Toyota's credibility being questioned
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morphius909
New member
Is it being questioned by the US Media?
Let me guess...Fox News? NBC?CBS?ABC? CNN? Does it matter...all pro-america, anti-non america. I can honestly say that being a Canadian and occasionally catching tabloid oops I mean network news from the United States.
I just heard FORD has issues with their Hybrid Models..something to do with Brake Regeneration as well. STRANGE it didn't make it as "Breaking News" on fox or CNN.
It's a complete Witch Hunt. Toyota is not completely innocent, somewhere along the lines they screwed up, but how is this ANY different than any other recalls?
oh wait.
America in Despair.
America bails out the big 2 crapfest domestics.
Toyota is NOT American.
Therefore...Toyota is EVIL!
Doesn't make sense? Me Either. Welcome to Toyota-gate.
Let me guess...Fox News? NBC?CBS?ABC? CNN? Does it matter...all pro-america, anti-non america. I can honestly say that being a Canadian and occasionally catching tabloid oops I mean network news from the United States.
I just heard FORD has issues with their Hybrid Models..something to do with Brake Regeneration as well. STRANGE it didn't make it as "Breaking News" on fox or CNN.
It's a complete Witch Hunt. Toyota is not completely innocent, somewhere along the lines they screwed up, but how is this ANY different than any other recalls?
oh wait.
America in Despair.
America bails out the big 2 crapfest domestics.
Toyota is NOT American.
Therefore...Toyota is EVIL!
Doesn't make sense? Me Either. Welcome to Toyota-gate.
morphius909
New member
Gas tank? What gas Tank? Ford can do no wrong. It's 100% American! Bullet Proof! You're full of it man! *wink*
Thai
Elite Member
Because Ford's issue has nothing to do with actual brake performance...it is the lack of brake feel that is the issue.
The Prius brake problem has everything to do with actual brake performance...or lack of!
That is the difference.
Thai
Elite Member
Wait...lets not get too far ahead now...didn't the media rip Ford for the Bridgestone rollove ordeal??
SkylineGTRracer
New member
Wasn't that firestone and the explore? just making sure.
That's not entirely accurate. If you research the problem with the 2010 Prius, you'll find that the real problem is with the ABS system, not the actual braking performnce of the vehicle under normal circumstances. In other words, the braking performance of the car is fine, the only complaints are when the car is braking hard on a bumpy road (of course this condition would kick in the ABS) or braking hard on a low friction surface like snow/ice.
Of course the mainstream media omits that kind of detail, so the average Joe thinks that the Prius has brakes that can fail, when the truth is that only the ABS peformance has been identified as a potential problem.
Oh yes, and we can also go waaaaay back earlier in time and bring up the FACT that Ford knowingly continued to produce the Pinto with a design flaw that also caused the car to burst into flames in a rear end collision.
I don't know if anyone here is old enough to remember or perhaps researched that whole mess, but it was proven by internal Ford documents that Ford knew about the problem and made a financial decision to continue producing and selling the faulty Pintos because it would be less expensive to pay for the lawsuits that result from deaths than it would be to recall all of the Pintos on the roads at the time.
Makes you wonder, huh?
charlier180
New member
Yes, some of us are old enough to remember the Ford Pinto exploding gas tank problem and how Ford tried to cover it up.
Funny how back then there were people who questioned the reporting by new agencies about Ford the same way some now are questioning the motives and motivation of the reporting about the Toyota situation.
Personally, the more information that comes out about Toyota's vehicle issues and, more importantly, how Toyota continues to handle these matters make me wonder if there is more truth to the allegations than some here are willing to admit.
I do find it very entertaining to watch the two opposing sides in this debate while trying to keep an open mind about this whole situation. The angry mob (Toyota is GUILTY) versus the Toyota fanboi (Toyota's S**T doesn't stink) has been entertaining. Both sides do have their points and both sides also have blind spots big enough for me to drive my 4Runner through.
Time will tell how this situation play out.
Slvr RnR
Member
Mainstream media is a bloodthirsty animal. It will report on and omit anything that will give them a ratings edge over the next news group regardless of how it impacts the U.S. economy. American based, foreign based... it doesn't matter. I think there are more than enough examples of that.
Once Toyota has come clean with everything and we stop getting new recalls/new reports every few days the snowball effect will stop and Toyota will move on (provided major damage control in the public eye).
