Some researchers are now blaming radioactive cosmic rays for unintended acceleration. Sounds fake? Well, believe it or not, there is some evidence to back it up.
Researchers believe that the some cosmic rays make it to the surface of earth and affect electronics. They think that if electronics are the cause of the unintended acceleration, although Toyota says otherwise, than these rays could be causing the electronic issues.
This issue was discovered during the 1950s at high altitude. Aircraft and spacecraft manufacturers install safeguards against such interference. In the 1970s, more research showed that some rays reach the surface and could affect small electronics, such as cell phones and computers. So maybe it could affect car electronics. However, though says that their electronics “are not the same as typical consumer electronics. The durability, size, susceptibility and specifications of the automotive electronics make them robust against this type of interference.”
The only way to test the theory is placing moving vehicles in front of particle accelerators and spraying them with radiation. There are companies out there which can do this, but Toyota will have to lend them the cars, and also hand them quite a big wad of cash for the test. We’ll have to wait and see whether or not they’re willing to do so.
The Mitsubishi Triton is a compact pickup truck produced by Mitsubishi Motors. It was originally known as the Mitsubishi Forte in Japan from 1978 to 1986, when the name was discontinued in favour of the Strada. For most export markets the name L200 is used, while Storm was used for Malaysia during the early 2000s. It was previously known as the Rodeo in South Africa until 2007. Cumulative sales of the first three generations now exceed 2.8 million units around the world.
The Toyota Hilux and Toyota Tacoma are compact pickup trucks built and marketed by the Toyota Motor Corporation. The Hilux name was adopted as a replacement for the Stout in 1969, and remains in use worldwide. In North America, the Hilux name was retired in 1976 in favor of Truck, Pickup Truck, or Compact Truck, until it was renamed the Tacoma in 1995. One popular option package, SR5 (Sport Rally 5-Speed), also became synonymous with the truck, even though it was used on other Toyota models as well. In 1984, the Trekker, the camper version of the Hilux, was changed to the 4Runner in Australia and North America, and as the Hilux Surf in Japan. The 4Runner is now a full SUV, and the more recent models do not resemble the Tacoma.
GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS
Length x Width x Height
Strada: 5000 mm x 1800 mm x 1780 mm Hilux: 5255 mm x 1835 mm x 1810 mm
Wheelbase
Strada: 3000 mm Hilux: 3085 mm
Ground Clearance
Strada: 205 mm Hilux: 212 mm
Gross Vehicle Weight Strada: 2570
Hilux: 2790
Curb Weight Strada: 1850 kg
Hilux: 1880 kg
Minimum Turning Radius Strada: 5.9 m
Hilux: 6.5 m
Fuel Tank Capacity
Strada: 75 l Hilux: 76 l
Steering Capacity
Strada: 5 pax
Hilux: 5 pax
ENGINE
Model & Type
Strada: 2.5 Liter Intercooled Turbocharged Direct Injection Diesel (4D56)
Washington stands accused of launching a self-serving witch hunt into Toyota’s spectacular fall from grace — thanks, in part, to U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, who warned Americans to stop driving all recalled Toyota vehicles before facts forced him to admit his advice was unwarranted. Indeed, with support from the governors of Alabama, Indiana, Kentucky and Mississippi, which all house Toyota plants, more than a few observers now wonder if public ownership of General Motors and Chrysler influenced the decision to hold congressional hearings into Toyota’s product woes.
Whatever the case, attitudes toward Toyota are clearly harsher in the States than Canada. (In this country, sales actually jumped 25% last month, despite federal rumblings about the need for a political probe.) “When people were dying from tampered Tylenol in the ’80s,” says American business professor Scott Testa, who teaches at Cabrini College in Philadelphia, “Johnson & Johnson pulled the product and gave everybody money back. And they stopped advertising. But I am still seeing ads for Toyota minivans. That’s insanity.”
Toyota is desperate to convince a congressional committee that dangerous bouts of uncontrolled acceleration in its cars are the result of mechanical problems, not computer glitches. That’s because a faulty floor mat or a sticky gas pedal can be replaced. If the problem turns out to be electronic, Toyota is going to face a more difficult problem, both in the vehicle and in the minds of consumers.
The car maker understands this, which is why its worked long and hard to make this issue a mechanical problem. The company recently bragged that it saved over $100 million in 2007 by negotiating a recall of “defective” floor mats rather than thoroughly investigating electronic problems. Now the ghost in the machine has resurfaced, and those savings are coming back to haunt them.
From 2001 to 2005, Lexus offered the IS in a wagon variant, called SportCross. Sadly, the following generation didn’t inherit this variant. However, Autocar reports that the next generation IS will be offered in a wagon variant.
The IS needs something to fight wagon competitors from the likes of BMW and Audi. The loss of wagon variant has hurt sales in Europe, so this move makes perfect sense.
It is also being reported that the next-gen IS will only be offered in hybrid form due to Lexus’ push towards hybrid technology. It’s unknown how this will affect the prospect of an IS F successor. However, it doesn’t sound like a very good idea to me, IS F or not.
The third-generation IS is due in 2011, so we’ll find out the truth soon enough. Hopefully it won’t be hybrid only, but I’m definitely looking forward to the wagon. IS F SportCross anyone?
