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.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Lee case an embarassment for Toyota
Amidst claims that Toyota's customers have been steppin' on the accelerator instead of the brake, along comes the troublesome case of Koua Fong Lee. Wrongfully convicted of criminal vehicular homicide and sentenced to eight years in prison (see my 8/7/10 post), Lee has steadfastly maintained that he was hitting the brakes in a desperate effort to stop his Camry after it suddenly sped out of control resulting in the deaths of three people. The keyword here is wrongfully, because after serving two and a half years, the charges were dropped, highlighting false testimony - that went unchallenged - and evidence that was witheld at Lee's trial. 'Tis the nature of these two items that sounds a sour note for Toyota's blame-the-customer bandwagon.
At Lee's trial, a mechanic testified falsely that Lee's car did not have anti-lock brakes, the existence of which would have offered an explanation for the absence of skid marks. And Lee's attorney witheld a letter from Lee's insurance company confirming that the brake lights were engaged when the accident occurred. Adding insult to injury, Lee's attorney sided with the prosecution in his closing statement to the jury, saying Lee probably stepped on the accelerator instead of the brake. Sound familiar? Its now clear that Lee's version of events was supported by the facts all along. Hmmm...
Just when the breeze seems to be blowin' in Toyota's favor, the case of Koua Fong Lee stands in stark contrast to claims of driver error. It exposes facts that were supposed to stay hidden, along with the railroading of an immigrant.
Update 8/14/2010 - Facebook has censored this post from "Posts by Everyone" and Twitter has censored a tweet reference from real-time results.
Update 10/23/2010 - Koua has now filed a request to join a lawsuit against Toyota. http://www.twincities.com/news/ci_16412288?source=rss
Update 10/31/2010 - Koua's attorney says Toyota is liable:
http://www.lawyersandsettlements.com/articles/15283/interview-brent-schafer-law-firm-toyota.html
At Lee's trial, a mechanic testified falsely that Lee's car did not have anti-lock brakes, the existence of which would have offered an explanation for the absence of skid marks. And Lee's attorney witheld a letter from Lee's insurance company confirming that the brake lights were engaged when the accident occurred. Adding insult to injury, Lee's attorney sided with the prosecution in his closing statement to the jury, saying Lee probably stepped on the accelerator instead of the brake. Sound familiar? Its now clear that Lee's version of events was supported by the facts all along. Hmmm...
Just when the breeze seems to be blowin' in Toyota's favor, the case of Koua Fong Lee stands in stark contrast to claims of driver error. It exposes facts that were supposed to stay hidden, along with the railroading of an immigrant.
Update 8/14/2010 - Facebook has censored this post from "Posts by Everyone" and Twitter has censored a tweet reference from real-time results.
Update 10/23/2010 - Koua has now filed a request to join a lawsuit against Toyota. http://www.twincities.com/news/ci_16412288?source=rss
Update 10/31/2010 - Koua's attorney says Toyota is liable:
http://www.lawyersandsettlements.com/articles/15283/interview-brent-schafer-law-firm-toyota.html
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Case of jailed Toyota driver affronts fairness
To begin with, it took nine months to file charges. Then there was the charge itself - vehicular homicide - which never did fit the facts of the case. Koua Fong Lee was returning home from church with his family when his Camry suddenly sped out of control on an exit ramp reaching speeds of 70-90 mph before crashing into another vehicle and resulting in the deaths of three people. Lee has steadfastly maintained that he repeatedly pressed the brake pedal but the car wouldn't stop, yet Lee's attorney (lest we forget, Lee is an immigrant who came to this country to escape dirt poor living conditions) sided with the prosecution by stating in his closing remarks to the jury that Lee probably mistook the accelerator for the brake.
Lee was found guilty, sentenced to a whopping eight years in prison, and would have remained quietly tucked away behind bars except for breaking news of sudden unintended acceleration in Toyotas. With a new lawyer, thousands registering support on a Facebook page, street protests, and mainstream media coverage, a hearing was held to determine if Lee should get a new trial. And that's where the story really gets interesting.
