1989 toyota crown royal saloon G sale MS135 AT fully loaded 27,000km around 3.0G
Kuroyanagi Shouten Ltd Japan.
#510 Castle May, 3-1422 Ueda-Higashi
Tenpaku, Nagoya Japan 468-0006
ks.nra30133@gmail.com
fax +81 52 803 1870
tel +81 90-1417-1403
http://111kuroyanagi1.wordpress.com/
http://nagoyajapan1.wordpress.com/
http://japancarexport.at.infoseek.co.jp/index.html
http://ukcanada.hp.infoseek.co.jp/GTR.html
http://kuroyanagikazuo.hp.infoseek.co.jp/index.html
On March 21st, 2006 @ 9:50 PM PST Twitter co-founder, Jack Dorsey, posted his first tweet for all the twitterverse to see. Of course, the twitterverse then did not contain the 50,000,000+ tweets it now contains, but that just goes to show you how huge twitter has become in its 4 short years on Twittearth.
It has even been confirmed that “Twitter” will be inducted into the Collins English Dictionary.
IMO, Twitter is a useful platform for big corporations, celebrities, and other out-of-reach public figures to reach the street. One example: look @Toyota. 10 years ago they would have had a spokesperson addressing Toyota’s recall and accompanying legal drama by releasing statements to the media. Consumers would have no way to directly vent to Toyota. But today, they do.
I can go on with examples of how Twitter benefits consumers, and the public in general. It gives us a voice. The web 2.0 all together gives us an opportunity to be heard. I must admit though, I am not a fan of how Twitter is used between everyday Joes’ like you and me. Is it necessary to post tweets during child birth, like @sara (wife of CEO and co-founder Evan Williams)…? I am not a supporter of broadcasting our every single little life detail. Something about it makes me eerie.
How do you feel about Twitter?
The persist four automobiles I actually suffer from owned tend to be Toyotas – Three Camrys plus the Matrix. About that could be still challenging though to behalf of me to claim, less than I currently now not have religion which Toyota puts quality and caring concerning the customer prior to financial considerations. I used to be willing to chop them a handful of slack once the floor mat and then the gas pedal incidents but the Prius brake problems started me thinking on hand has been a systemic management difficulty and now hearing about Corrollas stalling and the overall Toyota management downplaying the incidents displays me there is the legal system-wide management disease. I am not trying to find a recent automobile, but
if I were, I would be shopping at Subaru, Honda, and Ford.
Here is the jump off for a new Centerville joint… this is the view coming down off the hill toward Centerville beach, right after passing the defunct Naval Base (whuch is getting completely torn out)… i’ve been wanting to do this one for a minute….
Biz Television welcomes The David Magee Show. David Magee hosts a syndicated radio show on business and life. Magee is the author of non-fiction books including How Toyota became #1 and Turnaround: How Carlos Ghosn Rescued Nissan. David has contributed to several media outlets including NPR, CNBC, Fox Business, and The Wall Street Journal. He is the founder of Jefferson Press, and co-owner of Rock Point Books.
Check him out at Live. Loud. Clear.
The disgrace of Tiger and the never-ending freefall of Toyota, while seemingly unconnected, are in fact – from a brand perspective – very similar.
When word broke of Tiger’s infidelities, the world was shocked. Throughout his career, Tiger had painstakingly cultivated his image as a fierce competitor, shrewd business man, generous philanthropist and private family-man (portrayed as a dedicated husband and father.) Tiger really was, well…a tiger.
For Toyota, its name has become synonymous with quality. Toyota grew over the decades through truly innovative manufacturing processes and a unique companywide organizational culture, the likes of which had never been seen before. Yet over the course of just a few months, the Toyota brand name has been battered about, causing the company’s once-impeccable luster to lose much of its shine.
Could Tiger or Toyota have prevented their brand names from morphing into entities that none of us could have imaged? Absolutely. No one but Tiger could have stopped his actions. And no one but Toyota could have seen and fixed its problems. Indeed, both Tiger and Toyota have a long way to go to get their houses in order. Yet both Tiger and Toyota could have kept much of their respective brand names in tact by having a better communications strategy to the public.
While each crisis is unique and has its own set of challenges, if Tiger and Toyota had followed the following fundamental communications rules, I think the public would have been much more forgiving, and the media scrutiny much less intense. In short, the Tiger and Toyota brands would not have been as severely damaged as they are now. Both Tiger and Toyota now face the daunting task of rebuilding their images and regaining the public confidence they had spent years carefully cultivating.