...and yes, SkylineGTRracer, that was Firestone on the Explorer.
Once Toyota has come clean with everything and we stop getting new recalls/new reports every few days the snowball effect will stop and Toyota will move on (provided major damage control in the public eye).
...and yes, SkylineGTRracer, that was Firestone on the Explorer.
That's true. Most "news" today has really become sensationalistic story telling about things that happen around us. Accurate reporting is no fun if it takes the edge off the story. Some outlets don't even pretend to be impartial anymore; their political bias one way or the other can be very obvious.
Have you noticed how the term "breaking news" now seems to mean anything that has happened in the last couple of days, despite the fact that we have round-the-clock, instant access to news through tons of TV channels and the Internet? The term still grabs your attention, but usually only long enough to find that it's old news and you move on.
Toyota has to confront these issues directly in order to get past them. Unfair as it is, Toyota is still a foreign car to many people in the U.S. (Don't mention the fact that the only stock car represented by NASCAR that's assembled in the U.S. is the Camry!) That means that Toyota's image can bad that much faster because people won't give them the benefit of the doubt.
Have you noticed how the term "breaking news" now seems to mean anything that has happened in the last couple of days, despite the fact that we have round-the-clock, instant access to news through tons of TV channels and the Internet? The term still grabs your attention, but usually only long enough to find that it's old news and you move on.
Toyota has to confront these issues directly in order to get past them. Unfair as it is, Toyota is still a foreign car to many people in the U.S. (Don't mention the fact that the only stock car represented by NASCAR that's assembled in the U.S. is the Camry!) That means that Toyota's image can bad that much faster because people won't give them the benefit of the doubt.
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morphius909
New member
The Fact that Brittany Murphys (sp?) cause of death findings were major breaking news kind of says it all doesn't it. Like Who cares?
When the Canadian News Media even mentions the death of a so call "celebrity" who did notthing more than "Act"...we Canadians scratch our heads as to how celebrity death is deemed more important than any other death in the world.
It just goes to show that important news...ohh remember HAITI gets pushed aside for sensationalism.
sheik
New member
There was one other recall on my F250 that I can't remember the exact details of. I think it was an electrical problem that could cause a fire in the cab of the pickup but without some digging I can't say for sure. I can tell you I'd rather have my vehicle accelerate on its own than have a fire in the cab when I'm on the interstate.
I don't necessarily consider myself a Toyota fanboi- I own a Ford and a Toyota. I think that this recall seems to make good "news" due to the number of Toyota's out there. What better way to create doubt than have a highly publicized recall?
The media seems to be crucifying Toyota over this. It's in local papers, local news stories, national news, etc. It's everywhere.
Is it justified?
I don't know, maybe? Toyota seems to be taking care of it in an appropriate manner to me. The floormat recall did seem a little shady, but at the same time I've had floormats interfere with the accelerator before so maybe there really was an issue there?
Are they covering something up?
Possibly. Who knows. It wouldn't be that hard to find an ex-employee who will say whatever you want and throw some money their way. But again, Toyota seems to be taking action. Maybe they needed time to determine how wide spread this problem was and/or identify the exact cause?
Is the timing of the splattering of Toyota across the country interesting?
I think so. Toyota has a good track record of reliability. That's why I bought one. Domestic manufacturers don't really have a good track record of reliability. In addition, from what I've seen, they more often than not follow what's already been done and don't do much in the way of new features and innovations. All those folks out there shopping for vehicles right now are more likely to buy a Government Motors, Ford, or other product over a Toyota product if they believe the hype.
Shortly after I bought my 4Runner I walked around our indoor parking garage at work and counted the number of Toyota's versus everything else. It was over 50% Toyota. And you don't need me to tell you that, there are tons of Toyota's on the road. Just look around. The quickest way to decrease Toyota's market share and new vehicle sales would be to attack their credibility and sensationalize a single recall.
I'm not saying that creating a PR nightmare for Toyota to drive domestic sales is precisely what's going on here, but it sure is possible. And if that's the case, I think a better game plan would be to focus on improving your product, create new technology and features people want, and increase build quality and reliability. These are things I feel are missing from domestic automobiles.
I don't necessarily consider myself a Toyota fanboi- I own a Ford and a Toyota. I think that this recall seems to make good "news" due to the number of Toyota's out there. What better way to create doubt than have a highly publicized recall?
The media seems to be crucifying Toyota over this. It's in local papers, local news stories, national news, etc. It's everywhere.
