Toyota = The One You Ought To Avoid

At least Toyota makes a great acronym.  In their case, "The One You Ought To Avoid" is just about as good as acronyms get.  Today's recalls, totalling out at 1.7 million units, make over 12 million units recalled since 2009, and a whoppin' 27.6 million since '05.  Referrin' to Toyota as the "Recall King" is apropos, but the acronym gets down to the ol' bottom line when you factor in lousy dealerships, blame-the-customer attitudes, racketeering charges, a federal grand jury look see, three record setting government fines in one year, and a judge ruling that allegations of fraud are sufficient enough for an avalanche of lawsuits to proceed.  There's more, but whew.  That's enough.

U.S. sales have plunged, global production is droppin', and the Recall King has nobody to thank but itself.  There's an old sayin', Toyota, that "the customer is always right."  Ignore it at your own peril.  Worse yet, remain aloof.  Act like customers aren't too bright - regardless of evidence to the contrary - and wait for problems to just somehow disappear.  Then, to really ice up the cake, get charged with tryin' to keep stuff quiet.  See what happens.

As "The One You Ought To Avoid" stews in its own juice, consumer advocate Charlene Blake put it quite well:  "Didn't its 'Mama' teach it that what goes 'round comes 'round?!? Tsk, tsk, Toyota!  You should have seen it comin'!!"