Toyota and the Union-backed, Government-led witch hunt

you spend an inordinate time here trying and hoping to tear toyota down. perhaps your time would be better spent on a gm site urging them to make better cars that people would want to buy instead of a toyota?

 

How long did it take for Tiger to hold a scripted presser where he allegedly accepted responsibility for his actions? At the end of the day (for both Tiger and Toyota), it will come down to what is done going forward. There are a lot of problems alleged for non-current production (such as brake system drop-out for Gen I and II Prius) cars. Do those owners get the middle-fingered wave?

 

You do know that winky smiley face means sarcasm right? Yes I DO know that that John Stewart is a comedian. Did you have to ask? I didn't think I had to spell it out. I guess your nerves are just a little raw.

Deep breath. UAW is not behind Toyota's safety problems. Let it out.

We are fellow prius owners.


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I have spent the last 20 years of my life fighting with GM and in some cases fighting against GM. While Rick Wagoner had many failings and in the end proved to not be a strong-enough leader he did do many things right. GM ran out of time and money. They build the best lineup of cars and trucks in the world today from top to bottom. there are still some 'clunkers' in there, but every manufacturer has some 'clunkers'. Gm and Ford just need the perception to catch up with reality and this Toyota mess could not have come at a better time For Gm and Detroit.

 

I'd grant this part

Problem is, most people don't need 'em. And now, marketing strategies are backing off the, "YOU REALLY REALLY NEED AN SUV AND/OR A PICUP" ... because folks just don't get hoodwinked by that crock (my favorite Lutz word) any more. Especially with fuel prices being unstable/inching upward. And for the minority of folks that DO benefit from the use of a pickup, a good sized subset of those, can get by with just renting one 10 or 12 times a year, and come way out ahead.

 

GM builds some great cars too: Malibu, Camaro, corvette, cts, Lacrosse. coming soon, Regal, Cruze, volt and a new aveo.

 

Great car "REAL SOON" ??

What's GM going to do 'real soon' ... when those 'real soon' cars come out?

Malibu 3.6L epa (combined) 20mpg
Corvette (combined) 19mpg
Camaro v6 epa 29mpg
Cts epa 18mpg
LaCross CX 28 hwy
All those 'real soon' cars will have to average over 70mpg, to balance out the new Fed regulations comming up ~ 35mpg. GM will hopefully quit the 'great cars' label, and start to think about that 35mpg requirement.

 

C'mo Hill, I don;t want to get into all of this again, but you do know that the comparable Chevy gets equal or better mileage than the comparable toyota except for the Prius which we will soon hav ethe volt to compete with.

 

But since the Volt is not in production at present, the argument can be made (and is being made).

 

Interesting. Here's CARS.com take on that:

Corporate Average Fuel Economy: How Automakers Rank - Cars.com

Domestic Passenger CarsRankMakeCAFE Rating1. Honda36.52. Toyota35.93.Nissan34.04.GM31.35.Ford31.16.Mazda31.07.Subaru29.08.Chrysler28.3BMW, Ferrari, Hyundai, Kia, Lotus, Maserati, Mitsubishi, Porsche, Spyker, Suzuki and Volkswagen do not produce domestic passenger cars. All manufacturers encompass their respective brands as of 2009 — i.e., Toyota includes Lexus and Scion.
Source: NHTSA

Imported Passenger CarsRankMakeCAFE Rating1.Toyota38.12. Honda35.23. Kia33.74.Hyundai33.25. GM33.06.Suzuki32.77.Mazda32.28. (tie)Lotus30.28. (tie)Volkswagen30.210. Nissan30.111.Mitsubishi29.512.Subaru28.413. (tie)BMW27.513. (tie)Daimler27.515.Porsche27.016.Ford26.817.Jaguar LandRover24.018.Spyker19.319.Maserati17.920.Ferrari16.3


Here's the EPA's take on that statement.

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/FEG2010.pdf


According to the EPA the only GM vehicles that lead their segment in fuel economy for 2010 are the GMC/Chevy Hybrid trucks @ 21/22mpg and the Chevy/GMC 1500 cargo van @ 15/20.

 

An indicative editorial cartoon

 

I predict GM will do what they have done in the past: whine about how it's "too hard" to meet the requirement and lobby hard to get it reduced. It's worked before.

 

According to this, some have more than others...
Toyota Recalls Put into Context by Edmunds.com

 

I don't think I've ever heard GM/Chrysler presidents publicly apologize and take "full responsibility" for their failures in front of Congress. Have you?