To other Tiger and Toyota brands out there, heed the following in times of crises:
Be Quick – The Tiger imbroglio began on Thanksgiving eve, but Tiger did not make his public statement/apology until Feb.19. During this time, the media and others were doing the talking and the speculating. Tiger lost his opportunity to tell his side of the story at the beginning, thereby missing his chance to tamp down rumors and curry favor with the general public, including his fans, fellow golfers and sponsors. Toyota, meanwhile, has also been extremely slow in getting its highest level executives to discuss this situation. In fact, several long weeks had gone by before Toyota President Akio Toyoda spoke publicly in the U.S.
Be Human – People can have sympathy and empathy, but only when they feel a connection with their fellow human. Tiger’s well-rehearsed public apology, scripted and with note cards, did not convey an apology that was truly from the heart, thereby leaving a lot of people unconvinced or sympathetic. Toyota was dragged in front of Congress, thereby losing any sympathy they could have gained and looking like just another big corporate conglomerate with something to hide.
Show Regret – Did Tiger or Toyota come across as truly apologetic? During Tiger’s speech, he vaguely suggested that his fame and money contributed to, if not justified his actions. Toyota, meanwhile, is dealing with media reports that it may not have been overly concerned about its sticking accelerator pedals when the problem was first discovered. Do these actions show real regret or remorse?
Enact Reform – Both Tiger and Toyota have discussed what they are doing to fix their respective problems. Tiger is in rehab and “focusing on his family,” while Toyota has ordered new parts and trained all of its dealers in order to fix the recalled cars. Yet the public will continue to be skeptical if Tiger’s and Toyota’s reforms fall flat.
Provide Restitution – Toyota is providing restitution to those owners who were involved in accidents caused by their faulty gas pedals. But is it going far enough to appease a skeptical public that sees the organization as slow to react to this crisis? I’m guessing Toyota will probably need to do more in providing restitution as the crisis continues to move on without a clear resolution in place.
Be Honest and Transparent – Does more need to be said about the importance of these two things in a time of crisis? In the early hours after Tiger’s accident at his Florida home, media reports said his wife used a golf club to free him from his crashed SUV. In hindsight, no one now believes this was true. As for Toyota, more reports are coming out about a lack of transparency and honesty regarding their prior knowledge of the faulty gas pedals. As our parents told us, “no one likes a liar.”
So, what do you think? Beyond these thoughts, how else could Tiger or Toyota protected their brand and image in the hours, days and weeks immediately following these respective crises?
For more details on Toyota’s gas pedal issue, click on this link
http://www.autoweek.com/article/20100201/CARNEWS/100209999
A new study gives high marks to more than two dozen vehicle brands for improving their quality in 2010 — including troubled Toyota — but said that many of these names suffer from lousy consumer perceptions.
“Producing vehicles with world-class quality is just part of the battle for automakers,” said David Sargent, vice president of automotive research at J.D. Power and Associates, in a press release. “Convincing consumers to believe in their quality is equally as important.”
He said that it takes “considerable time to positively change consumer perceptions of quality of reliability.”
The study said Toyota — which has come under fire in recent months for problems with sudden acceleration, inspiring a massive recall — “continues to perform well in long-term dependability” and won more segment awards than any other model in 2010.
Toyota owners reported relatively few problems, the study said, with 128 problems per 100 vehicles, compared to the industry average of 155. The results are based on responses from more than 52,000 owners of 2007 vehicles during the time between October and December of 2009.
Read full CNNMoney.com story
Toyota suffered huge losses due to some major defects in their machines and braking systems. The company was completely focused on solving these kinds of issues by dedicating themselves to customer service and satisfaction. In the meantime auto companies like GM and Ford have had excellent sales and enjoyed a 12% and 43% sales increase respectively in the month of February.
“Toyota reacts fiercely to the declines sales percentages and recently announced that they will be offering discounts and incentives including no-interest loans for maximum five years or a low cost lease on certain models of cars. If a Toyota owner purchases a new vehicle then he will enjoy the benefit of free maintenance service for up to two years”.
It is a great opportunity for people who are looking for purchasing a new vehicle. But what about people who already have a car and an auto loan with no discounts? These people are paying higher interest rates and the loan amount is much more than the vehicle’s worth.
The offer announced by Toyota may be valid only for people with high credit score. Every bank/ lender/ auto makers have a fear of bad debt. They do not want to take the risk for people with lower credibility. Hence, it is of no use to people who really needs such kind of an offer. The only option left with them is to go for an auto loan modification which can help reduce payment up to 50% lower than what they are actually paying.
So besides my narrow escape of a car accident I could have gotten seriously injured in, (thank goodness for awesome brakes! Thank you Toyota!) I helped my aunt and her kids put up the trampoline. I’m so excited for spring. It will get warmer, sunnier and the flowers will start to bloom. I can’t wait! Because I want to go on more adventures like the one I did on 3/15.
