Bertel Schmitt:

While Winterkorn is digging for Tylenol, Toyota is set to report record 2.4 trillion yen ($20 billion) profits for the year, despite, or make that because it no longer wants to grow at all costs. By the end of this fiscal, Toyota is expected to lift, at least partially, the veil off its new production system, dubbed Toyota New Global Architecture, or TNGA. Expect this to be much more than just a modular kit. TNGA will reach into all aspects of the vehicle development and production process, including planning, design, and purchasing. TNGA will extend across diverse divisions, including R&D, Sales, Purchasing, and Production Engineering. Instead of a Teutonic “out with the old, in with the (costly) new” TNGA will maximize current resources and investments, and it will be gradually implemented over the course of a decade. At Toyota, TNGA could very well be the most ground-breaking development since the Toyota Way.