DETROIT — U.S. buyers were willing to overlook Toyota Motor Corp.'s safety troubles the last few months thanks to zero-percent financing and other deals, but as the lure of incentives fades, the carmaker has a tough job: Winning over consumers who no longer trust the brand.
Toyota hasn't had to face the music yet. Earlier this month, it extended its incentives through June 1, and some analysts expect the company will keep offering deals through the summer. But at some point, Toyota will wean itself from incentives and determine the true extent of the damage from its recalls of more than 8 million vehicles over faulty gas pedals in various models and brake problems in the Prius.
"The deck has been reshuffled," said James Bell, an analyst with Kelley Blue Book. "There's permanent damage there. It's not fatal, but it changes the game. This makes Toyota compete in a way they haven't in 25 years."