Guess I’m Not the Only One Wondering
Is US bullying Toyota on recall?
CHICAGO — The US transportation chief’s public rebukes of Toyota’s handling of a massive safety recall have raised eyebrows, given the US government’s major stake in rivals General Motors and Chrysler.
“The optics are terrible because — and this is what happens when a government owns a company – the two companies that are going to gain the most out of this are General Motors and Chrysler,” said Peter Morici, a professor at the University of Maryland’s business school.
Biz, Nanny State, Politics | tree hugging sister | 
February 4, 2010 4:04 pm
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How does he figure that GM and Chrysler will benefit more than Honda, Ford, Nissan, Mazda, Hyundai, Kia, etc…?
Because if the government can pull this on one company, they can pull this on any (and every) company.
Just so, Guns. Any non-government owned company that doesn’t toe the line gets hit with regulatory sanctions.
How Chavez like.
My point is his “rebukes” benefited ALL of Toyota’s competitors, not just GM and Chrysler. This Maryland professor specifically claims that GM and Chrysler will gain the most.
We’re so doomed.
They did bomb Pearl Harbor and kill 20 million Chinese.
The government is probably
playing to Chinese interests,
not American.China runs the government now.
True enough, Rob. but it is STILL bullying by the government. If it intimidates car makers NOT owned by Uncle Sugar, that’s so much more gravy for the Feds.
“My point is his “rebukes” benefited ALL of Toyota’s competitors, not just GM and Chrysler.”
That’s how it starts.
Like a chess game, its takes time and strategy to gain “checkmate”.
“True enough, Rob. but it is STILL bullying by the government.”
On behalf of its citizens. Bullying is not the term I’d use. I’d say they’re holding Toyota accountable.
If the government thinks that this is a safety concern (It is) and that Toyota is dragging their feet on it (They are) … just saying there’s another side to this that is perfectly legitimate.
Rob, I’m a citizen as well. So you’re presuming a wee bit too much there.
But I concede, this could be all innocent. Still, appearances are important.
So just how often do we see a Cabinet level official rebuking a specific company in an industry that the same government has a HUGE stake in?
Maybe I’m wrong. But this administration is all about big government. And there ain’t nothing bigger than the government controlling industry, even by intimidation.
Wrong question, JeffS. The right question is
Would they be critical of Toyota even if they didn’t have a stake in the industry? I think so. It’s not about big government. It’s about public safety. It’s about Toyota not coming to grips with a problem. First, they blamed floor mats. Remember that? Now, it’s a pedal friction problem. My guess is they’re not certain even now. Their wounds are self-inflicted.
Can someone point out ANY car made in the past hundred years that couldn’t get a floor mat stuck under the gas pedal?
It all seems contrived to me. Toyota lost a frivolous lawsuit and now opportunists are pouncing.
I’ll buy the floormat causing a stuck pedal but I’m not buying a faulty pedal causing uncontrolled acceleration. Unless it’s stuck fully depressed it’s not going to continue to accelerate. This is in all likelyhood an electronic problem but brakes will still stop a car at full throttle besides put it in neutral. Most of these are probably people hitting the wrong pedal just like with the Audi. Great excuse now for any fenderbender or wreck,”it took off on me!”
I would never dispute that “opportunists are pouncing”, Skyler, because that’s the world we all live in but at least one of those lawsuits involved fatalities. I doubt anyone is considering it frivolous.
Toyota should have gotten out in front of this sooner. They have two problems they need to fix. They need to fix their accelerator problem and they need to fix the PR problem. Until they do, they’re going to get unwanted scrutiny and criticism from the government, the media, consumer groups, and large numbers of regular citizens with a blog or Facebook or Twitter. I think they’ll survive but it will be painful medicine to swallow.
I’m forced to agree with Rob, Toyota could have done this a lot better. But this does illustrate why the government has no business in running businesses. As far as possible, they have to be an objective party to disputes, and to act in the public interest. It’s too easy to be cynical otherwise, and especially now, since we are talking about a cynical and opportunistic bunch currently in power.
Major Dad is right. All vehicles have controls that reduce engine speed during braking or if it appears the loud pedal’s stuck. It’s part of OBD2, which is the government-mandated electronic control package that operates pollution controls and most other functions.
I got this from the new Car & Driver, which tested Toyota’s OBD2: The brakes might be tougher to pump if the system fails, but they still work. Toyota’s system needs improvement, C&D says, but it still works.
JeffS is closer to the truth, Rob. Remember, this is an administration that uses crony capitalism to reward friends and punish the rest and says no crisis should be wasted.
GM sales rose during all this (Chrysler’s didn’t because nobody wants what it sells) and Obama and the UAW control GM. Obvious conflict of interest bordering on criminal, but that’s what I expect from these people.
Keep in mind that, with benefits included, GM pays an average $78/ hour per line worker, compared to Toyota’s $48. GM has thousands of laid-off workers; Toyota has none. The UAW is a major Obama benefactor. So who’s gonna be favored here? Not Toyota by a long shot.
By the way, anyone notice that Honda’s recalling more than 460,000 vehicles for a safety fix?
“Remember, this is an administration that uses crony capitalism to reward friends and punish the rest and says no crisis should be wasted.”
You can color your world with that lens if you like but I can’t. Toyota earned the grief they’re getting all on their own. That it benefits one party or another, one group or another is irrelevant to me. Sometimes, the enemy of your enemy aint all that great.
Rob, I didn’t read the legal case, and frivolous is a loaded term, but the fact is that people die in car crashes every day. There have been Toyotas out there for a long time with these supposed “defects.” Since the “defect” has been identified I haven’t noticed people suddenly dying left and right.
If there’s a problem, fix it. No need to over react and act as though there will be a massacre on the streets.
Remember, foreign countries have the same cars and they don’t have a blood bath either.
It’s very much over hyped.
We’re in total agreement, Skyler. Finally. 🙂 No need to over react … at Toyota … or at a comment by a government official.
“You can color your world with that lens if you like but I can’t. Toyota earned the grief they’re getting all on their own. That it benefits one party or another, one group or another is irrelevant to me. Sometimes, the enemy of your enemy aint all that great.”
I have no clue what that last sentence means, but I’m pretty sure I see this administration for what it is and I don’t think I’m dreaming or paranoid or whatever.
Government controls GM and Chrysler, and the UAW has a big say in Obama policies. Obamists are notorious for opportunism, and creating hysteria over Toyota might be just that: an opportunity to help allies. Toyota’s utterly bungled p.r. fueled the fire provided another crisis for the administration to exploit.
Skyler’s right. I should have said what he did but I forgot to clean my colored lens.
Our rallying cry is “Remember the Monza!”
I figured you for a Pinto man, mojo. 🙂
You mean the Pinto flame thrower? I had a friend burned 80$% of his body due to one of those.