Toyota - are the US press trying to damage them?

[Blue Meanie]

andymadmak said:

They knew about it for years and did nothing. That makes them criminally
negligent imho.

Erm... Anything to back this up?

[Jimbeaux]

jshell said:

Watching CNN this morning. Another Prius driving numpty in the US has an alleged sticking accelerator and is being interviewed. Also a recording of his pitiful 911 call. So, he's asked the following:

-Why he didn't brake... A: the brakes weren't working.
-He's asked why he didn't stick it in Neutral... A: I was holding the steering wheel with both hands!
-He's asked why he didn't switch it off... A: I was afraid the steering would lock or that the wheels would lock! (WTF?)

So this 'tard is careering down the road at 90+ weaving through the traffic, had no idea how to stop his vehicle but manages a call to the emergency services. Unfeckingbelievable!

However, the main point for me is: Is this just an attempt by the US media to damage one of the biggest car manufacturers because the US manufacturers are suffering in this economic climate?

He should have switched the car off, no excuse. However, the fact remains that the pedal DID stick, as have many others. The brake problems are real as well. I say no to your question IMO. The media pound on the US manufacturers just as hard when this happens to them. Also remember that Toyota employs many Americans on the executive and factory level in many factories throughout America. We have too much personally invested to do as you suggest.

[Jimbeaux]

jbi said:

dragged through congress and absolutely grilled... something which has never happened before over a recall.

That is incorrect.

[Jimbeaux]

andymadmak said:

Actually I well remember Ford getting a mighty kicking in the US mediaover the Explorer / Firestone issue. Ditto GM with their
exploding truck fuel tanks.
Fact is, Toyota has huge factories in the USA, so the US Govt is hardly likely to want to risk those jobs at this time of recession.

No, the unpallatable truth is that Toyota have royally screwed up. They have built cars that either the throttle jams open on or the
brakes do not work properly on, or both. And thats bad. They knew about it for years and did nothing. That makes them criminally
negligent imho.
The fact that GM and Ford both went through embarrassing safety recalls only serves to show us that the US Government
DOES learn its lessons and DOES come down harder on the next company to willfully break the rules and endanger the lives of the public
for reasons of corporate gain. That it was Toyota that fell foul of this diligence is down to Toyotas own negligence and greed.

I say good on the US Govt for protecting its citizens.

As for the muppet on the news media - what do you expect? It's the media, it's a hot story, the muppet has an eye on his damages claim
and the media are hardly likely to be looking at the facts of the matter (ie, whether said car was one of those that would have been subject
to the recalls)

All spot on! Thanks for making sense. There are far too many voters working for Toyota in the districts of the Congressmen who are conducting the interviews. The last thing they want to do is have their voters put out of work.

Edited by Jimbeaux on Wednesday 10th March 14:40

[anonymous-user]

media vendetta against a foreign firm? come on guy you can do better than that.

http://biggovernment.com/brjohnson/2010/02/17/toyo...

as for all these 'sensational' crashes i call $$$

[jshell]

fbrs said:

media vendetta against a foreign firm? come on guy you can do better than that.

http://biggovernment.com/brjohnson/2010/02/17/toyo...

as for all these 'sensational' crashes i call $$$

Jimbeaux, comments on fbrs' link above????

[CommanderJameson]

briSk said:

"Unsafe at Any Speed"....
Firestone/Explorer....

[nerd]That's the title of the book by Ralph Nader; the subject of the first chapter, and the topic for which the book is best remembered, is the Chevrolet Corvair[/nerd]

[jshell]

Oh-oh!

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

They're fecked!

[Jimbeaux]

jshell said:

fbrs said:

media vendetta against a foreign firm? come on guy you can do better than that.

http://biggovernment.com/brjohnson/2010/02/17/toyo...

as for all these 'sensational' crashes i call $$$

Jimbeaux, comments on fbrs' link above????

It is an interesting theory and I can see the supposed motivation. There is no way of knowing if it is true.

[Jimbeaux]

Gaz. said:

Jimbeaux said:

All spot on! Thanks for making sense. There are far too many voters working for Toyota in the districts of the Congressmen who are conducting the interviews. The last thing they want to do is have their voters put out of work.

Edited by Jimbeaux on Wednesday 10th March 14:40

It looks like the damage is already done with a 40% drop in sales figures for Feb and Toyota have never been known to be charitable and keep 40% more staff than they need. If sales do not pick up or even continue to decline they'll reduce output which at best means laying off staff, at worst they'll shut entire plants. One journalist did ponder if Toyota would transfer all production to Japan, the thought is not without merit tbh.

They will not transfer all production to Japan. It is cheaper to make these cars where most are sold. Many of the parts that failed were made in japan. My feeling is that people have confidence in Toyota to fix things. If they do, and the "fixes" don't start failing, then I believe sales will pick right back up.

[Blue Meanie]

I thought the accelerator pedal was made in Illinois? What other parts were involved in the braking issue?

[Jimbeaux]

Blue Meanie said:

I thought the accelerator pedal was made in Illinois? What other parts were involved in the braking issue?

