Toyota dealer praises filthy video

Update:  after public criticism, this Toyota dealer musta had second thoughts about his choice of advertising.  The video no longer appears on his website. 

Might oughta restrict the kids from checkin' out Toyota dealers' websites.  Jon Lancaster Toyota in Madison, Wisconsin has a sales manager - Nathan Riesen - who lists as a "Favorite" the video of a face-masked-dressed-in-black character ranting, raving, and using not only four letter filth, but also profanity in a tirade against Prius drivers who don't shift into neutral when Toyota's little wonder car suddenly decides to take off.  Not that most of us haven't used equally bad language in the heat of a moment.  Its just that this video was carefully selected, labeled, and conspicuously marked with a red heart.  Musta been love at first sight. 

Actually, I wasn't all that surprised.  Its certainly consistent with what I've experienced, and incidentally, Mr. Riesen is a "Certified Master Sales Consultant" and a "Sales Society Master."  Nothin' like masterin' yer craft...
http://www.youtube.com/user/nateriesen

Toyota charged with racketeering

Leave it to Toyota to set records.  Ol' "Mr. T" is now the defendant in the first consumer lawsuit of its kind, charged with violating RICO, the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.  I like the part where one of the attorneys refers to Toyota's policy of blaming somebody else when things go wrong.  That's the Toyota I've come to know.

Racketeering?  Somehow, Toyota keeps remindin' me of the Godfather. 
http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202446254842&Racketeering_Unfair_Business_Practices_Claims_Added_Against_Toyota

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

Don't twitter, Toyota. Just tweet people right.

Toyota just doesn't get it.  To reach out to customers, they've hired a marketing firm to help 'em make tweets on Twitter. 

Here's the deal, Toyota.  Its not about marketing.  Its about standin' behind your product.  Tellin' the truth.   Reimbursin' customers for defects, and never takin' 'em to be fools.  What kinda tweets are ya gonna make about those 3,000+ customers who have signed a petition to protest your stonewallin' ways?  What about all those 1zz engine failures?  Real ripoffs for folks who bought MR2 Spyders and Celicas.  Apparently, you weaseled out of includin' these models in your oil sludge recall.  And then there's the never ending barrage of recent disclosures.  Traffic fatalities involving runaway vehicles, deals with safety regulators, and the list goes on ad nauseum.  Tweets on Twitter?  By the time the grand jury gets through, you might be singin' like bird...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/02/AR2010030202419.html

Need a fix, Toyota? Just KISS.

Simply install alarms that alert drivers every time you cut a deal with NHTSA.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/02/AR2010030203914.html

Agreed, Mr. Williams: it looks like corruption.

Deals with safety regulators savin' Toyota hundreds of millions of dollars, safety investigations blocked, horrific crashes involving out-of-control vehicles, and the list of alarming revelations gets longer by the day.  Now, mainstream media's Armstrong Williams says he's been led to believe there's full-scale corruption at Toyota.  Cover-up.  Killing machines.  Dirty little secrets. 

Its high time someone with Mr. Williams' credentials said so.  'Cause blamin' this scandal on "rapid growth" and "bad PR" is becomin' scandalous itself.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/mar/01/williams-toyotas-deadly-secret/