by Brian Carr on February 4, 2010
It looks like Toyota’s recall problems and attacks on its reputation for quality and safety might be on the verge of becoming worse.
According to an article by Peter Whoriskey, published in the February 4 issue of the Washington Post, back in 2007, investigators discovered that “at least three of every 100 Lexus ES 350 owners in Ohio reported experiencing unintended acceleration.”
According to the Washington Post’s article, James C. Fell, former chief of research for traffic safety programs for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, went on to say:
“Anything over 1 percent would raise a red flag, particularly for the manufacturer.”
Considering the reported incidences of “unintended acceleration” was at least 3 percent, or three times the red flag threshold, it’s starting to look as if more should have been done earlier.
Granted, I’m sure the population size of Lexus ES 350 owners in Ohio is pretty small, especially if you’re going to use it as the basis for a mass recall.
If this were the only sample population, it’s easy to see why the investigation might not have received the attention it truly deserved from Toyota’s engineering team and federal safety regulators, and why the problem with sticking gas pedals might have been misdiagnosed.
The Washington Post’s article states:
“After the engineering review, Toyota and the regulators decided that the cause was that the accelerator had been stuck in the grooves of the all-weather floor mats some owners had put in. It was shown that the floor mats could trap the accelerator, so the company declared a recall of approximately 55,000 such floor mats and the case was closed.”
I’m no engineer, but that seems like quite an odd misdiagnosis. After all, wouldn’t it take just a few stuck accelerators in vehicles that didn’t have the grooved floor mats to demonstrate the the problem likely didn’t stem from the mats, but from some sort of design or engineering flaw?
Then again, it’s entirely possible I’m looking at this too simplistically.
Either way, it now appears Toyota could have saved itself a lot of trouble and lost market-share had it been more aggressive in trying to pinpoint the true cause of sticking accelerators when the problem first surfaced two and a half years ago.
by Brian Carr on February 4, 2010
As I stated last week, Toyota’s woes have been exactly what Detroit needed.
According to an article released by the Associated Press, General Motors and Ford both saw double-digit sales increase for the month of January. Toyota’s sales fell 16% for the month.
Not coincidentally, January was the month that Toyota announced a massive recall of some of their most popular vehicles due to the fact the vehicle’s gas pedals could stick.
And, considering the Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood, stated people should, “stop driving it [their Toyota] and take it to a dealer,” it wouldn’t surprise me if February is worse for Toyota, and better for the other car makers, than January was.
(Note: LaHood later explained his comments saying he meant owners should get their cars fixed as quickly as possible, not to completely give up on their Toyota.)
As I’ve stated before, I think we’re in the midst of a giant shift back to the idea that American cars are quality cars and, at the very least, on par with their foreign counterparts. Obviously, situations like this only further that argument.
What are your thoughts? Do you own a Toyota? Are you now thinking of buying an American car? Do you not care either way? Leave your comment below!
by Brian Carr on January 28, 2010
For years, it has been a common perception – or misperception as the case may be – that Japanese cars, particularly Toyota and Honda, were of better quality than their American counterparts, Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler.
Don’t get me wrong, American cars did plenty to substantiate those perceptions, especially considering they were behind the curve when it came to moving from massive trucks and SUVs to more fuel efficient sedans, compact cars, and hybrids.
However, with the news the Toyota has recalled 2.3 million vehicles – including some of its best selling models –due to a problem that could make the vehicle’s gas pedal stick, and its announcement that the company will halt sales of all affected models for the time being, is the tide finally starting to turn in Detroit’s favor?
Over the past several years, American car makers – Ford in particular – have received praise for drastic improvements in reliability and quality. In fact, the Ford Fusion was recently named Motor Trend’s Car of the Year for 2010, which is a pretty big deal.
I think when you couple Detroit’s momentum with Toyota’s huge setback, I think we’re on the verge of viewing American cars as being at least as good as, if not better than, their foreign counter parts.
What do you think? Leave your comments below!
by Brian Carr on January 20, 2010
Looks like even though we’re out of the 2000’s, we’re not going to be able to get away from the word “green.”
The American Council for Energy Efficient Economy has released their list of the 12 Greenest Cars of 2010. You can view pictures of each of the models listed below by clicking here.
For the sake of brevity, here’s the list of cars, as well as a breakdown of each model’s gas mileage:
1. Honda Civic GX – The cool thing about the Civic GX is that it runs on Natural gas, and gets an equivalent of 36 MPG highway
2. Toyota Prius – Most well known Hybrid on the road, gets 48 MPG highway, 51 MPG city
3. Honda Civic Hybrid – The hybrid version of one of the best selling cars in the U.S. gets 45 MPG highway, 40 MPG city
4. Smart ForTwo – Has tiny 1.0 liter, 3-cylinder engine which allows it to get 41 MPG highway (I’d be afraid to take this out on an interstate), 33 MPG city
5. Honda Insight – Honda’s equivalent of the Prius gets 43 MPG highway, 40 MPG city
6. Ford Fusion/Mercury Milan Hybrids – first American car on the list, and the Detroit Auto Show 2010 Car of the Year, gets 36 MPG highway, 41 MPG city
7. Toyota Yaris – Tiny and cheap, and gets 36 MPG highway, 29 MPG city
8. Nissan Altima Hybrid – Just another hybrid on the list. 33 MPG highway, 35 MPG city
9. Mini Cooper – Fun, zippy car gets 37 MPG highway, 28 MPG city
10. Chevy Cobalt XFE – Small, 2.2 liter, 4-cylinder engine gets 37 MPG highway, 25 MPG city
11. Hyundai Accent Blue – A new car under $10 grand that gets 36 MPG highway, 27 MPG city?
12. Honda Fit – 33 MPG highway, 27 MPG city. Really nothing much else to say.
So, if you’re in the market for a new car, be sure to check out all of the cars listed above!