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/

Over three thousand customers petition Toyota

Thousands of Toyota customers have resorted to signing an Internet petition in an effort to persuade Toyota to do the right thing regarding oil sludged engines. Sooo...

Sign the petition:
http://www.petitiononline.com/TMC2003/petition.html

Register complaints about ANY Toyota problems:
http://toyotaproblems.com/

Jury finds Toyota guilty of breach of contract

After my experience with Toyota's "agreements," (see my 6/17/09 post, "More bullying from Toyota"), I certainly wasn't surprised to learn that Toyota has been successfully sued - the jury's decision was unanimous - for violating contractual obligations. What is it with Toyota? Do folks - in this case a small business - have to initiate lawsuits to get Toyota to do the right thing? No wonder Toyota - facing its deepest domestic sales decline in 30 years - is now shutting down one of its assembly lines. 

The plaintiff's attorney emphasized that Toyota "isn't above the law," and says the jury "taught Toyota a lesson." Let's hope so on both counts, but it seems the only thing that's going to teach Toyota a lesson is a continuing plunge in sales. Find out the rest of the story when it comes to Toyota's attitude regarding a contract. Published links for several news articles were inoperative. Do a Google search: jury teaches Toyota a lesson

4Runner case alleges coverup, wrongful death

A product liability lawsuit filed in California claims Toyota concealed safety data that showed a defective design in Toyota's third gereration 4Runner SUV. The lawsuit further alleges that the design defect was responsible for the driver's death when the vehicle rolled over. Attorneys have raised troubling questions about Toyota's business practices, including Toyota's advertising, which the lawsuit claims misrepresented the facts, thereby misleading the pulbic into thinking the vehicle was safe. This, of course, is merely the latest in a series of lawsuits involving the 4Runner.

Details in this tragic case are nothing short of alarming:
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2009/08/prweb2780484.htm

Dealership named as example of bad business

Toyota's rotten dealerships certainly aren't limited to the one's I've dealt with. James Feldman, who lectures businesses on the perils of offending customers, uses his experience with the Hartford Toyota dealership in Hartford, Connecticut as an example of how not to treat customers. Note that Mr. Feldman says Toyota never apologized. Toyota apologize to a customer? From what I've learned, when things go wrong, Toyota expects customers to take responsibility and apologize to Toyota.

Just another case that exposes the realities of tryin' to survive when you deal with Toyota. Read how Mr. Feldman was treated. Find out more about how Toyota "values" customers. Click on the following link and scroll down to paragraph 13: http://www.shifthappens.com/bc_custpower.html

Toyota now characterized as a "Loser in America"

Ho, ho, ho. I just love it when a company's lousy products and equally lousy attitude toward its customers catches up with the ol' bottom line. I hope my efforts to expose Toyota for what it is have contributed to Mr. T's plunging sales. For the first half of 2009, Toyota's U.S. sales are down a whopping 38 percent, which is three percent over the national sales average.

That's right, Toyota. Keep refusin' to reimburse customers for damages when your defective engines have to be replaced, and keep blamin' your customers when things go wrong. And of course, if a customer protests too loudly about being ripped off for thousands of dollars, rely on sheer thuggery to shut 'em up. Toyota, you're a bonafide disgrace to common decency.

Get the latest scoop on Toyota's continuing downfall:
http://www.carversation.com/2009/07/22/toyota-becomes-a-loser-in-america/

Video: dealership employees caught stealin', etc.

Based on my experiences with Toyota, I was hardly surprised to learn that some of their dealership employees got videotaped stealing, snooping through a customer's belongings, and - really, folks - one of their employees actually licks his hands to get the residue from the customer's prescription medication. Okay, I'll admit, I did find that last one just a wee bit shocking...

Of course, Toyota's customer got no cooperation from management until he obtained the video and sent it to local media. See to believe:
http://www.autoblog.com/2009/07/07/video-toyota-dealer-employees-caught-snooping-through-customer/