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Comments
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
not sure how much longer toyota can keep subsidizing the brand.
the new ft-86 is going to be a toyota or scion?
branding it a scion would be a mistake, core toyota brand needs the help.
The article is a bit disconcerting. Listening to customers is one thing but usually customers don't even know what they want.
The companies I really admire are the ones that put their employees first. Give them the tools they need to do their job and they'll keep the customers happy and coming back.
Everyone, please check out the Comments: Consumer Reports/JD Power Rankings discussion for more on that topic. And check out True Delta too.
1)Record of recent bankruptcy Ch. 7 being upside down by more than 70,000 dollars.
2) Record of being upside down on 2 houses.
3) Record of having more than $50,000 in credit card debts.
This guy reaks of fraud and corruption, so much for you anti-Toyota people and Toyota haters' "star" witness.
Next UA claimant please. This case is dismissed as frivolous! *slams gavel*
:mad:
They are caught in a lie and trying to discredit the San Diego Prius UA owner.
BS Alert! Runaway Prius Owner Claims His Prius Was Recalled But Turned Away By Dealer; Fact: Prius Recall Hasn’t Started Yet
By Paul Niedermeyer on March 9, 2010
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/bs-alert-runaway-prius-owner-claims-his-prius-w- as-recalled-but-turned-away-by-dealer-fact-prius-recall-hasnt-started-yet/
They are Wrong as they are much of the time in their defense of Toyota.
September 30, 2009
Toyota is recalling 3.8 million Lexus and Toyota cars because the floor mats can slide onto the accelerator, potentially causing uncontrolled acceleration. Owners of the affected models are being asked to remove the floor mats until they can be replaced with a safer version.
Toyota and Lexus vehicles affected are:
• 2007-2010 Camry
• 2005-2010 Avalon
• 2004-2009 Prius
• 2005-2010 Tacoma
• 2007-2010 Tundra
• 2007-2010 ES 350
• 2006-2010 IS 250 and IS350
What about Sikes?
While no on is claiming Sikes wants to cash in, experts said he may face questions because of his financial situation.
According to his bankruptcy records, he had a $700,000 debt. Additionally, his debts included two homes he was upside down to the tune of $240,000. He had credit card debt to deal with, including $12,000 owed to Bank of America, $38,000 owed to Citibank and $15,000 owed to Discover.
Brian Pennings of the CHP said, "There was nothing in this evidence of the vehicle or evidence of his statement or our observations to discredit his statement as of Monday."
The CHP has closed its case just as Toyota and federal investigators begin theirs.
Sounds a lot like the hatchet job on Joe the Plumber. The American way to handle those we disagree with.
It happened during the sludging (excuse me, gelling) problems, and will happen with anything that shines a light on the lowered level of toyota products. Things have changed folks; it's not your father's toyota anymore.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I can see, especially in the last couple of weeks, the typical type of Toyota behavior we've seen in the past.....only more of it. That's not good, especially for them.
The two-page document, sent to president of the company Katsuaki Watanabe in 2006, warned of systematic threats to car safety.
Damningly
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1257161/Toyota-smoking-gun-mem- o-staff-warned-safety-issues-FOUR-years-ago.html#ixzz0hsGpWQFW
Oops! Looks like Pandora's Box has finally been opened! I'm willing to bet that we have NOT seen the end of Toyota's woes yet. After all, this mess actually started in 1995 when Toyota began "decontenting" their vehicles, starting with the (then new) Tacoma pickup, which was so full of problems it was amazing.
"It'll stop people from saying, 'Oh, their sales are down, their brand is bruised,' "
The 76-year-old member of St. George Greek Orthodox Church was there to drop off items for a tag sale and tried to park her car when she experienced a problem that sounds like those that have prompted a massive recall on the cars.
My answer will be hell no ! But funny eh, toyota has been proven to be a crook of a corporation, yet people still bite their incentives. Wonder why ? I mean I definitely will not buy from such a dishonest corporation who are mean to not just their customers, but their own employees as well.
As least Madoff did not kill people mind you.
"Toyota's unsafe? Bah....who cares. I got a deal."
