Toyota runs, but can't hide

Reputation for defects, known far and wide; Toyota can run, but Toyota can't hide.

Heartfelt thanks to Armen Hareyan and Torque News for publishing my article, "Toyota Losin' for a Reason."  I'm honored to have my opinion featured.  Visit TorqueNews on Facebook and TorqueNewsAuto on Twitter.  

Word is gettin' out about the Recall King's lousy products and equally lousy attitude.  Things have apparently gotten to the point where Toyota is experimenting with marketing efforts that seek to divert attention away from troublesome issues such as recalls, lawsuits, fines, and investigations.  Meaningful info about the vehicle is all but eliminated, along with reporters' question and answer sessions.  Those questions from the media can be embarassing.  Much safer to spotlight a pagentry of music and models.  All in unison, girls.  Spell the plural of Prius.

But will it work?  Will consumers be mesmerized into plunking down hard earned dollars for products no longer imbued with the mistique of a manufacturer that can do no wrong?  Not likely.  At least not for a stretch.  Recall King Toyota must now face the consequences of deeds brought to the public's attention in a big way.  

Its a little late for glitzy ads, Recall King.  Try all the diversionary tactics you want, but the facts are rainin' on your parade.

Ruling supports plaintiffs re Prius brakes

Call 'em Priuses, Prii, or whatever you will (try Glitch-mobiles), but a class action lawsuit alleging defective brakes will proceed.  The judge denied Toyota's request for a dismissal, and rightly so.

This lawsuit over Prius brakes stems from complaints galore, and alleges that Toyota knew about a defect years before the cars were recalled.  Based on my experience, the allegations ring true.  Even though the Internet is loaded with complaints of sudden engine failures in MR2 Spyders, Toyota refuses to acknowledge a defect, maintaining that the failures "could be caused by a number of things, such as not changing the oil at proper intervals."  When I tried to discuss the postings from two major car clubs, Toyota's "customer loyalty" guy "didn't want to hear about all that."  And NHTSA refuses to get involved because - thanks to lobbying efforts, no doubt - sudden engine failures such as those involving the MR2 Spyders are not considered a safety issue.  Of course, this all goes hand in hand with blamin' the customer (sound familiar?), who winds up on the short side when it comes to having any practical recourse.   

Like the lawsuit over Prius headlights, Toyota will probably settle this Prius brake case long before risking a jury decision.  A jury is likely to look at the number of complaints, exercise a little common sense, and hand down a hefty tab for punitive damages. 

What kind of company treats its customers in such a manner?  And what kind of government lets 'em get away with it?

Toyota a liability for Lotus, FT-86

With all those engine failures in MR2 Spyders, no wonder Toyota is relying on Subaru for the engine in the still anticipated finale of the FT-86 (Scion FR-S).  But as Toyota partners with Subaru and ventures once again into sports car land, informed consumers will also contemplate such things as Toyota's botched job designing MR2 hood releases. And now that Toyota has become somewhat less than a paragon of quality, we learn that sports car legend Lotus has been catchin' criticism from customers because of its involvement with the Recall King.

Frankly, I've always thought it strange that Lotus would link up with Toyota, even though - as I understand it - the Recall King's engines are not exactly stock by the time Lotus gives 'em a goin' over. Nonetheless, Lotus has now decided to quit with the Toyota engines. Right on for "Engine by Lotus. From scratch. Honest."

Since word got out about all those stonewalled engine failures in MR2 Spyders, Toyota seems to have a flair for teamin' up with other brands when it comes to sports cars. But I'm bettin' lots of folks see things the same way I do. Havin' been fooled once by Toyota's efforts to produce a sports car, I'm no longer impressed by anything Toyota is involved in, and certainly not the FT-86. Especially that often-loaded-with-bugs first year model. Among other things, co-partner Subaru is suddenly departing from its longstanding practice of only producing vehicles with all wheel drive.

Maybe Toyota could get Lotus to do the bodywork, chassis, and drivetrain. Then with Subaru doin' the engine... But wait. Where would Toyota come in? No problem. Just put the Recall King in charge of advertising. But by all means, keep 'em away from those floor mats.

Note: A weird thing happened when I linked to a Consumer Reports FT-86 article via a Twitter "Top Tweet" and tried to post a comment. A pop-up appeared, "We're sorry, we cannot accept this data." Such a delight. Nothin' like open communications. Thought for a minute there I was being censored.

Update 11/27/11 - Leave it to Toyota to spawn years of teaser type marketing and then spring a last minute name change to GT 86. Ho hum. Another front engined monstrosity weighing in at 2,662 pounds complete with a fish-like appearance and two squished in rear seats. Next thing you know, the Recall King will be strikin' up a partnership with Ford's Mustang. 

If Toyota can't do floor mats...

Toyota's latest recall - 2.5 million units - prompted an interesting response from Hagens Berman, one of the attorneys suing the Recall King over floor mats.  While Toyota's friends at NHTSA are proudly declaring an end to their investigation of sudden, unintended acceleration, Mr. Berman dared to point out that this latest recall stands in "stark contrast" to what Toyota has been saying about the floor mat issue.  Instead of backin' off, maybe NHTSA should be takin' a closer look.

Let's start with just how "voluntary" this recall actually is.  The terminology sounds good for the Recall King, but based on the facts, it sounds a little too good.  Smacks of another cozy deal with NHTSA, whereby Toyota gets to play word games.  Now don't get me wrong.  I'm delighted that Toyota is gettin' exposed and havin' to foot the bill - financially and PR wise - for this recall.  But its kinda like those "record setting" yet slap-on-the-wrist fines allowing Toyota to walk away without any admission of wrongdoing.  The punishment may be well deserved, but its hardly sufficient.

