Let's not get carried away on Toyota

I agree that it's the biggest crisis since the last crisis, but it pales in comparison to the billions we have invested in bailing out the bankrupt bozos of the American auto debacle. At least Toyota is paying their own way. So far it hasn't cost me one dime. That's infinity percent better.

 

Yeah and nobody talks about GMAC losing 5 million or billion (whatever it was) in the last quarter of 09. That news got buried. How convient

 

GMAC was sold off from GM in November of 2006. GM owns 9.9%. The losses are from the housing mess and Ditech, not from the GMAC car business.

 

And why does Toyota have such a problem? Could it be arrogance? "The customers can't be right about those problems, they are uneducated people."

Well, perhaps they are. But even engineers make mistakes, and they certainly don't know exactly what the customer expects or will accept.

Time to start listening Toyota. You don't have to jump on every whim of every customer, but you really should start listening to complaints, researching them, and letting the customers know you are working on their concerns. It -WILL- cost less in the long run!

 

I don't know who he is or waht axe he has to grind but I think toyota will need to discredit him right away...

EXCLUSIVE: Former Toyota Lawyer Tells ABC News Automaker Hides Safety Problems In His First On-Camera Interview, Dimitrios Biller Accuses Company of 'Hypocrisy and Deceit' By JOSEPH RHEE, ASA ESLOCKER and MARK SCHONE - ABC News

 

Loosing money while many other people are loosing money doing the same thing is not much of a story.

 

I think the bailout was to keep the economy from collapsing (further), not necessarily just to keep the individual companies GM and Chrysler afloat. So many industries in the U.S. revolve around the auto industry, even Toyota and Ford spoke up in support of the bailout. I remember it was something about how if GM and Chrysler were to fall, it would take the businesses which built auto supplies/parts down, too, and Toyota's business would suffer along with it.

 

It's the auto industry. It's the way that it's functioned and operated all these many years. GM, Ford, Chrysler then Toyota then Daimler, Benz are icons in their respective countries. They own parts of the governments simply because they are ( were ) so big and so powerful. The detroiters 'own' the Michigan delegation for example. It's perfectly understandable too.

The NHTSA and EPA and other governmental agencies are paid employees of the US taxpaying public. In normal times the big auto companies are among the largest of these taxpayers, sooo.....political influence directs politicians who chair committees that have oversight and funding authority on these purported 'watchdogs'.

Even right now, at this very moment the Chevy Cobalt has 1132 complaints lodged against it for Power Steering failures covering 900,000 vehicles going back 5 yrs!!! The NHTSA has done...nothing. The Prius prior to the recall announcement had 132 complaints covering about 100,000 vehicles going back 10 months.

So where is this vicious watchdog? First of all it has been gutted and defunded and kept from doing its job. Next week we will get Waxman's committee ( this is THE key issue, see below* ) tearing into Toyota one day. Then the next day it will attack LaHood and the NHTSA for being incompetent, lazy and in bed with the auto makers. LaHood will correctly state that over the last 8 yrs that the NHTSA has been made ineffective to the point that they have to rely entirely on the inputs from the vehicle makers.

*Henry Waxman ( D, Cali ) Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee.

After a bitter fight Henry Waxman replaced John Dingell ( D, Mich ) as the Chairman and ranking Democrat on this key committee that overseas the auto industry.
Henry Waxman, Health-Care Power Broker - Health Blog - WSJ

Not to mention oversight on the NHTSA.

Dingell was the voice of Detroit in Washington. He controlled what Washington did in relation to the auto industry. Now with Waxman in charge of oversight of the auto industry the adage about 'a new broom......' seems very apropos.

Auto makers pre Exploder/Firestorm almost never recalled anything. After that mess during the last decade recalls have jumped up to where every major maker will have about 1 to 2 million recalls every single year. If Waxman sets LaHood and the NHTSA on fire in public then gives the NHTSA more funding to go after the auto makers we could see the level of recalls jump up to 3 to 5 million every single year for every maker.

Things like the sticky pedal situation on Toyota's and the loss of power steering on the Cobalts will never get drawn out over 5-7 yrs.

 

Well I think it IS the biggest crisis in Toyota's history.

For competitors it could and is being viewed as an opportunity to cut into Toyota's market share and steal from a loyal consumer base.

The automobile industry was struggling with the recession before any of this happened to Toyota.

It might just be clumsy semantics. I think it's the biggest crisis in Toyota's history, and thus one of the biggest "within the automotive industry" BUT is it the biggest crisis OF the Automotive Industry? No. Infact I think most competitors are thrilled with what they probably see as a chink in what was once Toyota's almost invincible Quality and Durability armor.

 

He's already been discredited - and not by Toyota. You really do have to do more research before you put your fingers on a keyboard. This happened back in December.

This is the very reason why the SET dealers are going after the ABC affiliates in their region. Biller is a wacko and nutjob. His data has been reviewed by very authoritative opponents of Toyota ( lawyers that fought Toyota in court ) and it was determined that Biller had nothing. A nut case, literally. Use Google, it works.

But ABC keeps rewinding his spew and keeps the negativity boiling.

 

Noted.

 

Here is my complaint: I was sent the "floor mat" notice by Toyota back when floor mats were all anyone seemed to care about. The notice mentioned something about having the gas pedal replaced in the spring, just in case...
Called the dealer, which said 'Yeah, call back in a few months. Don't worry about it."
Then the news came about other alleged problems. Coincided with taking my 2008 to the dealer for inspections. They said 'It was made in Japan,' so recall doesn't affect it. Don't worry about it.'
Now of course, cars made in Japan have been affected (but are they just the 2010 models?). Do I worry about it?
I'm not an alarmist, I just can't seem to cut through the 8 gazillion reports out there (especially the TV reports -- geez)...

 

Exactly my sentiments. Gotta love it!

 

Only cars with CTS gas pedals are part of the pedal recall. Your Prius, like all Toyota cars made in Japan, has a Denso pedal. It's not part of the recall.


As for cutting through the 8 gazillion reports, TV executives will report whatever they wish, despite Toyota's wishes.

Tom

 

According to those congressmen, all the dead were on Toyotas fitted with the Denso pedal! But only CTS pedal were recalled!? May be this is the real reason that trigger all those hearing. Why would Americian be at fault when its Japanese product that caused dead.

 

If the Prius and Toyota are so much trouble explain this:

Two Taxis in Australia, One Prius, a 2005 Model went 550,000 Kilometers so far, and the battery was changed at 500,000 kilometers, the other has reached 350,000 kilometers and hasn't needed to swap out its battery yet. No wonder taxi cab companys continue to buy these cars. The City of New York is the only place they have decided its too big a problem to continue. Mayor Bloombag has given up on the Prius.

 

Bloomberg doesn't have a choice. The courts screwed him by ruling that the hybrid taxi plan was akin to regulating fuel economy, which can only be done by the Federal government.