How Toyota Recovered From The Earthquake Twice As Fast As Anyone Thought Possible

Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Subaru, Lexus, Scion, Suzuki, Acura, Infiniti…they were all hurt in some way by the Japanese earthquake and tsunami. Some manufacturers were hit harder than others (Honda might have been hit the hardest), but all of these companies suffered as a direct result of this disaster. In fact, a lot of American automakers suffered from the earthquake too.

Toyota, and Japan in general, overcomes setbacks from a massive natural disaster faster than anyone expected.

The reason? Automakers don’t build cars – suppliers do. Suppliers build just about every part of a vehicle except the engine, and then the automaker takes all those parts and puts them together. Toyota might get credit for the final product, but 10,000+ suppliers build the wire harnesses, wheels, wood grain interiors, etc.

When Japan suffered from a natural disaster, thousands of suppliers big and small suffered too. Some plants completely collapsed, most suffered some kind of damage, and all suppliers had to deal with a complete loss of electrical power for weeks on end. Toyota’s assembly plants across the world depended on Japanese suppliers, so production of American-made vehicles like the Tundra, Tacoma, and Camry slowed to a crawl as Japan recovered.

Some of Toyota’s executives said that recovery would take the rest of the year – that full production wouldn’t resume until 2012. Amazingly, those predictions will not come to pass. Toyota anticipates full production capacity by September or October. Here’s how they did it: Read more…

Tundra Steel Wheel Problem – Snow and Ice Can Cause Vibrations

Tire and wheel balance is an important aspect of ensuring that your driveline is free of any annoying vibrations or steering pulls while traveling at speed. Most of us have experienced a situation where a balancing weight has fallen off of one of our front rims and introduced an annoying shake that can be felt through the steering wheel. There may have been other times, however, where you have encountered unexplained wheel vibrations that seem to come and go while shrouded entirely in mystery.

Tundra steel wheels have a narrow lip that can collect ice and create wheel balance havoc

This is particularly true if you live in a northern climate where snow and ice are a regular feature of winter weather. If the stars align just right – and by stars, I mean weather conditions and driving habits – then you might fall victim to wheel unbalancing as a result of the elements.

Let me explain. The stock Toyota Tundra steel rims are designed with an interior lip that is almost invisible while the wheels are installed on the truck, but which can be seen after removing and reversing the units. This lip looks fairly harmless, and indeed it is, if the region you call home has mild winters. In colder areas, however, this lip has the unfortunate propensity to catch snow and ice and hold it there, where its weight unbalances the wheel and can in worst case scenarios make the truck completely undrivable at speeds of more than 45 miles per hour. Read more…

Wind Noise Problems At Ford?

Is Ford's $100 million investment intended to address a common Ford quality complaint?

Following last week’s news about Ford’s likely drop in the 2011 JD Power Initial Quality study (which is due out this Thursday), there’s more news about some of the quality problems Ford CEO Alan Mulally was concerned about. In the same press conference that Mulally warned about declining quality, he talked about some new robotic systems for makeing sure that doors were installed properly on all new vehicles. Was this bit of news shared to show that Ford is addressing a common concern with their products – specifically, wind noise? Read more…

Another Dumb Silverado Owner?!

A few months ago (February) we posted a video of a some “person” jumping his Chevy truck head-on into a dirt mound (video below) – along with another Chevy truck guy jumping his truck so hard he flipped it – and we asked “Are All Chevy Truck Guys This Dumb?‘ because these two videos were stupifying.

Imagine my surprise when there’s yet ANOTHER Chevy owner pulling off a stupid truck jumping trick:

Unbelievable. What’s worse, the truck actually broke on impact. Insert GM quality joke here.

Chevy guys – what the heck is going on? Read more…

“Ox-Tundra” Becomes Memorial Tribute to Jeff “Ox” Kangola

No one ever sets out to build a project truck that ends up being a memorial to its owner. In the case of the West Coast Customs effort for Jeff “Ox” Kangola, however, it is hard to think of a more fitting tribute to one of the premier off-road riders of the past several years than the Toyota Tundra pickup that was put together for him by the talented craftsmen at the California garage.

The 2010 "Ox-Tundra" seen from the front.

Jeff Kangola passed away last month as the result of injuries sustained in a dirt bike accident. Prior to his passing, “Ox” Kangola’s motocross accomplishments included a silver at the 2005 Winter X Games for Best Trick, the 2004 WFA Big Air Points Championship and a number of impressive finishes in SCORE Baja competition.

Ryan Friedlinghaus and his crew of mechanics, designers, body and paint men debuted the 2010 Toyota Tundra that they build for Kangola in March on the Inside West Coast Customs program that airs on Discovery’s HD Theatre channel. Dubbed the “Ox-Tundra,” the goal was to build a pickup that could incorporate some of the elements needed to survive the grueling Baja race environment that Kangola regularly conquered on his bike. At the same time, Friedlinghaus challenged his team to also produce a truck that could match the “Metal Mulisha” team style worn by Kangola, which made use of a number of dark and sinister elements in its branding and colors. Read more…