, it's a very special brand. That That's why people love them. You know, again, we're going in the next 10 years, but so far, their decision-making has been pretty sound.
And I think that's why so many people love buying Toyota and Lexus products in this era. Thanks for watching. I'll see you the video.