We’ve all seen the news stories. Many of Toyota’s models had what I guess one could refer to as defective carpeting. When drivers were holding the throttle wide open, it would stay that way when they took their foot off. 4.2 million vehicles were recalled to have the floor mats replaced, and another 2.4 million cars were recalled to have a shim installed behind the gas pedal.
What I’m finding annoying with this whole story is how people and the media are reacting. The issue is know as Sudden Unintended Acceleration (SUA) and is nothing new in the automotive industry. Audi faced similar problems with the ‘82-’87 models of the Audi 5000. In the last decade, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration received 24 000 customer complaints regarding SUA involving almost every manufacturer. Very few of these cases were actual mechanical or electronic issues. It seems stupid, but many cases were most likely caused by driver error. To put it in other terms, confused individuals pressing the gas when they wanted to press the brake.
The other thing that gets on my nerves in this whole story is people wanting to make some money out of Toyota’s unfortunate situation. You might have heard of Jim Sikes by now, the guy who allegedly experienced SUA in his 2008 Toyota Prius on an interstate in San Diego, California. Obviously, the media made a huge circus of this, immediately pointing fingers at Toyota. We now know that Mr. Sikes has a history of suspicious behavior. For example, he recently filed for bankruptcy and gave the house to the bank, but his entire kitchen just happened to have been stolen. He attempted to defraud his own insurance company of $60 000, tiwce.
Toyota and the NHTSA investigated and could not explain the events. The Prius has a double redundant accelerator system, and if any irregularities pop up, they register in the onboard computer and the check engine light will come on. Yet in Toyota’s investigation report, they state “There were no diagnostic trouble codes found in the power management computer, nor was the dashboard malfunction indicator light activated.” When Sikes was on the phone with the 911 operator, she instructed him many times to put the car in neutral and apply the brakes, or to push the engine on button and hold it for three seconds to automatically cut the engine. All of these systems worked on Sikes’ Prius when tested, and as seen in the video below, applying the brakes should stop the car. It’s now been declared a hoax by just about every party involved, except Mr. Sikes himself, who still stands by his story and says he’s not after a lawsuit. Yeah…
Rocky walked out to his Lexus Sunday morning and discovered that all four windows mysteriously opened overnight. This posed a problem because an overnight monsoon left the seats, carpet and dashboard badly soaked. Even the cupholders were holding water (without cups).
“Unintended acceleration gets all the attention, but unintended ventilation is far more insidious,” thought Rocky as he diligently wiped the seats with a trove of Trophy Wife’s dish towels. “At least with unintended acceleration, you can shift into neutral or turn off the engine.”
Since the outside temperature was in the high 30’s, Rocky did not open the windows intentionally. And because he keeps the passenger windows in “locked mode,” he could not have accidentally confused the door-lock and down-window buttons when exiting.
Other than an electronic problem, the best explanation is that Rocky sat on his key fob in an odd way. Rocky knew that if he pressed the key fob “unlock button” for 5 continous seconds, all of the windows opened. How could this happen? Rocky did not wear his trousers to bed, nor did he engage in any contortionist exercises. The only explanation is that Rocky “bent over,” as he occasionally must do.
[Disclosure: Rocky intends to contact the National Highway Safety Administration and lodge a complaint. Perhaps then Toyota will issue a key fob safety recall -- which will prevent unintended ventilation from ruining more fine wool suits and silk jackets -- as these fine garments are pressed against soaked leather seats.]
Recently Drove my Jza61 MK2 at a Private track night, came home on a tilt tray and rolled in to the back yard which accidentally set it up for some team shots of the Obscurity crew. There running a similar paint scheme atm. Bumper black bumpers and silver paint, although the supra is still its factory color and in need of a new paint job bad! Once I build some steel fenders and straighten some dints out.
The daily of the team, the K11 Micra. If only this thing was FR!
Some future Projects in the background. My C110 Yonmeri skyline and a B110 Datsun sunny sedan.
With every good automotive blog there should be some cool cars behind it. These might not be complete just yet but are slowly getting there.
The first in a continuing series about the ongoing Toyota recalls.
Orange County DA Tony Rackauckas
California Orange County’s District Attorney, Tony Rackauckas, has sued the U.S. sales department of Toyota Motor Corp. for deceptive business practices earlier today. Rackauckas, in the suit, alleges that Toyota sold thousands of cars when they knew the vehicles had problems with the accelerator and hid the defect from consumers. Filed under the Unfair Business Practices Act, the suit is asking for a fine of $2,500 per breach. The suit also seeks to keep Toyota from selling further defective cars.
“We demand to know: Did Toyota, in their relentless pursuit to become the No. 1 carmaker in the United States, put profits over people?” Rackauckas asked in a USA Today article.
Toyota has been hit by dozens of civil and class-action lawsuits over the past several months since the company recalled over 8 million cars worldwide due to faulty accelerators. CBS has estimated the total cost of the lawsuits may total over $3 billion.
However, this action represents the first time a county or state has filed suit against the troubled car company, and could be the most dangerous suit yet. A successful lawsuit by Orange County could open up possibilities from lawsuits from other states.
