All Entries in the "Auto News" Category

Toyota’s Management Problems Have Been On Display For Years

Toyota’s rash of recent recalls – the floor mat entrapment recall, the sticking pedal recall, and now the 2010 Prius brake recall – are all symptomatic of a much larger problem we’d like to call “big companyitis.” Big companyitis is caused by:

• Poor internal communication
• A culture that stifles individualism
• Employees and managers who aren’t held accountable

Obviously, big companyitis can be traced back to poor management. However, while the mass media focuses on items that happened in last 2 weeks, we’d like to point to some items that happened in the last 3 years to prove our point:

Car and Driver Says Toyota’s Unintended Acceleration Risks Are Minuscule

The executive editor of Car & Driver Magazine has written a fantastic editorial on the actual risks Toyota owners are subjected to as a result of the sticking/entrapped accelerator pedal recalls. Basically, it says what a lot of Toyota owners were already thinking: the risks from the recalls really aren’t a big deal.

Ray LaHood Has Tainted The Public’s Trust in NHTSA

Two days ago, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood made a startling and ridiculous statement when asked what Toyota vehicle owners should do about Toyota’s sticking pedal recall:

“stop driving it. Take it to a Toyota dealer because they believe they have a fix for it.”

A few hours after making this statement, LaHood was quick to retract saying “What I said in there was obviously a misstatement. What I meant to say or what I thought to say was if you own one of these cars or if you’re in doubt, take it to the dealer and they’re going to fix it.” Unfortunately, much of the damage from LaHood’s statement had already been done by the time he took it back. The Wall Street Journal reports that Toyota’s stock price fell 5.2% as a direct result of LaHood’s “stop driving” comment. In real money, that’s about $4 billion dollars in market value lost in the span of a few hours…

But LaHood’s comments didn’t just hurt Toyota’s stock price – what rational person wouldn’t be a little concerned after hearing that the government said “stop driving” Toyotas and then quickly retracted? Whatever side of the fence you’re on, we should expect more from the person in charge of NHTSA.

Ray LaHood's comments have tainted the public's perception of NHTSA

The question is, how can we rely upon government officials to be objective about vehicle safety when our government owns a substantial percentage of two major automakers?

Ray LaHood Is An Idiot

This morning, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood told a member of congress that owners of Toyotas under recall should “stop driving it. Take it to a Toyota dealer because they believe they have a fix for it.

UAW Taking 3% of NUMMI Workers Severance Package

We’ve been following the closure of the NUMMI auto plant – a joint venture between GM and Toyota – for a few weeks, now, and the stories we’re hearing from NUMMI workers about the UAW are incredible. Stranger than fiction incredible.

First, there’s the fact that more than 80% of NUMMI’s workers signed a petition critical of the UAW.

Next, there’s a video showing a UAW leader dropping F-bombs on NUMMI workers at a union meeting.

Now, we’re being told that the UAW is planning on taking 3% of whatever severance package NUMMI’s workers receive. What, exactly, is the justification for taking a percentage of a worker’s last-ever paycheck?