Dealership employees behavin' badly

Toyota is getting quite a bit of headline grabbin' publicity for bad behavior on the part of employees at dealerships.  It seemed to start with a theft, etc. caught on video and turned over to news media.  More recently, a dealership's website praised a filthy video critical of Prius drivers, an employee at a North Carolina dealership pled guilty to embezzlement, and now we have a general manager charged with an assortment of offences ranging from driving without a license to public intoxication.

Based on my experiences, (click the label "thuggery"), such stories are not surprising.  Nonetheless, these developments are noteworthy given the dealerships' association with a company that's currently facing racketeering charges, lawsuits galore alleging fraud, and a grand jury investigation for a delay in reporting defective steering rods.

Let's face it.  You can't blame anyone for not trusting Toyota.

Update 12/31/10 The general manager has pleaded guilty to an August OWI charge, but the December charges are still pending.
Update 1/5/10 An ex-worker is suing a Toyota dealer, claiming he was fired for uncovering insurance fraud re a Lexus that was given to a football coach.

Unraveling the Toyota way

Can you recall a subpoena?  Leave it to Toyota to issue one and then not follow through.  Apparently, the Koua Fong Lee case (see my 8/14/10 post) has gone well beyond a mere embarassment.  Toyota suddenly seems to be bumping into themselves by targeting Lee in an effort to take possession of his '96 Camry.  Problem is, of course, not everyone trusts Toyota, and even if they did, Lee doesn't have possession of the car.  Lee's attorney put it rather bluntly, saying "we just don't want Toyota looking at the car by themselves or having (sole) possession of it."

Federal grand jury proceedings, racketeering charges, a heretofore unexplained delay in reporting defective steering rods...  I understand, Toyota.  Its enough to make anyone a little edgy.

Update 8/26/10 - Internet complaint posts (tweets to followers, blog posts, etc.) re censorship are effective.  Facebook DID publish my wall reference to this blog post in Posts by Everyone.  First time ever for one of my Facebook entries re this blog.  Twitter, however - as of about 11:30 AM - is once again censoring my Toyota tweets from appearing in real-time.  Toyota can't stand the truth.

Update 8/27/10 - as of about 10:30 AM Twitter is continuing to censor references to this blog post from real-time. I also got a message from one of my followers that Twitter is preventing them from retweeting my tweets. Facebook - as of yesterday - is  finally starting to publish in real-time (Posts by Everyone) the entries I make on my home page. Gee. Maybe someone at Twitter is angry at Facebook.

Update 8/28/10 - about 4:00 PM Twitter finally backed off their censorship and published in real-time my tweet with a link to this blog post.

Toyota wants runaway Prius. Cops say no.

After this latest report of a runaway Prius, Toyota tried to "collect" the car, whereupon the cops told 'em no.  Had some ridiculously outrageous idea that the Prius didn't belong to Toyota, it belonged to the owner. 

Really, folks.  Who does Toyota think they are?  Whatever.  One thing's for sure, though.  Before long, a runaway Prius will be so commonplace it won't make the news...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/10/AR2010031001159.html

Cause of Lexus crash still unknown

Not that I'll ever believe anything Toyota says, but why would anyone wanna deal with a car company that can't even get it right regarding floor mats?

Police investigators say mechanical failure can't be ruled out in the horrific crash that focused national attention on unintended acceleration:
http://www.injuryboard.com/national-news/crash-that-led-to-toyota-recall-inconclusive.aspx?googleid=275542

Runaway Lexus kills four. Voices taped by 911.

A horrific crash involving a runaway Lexus was detailed on tape when one of the four occupants made a desperate call to 911. Speeding out of control at 120 miles an hour, the Lexus finally rolled, burst into flames, and all four occupants - including a 13-year-old girl - were killed. The driver was an off duty highway patrolman.

Publicity surrounding this tragedy has focused national attention on the issue of sudden, unintended acceleration. Question is, why wasn't this safety issue addressed by Toyota and/or the NHTSA years ago?
http://consumerist.com/2009/10/toyota-911-call-of-familys-fatal-lexus-crash-due-to-gas-pedal-stuck-on-floormats.html

Here's a FANTASTIC website for registering ANY Toyota problem:
http://www.ToyotaProblems.com/

Toyota Center violates the law - I call the cops

Update 5/3/2011 - Management at the Toyota Center has changed hands since this was posted.  Current management has been sincerely concerned about incidents of this kind and has taken appropriate measures to ensure that such encounters will not happen in the future.

I finally had to call the cops on the Toyota Center.

Yesterday, while I was picketing, one of their thugs snatched my sign - ripping it apart in the process - and ran off into the Toyota Center. This was the same guy who had previously told me that what I was doing wasn't worth dying over, threatened me with his car, and said he would return with a "gang of technicians."

Can't say much for the West Columbia police department, either. They refused to arrest my assailant, and unnecessarily delayed me - despite my repeated requests - from getting home to check on my dad. Believe it or not, the first cop to arrive on the scene even told me that since I was protesting the Toyota Center, they "had a right to protest me." 'Course, maybe our local boys in blue are simply unaware that such things as theft, assault, malicious destruction of property, and death threats are somewhat less than legal. Then again, maybe they just have a soft spot in their tender little hearts for Toyota...

Stay tuned.

Update 3/30/2011 - the two cops referenced above - both of whom were belligerent - are identified on the police report as Kyle Ostrander and Jeff Phillips.