Lee's new attorney presented bombshell testimony showing that Lee's car had anti-lock brakes, accounting for the absence of skid marks. At Lee's "trial" there had been false testimony - by a city mechanic - stating that Lee's car did not have anti-lock brakes, and this testimony went unchallenged even though Lee's attorney had a letter from Lee's insurance company stating that the car's brake light was engaged. Sooo... with their opposition to a new trial smellin' worse than a kettle of rotten fish - and the case now making national headlines - the DA's office made a desperate, last ditch effort to dump the blame on Lee by offering to release him from prison if he would agree to drop his petition for a new trial and walk away a convicted felon. Talk about cheap shots. How many folks - with five and a half years of prison time to go - would have refused such an offer? If any, not many, and the prosecution knew it. But this time their victim had the courage of conviction - the sheer bravery - to turn down the offer, maintain his innocence, and proceed with his petition for a new trial. Applause, please, for Koua Fong Lee. Within hours - amidst a groundswell of public outrage over Lee's incarceration - the judge granted a new trial, the DA dismissed the charges declaring "this is over," and Lee was suddenly a free man with a clean record.
Well and good. But it's awfully strange how a mechanic can get a major piece of evidence wrong regarding something as readily verifiable as whether or not a car has anti-lock brakes. Ditto for a defense that allowed this testimony to go unchallenged. And wouldn't it have been a cozy deal for Toyota if Lee could have been bullied into takin' the blame and walkin' away a convicted felon while the matter conveniently faded from public view? Koua's criminal case is over, but it raises troubling questions galore.
Update 8/9/2010 - FB has blocked my Toyota posts from Posts by Everyone, and this morning, Twitter is once again blocking my tweets from real-time results. A new Facebook page (Toyota's cars kill innocent people. Stand up for the truth), and exposure of false testimony, witheld evidence, etc. in the Koua Fong Lee case is turning up the heat on Toyota. Activists should monitor real-time publications for dirty tricks style censorship. Don't be dupped just because posts appear on profile pages, etc.
Lee was found guilty, sentenced to a whopping eight years in prison, and would have remained quietly tucked away behind bars except for breaking news of sudden unintended acceleration in Toyotas. With a new lawyer, thousands registering support on a Facebook page, street protests, and mainstream media coverage, a hearing was held to determine if Lee should get a new trial. And that's where the story really gets interesting.
Lee's new attorney presented bombshell testimony showing that Lee's car had anti-lock brakes, accounting for the absence of skid marks. At Lee's "trial" there had been false testimony - by a city mechanic - stating that Lee's car did not have anti-lock brakes, and this testimony went unchallenged even though Lee's attorney had a letter from Lee's insurance company stating that the car's brake light was engaged. Sooo... with their opposition to a new trial smellin' worse than a kettle of rotten fish - and the case now making national headlines - the DA's office made a desperate, last ditch effort to dump the blame on Lee by offering to release him from prison if he would agree to drop his petition for a new trial and walk away a convicted felon. Talk about cheap shots. How many folks - with five and a half years of prison time to go - would have refused such an offer? If any, not many, and the prosecution knew it. But this time their victim had the courage of conviction - the sheer bravery - to turn down the offer, maintain his innocence, and proceed with his petition for a new trial. Applause, please, for Koua Fong Lee. Within hours - amidst a groundswell of public outrage over Lee's incarceration - the judge granted a new trial, the DA dismissed the charges declaring "this is over," and Lee was suddenly a free man with a clean record.
Well and good. But it's awfully strange how a mechanic can get a major piece of evidence wrong regarding something as readily verifiable as whether or not a car has anti-lock brakes. Ditto for a defense that allowed this testimony to go unchallenged. And wouldn't it have been a cozy deal for Toyota if Lee could have been bullied into takin' the blame and walkin' away a convicted felon while the matter conveniently faded from public view? Koua's criminal case is over, but it raises troubling questions galore.