Is it justified?
I don't know, maybe? Toyota seems to be taking care of it in an appropriate manner to me. The floormat recall did seem a little shady, but at the same time I've had floormats interfere with the accelerator before so maybe there really was an issue there?
Are they covering something up?
Possibly. Who knows. It wouldn't be that hard to find an ex-employee who will say whatever you want and throw some money their way. But again, Toyota seems to be taking action. Maybe they needed time to determine how wide spread this problem was and/or identify the exact cause?
Is the timing of the splattering of Toyota across the country interesting?
I think so. Toyota has a good track record of reliability. That's why I bought one. Domestic manufacturers don't really have a good track record of reliability. In addition, from what I've seen, they more often than not follow what's already been done and don't do much in the way of new features and innovations. All those folks out there shopping for vehicles right now are more likely to buy a Government Motors, Ford, or other product over a Toyota product if they believe the hype.
Shortly after I bought my 4Runner I walked around our indoor parking garage at work and counted the number of Toyota's versus everything else. It was over 50% Toyota. And you don't need me to tell you that, there are tons of Toyota's on the road. Just look around. The quickest way to decrease Toyota's market share and new vehicle sales would be to attack their credibility and sensationalize a single recall.
I'm not saying that creating a PR nightmare for Toyota to drive domestic sales is precisely what's going on here, but it sure is possible. And if that's the case, I think a better game plan would be to focus on improving your product, create new technology and features people want, and increase build quality and reliability. These are things I feel are missing from domestic automobiles.
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Atlanta_man
New member
I'll be buying some Toyota stock soon as I guess the bottom.
Need to give it a few weeks more in case more bad news surfaces.
Need to give it a few weeks more in case more bad news surfaces.
Thai
Elite Member
Yes...and who owns Firestone?
My point is that the media ripped Ford a new one with that fiasco...just like they are doing now with Toyota. So, is the media looking for news? Yup. Is the media ripping Toyota due to Toyota being a foreign manufacturer? Not really...they would rip their own grandmas if it got them viewers! But, to dismiss this whole Toyota issue(s) by saying that GM is behind this or that the media just hates Toyota is wrong and fanboyish IMHO.
My brother has '10 Prius. The brakes (ABS/electronic brakes) have a delay when you brake over a bump...THUS, IT IS AN ACTUAL BRAKE PERFORMANCE ISSUE!! For that split second over the bump, YOU HAVE NO FREAKING BRAKES! ZIPO, NADA, NONE, ZERO. There is no "potential" problem...IT IS A FREAKING KNOWN PROBLEM. Toyota has fixed this brake problem via software update on the newer Prius.
A modern car should have adequate brakes REGARDLESS of road conditions. How can you dismiss this Prius brake problem simply because on normal, flat roads, it is ok????? I don't get it. Huh?
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First of all, I didn't dismiss the problem, I simply stated the facts. And if you know how ABS braking works, then OF COURSE you must realize that ABS modulates the brakes (yes, on and off very quickly) when it is activated. Therefore, when braking over a bumpy road, the ABS function is not properly modulating the braking system, which is basically the cause of the problem. Don't be a media darling and blow the whole thing out of proportion. It's not like the vehicle loses its brakes, which is what the media is suggesting in their propaganda. The fact of the matter is that it's an ABS issue and normal braking performance is unaffected UNLESS the ABS is activated.
Now of course it is true that the vehicle should have proper braking performance under any conditions, but again, that's not part of my debate. I'm simply saying that the media omitted the facts and lead the public to believe that the 2010 Prius can potentially have brakes that fail completely.
azcowboy
New member
Firestone, at least at the time, was owned by Bridgestone. And yes, the main stories everyone broadcast were about Ford Explorers having a blowout (or losing the tread) and rolling.
The really crazy thing in the whole Toyota debacle is how it's being portrayed not only in the media, but by the government. All it does is scare people - but then, I guess that gets you ratings/votes.
Oh yeah, the fact that THERE IS A DEFINITIVE FIX to the Prius brake problem AND Mr. Toyoda admitting that IT IS A PROBLEM make it pretty darn clear that THERE IS FREAKING PROBLEM!
Wow, you should work for the media. Who the hell said there wasn't a problem? Again, the point here is that the media isn't giving everyone ALL the facts, instead choosing to give the public just enough information to cause wide-spread speculation.
