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13 Apr 2010 20:41

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Biz: Toyota’s streak of good luck keeps rollin’ over, hits Lexus brand

  • bad Toyota gets a rare “do not buy” rating from Consumer Reports for its Lexus GX 460 SUV.
  • worse The company, already weathering the storm of bad publicity, halts sales of the car. Ouch. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

12 Apr 2010 09:43

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Biz: Toyota’s way of handling recalls: Cover up, then come clean

  • I hate to break this to you, but we have a tendency for mechanical failure in accelerator pedals of a certain manufacturer on certain models. … The time to hide on this one is over. We need to come clean.
  • A note from Toyota executive Irving A. Miller • Admitting that they would have to recall millions of vehicles. Over a four-month period, the company had made an active effort to hide the problems with their cars from the government. Unsuccessfully. The New York Times’ document analysis suggests that there was a whole lotta fail going on with the vehicles, and a lot more cover-up. While the company obviously screwed up, some congressmen are suggesting that federal regulators should shoulder some of the blame. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Apr 2010 23:05

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Biz: Toyota’s way of dealing with heavy recalls? Big incentives!

  • 24% increase in total U.S. auto sales in March, led by Toyota’s rebound
  • 41% increase in Toyota’s sales after two months of recall-hurt sales
  • 8% decrease in Chrysler’s dismal sales from a year earlier source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Mar 2010 21:13

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Biz: Honda trying to be like Toyota in the worst way possible

  • 412,000 cars recalled for bad brakes source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Mar 2010 13:28

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Politics: Is the runaway Prius story getting a tad bit overhyped?

  • No one was hurt. But we have a new instant celebrity. When what we really need is to put the brakes on out-of-whack priorities.
  • MarketWatch assistant managing editor Steve Kerch • Regarding the runaway Toyota Prius story getting lots of attention. He prefaces this story by noting a recent car crash in Chicago that killed four young women but got no national press coverage. “As the circus grows around every little Toyota engine burp,” Kerch notes, “turn a thought to those four women. It’ll help you keep your perspective on true tragedy.” Well-put. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Mar 2010 09:37

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Biz: The runaway Toyota Prius story has legs, getting huge coverage

  • I pushed the gas pedal to pass a car and it did something kind of funny … it jumped and it just stuck there. As it was going, I was trying the brakes … it wasn’t stopping.
  • James Sikes • Whose Toyota Prius wouldn’t stop on a San Diego interstate, but was miraculously stopped with the help of police. Sikes’ Prius, by the way, was one of the cars recalled because of possibility of the floor mat accelerator getting stuck in the accelerator. No word on if he took advantage of the recall. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Mar 2010 21:46

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Biz: GM tried to get rid of many of its dealers, wasn’t successful

  • 1,100 number of dealers General Motors sent walking papers to last year
  • 661 dealers getting reinstated instead of going through arbitration source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

03 Mar 2010 10:34

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Biz: Let’s make sure every major car manufacturer does a recall

  • 540,000 Nissan vehicles recalled source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

02 Mar 2010 10:37

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Biz: GM makes sure Toyota isn’t alone in its car-recall hell

  • 1.3 million Cobalts and G5s recalled due to power steering source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 Feb 2010 21:29

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Biz: Why is Toyota not called “Toyoda,” like its namesake?

  • ten the number of brush strokes to write “Toyoda” in Japanese
  • eight the number of brush strokes to write “Toyota” in comparison
  • Why does this matter? Well, the number ten in Japanese resembles the plus sign, which apparently was seen as a bad omen due to the fact it also resembles crossroads. Also, “Toyota” sounds better than “Toyoda,” according to the company, which seems reasonable to us, kinda. Akio Toyoda feels shame on his company. 🙁 source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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