Because of the California suit, Toyota may face even more legal pressure from Connecticut, where earlier this week three Toyota Camrys sped out of control and crashed in separate incidents. An elderly man was killed in one of the accidents.
Two of the vehicles, both 2007 Camrys, were under recall, while the third vehicle is reportedly a 2006 Camry.
Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has already begun an investigation into Toyota’s response to the crashes. Depending on that investigation, Connecticut may be the next state to press charges against the world’s number one car manufacturer.
Toyota is also under investigation by the House Oversight Committee and a Federal Grand Jury for it’s response to car crashes.
NEW YORK (AP) – For the want of a better two-second picture of a tachometer, ABC News has called into question its reporting on acceleration problems with Toyota vehicles.
The network’s handling of a Feb. 22 “World News” story about potential problems with computer systems in Toyotas has created ethical questions and intensified bitter feelings the besieged automaker already had toward ABC.
ABC has admitted to a misjudgment and swapped out the brief dashboard video in its report, which continues to be available online. Its story illustrated a report by David Gilbert, a Southern Illinois University professor who suggested that a design flaw in Toyotas might leave a short-circuit that could cause sudden acceleration undetected by the car’s computer system.
Correspondent Brian Ross’”World News” report showed him driving a Toyota with Gilbert that was rigged to quickly accelerate. Even though he knew it was coming, Ross said the incident left him shaken, and he had a hard time getting the car to come to a stop.
Briefly during the drive, ABC cut to a picture of a tachometer with the needle zooming forward. The impression was that the tachometer was documenting the ride Ross was taking. Instead, that picture was taken from a separate instance where a short-circuit was induced in a parked car.
ABC said that editing was done because it was impossible to get a good picture of the tachometer while the car was moving because the camera was shaking. The camera shot was steady when it was taken in a parked car.
“The tachometer showed the same thing every time,” said ABC News spokeswoman Emily Lenzner.
Toyota spokesman John Hanson disputes that, saying tachometers react much more dramatically when short-circuits happen in a parked car than a car that is moving. Tachometers measure engine speed.
It all points to problems that are created when visual journalists try to alter reality in order to get a better picture.
“Anytime you give the audience any reason to doubt the honesty of the piece, that’s a serious problem,” said Charlotte Grimes, a Syracuse University journalism professor who specializes in ethical issues.
“Do they honestly think that a company like Toyota, with all the resources that it has, would not be looking at these things?” Grimes asked.
Toyota recognized the differences right away: the shot showed the car’s speedometer was at zero, the parking brake was on and no one was using the seat belts – while Ross wore one on the test drive, Hanson said. Online discussion of the differences began almost immediately, and the Web site Gawker.com wrote about it last week.
ABC edited the online version of its story shortly after that story appeared and wrote a note on its Web site explaining why.
“This was a misjudgment made in the editing room,” Lenzner said. “They should have left the shaky shot in. But I want to make clear that the two-second shot that was used did not change the outcome of the report in any way.”
The inserted tachometer shot still didn’t specifically illustrate Ross’ ride. It was from another ride made in order to create different camera angles. A camera person could not have captured the tachometer shot with Ross and Gilbert both in the car, Lenzner said.
Toyota’s Hanson said it was next to impossible for the short circuit detailed by Gilbert to happen in real life. The automaker, which had to recall many of its cars because of problems associated with a depressed gas pedal, held a news conference on Monday to try and refute Gilbert’s study. It depicted similar short circuits in other cars, none of which were detected by the vehicles’ computer system.
Gilbert did not return phone or e-mail messages for comment, and a woman who answered the phone at his home said he was unavailable.
Hanson said he wished Toyota could have been invited to see the simulation conducted by ABC. “Simulation” is a word that brings back tough memories for TV networks: NBC’s news president lost his job in 1993 after it was revealed that for a “Dateline NBC” study about alleged safety problems with General Motors trucks, the network rigged a truck with small explosives for a story. Lenzner said it was ridiculous to compare a two-second tachometer shot to the NBC case.
She said Toyota was given a chance to comment on the story the day it was aired.
“It was not like ABC was trying to alter the footage,” she said. “There was no staging. There was no dramatization. It was an editing mistake.”
Even before this report, relations between Toyota and ABC were on edge. More than 100 Toyota dealerships in the Southeast had agreed last month to pull advertising on local ABC affiliated because they were angry with Ross’ aggressive reporting on the automaker’s problems.
The car was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show last week, but until recently the company insisted that the compact hybrid would only be sold in Europe. According to Automotive News, Lexus executives pleaded with Japan to bring to the car to the US—partly in hopes that the smaller Lexus would appeal to a younger demographic. “When the all-new Lexus CT 200h enters the market it will be the only hybrid vehicle in the emerging premium compact segment,” said Mark Templin, Lexus Division group vice president and general manager.
“There are no plans, at present, to bring this vehicle to the U.S.,” said Toyota spokesman Curt McAllister in response to an e-mail query from IL.
The hybrid is expected to go on sale in Europe, but Lexus has yet to spell out a timetable for launch of what it calls “a new gateway model” to Toyota’s upscale brand.
Few details were released about the CT 200h, with Lexus only saying that it will be equipped with second-generation Lexus Hybrid Drive technology. The teaser image shows a vehicle that seems to put a premium on curves and high style, at least judging from the rear-end shot.
