Follow-Up on Toyopet a.k.a. Toyoda

[Sandy]

The story about that out-of-control Lexus that killed all four passengers in San Diego was pretty harrowing.

For all the claims about how liberal NPR is, I heard two stories on the Toyota recall, one on Morning Edition and another on All Things Considered last night.

Toyota is justifiably taking it in the shorts this time. Their once vaunted reputation for quality and reliability — which used to be justified — just doesn't hold up anymore. It always pissed me off how those coneheads at Consumer Reports would recommend Toyotas without collecting any reliability data like they did for every other manufacturer. What B.S. But even those extremely biased dunderheads have woken up. Slightly!

I agree with others here that if GM, Ford or Chrysler had a dangerous defect like this on their cars, people would be screaming bloody murder. Why isn't Ralph Nader on TV throwing a hissy fit? Why oh why is he for the first time so quiet? Hmmm?

I agree with Peter De Lorenzo at AutoExtremist that Toyota is in big trouble:
In Toyota’s case, their relentless obsession to be the biggest, baddest car company on the planet has cost them dearly. Too many plants were built, which led to the company having too much capacity on hand, and in the process of doing that they took their collective eyes off of the ball, which led to an undeniable slip in quality, heretofore their Holy Grail, and the principle raison d’etre for the company. And remember, all of this was undertaken in the quest to unseat General Motors as the world’s biggest automaker. Sounds wildly misguided and painfully irrelevant right about now, doesn’t it?


But there’s more to Toyota’s slide than the above-mentioned laundry list of reasons. The fact of the matter is that the company that thrived on being the quiet but strong and formidable No. 2 absolutely sucks at being No. 1. They’re so bad at it in fact that they’ve completely lost their mojo.
In the old days Toyota could get by with their blandtastic transportation devices because they smugly knew that their customers would go along to get along with that style of detached motoring, because their customers also knew that nothing went wrong with their vehicles, ever. And that was plenty good enough.


Now in the midst of a relentless series of recalls, that ol’ Toyota quality magic has been blown to smithereens, and their reputation is in tatters. And amazingly enough consumers have quickly gotten the message that there are other automakers out there delivering the kind of quality numbers that used to be exclusively associated with Toyota.

Do they make bland vehicles? Absolutely. And that didn’t used to be a problem. But in today’s cutthroat market it is a huge problem for Toyota because to the consumer if the quality is comparable, then all things being equal they will naturally gravitate toward style and appealing design, and Toyota is nowhere when it comes to those factors. As in not even close.

Toyota is still going to sell a lot of cars. There are still plenty of sheep out there for whom a car is simply an appliance. But they are no longer invincible.

That said, GM's announcement of interest-free loans and other incentives to Toyota owners strikes me as a bit tacky and opportunistic. It takes some balls to make such a bold offer, so I'll give GM a few points.

If this were a reliability problem, like the oil sludge problem with Toyota engines that they tried to sweep under the rug, I'd say go after them, no holds barred. But since this is a safety issue, I think it could make GM look like vultures
It is also interesting to note that the only plants shut down have been those located in the U.S. The Japanese plants continue in operation as do other facilities around the world.
Could be somerthing about revenge by forced unemployment for Americans.....WHERE THE HECK ARE THE BIG 3 ?
These I mean:
All the sheeple know is Toyota makes the Pius and is good for the Earth. And I also find it interesting that none of the usual suspects from the consumer rabidvocate groups are beating the war drums over this. Ralphie "Unsafe at any speed" Nader too busy planning another presidential run? Joan Claybrook having her hair done today? Clarence Ditlow have laryngitis?

[negusm]

I agree with others here that if GM, Ford or Chrysler had a dangerous defect like this on their cars, people would be screaming bloody murder.

http://www.usrecallnews.com/2009/10/for ... -risk.html

Ford is recalling 14 MILLION vehicles for a faulty cruise control module that will BURN A CAR TO THE GROUND! You wouldn't know it from the lack of coverage...

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/total- ... ape_ext_1/

It is also #1 on the ALL TIME RECALL list!

-Mike

[Sandy]

Yes, but.....