Update 8/9/2010 - FB has blocked my Toyota posts from Posts by Everyone, and this morning, Twitter is once again blocking my tweets from real-time results. A new Facebook page (Toyota's cars kill innocent people. Stand up for the truth), and exposure of false testimony, witheld evidence, etc. in the Koua Fong Lee case is turning up the heat on Toyota. Activists should monitor real-time publications for dirty tricks style censorship. Don't be dupped just because posts appear on profile pages, etc.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Censorship: Facebook joins Twitter and Yahoo
Facebook has apparently caught the censorship virus also. Today on FB, I posted a reference to yesterday's blog post exposing the lousy service at Toyota dealerships. And wouldn't ya know it? Searched "Toyota," and the info didn't appear in FB's equivalent of Twitter's real-time results. Dirty trick Twitter style, the info did appear on my FB Home page, Profile page, and Posts by Friends. Facebook blocked the info from Posts by Everyone.
If it isn't government supported efforts to censor media coverage of the BP oil catastrophe, its an assault on Internet neutrality by the likes of Twitter, Yahoo and Facebook, while bloggers in China (make that RED China) accuse Toyota of paying private companies to delete unfavorable posts. Let's be vigilant, expose censorship whenever it occurs, and speak out loudly in favor of Internet neutrality.
If it isn't government supported efforts to censor media coverage of the BP oil catastrophe, its an assault on Internet neutrality by the likes of Twitter, Yahoo and Facebook, while bloggers in China (make that RED China) accuse Toyota of paying private companies to delete unfavorable posts. Let's be vigilant, expose censorship whenever it occurs, and speak out loudly in favor of Internet neutrality.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Hey, Toyota: Someone else fixed my car.
Talk about lousy service at Toyota dealerships. I've already posted regarding the unevenness in my rebuilt engine, the Check Engine light coming on, and the fact that I took my MR2 Spyder to the Toyota Center several times attempting to have these things corrected. Their "senior mechanic" plugged in his diagnostic tool and suggested that I add bottles of moisture remover to my gas tank. Of course, this didn't work, I finally quit going back, and the Check Engine light has remained on for a long time.
Matters got resolved a few weeks ago when the hood release once again failed to operate (turns out that even though a Technical Service Bulletin was issued, neither Dick Dyer Toyota nor the Toyota Center were able to fix it), and I had to find someone who could get my hood open. Determined not to take my car to a Toyota dealership, I found an independent repair shop, asked them to fix the hood release, and didn't even mention the other problems because I had pretty much given up on ever gettin' the car to run right. But lo and behold, these folks took an interest in the car, asked me about the Check Engine light, and to make a long story short, the car now runs like it should for the first time since I bought it. Smooth all the way to the redline, 'bout twice as fast, and no Check Engine light glaring in my face. Cost about $800 but well worth it. Thrilled, I am - even though these things should have been corrected when Toyota rebuilt the engine.
Whatsamatter, Toyota? Are your dealers really that incompetent? Apparently so. But at least I got a good laugh out of it when I saw you were offering free service as a sales incentive. 'Cause that's exactly what your lousy service is worth. Absolutely nothin'.
Update: Yesterday (7/20/2010) I posted a tweet referencing this post and this morning Twitter has censored my tweets from appearing in real-time. Toyota must be gettin' nervous with all this talk of a widening federal grand jury investigation. Look out, Toyota. Your defective products are finally gettin' exposed.
Update 7/21/2010 5:29 PM This blog post has also been censored by Facebook. It appears on FB Home, Profile and Posts by Friends, but not on Posts by Everyone. Re Twitter, I'm apparently unblocked - at least for now.