So here are my pictures, shot in manual and it was a bit harder because of the sunlight. If I had my back to the sun, it would be brighter and if I was facing the front, it was darker. So I adjusted my shutter speed a lot.
picture total: 73
Favorites:
Kennedy vs. Alicia
1. What type of Toyota was involved in the runaway car case that garnered headlines last week?
2. Abba was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last night. What hit movie was inspired by that bands music?
3. True or False: Gisele originally wanted to name Tom Brady’s baby Peyton, but he refused, so the settled on Benjamin?
4. Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg joined forces to produce the highly anticipated HBO series “The Pacific;” what OSCAR winning war film did they collaborate on in 1998?
5. He was the original host of “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire”?
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Got tagline? Ok, that’s a pathetic ripoff of Got milk? –the most influential tagline since 1948. But it’s a good question. You know a good tagline when you hear one—when it’s another brand’s. But what’s the secret to developing your own killer tagline?
Before every moment, there’s a moment (Amp Energy), and behind closed doors that’s when people doubt themselves or think too hard and blow it. But don’t get mad, get GLAD, here are 5 tips for creating taglines:
1. Keep it simple. Don’t overthink your message. Nike’s Just do it may just be the best tagline ever. And yet, I imagine there were at least a few people in the room who said, “Do what? This doesn’t make any sense.” Don’t be that person.
2. Keep it real. Don’t promise something in your tagline that you can’t deliver. Notice no airline has the tagline On time every time.
3. Differentiate from competitors. Tastes great, less filling (Miller Lite) does this in four words. Light beer originally was a tough sell because it seemed too watery and didn’t taste like “real” beer. Takes a licking and keeps on ticking (Timex) directly tackles a concern watch wearers had. The few, the proud, the Marines. Two words, “the few,” set the Marines apart and seemingly above other military branches. The trick is you have to know what sets you apart.
4. Connect to your audience. Think about your customers’ needs. What’s important to them? Nationwide is on your side. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. You’re in good hands with Allstate. All three get the concept, but Allstate drives it home. Insurance should make you feel protected. Which one sounds more comforting and protective to you?
Connect to needs or connect to emotions or attitude. Impossible is nothing. Adidas isn’t saying you can do the impossible in their shoes, but they know athletes thrive on that attitude. Know your audience.
5. Make it easy to remember (especially in relation to your product). Welcome to the state of independence. It’s boring. It’s a sentence more than a tagline, and you’d never guess it’s for a car. If Saab was trying to express the feeling of freedom you get behind the wheel, why didn’t they use the word “freedom”? Freedom to just drive. Freedom on four wheels. Freedom is yours. Which one do you think is easier to remember?
All five points are important. If you focus only on keeping it simple, you might end up Moving forward (Toyota) with a bad tagline. Nothing will work if it’s not meaningful.
Test your ideas and trust your creatives. After all, we bring good things to life (GE).
Feel free to add your favorite and least favorite taglines below.
I heard about your recent issues with spontaneous acceleration. Being a number one auto-maker for years upon years doesn’t count for anything anymore. Sure, you guys may have dropped the ball on addressing this issue a little bit sooner. And the answer is yes, you will pay out the crack in lawyers fees and possible judgments against you.
But to borrow a phrase from the tried and sometimes true book of cliches, with every dark cloud there is a silver lining. I never understood that silver lining in a dark cloud thing because silver linings in dark clouds could be called light ing bolts. (justsayin’)
But let’s ride with that lightning bolt metaphor, because I want to be your lightning bolt of good PR. In the words of the great Gerald Maguire, “Help me help you.”. If memory serves me correctly, the Toyota Sienna has proven to be somewhat of a safe haven in that it doesn’t appear to be affected by the recall issues. Let’s play to your strengths and get more people talking about how wonderful the Sienna is. I can do that for you. Just send me a loaded minivan and a video camera and I promise to blog about the awesomeness of the ‘Swaggerwagon’ on a daily basis. To use dated business speak, it’s a classic win-win. Holla at us.