Most of them were made back in the 1970s & 1980's. 3 decades ago, (x-cept for #1, that was recent.

[Sandy]

Really funny how this all hapened with "Cash-for-Clunkers" ~ WE used OUR TAX DOLLARS to throw away 1,000s of dependable, safe cars - only ot put people into defective and unsafe Camrys, Corollas, & Lexus -
The Circle of FAIL is complete!!

[ChuckG]

Only because Detroit got its senseless unsafe vehicles out of the way much earlier. Corvair, Pinto, CJ-5, etc.

They ALL learn the hard way. Huge class action suits and NTSB investigations will remedy Toyota's short-sightedness, as it has Detroit's.

Japan isn't a country of liability attorneys like we are, so they simply don't think of safety as proactively as maybe they should.

God, did I just defend liability attorneys & government bureaucracies????

The world has flipped!

[Sandy]

The part that made me the most angry, was stated in print, just once, a few days ago.
Toyo big wigs stated that the defective part was never made in Japan, and that it was made in America, by Americans!

Then, the briliant move....The head of the company stated that Mr. Toyoda personality visited that plant & inspected the design and quality of THAT electronic part & signed off on it as "perfect"
(In Japanese)
HE is briging that paper tomorrow, in case he needs to show it again.

That's right Mr. T - - blame us

Buick
Buick is going nuts. Increased warrantee to 5 years from 4, increased engine and transmission on years 4 & 5 as well as the entire car to 5 years 100% coverage, paying a $1,000 bonus for every Toyota or Lexus traded in, and this together to the division's current rebate offers.
It includes all models, La Crosse, Lucerne & the SUVs.
The Lucerne SUPER has the Cadillac Northstar V-8 and a W-O-W Interior. It's a Cadillac for $47,000, and a longer warantee.
My Dr who has driven Limncolns for years, switched to this Lucerne Super and loves it. Go to Buick.com to view

[shelbyscarab]

Yes, but.....

Most of them were made back in the 1970s & 1980's. 3 decades ago, (x-cept for #1, that was recent.

Thanks for clarifying that Sandy. So often you don't get the "whole" story.

[shelbyscarab]

Really funny how this all hapened with "Cash-for-Clunkers" ~ WE used OUR TAX DOLLARS to throw away 1,000s of dependable, safe cars - only ot put people into defective and unsafe Camrys, Corollas, & Lexus -
The Circle of FAIL is complete!!

Isn't it great how we bend over backwards for foreign companies, but never get the same in return. IF the media would just report on this and inform Americans of this fact, maybe some would have a little more incentive to support the American company......

Don't get me started on the Cash for clunkers debacle..... so many perfectly good cars trashed which resulted in used car prices increasing substantially due to supply.

And didn't China get the scrap cars? huh.

[shelbyscarab]

The part that made me the most angry, was stated in print, just once, a few days ago.
Toyo big wigs stated that the defective part was never made in Japan, and that it was made in America, by Americans!

Then, the briliant move....The head of the company stated that Mr. Toyoda personality visited that plant & inspected the design and quality of THAT electronic part & signed off on it as "perfect"
(In Japanese)
HE is briging that paper tomorrow, in case he needs to show it again.

That's right Mr. T - - blame us

Buick
Buick is going nuts. Increased warrantee to 5 years from 4, increased engine and transmission on years 4 & 5 as well as the entire car to 5 years 100% coverage, paying a $1,000 bonus for every Toyota or Lexus traded in, and this together to the division's current rebate offers.
It includes all models, La Crosse, Lucerne & the SUVs.
The Lucerne SUPER has the Cadillac Northstar V-8 and a W-O-W Interior. It's a Cadillac for $47,000, and a longer warantee.
My Dr who has driven Limncolns for years, switched to this Lucerne Super and loves it. Go to Buick.com to view

Have you heard some of mr. toy's comments? lol. He's not happy with the anti-business climate being created over here. funny. also, I just heard that toyo's dealers are complaining that this whole thing has gotten blown out of proportion due to the gov. being involved in GM and Chrysler. huh.

