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The writer indicates that Toyota did not really have an acceleration problem and Toyota is now using the slack time created by depressed sales to train workers to improve their product. Us automakers would, of course, layoff workers if faced with a similar dilemma.
Most Toyotas manufactured in the US are assembled here. Many US automakers have plants in Canada and Mexico. This makes the definition of a US automaker a bit fuzzy.
Toyota has agreed to pay a record $16.4 million fine for failing to properly notify federal authorities about a dangerous pedal defect. (April 19). Toyota indicates ti paid the fine to avaoid a protracted legal battle.
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Southern Illinois professor,Dave Gilbert, says electronic design flaw is linked to runaway Toyotas. He was able to recreate the defect. The professor indicated moisture, corrosion, or wear could cause the fault.
A deadly accident that may involve a faulty floor mat in a Toyota vehicle is drawing media attention to what a 3.8 million car recall means for the auto giant.
Some experts believe the problem has nothing to do with the driver's side floor mat which is cut away under the gas pedal. Instead the problem may be caused by the on-board computer. Many Toyota's do not use the standard pulley and cable system used in other vehicles for braking and acceleration.
For more information on the floor mat recall, consumers can contact the NHTSA Hotline at 888-327-4236 or their Toyota or Lexus dealer.
NHTSA has also reported complaints of unintended acceleration in the RAV 4 and Tacoma pickup.
Earlier this month, NHTSA spokesman Rae Tyson was "aware of" complaints of runaway acceleration in the popular Toyota Prius hybrid and were in a "monitoring mode."
Prius owners who have reported the unintended acceleration problem with their Prius hybrid to ConsumerAffairs.com remain wary that the problem can simply be traced to floor mats.
“Here is the rub,” said one California reader. “If it truly were the mat catching the accelerator, why did turning the car off solve the problem? There is nothing with the power button that would do this. And yet each time when I restarted the Prius it was fine. If the accelerator were caught under the mat once the car was turned off the problem did not persist,” she wrote.
Rightardia comment:Rightards will probably make a lot of noise about this but the reality is it is the Republicans who wanted Cash for Clunkers or CARS to include foreign autos. Why? Because a lot of Japanese and Korean cars are assembled by US autoworkers in the South in right to work states. These cars have foreign made engines and drive trains. Few of these workers belong to a union.
CHICAGO, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- Three major U.S. automakers lost ground to foreign rivals in the latest tally of "cash for clunkers" sales as Toyota Motor Corp. dethroned General Motors Co. (GM) as the top seller, reports reaching here said Friday.
Toyota has sold 18.9 percent of vehicles purchased through the clunkers program, surpassing GM, which has sold 17.6 percent.
As of Friday morning, U.S. dealers had submitted voucher requests for just over 1.5 billion dollars, representing 358,851 vehicle purchases.
The three major U.S. automakers -- GM, Chrysler and Ford sold 42.1 percent of all clunker replacements, which is down from an initial 47 percent of sales slightly below the automakers' 44 percent U.S. market share.
Ford Motor Co. is in third place with a 15.4 percent market share. Honda Motor Co. is in fourth with 12.9 percent. Chrysler Group LLC's share fell to 9.1 percent, down from 10.6 percent on Aug. 5.
Foreign automakers now dominate the top 10 list of vehicles sold through the U.S. cash for clunkers program, with just two Ford vehicles on the list: the Ford Focus FWD in third and the Ford Escape FWD in seventh.
Several automakers, including GM, Ford and Toyota, have boosted production of fuel-efficient models as a result of the sales sparked by the program.
The Toyota Corolla retained the top spot overall, followed by the Honda Civic. The Toyota Camry is in fourth, followed by the Toyota Prius. Rounding out the top 10 are the Hyundai Elantra, the Honda Fit in eighth, the Nissan Versa in ninth and the Honda CR-V FWD in 10th.
About halfway through the 3 billion-dollar program, 83 percent of trade-ins are trucks and 59 percent of new vehicle purchases are cars.
On Thursday, U.S. Transportation Department approved plans to allow customers to order vehicles from automakers, a move that should benefit domestic automakers. Many dealers have reported shortages of fuel efficient U.S. vehicles, in part because GM and Chrysler sharply reduced production during their stays in bankruptcy.
Last Friday, President Barack Obama signed a law adding 2 billion to the program, which was in danger of running out of the first 1 billion dollars.