Dig the ad campaign btw:
2010 Toyota Prius
Myth: The start/stop button on the dash will not turn off my Prius while it’s running. Fact: On early to 2010 models with a push-button smart key system, pushing and holding the button on the dash for about three seconds will shut off the ignition system on the vehicle – even if it’s in gear and moving along the roadway. Newer models may have different control logic – you only have to press the button briefly to shut down the vehicle. Check your Owner’s Manual for details on your vehicle’s system. Myth: The brake system on my Toyota Prius is not able to stop the car at speed with a wide-open throttle condition. Fact: The brake system on each Toyota model is capable of overpowering the driveline to stop the vehicle – even with the throttle in a wide-open condition. See Car and Driver’s article at: http://www.caranddriver.com/features/09q4/how_to_deal_with_unintended_acceleration-tech_dept for more information. Apply firm, steady pressure on the brake pedal – use two feet if needed, to bring the vehicle to a halt. Do not pump the brakes in these conditions, as this may overheat the system, causing a reduction in brake performance. Prius is equipped with a combination of hydraulic and electric regenerative brake systems. All Prius vehicles have a brake system program that reduces gasoline engine power if both the throttle and brake pedals are depressed at the same time. This feature helps reduce the chance of damage to the hybrid system transmission in the event of simultaneous brake and throttle pedal application by the driver, and also helps to slow the vehicle under these circumstances. The regenerative braking via the main electric motor will continue to function to help slow the vehicle Myth: In the event you encounter a runaway vehicle, the first thing you should do is to turn off the ignition. Fact: Although turning off the ignition is a possible course of action, the first thing a driver should do is to put the transmission in Neutral. This separates the driveline from the wheels, and gives the driver instant speed control over the vehicle, and allows the driver time to assess what is happening. This also allows continued use of the power steering and brake systems for an easier stopping operation. Pressing the start/stop button to turn off the ignition can be done as a next step. This will shut down power assist to the brakes and steering system – reducing their performance, but the driver can still brake and steer the vehicle manually in this condition. The steering column on Prius will not lock up when the ignition is turned off while the vehicle is moving – allowing the driver steering control. Traditional key type ignitions systems can be turned off while the vehicle is moving without locking the steering column – as long as the key is left in the ignition. Removal of the key may result in a locked steering column, and hamper driver steering control. After placing the transmission in Neutral, and the vehicle is brought to a stop at the side of the road, the final step should be to turn of the ignition. Myth: The parking brake is effective in stopping a vehicle at speed. Fact: The parking brake may be helpful in that it can provide some additional brakeforce. However, the amount of brakeforce the parking brake applies will be negligible in a vehicle that is running at anything over paring lot speeds. Placing the transmission in Neutral and using firm steady pressure on the brake pedal will be the best way to bring the vehicle to a stop. Myth: The transmission would not go into Neutral when an attempt was made to put it in Neutral. Fact: Prius does have an electronic link between the shift lever and the transmission. The driver should place the Prius in Neutral by moving the shift lever to the “N” position – to the left side of the shift gate, and hold it there for a second – this will put the Prius transmission in Neutral. Firm application of the brakes will slow the vehicle down. Pressing and holding the start/stop button can be used as a final action to stop the vehicle if needed. Myth: The harder I pressed on the brake pedal, the more the vehicle accelerated. Fact: In a situation where it appears to the driver that the brake pedal has been depressed, but acceleration results, the driver should stay calm and take immediate action by moving the transmission shift lever to Neutral, use a firm and steady application of the brakes, then get to the side of the road and assess the situation. Neutral allows the driver to gain immediate control, and provides the driver with time to evaluate what is happening to the vehicle. Myth: Prius has an electronically controlled brake system, and I don’t believe it is as reliable as regular hydraulic brakes. Fact: Prius does have an electronically controlled brake system which is as reliable as hydraulic brakes. This system utilizes both electric motor regenerative braking and hydraulic braking to stop the vehicle. The Prius system is able to recognize a fault in the regenerative braking system, and will send the driver’s brake input to the hydraulic brakes to stop the vehicle. Prius can also detect a fault in the hydraulic brake system booster, and allow all of the driver’s brake force to be directly sent to the two front brake calipers for maximum stopping power under a “no-boost” condition. Myth: If I have a throttle stuck in the wide open position, and I put the vehicle in Neutral to help gain control of the vehicle, the engine will over rev, and be damaged. Fact: If you place your vehicle in Neutral with a wide open throttle, you will hear a lot of engine noise, but don’t be overly concerned by this. All Toyota gasoline engines have a rev limiter function as a part of the engine control program that will prevent over revving of the engine by cutting the fuel supply at a predetermined RPM. This RPM limit varies – depending on the engine type. Myth: The Brake Override System will make it difficult to start my vehicle on a hill. Fact: The Brake Override System is designed to stop your vehicle when the brake pedal is firmly pressed in cases where there is acceleration caused by mechanical interference with the throttle pedal. For practical reasons – the Brake Override System will not operate when the brake pedal is depressed first – to allow for uphill starts, while limiting the vehicle’s tendency to roll backwards. When engaged, the Brake Override System will disengage when the brake pedal is released. It will also not function at vehicle speeds of less than 5 mph, as at this point, the vehicle can be stopped safely.Toyota has many recent problems but what ABC did in its reporting was unethical and has damaged its journalistic credibility at the same time “ABC admits tinkering with Toyota report“,
“It all points to problems that are created when visual journalists try to alter reality in order to get a better picture.