CT 200h will make its US debut at the 2010 New York Auto Show later this month. Production begins in late 2010. The car could go on sale in the US sometime in 2011.
The company has not published performance details, but they do say that the motor is “powerful.” Nickel-metal hydride is used for the high voltage battery. Power is sent to the front wheels via a electrically-controlled contiuously variable transmission, or E-CVT for short.
The car remains a sleek five-door, just like the concept. It has sporty overhangs at the front and back, and a well-placed rear spoiler. The car looks to have LED rear lighting. At 4,320mm long, the car is 140mm shorter than the Toyota Prius. The Lexus is 1,765mm wide by 1,430mm high; 20mm x 50mm less than the Prius. It rides on 17-inch alloy wheels, and features McPherson/front- and double wishbone rear suspension.
Lexus wants to use this car to prove that full hybrids do not have to be boring drives. They claim the car has “superior handling agility” to suit their customers’ wishes, and three driving modes (Eco, Normal, and Sport) to adjust to different situations. Again, Lexus remained vague about sprint times, overtake ability, and top speed.
Crack the secret code of how IT departments really work and what makes IT professionals tick.
Why can’t operational managers ever get what they really want from IT? Why is the relationship so fraught with frustration from all parties? IT managers and business leaders simply don’t understand each other, the way they think, the pressures they face and the goals they are trying to achieve. Enter Susan Cramm, the prospective Deborah Tannen of the Business-IT relationship.
Personality-wise, if men are from Mars and women are from Venus, then the IT people are from Microsoft and their business partners are from Apple. In spite of great effort to become more business-smart, line and IT managers have very different backgrounds and experiences which make it difficult to communicate what they do and why and how they do it. Different pressures and incentives further increase the difficulty of forming positive IT-business relationships. While line managers need to ‘get ‘er done now’ to support the needs of their function or units (or pay the price in terms of near term business results and bonuses), IT managers need to ‘get ‘er done right’ to support the longer term needs of the enterprise (or pay the price in terms of fragmented, fragile systems.)
The key to reconciling these and other differences is to figure out how to manage the paradox. If you want to get what you want from IT, you need to shift your perspective and look through the eyes of your IT partners. Doing so will allow you to develop a single version of ‘truth’ and give you the insight necessary to change the relationship for the better.
Similarly, this book will help dispel the notion that managers can ‘hand off’ their IT responsibility to the IT organization and will provide the tools to incorporate the management of IT into their daily leadership agenda and repertoire. Business leaders should assume accountability for IT, much as they have assumed accountability for the management of the financial and human resource asset and build the necessary capabilities into their organization.
The core ideas in this book also promise to have applicability to managing other relationships between business units and specialized service providers. Think supply-chain management, or better yet, graphic design.
About the Author
Susan Cramm is the founder and president of Valuedance. Susan Cramm is a recognized industry expert on information technology leadership. She has helped pioneer the field of IT leadership coaching through her passion and gifts for developing others, as well as her keen insights regarding IT leadership, which are derived from extensive research and years serving in executive level positions. She has worked with executives from a number of Fortune Global 200 clients, including Toyota, Sony and Time Warner. Susan’s experience makes a difference and her clients describe her as ‘insightful’, ‘motivational’, ‘practical’, ‘tough’, ‘committed’ and ‘invaluable’. She is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and, since 2000, has authored the monthly “Executive Coach” column for CIO magazine.
Susan is the former CFO and executive vice president at Chevy’s Mexican Restaurants. She joined Chevy’s in 1994 to assist in the development of a nationwide Mexican ‘cantina style’ restaurant concept and assumed responsibility for finance, business strategy, restaurant development, franchising and legal functions. Prior to Chevy’s, Cramm worked with the Taco Bell Corporation and held the positions of CIO and vice president of the Information Technology Group and Senior Director for Financial and Strategic Planning.
Susan received her master’s degree in management from Northwestern University, specializing in finance, marketing and quantitative methods and her BA from University California, San Diego, summa cum laude, specializing in management and computer science.
Mace Engineering Group was started in 2006 .MACE Engineering Group are an aftermarket performance parts company designing performance parts for holdens,fords,nissans and toyota’s. And now distributes to major companies and sells all around the world.
At Mace Engineering Group we pride ourselves on quality aftermarket parts and the excellent service that we provide to all of our customers. We understand that all of our customers have different needs and we strive to provide them with exactly what they need.
Toyota and Exponent have provided Professor David Gilbert of Southern Illinois University with the results of their thorough evaluations of his demonstration of apparent “unintended acceleration” in Toyota and Lexus vehicles as described in his Preliminary Report and in his testimony at recent Congressional hearings. In evaluating Professor Gilbert’s claims, Exponent also analyzed the footage of Professor Gilbert’s appearance on ABC News on February 22, 2010.
Toyota has also supplied the results of these evaluations to the appropriate Congressional Committees. The analysis of Professor’s Gilbert’s demonstration establishes that he has reengineered and rewired the signals from the accelerator pedal. This rewired circuit is highly unlikely to occur naturally and can only be contrived in a laboratory. There is no evidence to suggest that this highly unlikely scenario has ever occurred in the real world. As shown in the Exponent and Toyota evaluations, with such artificial modifications, similar results can be obtained in other vehicles.
