"Hey, Let's Bash Toyota"

July 25, 2010

By AL LEWIS WALL STREET JOURNAL WSJ.com

BP's Tony Hayward drove Akio Toyoda's runaway cars off the 24-hour news cycle. But now that BP's hole is plugged, it's time to start wailing on Toyota again.

Last week, Toyota revealed that a federal grand jury in New York has subpoenaed documents, potentially widening probes from stuck accelerators to snapping steering rods.

Don't you just love what we do to Toyota? Why can't we do this to everybody?

Drag the CEO all the way from Japan, shove him before Congress, and make him cry.

Slap the company with the highest possible fine. Sue it hundreds of times. Convince it to recall models by the millions. Make it apologize repeatedly. (Bow more fully for the cameras next time, Mr. Toyoda.)

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood once warned Americans not to drive Toyotas. Can you imagine the Treasury secretary warning Americans not to use Goldman Sachs? And why didn't Congress make Mr. Hayward cry? The closest he came to tears was when he whined, "I want my life back," and then got back on his yacht to sail the less poisoned part of the ocean.

So now it's time to beat on someone else. Remember Big Tobacco? How about Big Toyota?

Toyotas can take off as if possessed by Onibaba, the Japanese demon hag. OK, so as investigations continue, it's looking like many accidents were caused by drivers who don't know the difference between the gas pedal and the brake. But Toyotas may have other problems, too.

Toyota hasn't always been forthright. And it's illegal to mislead regulators about safety defects in cars. Not that other auto makers haven't done it. But there has never been a better time to pile on criminal charges.

Toyota bashing helps Americans forget GM's bumbling former CEO Rick Wagoner and Chrysler's former mis-manager Bob Nardelli. It also gets voters' minds off former Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo's special loans to his friends, or Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein's shrewd decision to have the bank settle with the Securities and Exchange Commission for $550 million. And the systemic fraud alleged at America's biggest banks, a mind-blowing national debt and double-digit unemployment after corporations shipped millions of jobs abroad.

Toyota bashing makes it look like our leaders are actually trying to save America.

"All the Toyota vehicles bear my name," Mr. Toyoda has repeatedly lamented, which is true except that I think someone in the marketing department misspelled it a long time ago and never fixed it.

"When the cars are damaged, it is as though I am, as well."
I don't know if Mr. Toyoda is contrite, or if he's just another grief-feigning narcissist whose grandfather gave him a car company. But I was heartened when he went before Congress in February and said this:
"I fear the pace at which we have grown may have been too quick....

Toyota's priority has traditionally been the following: First, safety. Second, quality. And third, volume. These priorities became confused."
Why can't we make every company admit this? Isn't this the problem with every company?

Maybe some old timers are still pissed about Pearl Harbor. Whatever the reason, our Toyota appliances have been performing very well for us.

__________________
1985 380SE Blue/Blue - 230,000 miles
2012 Subaru Forester 5-speed
2005 Toyota Sienna
2004 Chrysler Sebring convertible
1999 Toyota Tacoma

When government gets too involved in businesses, its motives beclone cloudy. Is the US attacking Toyota to make MG and Chrysler look better to consumers? I thought the official report on the unintended acceleration cleared Toyota and blamed the drivers.

__________________
1982 300SD " Wotan" ..On the road as of Jan 8, 2007 with Historic Tags

What worthless blog do you read to get your news??

Try a real source - http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/15/business/global/15toyota.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=toyota%20acceleration&st=cse

excerpt published July 14, 2010 - "It is the first time since the recalls that Toyota has acknowledged that its internal review, which is continuing, found sudden-acceleration complaints to be valid."

more - "The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has received about 3,000 complaints about sudden acceleration in Toyota vehicles and is conducting its own examination of them. The agency said in a statement on Wednesday that it had reached “no conclusions” about the causes."


Seems pretty obvious that the "official report" is not going to completely vindicate Toyota, when it eventually is released.

If they were deliberately using parts that they knew would cause fatal accidents, then they need to be held accountable. It is also very convenient timing for US car makers (and their in pocket politicians) who need every advantage they can get in the car market.