“Any time you give the audience any reason to doubt the honesty of the piece, that’s a serious problem,” said Charlotte Grimes, a Syracuse University journalism professor who specializes in ethical issues.”
I usually take my car to a car wash on Sundays when the traffic is light. In Panama most people use these services to keep their cars clean. They are efficient, clean, cheap and scattered throughout Panama City.
Many years ago, car wash operators tried to use mechanical washers to do the job, but after a while, they scrapped the equipment and went back to manual car washing. My experience with automated car washing was not good. The car was not completely dried up and was dirty in many parts of the car. I think I only used them twice and never returned. As far as I know, all of these sites have faded into the sunset.
Last Sunday I took my Toyota Corolla for a bath and shot several pictures to share with you how cars are cleaned in this part of the world. Here we go.
Photograph of Guerra's Car Wash located on Avenida 12 de Octubre in Panama City, Panama. (Credit: ©Omar Upegui R.)
Photograph of two employees exchanging comments at Guerra's Car Wash las Sunday afternoon. (Credit: ©Omar Upegui R.)
This is Ricardo getting ready to wash my white Toyota Corolla. (Credit: ©Omar Upegui R.)
Ricardo is busy extracting the dust with a vacum cleaner. He did an excellent job in doing so. (Credit: ©Omar Upegui R.)
As you can see, Ricardo likes to have his picture taken. (Credit: ©Omar Upegui R.)
Photograph of Alberto sprinkling the car with water. BTW, this is drinking water. (Credit: ©Omar Upegui R.)
Car washing in Panama, the old fashion way. (Credit: ©Omar Upegui R.)
Now it's time to work on the tires with Armour All. (Credit: ©Omar Upegui R.)
Notice the dedication of these young men towards their work. The cars are sparkling clean when they finish. It takes about thirty minutes to wash a car in this place. (Credit: ©Omar Upegui R.)
Take notice that these guys don't wear shoes or boots while they work. Also, most of the cars are Japanese branded. (Credit: ©Omar Upegui R.)
The cost for a small compact car is $3.00; which is an absolute bargain. I give them a tip of $1.00 for a job well done. Without humble workers like these, we wouldn’t have the newspaper everyday on our porch, or tomatoes, lettuce, or cabbage for our salads. Products that we take for granted in our homes are there because of the dedicated labor of these hard-working people. They are responsible for moving the economy of our countries behind the scenes. They are the nuts and bolts of our production process. I tip my hat for the modest and unskilled workers of this world. They know how to earn their money—the hard way. Good Day.
1984 toyota corolla levin front clip for sale or half cut, The ae86 base is ae86 sprinter trueno, but
actually now looks like AE86 corolla levin which is going to be half cut or front clip note.
Crating easy pallete sytle crating. If shipping firm would not accept easy stuff, complete wooden crating, so depending coutry–indicate your coutry,please in inquire time.
Advise to US importer, 1984 AE86 all can be impotable to USA now, because it is over 25 year old EPA used car import regulation (I mean—running conditioned-AE86-right hand drive) instead of buying front clip, The front clip even 1pc is still expensive from Japan, because
shipping firm require us for complete woeeden crating I guess
===============
Kuroyanagi Shouten Ltd Japan.
#510 Castle May, 3-1422 Ueda-Higashi
Tenpaku, Nagoya Japan 468-0006
ks.nra30133@gmail.com
fax +81 52 803 1870
tel +81 90-1417-1403
http://111kuroyanagi1.wordpress.com/
http://nagoyajapan1.wordpress.com/
http://japancarexport.at.infoseek.co.jp/index.html
http://ukcanada.hp.infoseek.co.jp/GTR.html
http://kuroyanagikazuo.hp.infoseek.co.jp/index.html
———
Do not call me directly. Your call is fine if out business contract is near
After a long day of skills testing and job interviews, by the time I got home, I was cooked. I needed to kick back and chill. A cup of coffee seemed like the perfect antidote.
So I changed into comfortable clothes and walked to my favorite neighborhood bakery, Lety’s. The day was glorious. Sunny and Spring-like.
At Lety’s, I bought myself a coffee and one pignoli cookie (trying to be good, though I really wanted two) and found a table. I plopped down and opened my book.
Three old cronies from the neighbor sat down at the adjacent table. Their conversation was fast and funny. I couldn’t stop listening. I closed my book, took out a pen and started writing it down.
They covered a wide range of topics. Here are some snippets:
Eating
“It’s a steakhouse at Christie and Delancey.”
“It’s not a steakhouse.”
“Whatever. But this is the killer. On each table they have a container of chocolate syrup and a bottle of seltzer.”
“And you gotta get the chopped liver and the schmaltz!”
Doctors
“I went to the doctor today. I picked up two containers of coffee, one for the receptionist…”
“Did you use your coupon?”
