A great story, Pete.
Intimidation was never my intent or hope; Toyota's size and market share prevents that from ever being an option.
However, there may come a time that our story might need to be told to the right people at Toyota. I envision the approach as more of a human interest story for Toyota than anything.
It takes a tremendous effort to build a brand such as Toyota, where the logo is synonymous with well-designed and well-executed automobiles. The fact that those two traits are burned into the car-buying public's brain did not happen by accident, and it wasn't just the outcome of years of clever marketing. In my mind, as a car (and boat) buyer, it comes down to trust: I trust that the vehicle will work well, and last a long time. That trust is based on my experiences and those of people I know.
I respect Toyota's decision to withdraw, but I fear there may come a time when they will need to hear our story as encouragement to continue doing the right thing - support what they built. They will do this not out of fear of us or our lawyers, but out of concern for their image and the brand they work so hard to continually improve.
There's no way to know what kind of spares they've got until they tell us what kind of spares they've got. We really only have two things to go on - 1) their statements regarding turning off support and spares, and 2) the notion that leaving us to fend for ourselves goes against their very nature.
In my heart of hearts I know they will do the right thing...because I trust them. I also feel it's simply responsible to do our part so if we have to tell them our story, we'll have our ducks in a row.
My final point is that some players within the company might be more focused on protecting their brand than others. Finding the ones that really care and have the power to take action is a worthy pursuit.
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