__________________
On some nights I still believe that a car with the fuel gauge on empty can run about fifty more miles if you have the right music very loud on the radio. - HST

1983 300SD - 305000
1984 Toyota Landcruiser - 190000
1994 GMC Jimmy - 203000

https://media.giphy.com/media/X3nnss8PAj5aU/giphy.gif

I read an article recently and apparently the brake problem seems to only effects teens and older people.

They cited the Audi problems back in the early 90s as a change in the position of the peddles and Toyota having problems with recreating the problems on other models where there were claims about faulty brakes.

Let me pull it up. I'll post it back here. Even with all of the problems i would still drive a Toyota and avoid domestic cars like the plague.

__________________
-Typos courtesy of my mobile phone.

translate - I read a blog recently.....

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On some nights I still believe that a car with the fuel gauge on empty can run about fifty more miles if you have the right music very loud on the radio. - HST

1983 300SD - 305000
1984 Toyota Landcruiser - 190000
1994 GMC Jimmy - 203000

https://media.giphy.com/media/X3nnss8PAj5aU/giphy.gif

You know the Wall Street Journal's website could be considered a well funded blog.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703834604575364871534435744.html

__________________
-Typos courtesy of my mobile phone.

The last paragraph is hilarious. Toyota have a first rate marketing deptartment if the world swallows that crap.

- Peter.

__________________
2021 Chevrolet Spark
Formerly...
2000 GMC Sonoma
1981 240D 4spd stick. 347000 miles. Deceased Feb 14 2021
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1981 240D 4spd stick. 389000 miles.
1984 123 200
1979 116 280S
1972 Cadillac Sedan DeVille
1971 108 280S

>>> YES

Can you imagine the Treasury secretary warning Americans not to use Goldman Sachs?

>>>> i WISH THEY WOULD

And why didn't Congress make Mr. Hayward cry? The closest he came to tears was when he whined, "I want my life back," and then got back on his yacht to sail the less poisoned part of the ocean.

>>>>>> I would have loved the congressman to have said what you just did.

Toyota hasn't always been forthright. And it's illegal to mislead regulators about safety defects in cars. Not that other auto makers haven't done it.

>>>>> They have and they should be made to pay for everything illegal they did.

Toyota bashing helps Americans forget GM's bumbling former CEO Rick Wagoner and Chrysler's former mis-manager Bob Nardelli.

>>>>>> Worse than them are the truly questionable stuff done by ex CAO Kathy Oswald and Nardelli predecessor Jim Holden.

It also gets voters' minds off former Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo's special loans to his friends, or Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein's shrewd decision to have the bank settle with the Securities and Exchange Commission for $550 million.

>>>>>> I'd say settle AND indict.

And the systemic fraud alleged at America's biggest banks, a mind-blowing national debt and double-digit unemployment after corporations shipped millions of jobs abroad.

X12

Toyota's priority has traditionally been the following: First, safety. Second, quality. And third, volume. These priorities became confused."

>>> I have worked in that business and know how it happens but that doesn't excuse it.

>>>>>

BTW, local detroit papers have hinted that profits are rising for the Little 3. Now execs are talking about bonuses and the UAW is talking " bonus parity."

Since when did these guys get bonuses if they are still on the gov't dole?

During the days of the loan guarantee act for Chrysler, no exec got a bonus for SEVEN years, until they paid the entire gov't loan back with interest.

They then DID get them, but they had made the company profitable and given every non-executive, every UAW person and every salaried guy stock worth $10,000, which they could cash in after 1-2 years at full value.

I personally believe that was the right way to do it.

__________________
Strelnik
Invest in America: Buy a Congressman!

1950 170SD
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1953 Citroen 11BNF limo
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1983 240D daily driver
1983 380SL
1990 350SDL daily driver alt
3 x Citroen DS21M, down from 5
3 x Citroen 2CV, down from 6

You are correct sir. That was one incredible piece of journalism..

The body of the article does not support the headline, and everything that is used as resource is third hand rumors of unreleased reports.

quote - "...the findings—part of a broad, ongoing federal investigation into Toyota's recalls—don't exonerate the car maker from two known issues blamed for sudden acceleration in its vehicles: "sticky" accelerator pedals that don't return to idle and floor mats that can trap accelerators to the floor."