“Yeah. I had to wait two hours. The doctor overbooks appointments.”
“Is that the one whose office is across from McDonald’s and the pizza place?”
“Right across!”
“Remember that doctor on Mulberry Street who weighed 270? At the end of each day, he’d go into one of those Italian restaurants and eat like he was going to the electric chair. And he smoked Camels! Do you know he lived to be 90 years old?”
“I know him. He was a two, three dollar doctor. If you were broke, he wouldn’t take money from you.”
“But his wife was the receptionist. She wouldn’t let you out of the office unless you paid.”
“I remember this doctor who used rusty needles. He dipped them in alcohol. If the Health Department ever walk in…? Fuggedaboudit!”
The Old Days
“Ice cream sundaes was fifteen cents. With the real strawberries in there.”
“In the theater, nickel candy was a dime, so you brought your own.”
The Movies
“I went to see that 3-D movie, Avatar.”
“You gotta be sick to see that. Space ships flyin’ all over the place.”
“With the 3-D glasses. If you take them off you can’t see the movie. It’s blurry.”
“What a racket.”
Current Events
“A lot of people are running away from Scientology.”
“John Travolta. Tom Cruise. I seen their place out in L.A.”
“Did you see the rabbi that molested the kid? He got pinched.”
“Did you hear about the rabbi who said that lox is not kosher?”
“That was in the 2nd Avenue deli. They were slicing it on T.V. I was getting hungry just watching it.”
“On Toidy-toid Street, right?”
Health
“My blood pressure is 103 over 68.”
“That’s too low.”
“When I exercise, it goes down to 98.”
“Whoa, that’s too low.”
Females
“She’s a pretty bright woman. You can’t screw around with her.”
“She knows where it’s at.”
“She had her little dog in a carriage with a Santa suit on.”
Toyota
“What about the guy on the San Diego Freeway in a Prius going 90 miles an hour and couldn’t stop it. Toyota told him there was nuthin’ they could do because his model wasn’t recalled.”
“What about that guy whose car crashed into a crowd of people at 90 miles an hour. A Toyota. And he’s been in jail for two years!”
“So far 83 people in the United States got killed by Toyota.”
“Should of used the handbrake.”
“Remember in the handbrake in the old days? Now, I wouldn’t be able to find it.”
“Mine’s on the left, on the floor.”
“Mine’s in the middle. It’s a foreign car.”
I hated to leave all that entertaining conversation behind. But I left Lety’s in a much better mood than when I’d come in. As I turned down my street, more entertainment. Two teenagers were conversing on the sidewalk, a boy and a girl.
Boy: ” I never said she looked like…”
Girl, hands on her hips: “You brother said you did! Why would he lie?”
Boy, throwing up his hands: “He’s an exaggerator!!!”
Toyota fired another volley this week as it continued its fight to regain the confidence of owners shaken by reports of unintended acceleration.
During a webcast with journalists Monday, the Japanese automaker’s hired independent experts went after professor David Gilbert of Southern Illinois University, who has emerged as a gadfly engineer. Gilbert appeared on ABC News broadcasts and before Congress, using rewired cars to attack Toyota’s ability to detect faults in its electronic systems.
Toyota contends that Gilbert’s experiments are almost impossible to duplicate in real-world conditions, and besides, cars made by other manufacturers behaved the same way when they were rewired — without adverse consequences.
Gilbert and ABC newsman Brian Ross were temporarily embarrassed when Toyota instrument readings intended to demonstrate runaway acceleration were shown to have been made while the car was actually stopped and a door was open. The tachometer indicated the engine was running at 6,000 rpms but the speedometer said the car was moving at zero miles per hour.
Like gawkers at the scene of an accident, those who enjoy this kind of thrust and parry can expect to see a lot more of it in coming weeks. Tort lawyers and class action suits are beginning to surface, and there will undoubtedly be more unfortunate accounts of accidents that might be attributed to unintended acceleration.
Once again, Toyota finds itself in the same predicament as Tiger Woods: It has apologized extensively for its sloppy and inattentive handling of the recall, but that was the easy part — even for a company as proud as Toyota.
The hard part for both the golfer and the automaker is regaining their reputations and making sure nothing like this ever happens again. There are signs that Toyota is headed, however haltingly, in the right direction. It is taking steps that address fundamental issues at the company and go beyond the appointment of a quality committee or a quality czar.
Read full CNNMoney.com story
PITTSBURGH—Toyota has recently made headlines due to a problem with the accelerator sticking on certain vehicles. Nineteen fatalities have been linked to the issue, and Toyota has recalled 2.3 million cars in the U.S. for repairs, which has caused a sense of panic for recalled car owners and the general public. To put things in perspective, Carnegie Mellon University Professor Paul Fischbeck, a risk expert, calculated the risk of driving a recalled Toyota and found that the accelerator problem increases the driving risk by only 2 percent.