Toyota Evaluates Unintended Acceleration Complaints in Remedied Vehicles
Brake Override System Operation Explained
TORRANCE, Calif., March 4, 2010 – Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A., Inc., has received verifiable information from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) about some vehicles whose owners have reported unintended acceleration after receiving the accelerator pedal recall remedies. As soon as Toyota received the vehicle owner information from NHTSA, it moved quickly to evaluate the vehicles and interview the owners.
Although most of these reports have yet to be verified, Toyota has been and remains committed to investigating all reported incidents of sudden acceleration in its vehicles quickly. Toyota wants to hear directly from its customers about any problems they are experiencing with their vehicles.
The results of the evaluations have been submitted to NHTSA for review. Though these reports involve a tiny fraction of the more than one million vehicles dealers have repaired to date, Toyota takes them extremely seriously.
As NHTSA is now reviewing the results of our evaluations, it is inappropriate for Toyota to provide specific information about the company’s conclusions. However, the evaluations have found no evidence of a failure of the vehicle electronic throttle control system, the recent recall remedies or the brake override system.
It is important to note that many complaints submitted to NHTSA either are unverifiable or lack the vehicle owner information required to facilitate follow-up. Nonetheless, Toyota is quickly investigating verifiable complaints of unintended acceleration and doing everything it can to ensure that our customers are confident in their vehicles and the remedies.
About the Brake Override System
The brake override system is designed to stop the vehicle when the brake pedal is firmly pressed in cases in which acceleration is caused by mechanical interference with the accelerator pedal.
However, if the brake pedal is released, while there is still mechanical interference with the pedal, the vehicle may again accelerate. Therefore, once the vehicle brought to a safe stop, the transmission gear selector should be put into neutral or park position before turning off the engine. In this case, drivers are asked to contact their nearest Toyota dealer.
For practical reasons, the brake override system does not engage if the brake pedal is pressed before the accelerator pedal. For example, this allows for vehicles starting on a steep hill to safely accelerate without rolling backwards. Also, while the brake override system is engaged, if the brake pedal is released or if the accelerator pedal moves more than a certain amount, the brake override system will disengage in order to give precedence to the driver intention.
The brake override system does not engage when the vehicle moves at speeds less than approximately five miles per hour, at which point the vehicle can be stopped safely.
Good to be home, I’m Jay Leno, your host… at least for a while.
I’m a little bit nervous, not because it’s my first day back, but because Dave and Oprah are watching…
We’ve been off for the last few weeks, bit like the Russians at the (Winter) Olympics…
We’ve got Lindsay Vonn on the show tonight, when it comes to going downhill no-one is faster… Except NBC
President Bush said today that he often turned to prayer during his presidency. Hey, I think we all turned to prayer during his presidency.
Keanu Reeves will star in “Speed 3.” The first “Speed” was about a runaway bus, the second was about a boat, and the third one is going to be about a Toyota.
Gatorade has officially ended their relationship with Tiger Woods. He was seeing at least five other sports drinks.
The last two weeks have seen an avalanche of negative headlines for Toyota. A sampling below:
On February 23, 2010, Jim Lentz, Toyota’s President of U.S. Sales, admitted during questioning before the House Energy and Commerce Panel that it was “probably fair to say” that the company may not know the cause of unintended acceleration in as many as 70 percent of customer complaints.
On February 24, 2010, Akio Toyoda–Toyota’s President and the grandson of the company’s founder–told the House Oversight and Government Committee that he didn’t learn about unintended acceleration problems in Toyota vehicles until late 2009, and claimed that he wasn’t aware of a July 2009 internal memo that bragged about $100 million in savings on recalls. The plausibility of his professed ignorance was called into question when Lentz testified before Congress that decisions about important safety issues like recalls were all made in Japan–an admission at odds with Toyota’s efforts to portray itself as a company solidly rooted in the U.S.
On February 26, 2010, Bloomberg News reported that the same memo characterized Toyota’s success in blocking a formal recall of Sienna minivans as a “win” for the company. The problem with the Siennas involved collapsing liftgates that led to 98 reported injuries. Toyota persuaded the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to close its investigation by sending a letter to Sienna owners offering to replace defective struts on the liftgate.
On March 2, 2010, USA Today/Gallup released results of a survey that showed that 31% of Americans now believe Toyota and Lexus vehicles are unsafe to drive, and 55% believe the carmaker dragged its feet in responding to potential safety defects.
Also on March 2, 2010, the New York Times reported that Camrys manufactured before 2007–which were not subject to Toyota’s recent recalls–were the subject of hundreds of unintended acceleration complaints. Toyota did not recall the pre-2007 Camrys because they use a different gas pedal and different floor mats than later models. However, the complaints about pre-2007 Camrys suggests that unintended acceleration may be caused by problems with the electronic throttle system and not defective gas pedals or floor mats.
On March 3, 2010, the Associated Press reported that NHTSA continued to receive complaints of unintended acceleration from Toyota owners whose cars had been repaired. The continued problems suggest that unintended acceleration is caused by problems with the electronic throttle system, something Toyota has repeatedly denied. Toyota has attributed the problems to defective gas pedals and floor mats, and its fixes have focused on swapping out floor mats, replacing and modifying pedals and removing floor padding. NHTSA has asked Toyota owners who continue to experience unintended acceleration post-repairs to contact the agency.
