I know we have had to take the church bus to the local dealer because of a recall. But do not recall that it was national news.
Toyota has a problem that we are hearing about. Something about the gas pedal becoming stuck. Something like 17 fatalities because of this problem – obviously these persons put on the brake but the accelerator was stuck and the car kept right on going into the path of an oncoming vehicle.
(This almost happened to me and my brother years ago in Massachusetts but for different reasons. We had three cars – the third a Cheverolet Malibu Classic which my brother and I shared after we both started driving. Snow and ice can sometimes build up around the gas pedal and cause it to get stuck. I remember once having this problem and fighting – pushing down as hard as possible on the brake – to keep the car from pushing forward into intersections. My father was furious – very unusual – and angrily insisted the dealer fix the problem. Please note this is not necessarily a Cheverolet problem. I distinctly recall “how to fix a gas pedal stuck because of snow and ice” being a pretty standard problem that drivers in the North learn to deal with. Sort of like “what to do when your car skids while trying to brake on a snow covered road”. But the point is I have some understanding of what it is like when your gas pedal is stuck and the car wants to keep moving forward even with your foot on the brake.)
But there are a few things about this situation that has me wondering. Is this a plot to damage Toyota? Partly so that Americans will start buying cars from General Motors aka Government Motors?
Why would such a right wing paranoid thought cross my mind?
1) Transportation Secretary Roy LaHood. At one point he told Toyota drivers to stop driving their cars. The reaction was so strong – inciting panic! – he had to backtrack. “What I really meant was”.
2) The amazing amount of attention this problem is getting in the press. Last week was listening to National Public Radio – and they were speaking to a Toyota spokesperson. And the reporter was pressing the guy pretty hard. Tough questions. Response. Followed by “okay but what do you say?” pushing back. Which is not necessarily evidence for “liberal bias intended to support a plot to hurt Toyota”. Could be Standard Operating Procedure for good journalists. But the questions seemed pretty strong to me – especially compared to other interviews I have heard.
3) The hard cold fact that General Motors is now pretty much owned by the United State government. It is “our” automobile manufacturing company. Which means other car companies – such as Toyota or even Ford which is American – are the competition.
I note an article that I can across just now while typing this post by Mira Olberman: “Is United States bullying Toyota on recall?”
Good article that seems to show both sides. On the one hand you have a professor who says “this does not look good… But their behavior is consistent with the general behavior of the United States government”. On the other hand someone from Consumer Reports who says the reaction to the recall is overblown – really only a small percentage of Toyota vehicles have had this problem.
Weston Konishi (not with Toyota but with an American think tank) said:
Toyota is now a real stakeholder in the US economy — think of its auto plants and jobs — so trying to score points against it would be somewhat self-defeating.
He suggested only if Toyota cuts off contracts with American manufacturers of pedal assemblies (which itself is interesting) would the government have reason to make a big deal out of this problem.
I disagree with Konishi whose remarks appear (to this layperson) rather naive. The United States government does not see hurting Toyota as self-defeating. Sure we have Toyota plants and we have a couple hundred thousand Americans working for Toyota. But (a) those plants are mostly (entirely?) in predominantly Republican (less important) and (b) right-to-work states – in other words non-union jobs (much more important). The current administration has more than amply demonstrated that the interests of American labor unions trump other economic concerns. Hello? Why bail out General Motors and Chrysler? Why give the unions disproportionate ownership? Why in the course of crafting health care reform legislation give union health insurance plans special exemption from new taxes?
But what if?
What if Toyota for all its famed commitment to quality really has gotten sloppy?
We are a Toyota family. A committed Toyota family. First car we bought (not had) was a Toyota. When it died – we got another Toyota. We also have a Kia minivan and frankly we would trade it in for a Toyota in a heartbeat. (In fairness our frustration is more with the local Kia dealership. If we got better service we would probably be much happier with our Kia vehicle.)
But having said all that – we are aware that Toyota vehicles are not perfect.
The interiors are the worst. I think I have spent more money fixing the interior than anything else. Door handles and window buttons and door moldings snapping and breaking and peeling away. The car runs great and almost never needs repairs but the inside of the car is a disaster. Everything seems cheap and flimsy. True for both my current 1998 and our old 1992 Corolla.
And then there is the infamous “dude – where’s my engine oil?” problem that Toyota stubbornly refuses to acknowledge. That is how our 1992 Corolla died. The oil just… disappeared… and sure enough the engine seized up and died a horrible death. Toyota insists this commonly reported problem is the fault of owners who do not change the oil properly. When working in a soup kitchen in Houston I cut vegetables next to a Toyota executive who told me to my face that sorry bud it must be my fault. I got pretty angry with him and had to change the topic of conversation.
Okay maybe I do not change the oil as often as I should. But why do so many report the same problem? And why do my other cars not have the same problem?!? The oil in the Kia or the Chevy might get old and dirty – but it does not just disappear. I have had the oil just disappear from my 1998 Corolla within a few weeks – only about 700 miles – of changing it. Something ain’t right.
So here is what I think so far:
1) I do not think this is a problem manufactured by the United States government just to make Toyota look bad.
2) I do not think the current administration is out to get Toyota. I mean – they are not out to get other Japanese or Korean or German car manufacturers are they?
3) But I do think the current administration is exploiting this situation to hurt an automobile company that uses non-union labor and is a de facto competitor to General Motors and Chrysler.
4) So that it can encourage people to start buying from General Motors and Chrysler who are clearly and explicitly taking advantage of the situation with special “trade in your Toyota!” deals.
Call me paranoid. But that is my theory.