“There hasn’t been a discussion about the actual risk of driving one of Toyota’s recalled vehicles,” said Fischbeck, a professor of social and decision sciences and engineering and public policy. “Even the messages from the Transportation Secretary have been confusing. First, it’s a recommendation not to drive the cars in question at all. Then, that was retracted. I think it’s important for people to realize that when you look at the actual risk of driving one of these cars, it’s actually very low.”
Consumers also may want to reconsider parking their recalled Toyotas until repairs have been made. “Replacing driving by walking really increases the risk of dying,” Fischbeck said. “Walking a mile is 19 times or 1,900 percent more dangerous than driving a mile in a recalled Toyota. Driving while using a cell phone would increase risk much more than the chance of having a stuck accelerator.”
In the U.S., there is a little more than one fatality for every 100 million miles driven. The average U.S. vehicle logs about 13,000 miles each year. Based on these averages, for the 2.3 million Toyotas being recalled, there are about 340 fatalities every year for causes unrelated to the accelerator. The accelerator problem is adding about six deaths every year to this total — meaning that the accelerator problem is increasing the driving risk by about 2 percent.
The relative increase in driving risk depends on the individual driver. For a 35-year old woman (some of the safest drivers on the road), driving risk is very low (less than half the national average), so the additional risk from stuck accelerators would increase their driving risk by 3.5 percent. For a teenage male driver whose risk is 3.5 times greater than the national average, the driving risk only increases 0.5 percent because of the problem.
If every vehicle on the road in the U.S. had this problem, there would be an additional 600 deaths every year. Driving a recalled Toyota for about a half mile less per day would be the same as if you drove in a vehicle without the problem.
Thinking about risks in terms of gambling, the chance of dying in a year because of the accelerator problem is about two in a million. This is the same as flipping 19 coins one time each and getting 19 heads.
Of course, people die from many things other than automobile crashes. The additional risk from the accelerator problem increases an individual’s annual risk of dying by less than 0.5 percent. And because the risk of dying in a given year increases with age, for retirees the additional risk is less than 0.01 percent.
“Bottom line, it is important to keep risks in perspective,” Fischbeck said. “The stuck accelerator problem does make driving riskier and needs to be fixed. But at the same time, the increased risk is very small.”
For more information on the risks of dying, visit www.deathriskrankings.com.
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Pictured above is Paul Fischbeck, a professor of social and decision sciences and engineering and public policy.
With all the troubles facing Toyota after their giant recall, it is hard to imagine their brand recovering the prestige it once held. For that matter, it can be hard to see how brands in general are able to come back from a giant PR disaster.
But hope is not lost. Last week, Domino’s Pizza announced great financial results. This should remind us that it is possible to overcome challenges in the media – if handled properly.
In the spring of 2009, a video made it onto YouTube showing some Domino’s employees doing some pretty nasty things in the kitchen. The video became an instant YouTube sensation. But the company reaction was fast, releasing their response via YouTube almost immediately. The message from Domino’s communicated a few key things that deserve to be called out:
This may seem like common sense, and it should. But Toyota’s response was lacking each of those points. The result is that despite the setback, Domino’s is now thriving while Toyota continues to be attacked from all corners.
What do you think? Is it too late for Toyota to learn from the Domino’s example?
According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, President Obama wants to require all new U.S. vehicles be equipped with some mechanism that, essentially, will stop the vehicle if both the gas and brake are activated at the same time. All I can say to that is “Back off, the market’s got it.”
Now, I can understand the push for government intervention when there are public safety concerns as a result of these types of problems and others (we’ve seen it before with airbags, etc.) but let’s take a step back and look what’s going on.
First of all, Toyota stocks have plummeted since the recall. What was once a great stock to have trading at a high of $91 is now down to $76 per share. In addition, Toyota sales are plummeting. In January, there was a 16 percent drop in sales and for February and March, a drop of 30 – 40 percent is projected.
So, what’s the bottom line here? Toyota will have to pay for their mistakes and they are/will via the free market. The market is telling Toyota to build safer cars…until that happens, we’re not buying.
At least 13 more fatalities associated with Toyotas and unintended acceleration have been reported to federal authorities. The reported fatalities occurred after Toyota ceased production and sales of select Toyota models.
To date, the National Highway Traffic Safety Adminstration has documented 34 fatalities associated with Toyotas and unintended acceleration. The majority of the fatalities occurred between 2003 and 2009.
FULL STORY
Our firm is actively investigating unintended acceleration cases involving Toyota vehicles. If you or a loved one have been involved in an auto accident in or with a Toyota, contact one of our personal injury attorneys for a free legal consultation.