The bad thing is, it's probably going to take a fiery crash, with more lives lost, before the public really gets up in arms about unsafe Toyotas/Lexus.
Until then, Toyota's stance has been...."hey, our cars may be unsafe, but look at the deals we're giving on them."
Even sadder, many people will bite, regardless of the peril they put their loved ones in, or the people who're driving around them on the road.
I do not think that all people buying Toyotas now are suckers.
Krzys
A combination of high-speed global growth and ambitious cost cuts led to the quality lapses that have tarnished the once-mighty brand. How it all went wrong
Good read. 1999 is when I discovered evidence of cost cutting in Toyota models that was a departure from Toyota's fanatical adherence to excellence.
Makes sense to me that the decline started under Hiroshi Okuka's leadership.
50 deaths and counting, precipitous fall in quality and safety, thousands of consumer safety complaints. And now, the lawsuits on top of the 8.5M recalls.
Dark days for Toyota, indeed.
Totally up to them at this juncture. They either cooperate and comply with our regs, start making and designing quality vehicles again.
Or, the other choice, flounder around (like they are now) and hope that was once a great car company doesn't sink into "also ran" status.....or worse.
Now it seems that even Lexus has fallen under the scrutiny of excessive cost-cutting and may suffer from some of the same lapses in quality as Toyota has.
What a shame.
2) Record of being upside down on 2 houses.
3) Record of having more than $50,000 in credit card debts.
This guy reaks of fraud and corruption, so much for you anti-Toyota people and Toyota haters' "star" witness.
Seriously, that's the kind of argument you have to construct to still be able to cry "Yay Toyota"?
So far we've been asked to believe that all those Toyota drivers experiencing SUA are either old, illiterate, inexperienced, stupid , enfeebled, or maybe a combination of the same, and now we're told that if they're financially troubled then they reek of fraud and corruption!!!
Please, if that's not a cry of desperation I don't know what is.
The hand wringing and knashing of teeth on this issue is truly amazing. People
instinctively know and assess risk in their daily lives. They know that this brouhaha over UA is way overblown, by some on this forum, and of course by the media.
Toyota is putting up some very good sales numbers right now and it would seem that people have come to grips with the "danger" posed by Toyota autos and are fighting back their fear and are buying Toyotas in large numbers. (check Jan and Feb sales numbers)
Finally, after all this furor dies down one might assume that Toyota cars might just be the safest brand of all. The company will have gone through a rather rigorous safety examination and if still in business may benefit in the end from this affair.
Regards, DQ
I wonder if they still have the personnel with the skills and experience to be able to do so.
Just a couple of points from the 'smoking gun' document in which workers brought their concerns to management and were ignored.
"The memo warned that an increasing number of problems that led to vehicle recalls were arising not at the manufacturing level, but in the planning stages. "
The company is threatened by: combining vehicle platforms, the sharing of parts between models, the outsourcing of planning, a shortage of experimental data on prototypes because of shortened development time, a shortage of experienced specialists and an increase in working hours for employees
Requests: a priority on safety, a review of cost-reduction measures, better training for contract workers, a return to craftsmanship. .
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1257161/Toyota-smoking-gun-mem- - - o-staff-warned-safety-issues-FOUR-years-ago.html#ixzz0hyY7HSYV
(link from post 6959)
"Toyota acknowledged today that senior management had seen the original memo, but said they had responded to just one of the requests - a suggestion that management look into ways of reducing the total number of hours worked by employees each year."
Can you say "backlash"? What is the point of this overblown, hysterical smear campaign while no one really knows what the problem is and the investigation is still underway? It is very puzzling.
Who would have thought that the UAW would still be harboring this much resentment against Toyota's success !
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
You consider double digit negative numbers over a year ago good sales? When all the other automakers are in the plus column. They may do well in March with 0% financing. That adds about $5000 incentive to a basic Camry. If I could get that generous financing money in the form of a discount on a Tacoma, I may be interested in spite of the hazards of owning a Toyota DBW vehicle.
I think most of the smearing is being done by the pro-Toyota people against those unfortunate enough to suffer SUA.