On February 24, 2010, the New York Times reported that Toyota is facing a revolt from its suppliers, who have been frustrated in recent years by Toyota’s efforts to squeeze prices despite rising production costs. The recall crisis has led the traditionally loyal suppliers to break rank and speak out against the company. The owner of one supplier, Teruo Moewaki, became a local celebrity by saying on television he would no longer accept orders from the embattled manufacturer.
While it may be some time before we know the answers to who knew what and when in the case of the sticky Toyota accelerator pedals, the company clearly understands that its brand’s reputation has taken a hit and is doing a lot to communicate that it cares about its customers. National TV and print advertising as well as news conferences and press availabilities with spokespersons have all been employed. The chairman of Toyota has testified before the U.S Congress in response to subpoenas.
In an unprecedented recall situation that now includes more than 8 million vehicles including the latest generation of Prius hybrids for faulty brakes, how does a brand survive when there are so many American-made quality autos to chose from. Yes, that’s right America has quality autos. That comes from someone who swore he would never own an American car again after one of the worst car experiences of my life – a 1988 Chevy Corsica. The antidote was a 1992 Honda Accord, which turned me into a believer of Japanese quality. Yet, nearly 20 years later, I have owned two American vehicles and have been pleased – one a GMC Canyon pick up and the other a Ford Taurus X crossover. We still have a 2003 Honda Accord but when it comes time to replace it, we have some great American options. U.S. auto buyers are finding out what I found out years ago – we do not have to accept inferior products and we will reward companies who give us what we want and treat us well. Competition is good. It certainly was good for Ford and GM, which are making cars that are competitive on quality, safety and gas mileage. These companies are reaping the benefits from the competition they had after they became complacent and took their preeminence (and consumers) for granted.
Is Toyota on the verge of being in the place GM and Ford were 20 years ago? February’s auto sales figures suggest Toyota has a problem. Ford’s sales were up 43 percent, GM’s up 12.7 percent (the same as Honda), Nissan up 29.4 percent and Hyundai was up 11 percent, while Toyota fell 8.7 percent. And the longer there are questions about whether Toyota found a real fix, the trend will continue.
Although hailed as a quality leader for decades and admired for the Lean production processes that were put into place after WWII, Toyota needs to remember the basic tenets of continuous quality improvement and stay vigilant. It is easy to be come complacent when you think you do not have any competition.
Toyota had the enviable reputation as the quality auto leader of the world. However, the company’s reputation has been slipping in recent years and Consumer Reports, which historically gave Toyota’s cars high marks, stopped giving what seemed like a an automatic seal of approval. It is going to be a long time before Toyota gets through this crisis. The company’s reputation will take years to rebuild. If the company’s leaders make a determined effort, stop taking the consumer for granted, and assume that whatever they make is the best – they can compete again. However, the market landscape will have changed dramatically.
So what are some of the lessons for Toyota and for professional communicators:
1. “Quality is Job #1.” That was Ford Motor Company’s tagline from a few years ago and it became a mantra. Toyota needs to make quality and transparency the core of everything it does and every relationship it has with customers, employees, dealers, regulators – everyone. Ultimately, if our clients and the companies we represent, what to be market leaders, they have to have the goods.
2. Take complaints seriously before there is a problem. In the case of Toyota, if State Farm insurance makes a complaint to the National Highway Safety and Transportation Administration three years before the recall, it is probably an important symptom ofa problem that needs to be checked out – rigorously. So, that means don’t deny and delay. Fix it and move on. How a company responds reflects on its character and demonstrates its priorities.
3. Be clear about your business objectives. Rapid growth often leads to poor quality. Toyota, in its quest to unseat GM as the largest auto manufacturer lost sight of its main differentiating point – it produced the best quality cars in the world. And now it does not.
4. when something goes wrong, say you are sorry. Then back it up with actions. Toyota appears to be doing that but the enormity of the problem will make it difficult for the company to put this situation behind them quickly. First they need to make sure they understand the problem and have a real fix. In the last few days, news reports have come out that there are new complaints that the fix did not work. Hard for consumers to believe in your company when that happens.
We have all heard that it takes a lifetime to build a reputation and seconds to damage it. While no truer words were spoken, Abraham Lincoln had one of the best insights on reputation, “Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.”
We are known for what we do. We, and our clients and companies, need to do the right thing.
Toyota’s problems are hard for some to take, especially in Toyota City, Japan.
When news of the unintended acceleration problems first broke, Toyota management here suggested that the troubles were due to driver error. Taxi driver Toshio Okamura said he believed that explanation.
“It was hard to imagine,” he said of the mechanical problems. “This is Toyota. These things don’t happen.”
Now Toyota has admitted problems with its cars. And a U.S. lawmaker has alleged that the company may have deliberately withheld evidence in lawsuits relating to vehicle safety.
“Even now that the real facts are surfacing, I can’t accept it,” said Okamura. “I think many people here are struggling to accept it.”
It’s Kaizan, the belief that you can design perfection. It would be a good manufacturing philosophy if only there was a self-correcting mechanism for the inevitable flaws.
