Anyone see a company self-destruct like Toyota?

[The Fake Shemp]

Decades of building up goodwill with American consumers (with one of the few products that our citizens still take pride in manufacturing) being eroded in front of our very eyes

[Human Snorenado]

GM and Chrysler have to be jizzing in their pants.  Ford wasn't in TOO bad of shape, so they're probably able to afford hookers to jizz into.

[Howard Alan Treesong]

yeah, I looked away for a few days and within a week it had gone from "minor preemptive recall of a few select models" to "Toyotas are fiery death traps designed to kill innocent Americans"

I'm not sure how exactly the tenor changed so abruptly, but it's kind of crazy. and of course China is ultimately to blame - Japanese-manufactured Toyotas are fine, and the problem is due to Chinese contractors cutting corners

[The Fake Shemp]

GM and Chrysler have to be jizzing in their pants.  Ford wasn't in TOO bad of shape, so they're probably able to afford hookers to jizz into.

... Man, even the early recall stuff wasn't pretty. I know it scared away my brother from getting a Toyota. Then we find out that basically everything they manufacture WILL KILL US ALL. Hybrids are death traps!

Totally weird, especially from a company that was so meticulous, patient and sharp when it came to building its presence in America.

[Mandark]

Yes, Signet Jewelers.  But this is still pretty crazy.

I've got no idea how auto safety enforcement works, bit I figure it's a lot trickier when parts and cars are coming from countries that don't have their own effective regulatory regimes in place.  You trust Japan to protect its own consumers, but China's got a pretty shaky track record on this stuff.

[Kestastrophe]

I thought I heard that the faulty pedals were from an American supplier, while the good ones were Japanese 

Anyways, it is really weird seeing the company's image take a hit like this. I can't tell you how many case studies I've seen in business school (lol) about Toyota's manufacturing process/consistency/etc.

[ToxicAdam]

I had this discussion with my father-in-law. I just don't see how this will hurt Toyota in the long term. In 4-5 years it will just be a fuzzy memory.

[The Fake Shemp]

They've had to fight the stigma of being a foreign car manufacturer for decades, I don't see how having practically every car you manufacturer being recalled for accelerator or brake issues will be a fuzzy memory for most Americans.

[Dickie Dee]

They've had to fight the stigma of being a foreign car manufacturer for decades, I don't see how having practically every car you manufacturer being recalled for accelerator or brake issues will be a fuzzy memory for most Americans.

Those are two separate issues. Americans aren't distrustful of foreign car quality.

[Howard Alan Treesong]

I'm with Toxic - it looks bad now but there's still plenty of time to fix and spin this, and Toyota's aggressively moving into that phase

[ToxicAdam]

If anyone is going to gain from this, it will be other foreign car companies like Hyundai and Honda. People that have owned a Toyota for the past 12 years aren't going to go flocking back to Ford or GM.

[Flannel Boy]

If anyone is going to gain from this, it will be other foreign car companies like Hyundai and Honda. People that have owned a Toyota for the past 12 years aren't going to go flocking back to Ford or GM.

Consumers weren't buying Toyota cars simply because they were designed and manufactured by Asians, but because they were reliable. Consumers will start flocking to Ford if they believe the company is now making quality, reliable cars.

(Ford's sales increased by a lot in January while Honda's decreased. )

[The Fake Shemp]

Yeah, Ford's street cred is going up.

[Great Rumbler]

So has anyone actually died because of this fault? Or is this another typical American media scare story designed to keep us frightened of foreign things?

[Flannel Boy]

So has anyone actually died because of this fault? Or is this another typical American media scare story designed to keep us frightened of foreign things?  x ∞

Yes.

[Eel O'Brian]

the ford pinto had a nast habit of exploding during rear-end collisions

people have short memories when to comes to...well, just about anything, really

some other car defect will come along and this will fade into the ether like the smoke curling off a charred pinto driver's corpse

[Flannel Boy]

Who forgot? The Pinto is still the butt of many jokes even though Ford stopped manufacturing the car over 30 years ago.

[Eel O'Brian]

yes, and ford's still in business even though they knowingly made a car which would give suicide bombers wet dreams

joke now, killed people thirty years ago, ford's looking swell

short memories

[Flannel Boy]

That problem was confined to one model, which Ford stopped manufacturing completely 30 years ago. Toyota's accelerator problem is not confined to one model.