I believe all vehicle manufacturers produce cars with defects, but this backlash isn't really about defects. It's about the almost unbelievable way Toyota has handled the feedback it's had about those defects from both its customers and its workforce.
Now we have Toyota denying even the possibility of an electronic problem, which to my mind at least, gives them the same level of credibility as the tobacco executives who solemnly declared that they honestly believed there was no link between cigarette smoke and lung cancer.
www.autonews.com/
Incidentally, as you own a Sequoia, don't you wonder how that vehicle slipped out of the factory apparently unaffected by the slipshod process at Toyota?
I generally agree with you on almost everything but beg to differ on the Toyota issue.
Regards, DQ
Also, what is a brake over ride system?
Fit and finish seem to be up to the old standards of Toyota. The only cheap john items seem to be the electronic gadgets, NAV, DVD, CD audio equipment. They really dumbed down with the next generation of Sequoia/Tundra vehicles. I am not sure how much of my 07 Sequoia is DBW. I think the linkage on the column for the transmission is mechanical. Nothing flaky there. So the positives outweigh the negatives for me. I doubt I would buy a new Tacoma. I only put about 2500 miles a year on my Ranger PU. Not really worth getting a different PU.
My point is Toyota will have to offer big incentives to get people back into the showrooms. 0% financing for 60 months is about as big as incentives get.
http://www.fordvehicles.com/cars/fusion/incentives/results/index.asp?model=Fusio- n&year=2010&zip=35210
Biller's been discredited (follow the money!)
Gilbert's been discredited (ditto).
And now, James Sikes has been discredited (you got it -- follow the money!)
Last I received an online survey request from Toyota for my '04 Camry. Is this a coincidence or what?
I gave the car flying colors except for some niggles, since there were so many specific questions: a slight creak in the driver's seat when you get in the car and move your body about, the gas filler door that doesn't fit quite flush against the quarter panel (but that may only have occurred after the panel was replaced due to a hit-and-run), and ...drum roll... those glossy painted bumper covers that get scratched and dinged after the slightest "love tap."
Of course the last is a symptomatic of all such covers that are in near universal use with exception of pickup trucks.
I forgot to mention a pet peeve, again all too common these days -- speedometers that go up to 140 mph or more, crunching all the useable numbers into half or less of the speedo dial.
You mean like Government Motors :shades:
WASHINGTON -- The roads today are full of hazards: Runaway Toyotas, teen drivers texting, commuters using the rearview mirror to check their hair while juggling cups of scalding coffee. Nonetheless, the number of people dying on the highway is the lowest since the 1950s.
The Transportation Department said Thursday that its projections show total traffic deaths declined nearly 9 percent in 2009 -- to 33,963. That's the lowest toll since 1954. In 2008, an estimated 37,261 people died on the roadways.
The newest numbers fit into a trend of steady decreases since 2005, when an estimated 43,510 people were killed.
This is good but still too high, and no doubt some of the decline is due to the recession. It would be wonderful if we could keep the 9 percent annual decline going, as opposed to the 17 years between 1991-2007 when the toll fluctuated between 39,250 and 43,510. (The low during this period was also a recession year --1992).
These numbers contrast to the 52 alleged deaths from Toyota sudden acceleration, whether caused by vehicular malfunction or not, over a 10-year period. Seems that those buying Toyotas today are making a rational assessment of risk, besides of course the financial incentives. And I'm not selling mine, even though some data show the older models may be more "risky" than the ones currently being investigated.
I've said it before however: One death though is one too many -- Drive safely! And don't ignore those recall notices for ANY car!
Toyota is recalling 3.8 million Lexus and Toyota cars because the floor mats can slide onto the accelerator, potentially causing uncontrolled acceleration. Owners of the affected models are being asked to remove the floor mats until they can be replaced with a safer version.
Toyota and Lexus vehicles affected are:
• 2007-2010 Camry
• 2005-2010 Avalon
• 2004-2009 Prius
• 2005-2010 Tacoma
• 2007-2010 Tundra
• 2007-2010 ES 350
• 2006-2010 IS 250 and IS350
Point taken, Gary, but the actual letter sent to owners mentions a phase-in schedule because of the sheer number of cars recalled. The Prius was given lower priority (no pun intended) -- my son in NYC with his '06 still is waiting -- in favor of the models with more complaints, namely the Camry, Avalon, and Lexus ES.