No car ever built was perfect and automotive technology does keep improving. But on board computers were a leap, and nothing in the world of cyber-technology ever suggested computer technology was perfect. You don’t trust your Dell running Vista, why would anyone ever trust what is at best your desktop computer’s idiot stepchild residing under your hood?
This isn’t Toyota- or Japan-bashing. Every major manufacturer who fucks up gets reamed for it. During the Firestone 500 recall in the ’70s, the Des Moines Register published a critical letter to the editor from me that resulted in our plant manager coming into the plant early so he could come down to my tractor tire bead machine to chew my butt out at 6 a.m.
If I criticized my employer in real time for manufacturing errors, why would I cut Toyota slack? It’s the principle. Own up to your errors and people will forgive you. Stonewall, and they’ll just remember what a heartless prick bastard you were.
Insurance saleswoman Junko Ida used a Japanese proverb to describe Toyota’s fate: The nail that stuck out is being hammered down. “But the nail will rise again,” she said.
A cliché that speaks to failures as clearly as it speaks to nonconformity. What it has to do with Toyota’s comeback, I can’t even guess. Nor can I guess why no account I’ve read other than CNN’s mentioned that Koua Fong Lee’s Toyota’s throttle was stuck open at 15% after the crash. Or that if Lee’s ‘96 Camry was defective, it means that Toyota’s been covering this problem up for over 15 years.
Toyota recalled more than 8 million vehicles, prompting Lee’s attorney to seek a re-examination of the vehicle in the 2006 accident.
“This never seemed right. A man with his family in the car — his pregnant wife — goes on a suicide mission? Then, the recalls started, and the complaints sounded just like what happened to Mr. Lee,” lawyer Brent Schaefer said. “It sounds just like a case of unintended acceleration.”
Schaefer says he has filed paperwork with the court stating his intention to retest the car, which remains in a vehicle impound.
“We plan to employ experts familiar with the ‘96 Camry and the components that make up car to show that rapid acceleration is to blame for the accident, not Mr. Lee accidentally stepping on the accelerator,” he said.
Gaertner said her office is willing to cooperate with the examination and see where the results lead.
“We have no interest in an innocent man being behind bars. Accordingly, we are very open to considering evidence that might show that in fact he wasn’t guilty,” Gaertner said. “If we’re going to disturb a conviction we need evidence.”
If governor-wannabee Gaertner wants to keep this conviction, it seems that she should have to prove that the County knows more about Toyotas than Toyota does. There was no science in Lee’s conviction, just the word of some engineers who didn’t know about these admittedly baffling problems saying that Lee’s account of the accident couldn’t have happened. Obviously they were wrong, and it is on the basis of their testimony that Lee was convicted.
Gaertner already has enough evidence to release Lee, but that would require acknowledging that he never should have been convicted in the first place.
Growing up I came to believe that you could not get a fair trial in the American South, at least not unless you were white. Right now I don’t know why any Hmong-American would feel like they could get a fair trial in Ramsey County. No science was involved in Lee’s testimony, just the assertions of a couple of glorified mechanics who couldn’t prove Lee was lying, but testified to that effect anyway.
This is important. Michael Fumento has written a ridiculous piece in defense of Toyota that sums up exactly how Lee’s trial must have gone. Read this except-ridden article to see what a wordsmith can do to make anyone sound guilty of anything simply by asserting circumstantial evidence and by ignoring the 53 deaths attributed to sudden acceleration in this country alone.
You can always manufacture a case against someone. That’s why “proof” is so important. What proof was used to convict Koua Fong Lee other than the testimony of a couple of engineers who couldn’t explain what had happened and therefore concluded driver error was to blame.
I’ve used that Snelling exit ramp many times. Had Lee not hit stopped vehicles he would have ripped into the busiest intersection in the Twin Cities at high speed. Ever been t-boned at high speed?
The accident could have been much worse than it was. As it is it was so bad that the Strib has finally written an editorial about the case.
A search of the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration database yields about 20 sudden-acceleration complaints about the 1996 Camry. Often, no mechanical explanations were found. While there are similar complaints about other manufacturers’ cars from the same year, the Times’ analysis showed that Toyota had more speed-control complaints involving crashes over the past decade than any other manufacturer.
The Ramsey County Attorney’s office held onto Lee’s Camry because of the accident’s severity. Experts hired by lawyers representing the victims’ family, as well as Toyota, will likely get a chance to examine it soon. Whether they’ll find proof of sudden acceleration is uncertain given the vehicle’s damage. That could create a disturbing scenario. The Toyota recalls may have been enough to create reasonable doubt among jurors when Lee was tried. But without new mechanical evidence from the car, the recalls may not be enough to meet the legal threshold for a new trial.
The judge who will rule on the issue, as well as the prosecutors who will weigh in, face a challenging situation. Their highest priority no matter what: to ensure beyond a doubt that Lee isn’t paying the price for Toyota’s mistakes.
And Jonathan Turley finally weighs in.