I've never been much of a Buick fan, but I'll have to check out the Lucerne Super. Like to see how it compares with the Lincoln MKS/Ford Taurus Limited (tough cars to beat). I love the new SHO.

[negusm]

Yes, but.....

Most of them were made back in the 1970s & 1980's. 3 decades ago, (x-cept for #1, that was recent.

Thanks for clarifying that Sandy. So often you don't get the "whole" story.

What "whole story" are you referring to?

The cars affected in the Largest Ford recall AND the SECOND largest recall are NOT from the 70's and 80's!

The point is. Toyota is getting shat on while Ford is geting a free ride for a problem that is WORSE.

Ford should be up in front of the Congressional hearings right along with Toyota.

-Mike

[negusm]

Isn't it great how we bend over backwards for foreign companies, but never get the same in return. IF the media would just report on this and inform Americans of this fact, maybe some would have a little more incentive to support the American company......

I agree with this. The government has no interest in preserving jobs here. Clinton screwed us hard with NAFTA and Bush knocked it out of the park with subsequent deregulations. Manufacturing is simply going to continue to shrink here. The jobs we lose in each downturn cycle are never coming back. Those who could have survived working a trade can go line up at McDonalds or just stay home.

If the following can be believed:
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php? ... his=stupid

The plan is for a super highway to bypass the ports here in the US and use cheap Mexican truckers to move cargo from China between Mexico and Canada.

Even more jobs lost.

-Mike

[Sandy]

I took my Town Car in for oil change, filters, and NJ inspection. I really could not wait, and since I qm good friends with the owner I asked, (I usually do not) and he, hoping I'd fall in love, gave me a new MKS Lincoln.

Sorry to say, I did not like it as much as I like my T.C. It's a cross between a Taurus\Sable and a MKZ. It just does not have the feel of weight, luxury, and the quality feel of a T.C.

The cars I'd like, I cannot afford to spend my $$$ on at this time.

in Order:

1) Volvo S80 Premier Elite
2) Buick Lucerne Super
3) Cadillac DTS Platimun Performance Edition.

All the rest I can pass up, for now.

[tfs2121]

i heard the comment about the part being made here in america. that pissed me off. all of this could have been prevented if they followed the rules. ALL cars that are drive by wire (electronic throttle) should have a program in the computer that cuts the gas when the brakes are hit. toyota skiped this step. ANY car make should have this built into the computer. why would you trust some sensor. sensors go bad all the time. cars have had throttle position sensors since the early 80s. and since the early 80s they have been going bad. so why trust a position sensor with your customers life?

the sensor works just like the rehostat (dimmer) for your dash lights. as you push on the gas the volts go up (brighter light). why did the enginers think the sensor would never fail? why didnt they put in a brake cut out?

[Sandy]

Seems the USA is all about the betterment of any other country but the USA. It's time we be for USa and screw those that wanna take take take.

[Sandy]

Here's some food for thought.....
62% of the cars sold under Cash for Clunkers (C4C) were Japanese or Korean based. Less than 32% were American. They took people out of Safe reliable running cars, and put them into UNsafe Camrys & Corollas & Lexus, while blowing up the engines on safer cars, Fail Circle completed, Japan then admired our program C4C, and instituted it in Japan. One exception....NO American Cars Were Allowed to compete !
As by now you do know that I am very Anti-Japan, soloy because they cheat, they lie and the wish to run us down the sink. I, for one, am relishing all of what is going on. I would never ever buy any car from Germany (them 'b-sterds gased my people,) and they can put their Miserable Bends and Bowel Movement Working BMW out into the sea, and No Japan brands for me, either. I am American, therefuoe I buy the products that strengthen OUR country, our citizens and our future!
I am sick of foreign imports. I like the Union Label, too.
It would be great, in MY book if HonDUH, Toyopet & Nissan would join Plymouth, Imperial, Pontiac & Oldsmobile - Wish I could live long enough to see that! Maybe tomorrow will turn a new leaf and give Mr. Toe-Doto a taste of his own medicine in AN AMERICAN court! I sure do hope so.

Now that I got that off my chest, I am going to bed! Loooong hard day at the hospital, yesterday, I think they gave me Japanese Chemo !!