Also the "sticky pedal" recall was announced later, and that pushed the Prius further back, because the Prius is made in Japan with Denso pedals not subject to this second recall.
I can just imagine if Chevrolet, Ford or Dodge had manufactured a pick-up truck
that would within 10 years have a frame that was so rusted out to the point that gas tanks and spare tires were in danger of falling from these frames. These forums
would be filled with posts about what junk the domestic car maunufacturers are
making.
Toyota Tacoma and Tundra frames are rusting out to this extent to a point that
they are unsafe to drive, and within a relatively short time. Obviously Toyota
has been using inferior steel for these frames or the steel is too thin.
I have been driving pick-up trucks for 30 years. I have never known of one Chevy or Ford that have had this problem. A 1994 Ford F-150 that I sold to my neighbor needed new brake lines due to rust but is still a daily driver to this day. My Nephew drives a 1992 Chevy CK with 250,000 miles which looks and drives great. I drive a
2006 Chevy Silverado and I checked the frame and it looks pristine.
I guess Toyota gets a pass because they are of course so much better. People
that buy them are much smarter. All those people who buy Fords, Chevys
and Dodges are idiots.
Glad your back. I was afraid it was something I may have said. Still got the Sequoia. Probably keep it as I cannot justify buying a smaller car just to get a few more MPG.
Less than an hour ago from AP:
Runaway Prius case presents nagging questions
No evidence has emerged to suggest that Sikes was dishonest when he called 911 on Monday to report that the accelerator of his 2008 Prius was jammed during a trip home from his lawyer's office.
Sikes and his car emerged unscathed, but the incident has been another major headache for the Japanese automaker amid questions over the safety and reliability of its vehicles.
The California Highway Patrol has repeatedly said it has no reason to suspect a hoax. It does not plan to investigate the incident or perform a mechanical inspection because there were no injuries or property damage. Investigators from Toyota and the federal government are also looking into the incident.
"There is no factual information that I'm aware of, or the highway patrol is aware of, that would discredit his story," agency spokesman Brian Pennings said Friday.
The Prius electronics FAILED to shut down the car when the brakes were applied. The car was hauled in. If Sikes was some kind of whiz kid, which is highly unlikely, when would he have had time to destroy the evidence of his misdeed? Toyota would love to discredit this guy. They still need to prove their Prius did not experience UA.
Oh wow. Seriously? BWAAHAHAHAHAHA. Sorry, you've stretched the truth so far that it broke. I hear they made a few rusty truck frames, but other than that all I've ever owned or seen have been clean. And it's very humid here. The James River is even tidal and brackish downtown - 100 miles from the ocean.
Thanks, I needed that laugh. The new HL Limited did very well today - 4+ hours on the interstate and lots and lots of rain squalls. Very stable in the wind. People move over for a Toyota. Okay, okay it is sort of big and silver and moving at a steady clip.
I admit it, I had a rusted '75 Datsun B210. It sure wasn't a Toyota though, those were nice as I remember it. No, it was a rusted '78 B210 with an Earl Schieb paint job over it. The '75 didn't last long enough, it got spun around in the intersection by a '72 Impala going 35ish through a stop sign. Went across and knocked 3 cars up on the curb - real nice Camaro, Mustang and something similar. Killer little Datsun 4-cyl. in the '78, but bad rocker panels - heck, the bottom half all around. I sold it to a woman with 3 kids and she drove it to Wisconsin and back to Virginia. Ran great for having 100k on it. It was the fist-sized holes that made it look funny.
John
I really wouldn't hang my hat on that Sikes guy's story. He's got a rap sheet that makes the Balloon Man look like an altar boy.
Someone said it best, if you're going to go public with a story, you better make sure you have a clean background. In today's world of the internet and the 24/7 news cycle, every charge of possession, trespassing, drunk in public, fraudulent insurance claims, you name it, WILL BE found out.