Toyota will fix the problem and people will move on--we move on from everything--but not before they lose marketshare, which they took generations to build.

yes, and ford's still in business

Anyone claiming that Toyota won't still be in business?

[Eel O'Brian]

"self-destruct"

[Flannel Boy]

"self-destruct"

Willco's typical hyperbole.

[The Fake Shemp]

Recalls happen all the time. The accelerator recall was for a dozen different models. The issue with the brake pedals not only affects the Prius, but Lexus models as well. This is not a one-off thing here.

[Flannel Boy]

Lol Toyota is still turning a profit this year, unlike their competition.

Many car companies, including Ford, are profitable. And Toyota's last earnings period occurred well before the recalls. There's no guarantee it will remain profitable.

The sincere and heartfelt apology of the Toyota CEO created heaps of goodwill too I bet.

[Akala]

I will probably buy a Ford this year.

Ford

[The Fake Shemp]

These Congressional hearings on Toyota aren't creating a ton of goodwill.

[treythemovie]

In a complete coincedence, just last month my Toyota tried killing me when its breaks failed to stop me. Jokes on it though as I'm still alive while its been total'd 

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[HyperZoneWasAwesome]

Toyota failing at reliability is like Volvo having spikes in their airbags, it hits them at their most perceived strength.

now Hondas, those things are frikin tanks I tells ya.  You have shoot a silver bullet through their catalytic converter to stop them.

[Boogie]

I will probably buy a Ford this year.

Ford

not gonna lie, I'm really tempted to make my next car a Ford.

[brawndolicious]

Toyota failing at reliability is like Volvo having spikes in their airbags, it hits them at their most perceived strength.

now Hondas, those things are frikin tanks I tells ya.  You have shoot a silver bullet through their catalytic converter to stop them.

I agree, but I think silver actually acts as a catalytic converter.

[Raban]

Motorcycles

[brawndolicious]

you have a bike?

[Oblivion]

The sincere and heartfelt apology of the Toyota CEO created heaps of goodwill too I bet.

If there's one thing the American people will not tolerate, it's CEOs not being held accountable.

[pollo]

If anyone is going to gain from this, it will be other foreign car companies like Hyundai and Honda. People that have owned a Toyota for the past 12 years aren't going to go flocking back to Ford or GM.

.

The 'rents have a Highlander and Camry, and I don't see them switching in the near future.

Never going back American since we had a Dodge Chrysler Minivan in 93 that broke down 2 weeks after purchase. Fuck. That.

[AdmiralViscen]

Buick, up 44 percent to 10,061.
Chevrolet, up 36 percent to 105,294.
GMC, up 11 percent to 21,303.
Cadillac, down 1 percent to 8,440.


Ford, up 25.9 percent to 99,888.
Mercury, up 6 percent to 5,482.
Lincoln, up 16 percent to 7,036.


Chrysler, down 2 percent to 10,443.
Dodge, up 1 percent to 19,953.


Toyota (including Scion), down 12 percent to 83,279.
Lexus, up 14 percent to 15,517.

[Flannel Boy]

Never going back American since we had a Dodge Chrysler Minivan in 93 that broke down 2 weeks after purchase. Fuck. That.

And yet it's called the "Volvo fallacy."

[Raban]

you have a bike?

No, but with any luck I'll be able to get that Gladius I've been eyeing this year.

[Mr. Gundam]

My 2009 Corolla XLE is Japanese-made, so I got lucky and don't have any of accelerator problems.

[Howard Alan Treesong]

If anyone is going to gain from this, it will be other foreign car companies like Hyundai and Honda. People that have owned a Toyota for the past 12 years aren't going to go flocking back to Ford or GM.

Never going back American since we had a Dodge Chrysler Minivan in 93 that broke down 2 weeks after purchase. Fuck. That.

We had that same minivan! It wasn't that bad but it would "stop running" sometimes while you were driving it. Eventually it broke down and we just let them tow it away and never asked for it back.

[bork]

My mother had a Taurus station wagon back in the mid-80's.  Broke down all the time.  My parents never bought another American car after that.  My father is big on Honda, and it's hard to complain when none of the cars we've owned from them have had any problems. 

Although when I moved back to the States, my grandmother gave me her old (maybe an '88) Accord.  That thing is pushing it...whenever there's cold weather, the stick gets "stuck" when you try and put the car in park.  I've found that I have to pull back on it while turning the ignition off to get the car to turn off quickly.   It also takes forever to warm up and clear any ice off the windshield. :'(

[The Fake Shemp]

It's also twenty-two years old!

