Toyota Knew Of Accelerator Problems Back in 2007?

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.

GM, Ford Gain From Toyota’s Woes

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!

Toyota’s Recall is Exactly What Detroit Needs

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!

12 Greenest Cars of 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!

Ford Wins in Detroit – More Sales Next?

So much for American cars being unable to shake their “not good enough” image!

Kicking off what it hopes will be a strong year, Ford won both the Car and Truck of the Year awards at the 2010 Detroit Auto Show. The Ford Fusion Hybrid won Car of the Year, while the Ford Transit Connect van won Truck of the Year.

I know you’re probably saying to yourself, “I’d hope a domestic car maker would win awards in the Detroit Auto Show.” 

Truth be told, despite being a domestic car guy, that thought definitely crossed my mind.  So, yes, to some degree Ford winning both awards can be taken with a grain of salt.

That being said, it’s undeniable that the American car manufacturers – especially Ford – have made considerable improvements in reliability, design and quality over the past several years.

(Please note, Daily Fuel Economy Tip does not have any affiliation with any car maker, domestic or foreign.)

Unfortunately, these improvements haven’t necessarily translated to much better sales. As was reported in USA Today of the 10 best selling vehicles in 2009, all but four were Japanese vehicles. The Ford Fusion was the only domestic sedan (read: non-truck) that made the list.

Let’s hope that for the sake of the U.S. economy – in particular, the manufacturing sector – the awards for Ford are a precursor to higher sales across the board for domestic vehicles.

American Cars Can’t Shake Their “Not Good Enough” Image

For many years it has been widely believed that if you wanted to buy a quality car that would be reliable for years to come, you should avoid the big three American car manufacturers and buy something foreign.

While the American car makers did little to help themselves by mostly producing inferior products, over the past couple years it seems as if they have done a good job of got their act together and have started making better quality and better value vehicles.

In fact, just this past year, it was Ford, not Honda or Toyota, that scored the highest for quality and reliability.

While this is certainly good news for the American automotive industry, the bad news is all of the shoddy work of prior years makes it hard to shake the “just not good enough” image.

Here’s how nearly 500 people responded when asked: Do you believe American cars are the same quality as foreign cars?

  • 60% said “No, I think they are worse quality.”
  • 25% said “Yes, they are on par.”
  • 13% said “No, I think they are better quality.”
  • 2% said they had no opinion

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Cash For Clunkers Ending. Did You Take Advantage?

According to recent data, after spending nearly $3 billion in tax payer dollars (or was it China’s money?), the Cash for Clunkers program has helped Americans buy nearly 700,000 new cars.

While that’s certainly a lot of cars, not to mention a lot of help for the ailing auto industry, it seems as if the program’s reach was pretty narrow.

In order to have been eligible for the Cash for Clunkers program, you needed to trade in a vehicle you’ve owned for over a year that got an EPA estimated combined city/highway gas mileage of 18 mpg or less, and used the $3,500 to $4,500 voucher to buy or “long-term lease” a vehicle that gets between four to 10 mpg higher for the $3,500 credit or more than ten mpg higher for the $4,500 credit.

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Did You Get a Good Deal on Your Car?

Thanks the popular and controversial Cash for Clunkers program, and in spite of “The Great Recession,” many Americans have begun to build up the courage to buy a new vehicle, especially over the past month or two.

With the auto industry suffering from the recession and eager to move cars off lots, there are many good deals to be had.  That being said, with a most new cars costing at least $15,000, it’s not as if people have been, or should go into their next car purchase without having done plenty of research.

Based on recent data, it certainly appears as if many Americans were well informed the last time they walked into a car dealership.

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Cash for Clunkers – Just Another Bad Idea

The “Cash for Clunkers” program — which offers a rebate of up to $4,500 for people to trade in their gas guzzlers (the vehicle has to get below 18 MPG to qualify for the full rebate) for new, fuel efficient vehicles — has, for the most part, been hailed as a huge success.

The U.S. auto industry has seen sales soar, and environmentalists have been happy to see people trading in their Ford Explorer for a Ford Focus.

That being said, I’m here to tell you why the Cash for Clunkers program is a waste and is just perpetuating our current financial problems.

Before I get into why the Cash for Clunkers program is bad for the average consumer, let’s talk about the good intentions in which the program is rooted.  The heart of the Cash for Clunkers program aims to serve two causes:

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