Orange County District Attorney to Sue Toyota
Posted by Staff (03/12/2010 @ 5:37 pm)
More bad news for Toyota!
From AutoGuide.com:
The Orange County, California, District Attorney has announced plans to file a civil lawsuit against Toyota. The suit is over safety concerns with Toyota vehicles, and comes as Toyota has recalled over eight million vehicles worldwide due to several different safety issues. The suit aims to stop Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc. from “continuing to endanger the public through the sale of defective vehicles and deceptive business practices.”
Read the full article here.
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Toyota sales to rise 30%?
Posted by Staff (03/12/2010 @ 1:26 am)
Will consumers stick with the problematic Toyota? According to this report Toyota sales for March are forecasted to rise 30% compared to March 2009. Looks like the heavy incentives are doing the trick for now but time will tell how much damage Toyota will suffer from this mess.
From Automotive News.com:
DETROIT — New incentives are boosting Toyota’s U.S. sales big time in early March, and analysts forecast a 30 percent bounce for the full month.
After Toyota brand sales fell 10 percent in February as it struggled with safety recalls, on March 1 Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc. introduced 0 percent financing, subsidized leases and free maintenance incentives.
Toyota Senior Vice President Don Esmond told suppliers today that North American sales surged about 50 percent in the first eight days this month, The Associated Press reported.
Read the full article here.
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More problems for Toyota
Posted by Staff (03/10/2010 @ 3:16 pm)
More problems for Toyota with a runaway Prius in California!
From the Detroit Free Press:
LOS ANGELES — The driver of a Toyota Prius who called 911 on Monday to report his accelerator was stuck finally got the car stopped after about half hour with the help of the California Highway Patrol, law officers said.
“He was reaching speeds over 90 miles per hour,” CHP Officer Larry Landeros said of the driver, James Sikes.
A Toyota spokesman on Monday evening said the company was sending a representative to investigate the cause of the incident, which took place on Interstate 8 in San Diego County.
Read the full article here.
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Toyota FT-86 to Bring Back Spirit of AE-86
Posted by Staff (03/09/2010 @ 3:19 pm)
The Toyota FT-86 is what Mr. Toyoda wants people to start talking about! Can’t blame him one bit…
From AutoGuide.com:
Toyota says it has built the concept to embody the spirit of the Corolla AE-86, a tiny front-engine, rear drive sports coupe that is a legend among drifters, while also serving as a great platform for club racers and rally teams. The concept focuses on light weight to deliver what Toyota calls a “strong power to weight ratio,” while also focusing on handling. “It is an entirely driver-orientated car, engineered to capture the intrinsic joy of driving through precise, instantaneous responses to even the smallest throttle and steering inputs,” reads the latest press release.
Read the full article here.
New no. 1. Ford sales top GM, Toyota
Posted by Staff (03/03/2010 @ 2:30 pm)
New no. 1. Ford sales top GM, Toyota! It’s a whole new ballgame and Ford just won the first inning. Looks like at this point in time Ford has the “right stuff”.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Recall-plagued Toyota Motor reported a 9% drop in U.S. sales in February, but it appears other automakers didn’t gain as much from Toyota’s problems as expected.
Even Ford Motor, which posted strong sales to vault ahead of Toyota and GM to claim the market lead in the U.S., said it didn’t believe its gains were a result of Toyota’s problems.
Ken Czubay, Ford vice president, said the company believes many traditional Toyota customers sat on the sidelines instead of buying a car from another automaker.
Read the full article here.
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Toyota “thing” getting even uglier
Posted by Staff (02/27/2010 @ 11:42 am)
As this Toyota “thing” unravels you just can’t help but feel it’s going to get even uglier! And it continues to do so….
WASHINGTON — Toyota Motor Corp. “deliberately withheld relevant electronic records” that it was legally required to produce in lawsuits over SUV rollover accidents, the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee said today.
Rep. Ed Towns, D-N.Y, said in a letter to the automaker that a review of documents subpoenaed from former Toyota lawyer Dimitrios Biller also shows Toyota may have “withheld substantial, relevant information” from federal regulators.
Read the full article at AutoNews.com.
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Toyota on the hot seat
Posted by Staff (02/24/2010 @ 9:34 pm)
Akio Toyoda delivered another apology to people hurt by Toyota’s in sudden acceleration accidents. His lieutenant provided most of the other information revealed so far by the committee.
 After the cameras chased Akio Toyoda from the room, it was Fe Lastrella’s turn.
A schoolteacher and real estate agent from Vallejo, Calif., Lastrella tearfully told the committee about her grief over the Lexus crash in Santee, Calif., that killed her daughter Cleofe Saylor, son Chris Lastrella and granddaughter Mahala Saylor.
“They were taken prematurely from us,” she said.
Read the full article here.
Asian brands still dominating Consumer Reports
Posted by Staff (02/24/2010 @ 9:30 pm)
Although there were a few bright spots for the US automakers, the Asian brands still dominated Consumer Reports annual automaker report card. Honda tied for 1st place is and quietly taking charge partly because of Toyota’s slippage in regards to public perception. One thing you can also take from this report is that Chrysler need to get their act together pronto!
From the Detroit Free Press:
Toyota finished third on Consumer Reports’ annual Automaker Report Card released Tuesday, even though the magazine suspended its “recommended” ratings for eight of Toyota’s vehicles after the Japanese automaker recalled them this year.
Consumer Reports now recommends about half as many Toyota models as it did previously.
While there were bright spots in the report card for Ford and General Motors, no domestic automaker finished in the top five and Chrysler’s score fell, landing the Auburn Hills automaker in last place.
Read the full article here.
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Toyota President says recall is mechanical, not electric
Posted by Staff (02/24/2010 @ 9:24 pm)
Is it mechanical or electrical? Depends on who you talk to and what you want to hear. This is one big mess for Toyota.
From AutoGuide.com:
In a prepared statement before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Toyota President Jim Lentz reiterated Toyota’s continued stand that the issue with its many recalled Toyota models is mechanical and not electronic. Lentz commented that Toyota hired Exponent, a top engineering and scientific consulting firm, to examine its electronic throttle system to see if there were any issues. Toyota gave Exponent an unlimited budget and no electronic problem was found.
Lentz also said that it is repairing recalled vehicles at 50,000 a day and has so far fixed one million vehicles.
Read the full article here.
Toyota records subpoenaed by U.S. House committee
Posted by Staff (02/19/2010 @ 2:37 pm)
Things could get real ugly here!
From AutoNews.com:
WASHINGTON — A House panel today subpoenaed confidential internal documents that a former Toyota Motor Corp. lawyer has said show that the automaker destroyed legal evidence about SUV rollover accidents.
The House Oversight Committee issued the subpoena as part of its investigation into Toyota’s problems with unintended acceleration. It has scheduled a Feb. 24 hearing at which Toyota President Akio Toyoda agreed today to testify.
The subpoena was issued to former Toyota lawyer Dimitrios Biller, who worked at Toyota’s North American headquarters in Torrance, Calif., managing rollover cases from 2003 to 2007.
Read the full article here.
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