The part of the pedal that stuck was made in Japan IIRC. I guess it does not matter, the design is what is flawed. The braking problem was down to a software issue, was it not?

[Blue Meanie]

Jimbeaux said:

Blue Meanie said:

I thought the accelerator pedal was made in Illinois? What other parts were involved in the braking issue?

The part of the pedal that stuck was made in Japan IIRC. I guess it does not matter, the design is what is flawed. The braking problem was down to a software issue, was it not?

From what I read, the manufacturer of the accelrator assebly was in Illinois. Not sure if a particular part came from japan. I would imagine not, as that manufacturer makes assemblies for other car brands.

This company
http://www.ctscorp.com/

Edited by Blue Meanie on Thursday 11th March 20:19

[Jimbeaux]

Blue Meanie said:

Jimbeaux said:

Blue Meanie said:

I thought the accelerator pedal was made in Illinois? What other parts were involved in the braking issue?

The part of the pedal that stuck was made in Japan IIRC. I guess it does not matter, the design is what is flawed. The braking problem was down to a software issue, was it not?

From what I read, the manufacturer of the accelrator assebly was in Illinois. Not sure if a particular part came from japan. I would imagine not, as that manufacturer makes assemblies for other car brands.

Like I said, I guess it is a design flaw. The memo from 2006 that was linked earlier today on PH lends credence to that.

[Blue Meanie]

Jimbeaux said:

Blue Meanie said:

Jimbeaux said:

Blue Meanie said:

I thought the accelerator pedal was made in Illinois? What other parts were involved in the braking issue?

The part of the pedal that stuck was made in Japan IIRC. I guess it does not matter, the design is what is flawed. The braking problem was down to a software issue, was it not?

From what I read, the manufacturer of the accelrator assebly was in Illinois. Not sure if a particular part came from japan. I would imagine not, as that manufacturer makes assemblies for other car brands.

Like I said, I guess it is a design flaw. The memo from 2006 that was linked earlier today on PH lends credence to that.

i'm sure it is a design flaw. it's just that you said it was from a part made in japan, which seemingly is not true. It is, as far as I know, only the ones from this company that have the issue...

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=9483395

[Jimbeaux]

Blue Meanie said:

Jimbeaux said:

Blue Meanie said:

Jimbeaux said:

Blue Meanie said:

I thought the accelerator pedal was made in Illinois? What other parts were involved in the braking issue?

The part of the pedal that stuck was made in Japan IIRC. I guess it does not matter, the design is what is flawed. The braking problem was down to a software issue, was it not?

From what I read, the manufacturer of the accelrator assebly was in Illinois. Not sure if a particular part came from japan. I would imagine not, as that manufacturer makes assemblies for other car brands.

Like I said, I guess it is a design flaw. The memo from 2006 that was linked earlier today on PH lends credence to that.

i'm sure it is a design flaw. it's just that you said it was from a part made in japan, which seemingly is not true. It is, as far as I know, only the ones from this company that have the issue...

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=9483395

I have heard different versions and one that shows "bad pedals" coming from various suppliers. I guess it is irrelevant; they need to figure the design flaw and fix it. If it is software, then fix that.

[Jimbeaux]

Gaz. said:

Jimbeaux said:

Gaz. said:

Jimbeaux said:

All spot on! Thanks for making sense. There are far too many voters working for Toyota in the districts of the Congressmen who are conducting the interviews. The last thing they want to do is have their voters put out of work.

Edited by Jimbeaux on Wednesday 10th March 14:40

It looks like the damage is already done with a 40% drop in sales figures for Feb and Toyota have never been known to be charitable and keep 40% more staff than they need. If sales do not pick up or even continue to decline they'll reduce output which at best means laying off staff, at worst they'll shut entire plants. One journalist did ponder if Toyota would transfer all production to Japan, the thought is not without merit tbh.

They will not transfer all production to Japan. It is cheaper to make these cars where most are sold. Many of the parts that failed were made in japan. My feeling is that people have confidence in Toyota to fix things. If they do, and the "fixes" don't start failing, then I believe sales will pick right back up.

I guess that depends on the price of a reputation and how much the lawsuits cost. Like I said, the journo was pondering, it wasn't cast in stone.

I understand it is all speculative at this time. I just feel that that would not be a practical move for anyone. Now, that occuring on a limited basis might happen.

[Tadite]

No the Media isn't in a witch hunt against Toyota. The problem is that for years Toyota was the brand everyone wanted to be. It was the car that never died and was always at the top of the charts. So when it runs into a huge technical problem it causes people to be interested and what's worse it is then shown to have hidden the problem. That combination causes a media storm.

[alfabadass]

I heard stories of American cars doing this all the time over the years. Always denied by the companies that there was any issue.

Toyota came clean and tried to do something about it, with the CEO apologising and crying on TV. Press smell blood and are going for the jugular.

[Jimbeaux]

alfabadass said:

I heard stories of American cars doing this all the time over the years. Always denied by the companies that there was any issue.

Toyota came clean and tried to do something about it, with the CEO apologising and crying on TV. Press smell blood and are going for the jugular.

They came clean after being caught out. The memo just showed it was brought to management's attention in 2006.