This latest recall is another credibility issue for the Recall King.  Folks had reason to believe that Toyota had solved the floor mat thing, only to discover that "the rest of the story" was - or is - yet to be told.  Wonder how long Toyota and NHTSA have known about these additional problems regarding floor mats?  As things now stand, nobody can be blamed for concluding that there's more to this story than we've been told.  One plaintiff in a sudden acceleration lawsuit has already spoken out, saying this latest recall is proof positive that unanswered questions remain.  And folks in Minneapolis are plannin' a demonstration - 3/22, 8-9 AM, 300 4th St. - to tell the feds to hold Toyota accountable for not installing brake overrides.  

So lemme get this straight.  Toyota has problems designin' floor mats, but the Recall King is okay with electronics?

Stallin' the Toyota Way: '06 hybrid SUVs

Uh-oh.  The Recall King is facin' a brand spankin' new investigation, this time for complaints about engines stalling - most of 'em at 40 mph or more - in 2006 Highlander hybrid SUVs.  And here again, there's a finer point:  How long has Toyota known about this issue?  How many customers have complained to Toyota about this problem since 2006?  Surely we aren't expected to believe that Toyota first heard of it via NHTSA.

If matters rested on just this one case, it would be different.  But this is the umpteenth time we've had reason to wonder how long Toyota has known about malfunctions in its vehicles.  The question arises, for example, with those embarassing fines from NHTSA, the complaints about Prius headlights, and a current lawsuit involving allegations that Toyota knew about Prius brake problems for years before finally issuing a recall.   

When vehicles suddenly stall, won't restart, and have to be towed in, its not hard to imagine the kind of complaints voiced to Toyota.  Looks like the matter should have been settled a long time ago, without any involvement from NHTSA.  Foot draggin' can go a long way when it comes to such things as warranties and customers givin' up on pursuing a complaint.  "Aw shucks.  Let's just trade this thing in and move on."

Frankly, I don't see how on earth floor mats could... no, wait.  Floor mats were causin' sudden acceleration.  This time the vehicles are stallin'.  In fact, some other models - Corolla, Matrix - started stallin' not long ago.  Gee.  I hope someone is keepin'  track of all this.  Maybe it'll help me sort things out if I connect Toyota's '06 Highlander hybrids with how the engine in my MR2 was threatening to stall as it disintegrated.     

Lawsuits, fines, subpoenas, online petitions, investigations, recalls, multi-million dollar settlements, confidentiality agreements, criminal charges, and the list goes on ad nauseum.  Talk about consumer affairs...

Update 2/24/11 - Did I say brand spankin' new investigation?  There's been yet another massive Toyota recall, and now CHINA wants Toyota to explain.  Seems the Chinese have doubts about the Recall King's claims that vehicles sold in China were not defective.

Toyota doesn't make cars for bloggers?

Toyota's recent advertisement declaring "we don't make cars for bloggers" was apparently aimed at the enormous amount of criticism Toyota faces on the Internet.  Now, now Toyota. You musn't lose your temper over this free speech thing. 

Best I can tell, Toyota and its protectors have been losin' the battle when it comes to promoting the automaker's interests on the Web, thanks in large part to sharp criticisms from bloggers, especially micro-bloggers on social media websites such as Twitter. To drum up support for the Recall King, someone recently offered bloggers $10 Amazon gift cards in exchange for favorable postings, etc., and even e-mailed a linked list of preferred websites for the bloggers to target. But alas. One of the bloggers took an ethical exception to all this, complained rather loudly, and things never materialized. In fact, things backfired by bringing about a social media uproar and a tweet from Toyota denying any involvement in the scheme. Nothin' like a devoted fan...

Listen, Toyota. I can understand why you might have it in for bloggers. But if you really wanna punish 'em, don't refuse to make cars for 'em. Instead, make 'em buy your cars.

Sudden, unwarranted acclamations

What a hoot.  Toyota's protectors - including U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and NHTSA - are declaring the Recall King blameless because NASA says it can't prove electronics are responsible for some of Toyota's recent avalanche of sudden unintended acceleration issues.

Maybe Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood - talk about a Toyota mouthpiece - should read the report.  NASA doesn't say that electronics aren't involved.  It merely states - after examining a whoppin' total of nine (!) vehicles - that the agency has been unable to prove a connection.  In fact, experts in the field are already questioning the government's methodology.  The only thing that's been proven is the fact that there's a long way to go before this matter is resolved.  Ironically enough, what has been resolved - the effectiveness of a brake override system - does not bode well for the Recall King.  While others were installing this safety device, the world's "number one automaker" lagged behind.  Drug its feet so slowly that this glaring safety omission has become the focal point of lawsuits filed against Toyota not only by customers, but also insurance companies.  Furthermore, Toyota's 8 million recalls for sudden unintended acceleration were based on mechanical issues, not electronics. 

Pardon a pun, but the overriding issue isn't Toyota's electronics, its Toyota's credibility.  For proof that this issue has taken center stage, one need look no further than the eyebrow raisin' results of an Associated Press investigation and the recent appointment of a special counsel to determine if Toyota illegally concealed rollover data in a case in Texas.

Regardless of Ray LaHood, NHTSA, NASA, and the best electoral system money can buy, this is still the age of the Internet.  With thousands of customers signing an online petition complaining of continuing problems with oil sludge, two major car clubs howling about engine failures in MR2 Spyders, and an increasing host of other websites critical of Toyota, the Recall King obviously has a long way to go when it comes to establishing trust.   

Sudden, unwarranted acclamations won't silence the facts, Toyota.  Word is out regarding the way you do business.