When Jesus began speaking in the synagogue, we learn in this Sunday’s gospel, “all spoke highly of him”—that is, before the people turned on him. Toyota Motor Corp., which until recently enjoyed a sterling reputation for reliability and safety, has seen its fortunes take a dramatic turn for the worse recently after issuing a number of safety recalls. This week the company suspended the sale and production of several popular models plagued by problems.

U.S. sales of eight models are being suspended and five North American plants are being idled, Toyota said Monday. Losing its reputation for quality would undercut a decades-long campaign to promote reliability and safety that helped Toyota become the world’s largest carmaker and number two in U.S. sales.

“This is going to have severe ramifications for Toyota,” said John Wolkonowicz, an analyst at IHS Global Insight in Lexington, Massachusetts. “The Teflon seems to have evaporated.”

Source: An article by Alan Ohnsman and Mike Ramsey for Bloomberg.com