[AdmiralViscen]

Forget about Honda if you want a stick shift.

[bork]

It's also twenty-two years old!

Yeah, but I had an old '89 Civic before that had none of these problems and even heated up pretty quickly.  My grandmother rarely used the car, which is why she had no real problem letting me have it, but it's not in the best of shape.  I'm looking forward to getting rid of it and getting a new car once I get myself a job and get some real cash coming in...

Forget about Honda if you want a stick shift.

It's an automatic.  I'm just talking about when putting it in park.   

[Tauntaun]

Also the fall from grace is pretty amazing.  My wife's 2001 Corolla has 120,000 miles on it and the only thing we have EVER had to do outside routine maintenance was replace the clutch, and that wasn't really the car's fault.  It was San Francisco's.

  They thought the clutch was a dude's butt?


HAAIIIYOOOOOO!!!

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[duckman2000]

The absolutely scariest thing is that the local news channel has showed videos instructing drivers on how to stop a vehicle. In part because it's fucking amazing that people don't already know this, and in part because it demonstrates that Americans are lametards who can't drive stick.

[Mupepe]

Ford shit worth

Watch it, buddy!  You're on thin fucking ice.

I've got nothing but respect for the build quality of Honda's and Toyota's.  The designs however...  

Could not be more boring/uninspired.  That's generally how I feel about most Japanese cars.  

2011 Ford Mustang GT in June

[Mupepe]

The absolutely scariest thing is that the local news channel has showed videos instructing drivers on how to stop a vehicle. In part because it's fucking amazing that people don't already know this, and in part because it demonstrates that Americans are lametards who can't drive stick.

Also this.

My wife and I were talking about it the other day.  We both drive manuals.  We were watching the news and both thought "Uhhh, put it in neutral?"

[Sho Nuff]

(Happily beeps the horn on his Honda Fit)

(Realizes that last year's Fit had a recall where water could get into the driver's side door, short out a circuit and set it on fire  )

[Great Rumbler]

I drive a Toyota Corolla E110 that got branded with Chevy emblems. It's a pretty good car.

[Raban]

Motorcycles

I had my throttle cable snap last year while I was riding (to the airport to catch a trans-Atlantic flight no less).  I think I'd rather be in a car when it breaks down.

Yeah, shit's pretty dangerous. But you have to accept that risk as a rider.

[Raban]

Thanks for the advice, cager.

Sorry if that came off as condescending, I'm sure you knew that already. Didn't really know what to say. I know people who've been riding motorcycles for 30 years and they've never had a mix-up. I've also known people who die 6 months into having their license.

[Mr. Gundam]

I'm not sure how exactly the tenor changed so abruptly, but it's kind of crazy. and of course China is ultimately to blame - Japanese-manufactured Toyotas are fine, and the problem is due to Chinese contractors cutting corners

My Corolla is Japanese-manufactured, so I've got no worries. People on the highway have been giving me more room, though.

[Brehvolution]

Damn, you even import your cars.

[Robo]

I lucked out and the Corolla I bought two months ago was by chance Japanese-manufactured.

[Mr. Gundam]

Damn, you even import your cars.

Actually, I originally wanted to get an American made car, but my wife was against it.

Blind luck with getting a Japanese-made Corolla. A friend of ours bought one from the same dealer the same week last year and he's got a Chinese-made one.

[Mr. Gundam]

How would one check before buying anything be it car or HD TV that this model was assembled in Japan and not in China?

With cars, at least with Toyota, you look at the VIN number. If the first letter is a J, it's Japanese-made. If it's a C, it's either from China or Canada.

[Mupepe]

A lot of car manufacturers will have something stamped showing where and when your car was built.  Like my F-150 has a stamp saying it was built in August 12, 2006 in Kansas City.

[border]

I'm not sure why everyone thinks that the public is going to suddenly love Fords.  I would buy a Honda/Hyundai or lease a Volkswagen before I bothered getting an American car.

[Mupepe]

Not suddenly.  The public has been warming up to Ford for quite a while now.  This is going to just make it a little toastier.

[Great Rumbler]

Ford's been doing pretty well recently, a lot better than GMC and Dodge. This isn't going to open some floodgate where everyone runs out to buy a Ford, but I'm sure it'll give them a nice boost.

[Tauntaun]

FOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRDDDDDDDDDDDD!