Groups challenge Toyota’s ‘green’ image

It seems to me that Toyota is actively pursuing higher MPG vehicles without needing the "prodding" of a law that says they must do so.

In the past, however, US automakers have seemed to require a law mandating something before any new and beneficial technology would make it into their final product. And, once the technology was incorporated in their products due to the law, the US automakers would trumpet it and make it a selling point that they include the technology in their product (without, of course, mentioning that the only reason they did so is because they were forced to do so under the law. Take Chrysler and air bags, for instance.) These two facts may represent diametrically opposed means of doing business if not two diametrically opposed ethical and moral foundations.

Having to comply with a law that forces something on someone is more costly than not having that law. Toyota may not want the law for completely different reasons than the US automakers have for not wanting the law. Given past US automaker actions, it can be assumed that they do not want the law because they do not want to produce high MPG vehicles because it will "cost too much" no matter how good it might be for the rest of the world.

What Toyota's motivations are for not wanting the law I do not know; however, my bet is that they do not want it because it will be expensive for them to continue to do under that law what they are already doing.

From one point of view, Toyota's actions are "anti-environmental." From another point of view, Toyota's actions are a cost saving measure aimed at maintaining lower costs of doing what they are already doing.

Unfortunately, given the past performance of US automakers, I think that US automakers will need to be forced to actually put high MPG cars on the market - whether by this law or by Toyota taking all their business away because Toyota is doing something that is almost certainly good for all life on the planet.

 

I personally wouldn't defend Toyota on the matter. They deserve the bad publicity they're getting for opposing CAFE standards.

 

I think Toyota doesn't want a law forcing other manufacturers to "catch up" to their level of fuel-efficient technologies.

 

its funny how they bash toyota and you dont hear about the other companies in the news as much

 

Hi All,

There were media reports on this a few months ago. I wonder why its back out again?

Back then I mentioned that Toyota opposing CAFE increases is a win-win. If it CAFE stays the same its a win for them, they can sell high profit vehicles, while advancing the mass produced state of the art for which they own the market. Then when the world changes enough that the high profit vehicles are just too damn expensive to run, they will be all set, with technology 20 years ahead of the other companies, all investments amortized. Nobody will be able to bring out an economic competitor.

From a pure cut-throat point of view, why wouldn't Toyota do this? It lures the car companies that wont change into a false sense of security. The world is allot bigger than any law in the US, or any other country. Sooner or later the world will catch up and make the law irrelevant. And those companies not perpared will go out of buisness. This was the real reason Toyota did the Prius. Just read their write-up on it - "The Prius that Shook the World".

 

I think you guys are reading too much into this.
Toyota has just begun to ply into the truck market with the new Tundra.
The new CAFE standard will be in the way because Toyota has no technology to
make a truck much more fuel efficient than what the big 3 can offer at as low cost as
they are today. (hybrid is not the solution for truck at low cost).
Therefore, you see all those companies that value truck market
are on the list.

You don't see Honda on it because Honda is not interested in full-size truck market.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ceric @ Oct 5 2007, 06:44 PM) [snapback]521997[/snapback]</div>

Exactly. Remember, the new CAFE laws don't just increase fuel efficiency for the car and truck segments that are today separate, it also combines the two segments. There is no way to meet new combined CAFE regulation without selling fewer full size, V8 trucks. Toyota has just spend Billions of dollars to build a new plant in Texas to build full size trucks.

 

I applaud Toyota trying to do good for the environment, but do get kind of annoyed how much of an angel toyota owners make the company to be. Just in case you missed it, TOYOTA falsified emission control systems:

Under the settlement, Toyota will spend $20 million on a supplemental environmental project to retrofit up to 3,000 public diesel fleet vehicles to make them run cleaner and extend the emission control system warranty on affected vehicles. In addition, Toyota will accelerate its compliance with certain new emission control requirements, and pay a $500,000 civil penalty. The settlement will cost Toyota an estimated $34 million.

The United States alleged Toyota sold 2.2 million vehicles which were different from those described in its application for Certificates of Conformity, which allow vehicles to be legally sold if they meet Clean Air Act emission standards. The government's lawsuit charged Toyota failed to disclose limitations in the operation of that part of the on-board diagnostic system that checks for leaks in vehicles' evaporative emission control systems. As a result, the on-board diagnostic system would not promptly signal drivers to a problem by lighting their dashboard light. Emission control system leaks need to be noticed and repaired because fuel vapors into the atmosphere contribute to ozone pollution.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(neilb1 @ Oct 6 2007, 09:41 AM) [snapback]522151[/snapback]</div>

Toyota is moving us forward all right. Just think of the uproar if said offense was made by GM or Ford? The media would be all over it.

 

This is an email that I recieved from Toyota:

Thank you for contacting Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc. regarding your concerns with Toyota's position on federally mandated fuel economy increases.

We share your interest in strengthening automotive fuel economy and, in fact, are actively lobbying for a significant increase in the Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards (CAFE). Any assertion by anyone or any one website or blog that we are doing otherwise, is simply not true.

There are various bills before Congress that would mandate new CAFE targets by 2020 and require both cars and trucks to meet that standard. At Toyota, we favor proposed legislation known as H.R. 2927, the Hill-Terry bill. This measure is aggressive and calls for increases in CAFE by as much as 40% by 2022. Although this won't be easy, we believe it is achievable. The bill maintains separate categories for cars and trucks.

Please also note the following:

- Toyota has always exceeded federal fuel economy requirements, and our passenger car line-up has the highest CAFE rating in the automotive industry.

- Toyota is the only major automaker to consistently improve global warming performance since 2001, thanks to hybrids and better conventional technology.*

- We're totally committed to ongoing improvement of fuel economy and emissions in all of our vehicles. In fact, our commitment to this is so deep, we spend $23 million every day on green initiatives and research.

We are continuously striving to improve our fuel economy, regardless of federal mandates.

So please understand that we, too, strongly support increased fuel economy standards. It's the right thing to do-and, we hope that we've been able to provide a little more insight into our environmental commitments and actions.

To learn more, please visit our corporate blog and see our recent posts regarding this topic at http://blog.toyota.com/2007/10/post.html and at http://blog.toyota.com/2007/09/irvs-sheet-a-ca.html.

Thank you for your interest in Toyota and the environment.

Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc.
Corporate Communications

 

I don't know how things work in the industry, but how hard would it be to offer via special ordering any toyota model with the HSD?

Toyota would have to spend money to develop assembly procedures for each model, but that would certainly up the green image if they were willing to take on that cost to develop that production capability.

Then make whatever model someone wants, but they just have to wait a few months to get it.

 

I don't mind the Guzzler society taking shots @ Toyota's non-green lineup. Hopefully it'll change things. What's way more strange is how they don't have ANY issues w/ GM having an even LARGER fleet of guzzlers, for WAY more years, and when GM finally DOES want to do a P.R. spin on how green they are ... they base it primarily off of what they'll do "some day". Like the volt. Or the million doller hydrogen myth vehicle, or the true hybrid vehicles that they are only now barely starting to come on board with.