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The LAPD displayed the bloodied shirt, tie and jacket from Robert Kennedy’s assassination at an industry conference in Las Vegas recently. RFK’s son Maxwell writes:
I requested the return of my father’s items nearly a decade ago. My request was refused by the district attorney’s office. The D.A. promised, though, to keep the personal items with care and out of public view. Since then, courageous crime victims in California have forced a change in the state Constitution, requiring law enforcement officials to return victims’ property when it is no longer needed as evidence.
This week, despite that constitutional requirement, the chief of police and the district attorney took my father’s blood-soaked clothing and displayed it, as part of a macabre publicity stunt. It is almost incomprehensible to imagine what circumstances would have led to a decision to transport these items across state lines to be gawked at by gamblers and tourists. It is demeaning to my family, but just as important, it is demeaning to the trust that citizens place in their law enforcement officers.
When I called to express my surprise and disappointment, the chief maintained to me that hanging my dad’s bloody shirt from a mannequin in a casino was part of an effort to train detectives. Perhaps he believes that, but to me it seems like a cheap bid for attention. It is almost like a traffic cop inviting motorists to slow down and take a good look as they go past a tragedy.
The chief agreed to remove my father’s belongings from the exhibit. I’m pleased he did so. But he should also remember that such items are personal property, entrusted to the state’s care, not to be exploited. He relies on crime victims to prosecute virtually every criminal. He cannot long succeed if he continues to put victims’ pain on display for publicity.
And we sneered at the Communists for displaying the corpses of their leaders.
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The netroots campaign for Bill Halter is working out well despite my fears that locals may object to out of state money, it appears that the locals are fed up with Blanche Lincoln’s centrist corruption and Blue Dog doubletalk (just like all other corruption, money is the bottom line).
I don’t like the netroots approach, but I cannot argue that our system has been corrupted by monied interest operating across state lines, and that our process is still so money-driven that reform is unlikely to happen without a lot of money being shoveled to the media parasites who profit from $20 million Senate races.
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Since I’m technically dieting, I clicked to find out which three McDonald’s meals have been approved of by New Zealand’s Weight Watchers. A side salad, sure (your own dressing, I assume), but I didn’t expect to see Chicken McNuggets on their approved list, and I certainly didn’t anticipate the Filet-O-Fish making the cut.
From 1971 to the present I’ve never ordered a Filet-O-Fish that didn’t come with an ice cream scoop’s worth of tartar sauce on it. Even before I started working on my weight I routinely scraped as much of the tartar sauce off as possible.
No clue what’s going on here, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the Kiwi who runs Weight Watchers down under isn’t driving a new car….
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I would not object to changing my mailing address to St. Google, Minnesota, if it would get me super-fast broadband.
In other news of technology, Iowa is now getting 20% of their power from wind (not a Chuck Grassley or Steve King joke). Despite an oil-funded anti-wind study from Spain that is being widely disseminated by the anti-science right.
Aaron Datesman writes about how wind is a better investment than nuclear, Datesman also writes about a study that shows how North Dakota could power much of the nation simply by converting excess wind capacity into hydrogen generation.
There are solutions to our problems if only we would work to solve our challenges instead of deferring to those trying to profit from them. Provide a service and then figure out how to make money from it. Nothing good comes from seeking profit by any means available.
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Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf made $18.7 million last year for mismanaging the bank that handles my money. And Congress still can’t figure out what to do about it.
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Etc.”
Senate GOoPs even obstructed judicial nominees they approved of
Palin on Leno (the ha-ha funniness of people who glory in the pain of others who are not them or their friends)
Evil “ego-driven” marketing
More on the lawyers smeared by Liz Cheney and Chuck Grassley (and more about how Rudy Giuliani’s law firm provided similar legal services)
Our Saudi allies to give woman who filed sexual harassment complaint 300 lashes
Eric Massa’s retirement announcement marred by weird allegations (disclaimer: I once rode on an elevator with Eric Massa, but we did not have sex)
The silver lining in Rangel stepping aside (do not give him his chairmanship back!)
Rob Levine on neocon lies
Texas Republicans owning up to the shittiness that was Bush
Digby on pederasts Catholics
Barack O’Hoover
Michael Moore on being represented by wusses
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Al Wiesel, aka Jon Swift, R.I.P.
Michael Foot, R.I.P.
Politically not on the same page, but both had wit and passion and that works for me.
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Toyota is desperate to convince a congressional committee that dangerous bouts of uncontrolled acceleration in its cars are the result of mechanical problems, not computer glitches. That’s because a faulty floor mat or a sticky gas pedal can be replaced. If the problem turns out to be electronic, Toyota is going to face a more difficult problem, both in the vehicle and in the minds of consumers.
We’ve all seen the news stories. Many of Toyota’s models had what I guess one could refer to as defective carpeting. When drivers were holding the throttle wide open, it would stay that way when they took their foot off. 4.2 million vehicles were recalled to have the floor mats replaced, and another 2.4 million cars were recalled to have a shim installed behind the gas pedal.
The car was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show last week, but until recently the company insisted that the compact hybrid would only be sold in Europe. According to Automotive News, Lexus executives pleaded with Japan to bring to the car to the US—partly in hopes that the smaller Lexus would appeal to a younger demographic. “When the all-new Lexus CT 200h enters the market it will be the only hybrid vehicle in the emerging premium compact segment,” said Mark Templin, Lexus Division group vice president and general manager.
8 Things We Hate About IT