Somehow, that just doesn't jive with the headline - "Early Tests Pin Toyota Accidents on Drivers"

The Wall St Journal should be ashamed of themselves for allowing that kind of tripe to fall under their banner.

Interesting that the somewhat more complete story from the New York Times came out a day later... Maybe somebody there has the desire and integrity to do the investigative work it takes to be a journalist

__________________
On some nights I still believe that a car with the fuel gauge on empty can run about fifty more miles if you have the right music very loud on the radio. - HST

1983 300SD - 305000
1984 Toyota Landcruiser - 190000
1994 GMC Jimmy - 203000

https://media.giphy.com/media/X3nnss8PAj5aU/giphy.gif

I can believe it though. I lost my brakes once in my old Honda and was able to safely slow down. Most people don't realize down shifting an automatic will slow a car done. I learned that in driver's ed.

It's sad how inconsistent driver's ed classes are state to state. The teacher I had worked for the DMV and as a state trooper. Definitely enjoyed that class and learned a lot of out dated driving tricks which oddly enough now apply for my car!

I dated a girl who had a driver's ed teacher tell her to turn the car off if you lose your brakes. I almost flipped as that would be the last thing I would tell anyone to do. Knowing her she would have pulled the key out and the steering wheel lock would have engaged.

__________________
-Typos courtesy of my mobile phone.

One can not possibly underestimate the truly frightening lack of skill and ability displayed everyday by people "operating" motor vehicles.... If our country really cared more about human life than convenience, we would institute real education, and real skills testing, before every being awarded a drivers license.

Even so, I think there are some real issues with Toyota's acceleration issues. Faulty design to save money is bad enough, but perpetuating that design after seeing it's fatal results... that's criminal.

__________________
On some nights I still believe that a car with the fuel gauge on empty can run about fifty more miles if you have the right music very loud on the radio. - HST

1983 300SD - 305000
1984 Toyota Landcruiser - 190000
1994 GMC Jimmy - 203000

https://media.giphy.com/media/X3nnss8PAj5aU/giphy.gif

By Jonathan Welsh
July 29, 2010, 4:32 PM ET



If it seems like Toyota isn’t suffering all that much from its waves of recalls, look again. Sure, the world’s biggest car maker is still selling vehicles and has been on the upswing compared with last year. But analysts say some of Toyota’s biggest problems are just coming to the surface.

The evidence lies in forecasts that show Toyota’s sales for the month declining while nearly every other car company’s sales are up.

“Toyota is going to be the only major auto maker to post a sales decline in July” based on forecasts, says Jesse Toprak, an analyst with TrueCar, an industry research and forecasting company. He says he expects Toyota to report a drop in sales of 4.4%, compared with an increase of 4% for Honda Motor Co., 8.4% for Ford Motor Co. and a 23% jump for General Motors Corp. Toyota did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

Toprak also estimates Toyota’s market share in the U.S. will be no more than 16% by the end of the year. At the beginning of 2010, just before Toyota’s recalls became big news, he had expected the company’s share to be 17.5%.

In a way it was market share, or Toyota’s obsession with it, that got the car maker into so much trouble. For decades Toyota built a reputation as a maker of dependable, well-built vehicles that rarely had problems. But in the past decade the company shifted its attention to gaining market share. As Toyota ramped up production to support increased sales volume, it may have sacrificed quality. Does this sound familiar? It is the same flawed strategy that had the Detroit Three looking like endangered species a year or so ago.

Toyota recently said it would start spending more time inspecting and testing its vehicles before letting them out on the market. Essentially the company is returning to the way it used to operate, Toprak says. If there is good news in this for car shoppers it may be that Toyota’s will eventually be as dependable and trouble-free as they once were.

The bad news for Toyota is the advantage of perceived quality it had over nearly every rival car brand is gone. And with competitors making better vehicles than ever, it may never regain its lead.

If I was buying a new truck I'd buy a Toyota just to stick it to them for this. All car company's screw up, but Toyota is a good company, who has made some excellent cars.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

Well said.
I'll second that one to the grave.

Hopefully not an early one at the hands of those you speak of though.

- Shelby

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1980 300D - Veggie Burner !