So, I’ve been on holiday for a week, and naturally the first thing I did when I got back was to catch up with all events LWAPD based. I caught up fast, and now I feel like I can venture out in to the world wide web, armed with the latest, freshest and yes, dopest developments in internet based audio-visual entertainment.
But something was conspicuously absent. It was as if someone had simultaneously ripped the heart out of Lemonade, and cured it of a most grievous cancer.
What has happened to the inimitable Drew Steenburg? Where are the rants, the posts that dispense with the politically correct, the images that say boo to common sense’s goose, the things that make you go Hmmmm?
Well, I thought some crass, topical humour might just tempt him back.
Wow! . . . what a month for the Canadian car business in February.
Overall sales were up 24.9%, with passenger cars up 11.3% and Light trucks which include SUVs, CUVs, Minivans, Vans, Pickups etc up an amazing 39.0%.
Recession, what recession?
Mind you, last February was pretty brutal. But still, anytime you can have that kind of a sales increase on a major purchase, it’s a great sign of an economy that is much healthier that it used to be.
A huge congratulations has to go out to the good folks at Ford of Canada.
Ford not only increased its sales by 51.1%, it actually outsold every other car maker in the country.
Other car makers that beat the overall market:
Listed in alphabetical order
Audi up 38.1%*
Honda up 33.2%
Kia up 35.1%
Lexus up 26.2%*
Mercedes-Benz up 33.3%*
Mini up 30.4%*
Subaru up 36.5%
Toyota up 25.2% – Unbelievable considering all of the negative media they’ve had to deal with.
Volkswagen up 63.9% – All the experts say nobody wants diesels. I guess they forgot to tell VW 
* High luxury car sales is a great positive sign of a healthy market.
Despite a strong sales month some car makers failed to match their sales from Feb 2009:
Listed in alphabetical order
Acura down 13.3%
Nissan down 6.6%
Smart down 15.6%
Suzuki down 3.8%
New car sales ‘Market Snapshot’ courtesy of Desrosiers.ca
Image : http://www.flickr.com
Adolescents Greetings Toyota owners! It is your tool of analysis in flames? Accept the acclaimed P0440, p0441 and p0446 stored in the computer? clever, you're lucky! I did a little 'of activities in this botheration Toyota was the way to solve the problem of language, and how to anticipate an accident again.
Did you know that Toyota Technical Service Bulletin issued for this perceived problem? The Technical Service Bulletins is at easeresponse that has high or codes are stored in the computer through a sterile exhaustion bankruptcy brazier switching valve. This TSB from Toyota allows artisans engaged botheration analyze so that technology can be credited for the latest updates. Or not? Some of these diagnostic codes by replacing the failure of the agitation coalfield exhaustion valve switching valve (VSV-valve) in the middle of the air box, anchored on better not.
You see, all these codes proverbis that there is a gap in the exhaust system of evaporation. The increase in the exhaust system prevents evaporation, produces ammunition in the humiliation of ammunition artifice catchbasin into the atmosphere. This humiliation is stored briefly in the tank EVAP. Back to the agent is running, stored ammunition in the humiliation EVAP brazier breeze through the valve solenoid EVAP removal, removal and assimilation in order to anchor the adequacy of agitation alcovestrictly in the process of agitation. This increases the width and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. The opening to the evap system could be the annihilation of distance or missing gas cap, the abolition of a country open valve.
It is the land of love appears in the game. successful business is changing from the depletion switching valve in the appropriate TSB. But should not ruin the suffering of the problem. What do Toyota owners do not know well, is that of scaling uptheir catchbasin then the pump is already full Account serious problems in the system evap. is again the gas catchbasin too full, the gas is completely surprised and enter the evap system. Since the exhaust system for evaporation is solely to advise the task with vapors, as anon as a gas into the water enters the evap system, you begin to realize the problems immediately.
Another account is new coal in the brazier, break the distance and polluted l 'System achieves. This may appear with age than in the situation of overcrowding your body shell. A little coal, $ 25 will reach its absolute path from the bottom of the pot is sitting on the area agent, the agent with the abolition of the valve enlarged and pan in exhaustion failure switching valve. computer re-opens and closes the valves, the coal is € .25 to all valves in the arrangement so that they remain accessible flat back that will be explainedoff. And 'the site of the computer is the opening of evaporative emissions and exhaust the provision to allow your band celebrated evap codes.
Correction: Valve VSV. When the coal breaks into the filter, will be replaced free of charge. It would be important to close the valve and also change the abolition of the burner valve orifice, as are attenuated as well. Blowing air through the apple pie aeroembolism curve made no Derby entry, the league of the provision inthe future.
As you can see, this is a huge botheration and Toyota is known. Toyota is the case, take for that to Fix botheration, after the ancestors of the models.
