Toyota Owners.. Stay Strong.... Remember the "big 3" past

... just something I thought I would share with everyone reading about the Toyota recalls. Remember the past is what I say as the mud slinging "big 3" are making cracks about Toyota. Toyota is doing the right thing in my opinion which is a heck of a lot more than Firestone and Ford did back in 2000.

Entertaining reading here:
http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/new_cars/4345725.html

 

I agree and it was indeed interesting reading.

 

With only about 92,000 vehicles involved, the first recall of the Audi 5000 back in the 1980s was relatively puny in size. But its effect was absolutely devastating to Audi's business in North America.

The first Audi 5000 recall, in 1982, was for improperly positioned floor mats that could unintentionally pin the accelerator pedal, potentially leading to runaway acceleration. At some point the CBS news program 60 Minutes noticed this allegation and in 1986 ran a story showing Audi 5000s running wildly out of control. That the 60 Minutes story used cars clandestinely modified by a self-proclaimed "expert" or that, almost invariably, the unintended sudden acceleration could be attributed to drivers pressing the wrong pedal, didn't matter. The damage was done, and Audi's sales plummeted. From a peak of 74,061 cars in 1985, Audi's sales dropped to just 12,283 cars in 1991.

Audi wouldn't begin a significant sales recovery in North America until the introduction of the all-new 1996 A4 model.

The final recall of Audi 5000s equipped with automatic transmissions in 1987 had dealers install an interlock that wouldn't allow the car to be shifted out of park unless the brake pedal was fully depressed. Such interlocks have been common on new cars ever since.

_________________________

I see a pattern here that is being repeated by the big three

 

oxi,


You are far from alone.......Vega,Pinto,Pacer,X-models,K-models,J-models and thats before the GM seat belt fiasco.......Ford truck frames,Chevy paint jobs and I'm too dam old to comply anymore....

We in the U.S.A. have always had a "Media" that at times makes the Enquirer look tame but then again a "hero" gains 15 seconds of our attention while a superstars( NOT) re hab is front cover for a month..........

Toyota will survive BUT it will be bruised,prices reflect that now....
BUT 29 years ago they took a chance on me and I have been with them ever since....through the recalls ,tsb's ,new model demo's,service deals and almost too many Toyotas too count....

S

 

Toyota's pain is rivals' sales gain in February By Dan Strumpf and Dee-Ann Durbin
Associated Press
POSTED: 03:38 p.m. EST, Mar 02, 2010
DETROIT: Toyota's pain is its rivals' .
DETROIT: Toyota's pain is its rivals' gain.
The auto industry reported higher U.S. sales in February and scooped up customers from the Japanese automaker, which has been struggling with a massive safety recalls.
Toyota Motor Corp. said its U.S. sales fell 9 percent last month, making it the only automaker to sell fewer cars and trucks in February. Ford, GM, Nissan and Honda all reported double-digit sales growth last month compared with a year earlier, at the depth of the recession. The gains may have been even higher without the blizzards that slowed traffic to showrooms.
Other winners included Kia Motors Corp. and Subaru. Even struggling Chrysler Group LLC saw improvement. Toyota, by contrast, suspended sales of eight popular models in late January. And it spent last week answering question about its safety record in front of Congress.
"We feel we're getting our fair share of the Toyota business," said Susan Docherty, vice president of sales and marketing at GM, whose sales rose nearly 12 percent.
February was the first full month since Toyota's Jan. 26 decision to halt sales of some of its vehicles in the U.S. because of safety concerns. Those vehicles went on sale again as dealers repaired them, but Toyota's image suffered from the recall of millions of vehicles and congressional hearings on its safety record. The Japanese automaker jacked up incentive spending to lure buyers.
Ford Motor Co. posted a 43 percent jump in February U.S. auto sales and outsold General Motors Co. for the first time in nearly a dozen years as it grabbed customers from struggling Toyota. Ford sold 334 more cars than GM in the U.S. for the first time since August 1998, when GM was in the midst of a strike.
Chrysler, meanwhile, said its February sales rose half a percent, its first year-over-year monthly increase since December of 2007.
Docherty said GM won over some Toyota buyers who left the Japanese carmaker due to the recalls. Chevrolet car sales to individuals rose 10 percent in February, an indication that GM it taking some of Toyota's core market, she said.
Mike DiGiovanni, GM's top sales analyst, said he expected that trend to continue into the spring.
Most carmakers offered deals to Toyota customers for trading in their vehicles. According to Edmunds, incentive spending rose 11 percent from January to $2,588 per vehicle. Toyota's incentive spending rose 26 percent, to $1,833 per vehicle.
GM's sales of its Buick, Chevrolet, Cadillac and GMC brands climbed 32 percent. GM plans to keep those four brands and is phasing out Pontiac, Saturn and Hummer. It has sold Saab.
The industry was expecting to see gains over February 2009, which was one of the weakest months in a very depressed year. Sales over President's Day weekend — which traditionally kicks off the spring selling season — were robust, according to the auto information site Edmunds.com.
Still, winter storms at the beginning and end of the month hurt sales on the East Coast and in the Midwest. GM said its sales dropped 22 percent in the Northeast region. The corridor from Boston to Washington typically accounts for about a quarter of the automaker's U.S. sales.
"Three and a half feet of snow on these cars. It took our dealers a bit of time to get all that snow off here and get the customers back into the showrooms," Docherty said.
DiGiovanni said sales probably would have been 5 percent higher had it not been for snowstorms. That means the gradual economic recovery is continuing despite setbacks in home sales, new home construction and unemployment, he said. Consumer confidence — which is measured by how much buyers spend — took an unexpected dive in February, indicating people are nervous about the economy.
Much of GM's sales increase was due to demand for large new wagons such as the Chevrolet Equinox, which jumped 133 percent, and the Cadillac SRX, which saw sales more than quadruple. Those two models are the size of SUVs but are built on a car frame for better fuel economy.
Sales to rental car companies and other fleet buyers also were strong as companies began buying again after cutbacks last year. Fleet sales generally mean lower profits to automakers than retail sales to individuals.
Retail sales for GM's four core brands edged up 7 percent.
Ford had expected sales to climb from last February, when U.S. sales plummeted in the midst of the recession. Its car sales climbed 54 percent as consumers continued to shop for more fuel-efficient vehicles. Like GM, Ford saw renewed demand from corporate fleet customers, which are buying again after weak sales in 2009. Ford's fleet sales surged 74 percent over February of last year, while GM's jumped 114 percent.
South Korea's Kia saw U.S. sales rise 9 percent on brisk demand for its Sorento and Soul, a boxy vehicle aimed at city dwellers. Japan's Honda Motor Co. said sales rose 13 percent, lifted by its top-selling Accord sedan, while Nissan Motor Co. sales surged 29 percent, as sales of its Versa subcompact doubled. Subaru reported a 38 percent jump.
Surging sales of large wagons helped Japan's Subaru, which said its February sales in the U.S. jumped 38 percent led by the Outback and Legacy sedan. Both vehicles got a redesign for the 2010 model year. Sales of its Forester SUV were up 6 percent.