Toyota chief says company considering Corolla recall

[JCMach1]

Source: LA Times

Reporting from Tokyo - Announcing that Toyota is considering a recall of its high-selling Corolla subcompact model, company president Akio Toyoda on Wednesday gave his full backing to the company's chief of U.S. operations, who he indicated would attend congressional hearings in Washington D.C. later this month.
...

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-fgw-toyota-recall-toyoda17-2010feb17,0,400135.story

---

Here we go again...

[dipsydoodle]

1. It might just be simpler now

if they folded completely which at this rate may be the outcome.

That would however create an unholy creditors list with the only benficiaries being whichever auditing firm was appointed as receivers.

[JCMach1]

2. Companies like Ford and Hyundai which have massively increased quality in recent years

are going to be eating their lunch over the next few years.

[dipsydoodle]

4. Maybe

The automotive industry is to a certain extent reliant on all players being present. The loss of a big one could have unfortunate side effects on overall employment within the industry including outside suppliers.

Their disappearence, if infact so, would have an extreme adverse effect on any class actions suits pending at that time.

[WriteDown]

6. Too big to fail?

:shrug:

[dipsydoodle]

7. Maybe broken up

with fresh phoenix companies coming out of the ashes. Still wouldn't help the creditors who would all be royally fucked.

[JCMach1]

3. This story is the lead story on BBC right now... huge negative publicity on this

[pattmarty]

5. Boy, how quickly "they" fall. I remember the quality problems..............

...........GM and Ford were having in the 80's & 90's and it seems worse with Toyota.

[Romulox]

8. Collateral damage in all of this? Consumer's Reports. nt

[booksenkatz]

20. +1 LMAO!

:rofl:
(This hardworking GM family thanks you for that most excellent observation!)

[jmowreader]

23. Yeah, ain't that the damn truth

Any magazine that hands out rubber-stamp Recommended ratings needs to take a long, hard look at itself.

[DesertDiamond]

9. I think this story is being misreported in the US to knock out the #1 competition

It simply does not ring true to me that the car that I and millions of others have chosen consistently, because of extreme satisfaction with the quality of their automobiles, should suddenly be revealed to have been putting out low quality cars. It just doesn't jive with reality. Of note, this paragraph in the NY Times article linked above:

"The company's investigations to date, however, have confirmed that the electronic throttle control technology cannot accidentally induce acceleration, a primary concern in the U.S. market."

This, however, will not be widely reported in the US. The MSM will continue to scream propaganda to make people believe that Toyotas have been proven to be bad cars. Why? Because they are the #1 competition for too many years.

I'm reminded of the Republicans here. Rather than improve the quality of their own product, they merely use propaganda to try to destroy they other side.

[barb162]

10. I think Toyota has piled lies upon lies to the public.

You know the crap where they first said it's the floor mats when people were dying. Right, it's the floor mats. SO then what about the cars doing the same thing with no floor mats. Oh Oops, Toyota has to think up another lie about that one. Oh, let's blame the driver. This is going to blow up in their faces and they'll deserve it as they're still covering up.

[Dappleganger]

13. It's all coming unglued right before their eyes. nt

[JCMach1]

15. A flaw in your product is one thing... how you handle it is another

...blowing it off followed by a cover-up was not a great idea...

[barb162]

16. Yes, I think they had plenty of data indicating extremely serious problems

and only when publicity got bad did they choose to do anything and then the choice was to lie.

[DisgustedInMN]

17. Dead people isn't "propaganda."

Frankly, I wouldn't shed a single tear if ALL the Japanese Junksters (or Korean or Indian, etc)were put out of business tomorrow. I care fuckall if it hurts the Japanese economy. I'm American, I want American products, built by Americans, sold by Americans, from companies OWNED by Americans, and backed by Americans. Period.

[blue_onyx]

18. Toyota loyalists are in such denial

Toyota's problems are their fault. There is no conspiracy here.

It's not propaganda to report the news.

[NoodleyAppendage]

19. The problem stems from Toyota changing production quality to save $$.

Toyota unwisely changed their production quality and oversight to squeeze out more profit (aka. US business model).

J

[barb162]

11. Apple Co-Founder Thinks Software Is To Blame For Toyota Problem

Steve Wozniak's Prius Problems: Apple Co-Founder Thinks Software Is To Blame For Toyota Problem
snip
The billionaire told Bloomberg that he believes his vehicle's accelerator problems are software related and that he has complained about the problem to Toyota and the U.S. government for two months, with no response. Bloomberg reports:

Wozniak's 2010 Toyota Prius can unintentionally accelerate to as much as 97 miles (156 kilometers) per hour when he uses cruise control to increase his speed, he said in an interview yesterday. Toyota and the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration haven't responded to his complaints in the past two months on what may be a software-related glitch, he said.
"It's scary when it happens," Wozniak, 59, said from San Jose, California. "I've had trouble getting both the government safety agency and getting Toyota to listen to me."


snip
Huffington Post / AP First Posted: 02- 4-10 01:25 AM

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/04/steve-wozniaks-prius-prob_n_448778.html

[Dappleganger]

12. And yet the president of Toyota is refusing to testify before Congress...

what an asshole.

[JCMach1]

14. Yep, methinks it's time for a subpoena

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7730986

[dipsydoodle]

22. How do you subpoena

a foreign national ?

[JCMach1]

24. With a corporation in the U.S.

There are more than a few in Congress who would line up to sign contempt of Congress papers if he refused to show after that.

Plus, the PR would be horrific.


Remember, there is an NTSB investigation pending that could get ugl(ier) real quick.

[dipsydoodle]

27. I think that if they

caused him to lose face in that way, bearing in mind he's Japanese , the USA would lose its Japanese bases.

[ohheckyeah]

21. the link doesn't work for me. n/t

[JCMach1]

25. Weird... normal LA Times link

[U4ikLefty]

26. That's why I own a Honda. nt