Matters got resolved a few weeks ago when the hood release once again failed to operate (turns out that even though a Technical Service Bulletin was issued, neither Dick Dyer Toyota nor the Toyota Center were able to fix it), and I had to find someone who could get my hood open. Determined not to take my car to a Toyota dealership, I found an independent repair shop, asked them to fix the hood release, and didn't even mention the other problems because I had pretty much given up on ever gettin' the car to run right. But lo and behold, these folks took an interest in the car, asked me about the Check Engine light, and to make a long story short, the car now runs like it should for the first time since I bought it. Smooth all the way to the redline, 'bout twice as fast, and no Check Engine light glaring in my face. Cost about $800 but well worth it. Thrilled, I am - even though these things should have been corrected when Toyota rebuilt the engine.
Whatsamatter, Toyota? Are your dealers really that incompetent? Apparently so. But at least I got a good laugh out of it when I saw you were offering free service as a sales incentive. 'Cause that's exactly what your lousy service is worth. Absolutely nothin'.
Update: Yesterday (7/20/2010) I posted a tweet referencing this post and this morning Twitter has censored my tweets from appearing in real-time. Toyota must be gettin' nervous with all this talk of a widening federal grand jury investigation. Look out, Toyota. Your defective products are finally gettin' exposed.
Update 7/21/2010 5:29 PM This blog post has also been censored by Facebook. It appears on FB Home, Profile and Posts by Friends, but not on Posts by Everyone. Re Twitter, I'm apparently unblocked - at least for now.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Congrats, Tony. Right on for picketing Toyota.
Like yours truly, Tony Scanaliato got so fed up with Toyota he decided to picket in front of his local dealership. Too bad there aren't more customers using this technique to expose Toyota's wrongdoing. Its certainly one way to circumvent censorship. What Toyota needs, bless their little charged-with-racketeering hearts, is customers all across the country picketing in front of their dealerships. Wouldn't it be great if everyone who signed the oil sludge petition marched with signs letting potential customers know what they're gettin' into if they deal with Toyota? One thing's for sure. Absent a high profile tragedy, Ol' Uncle Scam's mainstream media certainly isn't gonna help. The idea is to wrist-slap Toyota with a fine or two, hoping that'll make NHTSA look good, and keep quiet about everyday ripoffs such as oil sludge, strange engine noises, and stonewalled defects causing engines to disintegrate in MR2 Spyders.
Hooray for Tony Scanaliato exposin' the "Toyota Way." Such a pity consumers have to exercise extreme tactics to obtain some semblance of fairness.
http://auto.freedomblogging.com/2010/06/15/o-c-man-ends-toyota-picketing-over-lemon/35293/
Hooray for Tony Scanaliato exposin' the "Toyota Way." Such a pity consumers have to exercise extreme tactics to obtain some semblance of fairness.
http://auto.freedomblogging.com/2010/06/15/o-c-man-ends-toyota-picketing-over-lemon/35293/
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Couple returns 2010 Camry - ads flunk the test
Talk about a hoot. Here's another story I'll bet Toyota would love to censor, especially in view of their new ad campaign claiming "Your Toyota is my Toyota." Tell that to a couple in Canada who returned their 2010 Camry after three (!) bouts of sudden unintended acceleration and their Toyota dealer's unsuccessful attempt to correct the problem. Towing service was downright confrontational, and Toyota's credit department let these recalcitrant customers know that the car would be considered "abandoned." Hey - that'll teach 'em to balk at drivin' a car that suddenly surges forward on its own. The ad campaign is designed to reclaim lost trust, but maybe Toyota figures folks in Canada don't count 'cause the ads are directed at Europe...
This late-breaking example of the "Toyota Way," hailed ad nauseum by their CEO as a newfound respect for customers, has prompted these customers to plaster their new Camry with lemon stickers, call in the media, and ask Transport Canada to investigate. Updates are promised. Stay tuned.
Returned 2010 Camry, including video: http://chathamdailynews.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2611751
Toyota's new ad campaign: http://wot.motortrend.com/6644456/marketing/toyota-europe-launches-265-million-ad-campaign-to-win-back-trust/index.html
Also...
Earlier today, one of my Toyota tweets was again censored the "Twitter Way," which has come to include dirty tricks. See update for previous post.
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