IS350jet

I watched most of the congressional hearings, live, today. It angered me because I am absolutely appalled that Toyota has unconditionally accepted all of the blame for these so called "run-a-way" Toyota's. I think it was a huge mistake on Toyotas part To accept all blame and do absolutely nothing to defend themselves. "I'm sorry, it was our fault, and we'll try harder to fix it" is just bull ******.

I was absolutely dumbfounded when I heard Mrs. Smith's testimony. I was shaking my head in anger as she said things like;

"My car raced out of control for 6 miles"
"I was standing on the brake with both feet but the car kept accelerating"
"I tried everything, including putting the car into neutral and reverse but it kept going"
"parking brake failed"
"As my car ravaged out of control at over 100 MPH, I called my husband on the bluetooth to say goodbye"
"God finally intervened and brought the car to a stop with the engine still racing out of control"
"The car tried to start itself".

Are you serious? Did congress actually believe her? I saw right through her, and what I saw was the most desperate case of buyers remorse I have ever seen in my life.

Mr Toyota seemed very genuine, very professional and very concerned but, he needs to step up and not take full responsibility for everything. He even took full responsibility for the Saylor case in San Diego, even though Toyota had already been cleared in the investigation.

IMO, there wasn't enough Q&A regarding EDR's (event data recorders). This is where the future of Toyota lies. It is absolutely critical for Toyota to incorporate the most sophisticated data recorders in the industry. When you're as large as Toyota, you need backup. Evidence that can clear your name in situations like these is critical.

Congress was brutal. When the chairman asked Mr. Toyoda if there were any recalls on her personal Camry Hybrid and if there would be any recalls in the future on Camry Hybrid models, she crossed the line. Does Mr. Toyoda have a crystal ball? Is he capable of predicting all recalls in the future of Toyota?

I didn't see much of a spine from Mr. Toyoda today. He just lied down and took the blame and said "I'm sorry"
I think Toyota could have handled this entire situation differently. Not the recalls............the congressional hearings.

LexFather

^^^ I don't think its in their culture to be confrontational. Mr. Toyoda's feelings are more personal since his name is on the cars and company. Poor guy inherited A MESS!! There is no prep for this on this grand scale.

I agree that it would be great to see Toyota fire back but I doubt it happens.

spwolf

how do you mean you dont buy price fixing? thats what they were raided for ;-)
(antitrust).

dunnojack

the key to success in america is to market to, or convince, the idiots of america. "lowest common denominator".

the idiots are the ones who vote on landmark decisions, and buy your crap.

Just look at the jury selection process.
If you are highly educated, or have any law background, you are disqualified from serving on the jury.

the only thing an ambulance chaser or conniving attorney has to do....... is to prey on a juror's emotions.

spwolf

btw, Lentz said it in a sense that we can not be sure of anything 100%... when Inaba said that he is apsolutly sure that it is not ects problemm, congressman attacked him how can he say anything is 100% as nothing is 100% in real life.

So...

Q. Are you 100% that your cars are safe now?
a. nobody can say that for sure
- so your cars are not safe?
b. yes, our cars are safe!
- how can you be 100% safe, nothing is 100% safe in life, you must be lying!

*Batman*

What impresses me is that there is a massive outpour of support from Toyota and Lexus owners. Here and on Facebook. If the base remains loyal Toyota will be vindicated.

*Batman*

Did you guys see that on this day, Lexus won top honors from JD Powers on customer satisfaction.

IS350jet

Just finished watching Larry King Live. IDK. I'm disappointed. On one hand, it is very admirable of Mr Toyoda to accept blame. Larry King flat out asked him if he blamed the consumer at all. Mr Toyota's response was "No, of course not"
I'm sure you're right about the Japanese culture but I'm absolutely positive that Toyota has hard evidence that there are many, many driver error accidents. They even admit that 70% of reported complaints are from cars that aren't even on the recall list.
One thing I thought was cool was when Mr Lentz held up a chart of unintended acceleration complaints of other manufacturers and when compared with Toyota's complaints, (percentage of market share wise) The numbers were virtually identical. Seriously, is anybody listening? I'm gonna stop now. I'm getting too hot headed, here. It burns me up.

TRDFantasy

The Japanese culture as SICK said is not confrontational.

Blaming the drivers, instead of taking all the blame onto themselves (deserved or not), would have HUGE negative consequences from Toyota.

Again, please research or look into what happened with Audi in the 1980s when they blamed the drivers in their unintended acceleration situation. It caused HUGE marketshare loss for Audi, and a really poor reputation for them in the US which has taken them many years to get back.

For the sake of reputation and public image, Toyota did the RIGHT thing to accept ALL blame. Deserved or not, true or not, Toyota did the right thing in terms of minimizing damage to their reputation and image.

Indio

iTrader: (1)

You don't get it, this is BAD news, depending on how this plays out the recall could expand to include said 70% not yet recalled.

VVT-i

I need to work for Mr.Toyoda. Another reason he's taking all the blames because he wants all of the craziness to end asap and move forward.

I know all the Japanese engineers and workers will gladly working double times for the same pay for the company. It's the culture thing.

A good time to buy Toyota or better yet wait for the new model to come out.

nthach

I think in 2013, if a anti-union president is at the helm we'll see Obama Motors get thrown on the spit and then crucified. I can only wish.

Of course they're raiding Tokai Rika, Denso and Yazaki because they are Toyota's biggest suppliers. OTOH, Obama Motors also buys from these 3 - even though they also own part of Delphi by way of GM.

TRDFantasy

One can only hope the US gets an anti-union president, but to be honest, with the huge influence the auto worker and teachers unions have, I doubt it will happen.

flipside909

That is a very commendable move that Mr. Toyoda displayed today. Customer service and customer safety is his main priority. He's taking one for the team regardless of who is at fault. We all know that the Saylor incident was unfortunate, but at the same time was due to human error not a defect of any sorts. Sure they shouldn't take the blame for everything, but the right thing to do at this point is own up to all of the mishaps, learn from them, make improvements and move forward. The finger pointing had to stop and Mr. Toyoda did what was right for the sake of the company.

cwerdna

Clarification posted by Toyota:
http://pressroom.toyota.com/pr/tms/c...spx?ncid=11092

The webinar on electronic throttle control systems at http://pressroom.toyota.com/pr/tms/2...le-154266.aspx might interesting. I haven't had time to watch or read it yet.