Friday, January 29, 2010
china confidential.
Honda Recalling Cars with Fire-Causing Switches
In a matter of days, Japan's reputation for superb quality control, which the nation earned over a period of decades, after recovering from the utter defeat and devastation--and atomic bombings--of World War II, is being ruined, thrown away by an apparently greedy and lazy, younger generation of senior corporate executives.
GM and Ford have not looked so good in years.
POSTSCRIPT: Generally speaking, Japanese executives are like fine wines. The older, the better.Top Totyota Boss, Grandson of Firm's Founder, Silent as Recall, Sales Stoppage Crisis Deepens
An incredible case of corporate cowardice.
Reuters reports:Akio Toyoda took the helm of Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) last year pledging to steer the company out of its worst downturn in history and bring greater transparency to its sprawling corporate culture.
Now Toyoda, the grandson of the company's founder, is having to cope with a deepening recall crisis that threatens to do irreversible damage to its brand and once stellar reputation for quality.
Continue here.
Could a simple shim be the stuck-pedal solution? Click herefor the story. If so, Toyota might consider modifying its logo to incorporate or resemble a shim.Thursday, January 28, 2010
Toyota Shipping Parts to Supposedly Fix Sudden Acceleration Problem, but Uncertainty Spreads
In related news, U.S. Congressional investigators want to see company emails and other documents, as reported here.
What did Toyota know, and when did it know it?UAW, Teamsters Call Toyota 'Danger to America'
Teamsters General President James P. Hoffa and United Auto Workers (UAW) Vice President Bob King joined representatives from labor, environmental and consumer groups outside the Embassy of Japan in Washington today to call on the Japanese government to hold Toyota accountable for waging an attack on thousands of good-paying jobs in the United States.
In addition to endangering 5,000 middle class jobs in the carhaul industry, Toyota is also planning to close its New United Motors Manufacturing Inc. (NUMMI) assembly plant in Fremont, CA, which will mean a loss of up to 50,000 jobs at NUMMI and suppliers and other supporting businesses.
The delegation delivered a letter from UAW Vice President Jimmy Settles and Hoffa to Prime Minister of Japan Yukio Hatoyama following the speaking program. In the letter, the leaders of UAW and the Teamsters expressed concern that Toyota's plan to abandon workers and communities will negatively affect America's perception of Japan, and calls on the Japanese government to meet with them and with Toyota management.
King, who was representing UAW President Ron Gettelfinger and Settles, told the crowd that California led the nation in "Cash for Clunkers" sales in 2009, and that Toyota sold more cars under this program than any other auto maker.
"It's outrageous that the number one-selling car in Cash for Clunkers was the Corolla, the car that is manufactured in the NUMMI plant. After receiving more money in this bailout program than any other company, Toyota is turning its back on American workers and American taxpayers by closing the plant in the state where they sell the most cars in the U.S., shipping these jobs to Japan, and then importing the cars back to the United States for sale," said King.
"Toyota management is seeking to move work from auto transport companies that have delivered their new cars and trucks for decades," Hoffa said. "The loss of this work could lead to the destruction of the largest auto transport companies in the country and the loss of thousands of good, middle class jobs. Toyota promised to support American communities; they're instead threatening the very types of good jobs that our communities need in this time of economic crisis."
"Toyota's plant closure plan in California has betrayed American workers and exhibited a disdain for our federal programs like cash for clunkers that directly and handsomely benefited Toyota," said Dr. Brent Blackwelder, President Emeritus of Friends of the Earth US. "Toyota's decision to shift production to Japan will dramatically increase shipping miles to California for its new vehicles and is inconsistent with a worldwide effort to reduce carbon footprints."
Toyota is likewise losing the trust of the American public by abandoning its commitment to safety and being less than forthright about some of its problematic vehicles, said auto safety advocate Sean Kane, president and founder of Safety Research & Strategies.
"The now well-publicized sudden acceleration problem with some Toyota and Lexus vehicles has actually been festering for a number of years, but Toyota neglected the issue," said Kane. "Now it's trying to repair its image with a series of recalls that few believe will actually repair the many vehicles affected. It's pretty clear that there are a multitude of defects contributing to these unintended accelerating incidents that, unfortunately, have resulted in deaths and injuries."
"The Toyota Fremont, CA NUMMI plant is where the popular Toyota Corolla and Tacoma pickup truck are made, and it has among the best productivity and quality of any assembly plant in the U.S.," King said. "Abandoning this facility and endangering tens of thousands of jobs is a betrayal of Toyota's promise to support communities, and a betrayal of its workers, middle class American jobs and our economic recovery."Toyota Pedal Supplier Says Automaker's Design is At Fault, as Massive Model Recall Spreads to China
In the meantime, the recall by the world's biggest car manufacturer of its most popular models has spread to Europe, as reported earlier, and to China, as reported here, causing rival Ford--which is increasing market share--to stop sales in China of its full-sized, classic Transit diesel van after learning that its accelerator pedals are also made by CTS.
And ... U.S. lawmakers are intensifying their probe of the Toyota recall. Read all about the Congressional investigation here.
Can Toyota recover from its manmade disaster? Probably not. The unprecedented sales stoppage and recall has ruined the company's reputation for quality--and corporate ethics. Toyota executives appear to have conspired to downplay and perhaps even cover up an extremely serious--life-threatening--problem. It does not get much worse than that.
Click here for an analysis.Toyota Crashes, Reputation Ruined
A widening recall has ruined Toyota's reputation--probably forever. Read all about Toyota's fall here and here.
And click here for a Q&A on what to do if your Toyota suddenly accelerates. The basic advice: hit the brakes hard and keep your foot on the brake pedal--don't pump it--and shift to neutral. Turn off the engine if that doesn't work. But the ridiculous on-off button on many models could make that tricky.
What did Toyota know, and when did it know it? Governments around the world want answers. The crisis--a textbook case in corporate self-destruction--is going global. Read that story over here.
GM Sees Opportunity in Toyota Crisis
What's bad for Toyota could be good for General Motors, as reported here. GM gas pedals don't stick, and the company was quick to offer terrified Toyota owners--there is nothing scarier than the image of a runaway vehicle--an opportunity to switch.
Honda and Ford--read about its incentives here--are also expected to benefit from Toyota's troubles. [UPDATE: Ford is reporting its first annual profit in four years. Click here for the news.]
POSTSCRIPT: U.S. customers and dealers are dazed and confused, awaiting word on vehicles they love but could kill them, as one Toyota owner put it. Click here for an industry insider report.China's PM Heading New National Energy Agency
Iran Hangs Two Protesters
Friday, 29 January 2010
Now, Honda is recalling cars. Click here for the story.
Are the parts for new cars or for recalled cars? Nobody knows. Toyota customers are angry and confused. Dealers are dismayed. The whole thing is an unprecedented nightmare. Click here for the update.
CTS, the U.S. company that supplies the sticky--and potentially deadly--gas pedals to Toyota, insists the automaker's design is at fault, as reported here. Toyota is racing to come up with a fix.
China is centralizing control over energy, setting up a national energy agency under the premier. Overseas deals will be more tightly controlled, politically, and come under closer scrutiny. Click here for the story.
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