All Entries in the "Auto News" Category
Toyota Places Sunday Newspaper Ad Regarding Accelerator Recall
Toyota has placed a full-page newspaper ad in about 20 major markets that says the following:
As you may have heard, in rare cases, sticking accelerator pedals have occurred in some of our vehicles. We believe we are close to announcing an effective remedy. And we’ve temporarily halted production at some of our North American plants to focus on vehicles we’ve recalled. Why have we taken this unprecedented action? Because it’s the right thing to do for our customers.
To find out if your Toyota is affected and to get the very latest information about the recall, please visit toyota.com
This ad is meant to alleviate consumer concerns and to shape the conversation around the accelerator recall issue. However, this ad falls short. Here’s why:
GM’s Toyota Recall Incentive Could Backfire Badly
In case you missed it, yesterday GM’s crack marketing team announced a series of extra incentives on new GM products for anyone that owns a Toyota. This announcement is in direct response to Toyota’s accelerator mechanism recall and subsequent sales freeze on 8 models. According to GM’s announcement, they “decided to make this offer after receiving many emails and calls from our dealers, who have been approached by Toyota customers asking for help. We want to be able to provide peace of mind to customers and all of our vehicles are safe.”
Isn’t that nice – GM wants to help Toyota owners in the name of safety.
GM's offer to Toyota owners - clever marketing or unseemly sales gimmick?
GM will be offering anyone who brings in a Toyota an extra $1,000 cash rebate and/or zero percent financing on a new GM product. While this incentive might seem shrewd to some, the full analysis shows that this could be a very dumb move. Here’s why:
Will Consumers Buy Compact, Unibody Scion Pickups?
Toyota has been kicking around the concept of building a compact unibody pickup for it’s Scion brand. While Toyota’s motivations aren’t completely clear, they probably go a little something like this:
- Because the Tacoma has grown from compact to midsize, there might be room in the marketplace for a truly compact pickup truck.
- Truck owners seem to be fiercely loyal to a particular brand, and this loyalty is often fostered at a young age. Building a cheap compact Toyota truck gives us a chance to grow a lifetime customer.
- A compact pickup would help Toyota meet our federal fleet fuel economy rating.
- Compact little unibody pickups have some appeal worldwide.
- Toyota is really, really good at building small vehicles.
So there you have it – Toyota’s case for building a compact pickup for the Scion brand. Now let’s break it down a little further.
Toyota Temporarily Freezes Tundra Sales
In light of criticism surrounding their recent accelerator mechanism recall announcement and safety warning, Toyota has stopped selling the Tundra along with 7 other models.
The following models are no longer available for sale:
NUMMI Workers Fighting (Literally) With UAW Leadership
Following-up on news that 80% of NUMMI’s workers are upset with the UAW, a NUMMI employee has sent us some information about a meeting that took place on Sunday, January 24th between NUMMI employees and UAW Local 2244 leaders. Evidently, the UAW’s local bargaining chairman Javier Contreras (the guy who is supposed to be negotiating for a worker’s severance package) dropped a sling of F-bombs on a crowd of 400+ NUMMI workers.
Here’s the video (not for kid’s ears or something you want to watch at work without headphones):
You’ll hear the meeting explode at the 31 second mark.
That’s right folks – the guy who is negotiating directly with GM and Toyota can’t control his temper. Incredibly, UAW Local President Sergio Santos claims that this scene was caused by workers “planted” by NUMMI’s management:
