Toyota Recalls: Are Ford, Honda, Nissan Just as Bad?

AUTO RECALL PHOTO GALLERY: Nissan Quest Minivan

That also goes for Nissan [pictured above], which was recalling roughly 540,000 vehicles sold primarily in the U.S. to repair possible brake pedal and fuel-gauge problems; last month, Nissan announced plans to recall tens of thousands of vehicles in Japan and thousands abroad over a possible flaw related to engine breakdowns.

Silver believes that other automakers' recalls, such as these, will take some heat off Toyota, but might also confirm larger concerns about an industry-wide problem. While Caldwell calls Toyota the "poster child of the problem," Efraim Levy of Standard & Poor's believes that Toyota will overcome its ordeal and continue to grow.

"[Toyota] will pay a price in terms of reputation and financially, but if they can fix this problem and move on without any recurring problem, they should be fine," Levy says.

Don Esmond, Toyota's senior vice president of U.S. sales, says the automaker aims this year to regain most of the market share it lost in the U.S. over **recent months** following the massive recalls, according to Bloomberg. The company is aiming for up to 16.7% of new-car deliveries, which would be level with 2008, but not on par with 2009's 17%, Bloomberg reported.

How does that 16.7% figure measure up to the market share of other top auto market players? Well, Toyota will still have play more catch up, according to Autodata figures cited by Bloomberg. They show that GM's market share through February was 19.5% and that Ford ascended to second place with a 17.5% market share.