As much as I’d like to join in on beating up Toyota, I have to admit, this whole affair sort of smells like an Obama-administration set up. Toyota is a primary competitor to Government Motors, and if Obama can use the government to knock down Toyota a notch and get people to buy more GM products so that state ownership doesn’t look like the failure that it is, then he’ll do it.
Look what the Union members at GM produced in the past! (In caps)
“...ANOTHER 200,000 CARS ARE BEING RECALLED TO FIX AN ACCELERATOR STICKING PROBLEM...”
“General Motors Recalls 1.5 Million Vehicles”
November 5, 2004
General Motors is recalling nearly 1.5 million vehicles, including 1 million SUVs, in North America to fix tail lights that could loosen and flicker. ANOTHER 200,000 CARS ARE BEING RECALLED TO FIX AN ACCELERATOR STICKING PROBLEM.
The recall of nearly 1 million SUVs includes the Chevrolet TrailBlazer, TrailBlazer EXT, GMC Envoy XL and Oldsmobile from the 2002 to 2004 model years and the 2004 Buick Rainier. Vibration and heat can cause the rear lights to stop working, the company said.
Mid-sized cars with the sticky accelerator include the Chevrolet Malibu, Oldsmobile Alero and Pontiac Grand Am from the 2003 model year. Dealers will inspect, and if necessary will replace the accelerator and brake pedal assembly, according to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
A third recall includes the 2003 Chevrolet Cavalier and Pontiac Sunfire small cars for faulty rear brake and turn signals that could fail due to inadequate contact between the bulb and socket. Dealers will inspect the light sockets and fix the problem by applying grease or replacing the assembly if necessary, the NHTSA said.
GM said it knows of five crashes that could be due to faulty rear lights on the SUVs and the small cars.
Finally, GM recalled a total of 5,914 of its 2004 to 2005 Cadillac XLR and 2005 Chevrolet Corvette sports cars to fix a brake line that could leak.
GM has recalled a total of 10.47 million vehicles in North America this year through the end of October, above the total of 7.8 million for all of 2003.
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/recalls04/gm_recalls.html
If they discover the fault is electronics, the party will be over. First it was floor mats then it was a mechanical gas pedal part. The throttle function, as I have read, on these things are controlled by electronics (drive by wire) so it may not be over yet.
What a smart move on the part of Toyota. Get ahead of the storm(just like the democrats do)and minimize the firestorm. Toyota builds a great product and has a solid reputation. This current attack on them would stop if they allowed unions to take over
Seppeku with a rusty nail?
Ashamed, he even changed his name from Akio Toyota!
Actually I’m impressed. Nobody at Ford ever apologized for the Pinto.
American customer service: Be inconvenienced by the customer, maybe fix the problem, or maybe call your attorneys.
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