Reports: Toyota grandson to take top job

[CielOnTap]

Reports: Toyota grandson to take top job
The Associated Press
Published: January 9, 2009

TOKYO: The grandson of Toyota Motor Corp.'s founder will take the helm of Japan's top automaker in June, newspapers said Friday.

Toyota's top executives will hold a board meeting as early as Monday to endorse the appointment of Akio Toyoda, 52, said the Nikkei daily, Japan's top business newspaper, citing no sources. Toyoda will officially take over leadership of Japan's auto giant following a shareholders' meeting in late June, it said.

Toyota is struggling to shore up its sagging sales at home and abroad amid a deepening global downturn, cutting output and the number of temporary workers. http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2009/01/09/business/AS-Japan-Toyota.php

The racing suit reference can be good-Toyoda has enthusiasm for cars-or bad-he's indulged as he is part of founding family. Let us see how his unique style serves the employees and company.

[fishandchips]

The next new president could add "oomph" to car launches or team events if he could wear lifestyle or racing apparel at such occasions. Might be able to get spectators to "buy" the experience of fun and racing through apparel or accessory purchases through parts departments/online store.

Good marketing will yield good sales.

[CielOnTap]

A more recent article on the incoming Toyota president, who will be driving a new car on the track in competition prior to taking his new job.

May 8, 2009



Toyoda takes Toyota wheel
By Todd Crowell

TOKYO - Akio Toyoda, the grandson of the man who founded the world's largest automobile company, will take the wheel of a racing Lexus in an automobile endurance contest later this month, just a few weeks before he takes the wheel of the troubled Toyota Motor Corp.

It won't be the first time that Toyoda has spelled the other drivers in the 24-hour Nurburing endurance race in Germany. This year, like last, he'll put Toyota's much touted Lexus LF-A luxury auto through its paces. Toyota hopes to officially unveil the vehicle at the biannual Tokyo Motor Show in October.

That's assuming that there is a Tokyo Motor Show. America's Big Three automakers, including the now officially bankrupt Chrysler, have declined to take part this year in order to save money. So too have several smaller Japanese automobile companies, such as Hino Motors Ltd. It is likely to be a truncated affair. Toyoda

One thing the company probably won't do is follow the example of the Honda Motor Co - which is changing its president in June - and drop out of Formula One and other international auto racing competitions. The new president is known to be a racing enthusiast.

The first board meeting after the Honda president switch will be a lively one.

[pysanky]

New president races for team? Could he make Cool Japan (more relaxed business dress code) new standard in boardroom? Or have everyone wear Team Toyota clothes.

[CielOnTap]

Since the Toyota recall relating to stuck gas pedals has been in the news for a few weeks now and the problem can occur in other car brands, read on. A helpful tip to know in case your car's gas pedal gets stuck and you want to deal with the matter while driving:

February 19, 2010
Car Talk
What to do if your gas pedal sticks: Shift into neutral gear and coast to a stop
By Tom & Ray Magliozzi
Syndicated columnists


Dear Tom and Ray:

Recently, there was a large recall of Toyotas because the gas pedal could get stuck on the floor mat and cause the car to keep accelerating wildly. Yesterday the pedal got stuck in my 2008 Honda Accord. What should you do if such a thing happens?
--Dan
Car Talk advice

Tom: So what do you do? No matter why the gas pedal is sticking, first, put the car in neutral.

Ray: Why? Shifting into neutral disconnects the engine from the wheels. So no matter how fast the engine is revving, the car will simply slow down.

Tom: By putting the transmission in neutral rather than turning the engine off with the key, you also keep your power steering, power brakes, ABS and lots of other stuff working.

Ray: And, most importantly, you keep the steering wheel lock from engaging. If that happens, you'll need two pairs of brown pants.

Tom: Some people worry that the engine will rev so high that it'll blow. But that won't happen. Modern cars all have rev limiters that cut off the fuel supply if the engine tries to rev beyond the limit set by the manufacturer. So the engine may sound like it's screaming, but just ignore that.

Ray: Once you're in neutral, calmly coast to a safe stop by the side of the road, and THEN turn off the ignition. Then, if you see that the pedal is clearly stuck on the floor mat, you can throw those floor mats out the window and keep driving. If not, call a tow truck, have the car towed to the dealer and tell them to call you when they're absolutely certain they've figured it out.

[CielOnTap]

Lawmakers of both parties criticize both Toyota and US safety regulators for safety lapses
LAURIE KELLMAN, STEPHEN MANNING
Associated Press Writers
11:28 a.m. CST, February 24, 2010

WASHINGTON (AP) — Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda came to Washington to publicly apologize to Congress Wednesday for safety lapses that led to widespread recalls for accelerator and braking failures and for a corporate culture that may have made things worse. A House committee chairman said blame must be shared by both Toyota and U.S. safety regulators.

Rep. Edolphus Towns, D-N.Y., chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, said the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) failed to follow through aggressively on thousands of complaints dating back a decade about sudden acceleration in Toyota vehicles.

NHTSA , which is part of the Transportation Department, "failed the taxpayers and Toyota failed their customers," Towns declared ahead of eagerly awaited testimony by the company's chief executive.

"Thousands of complaints, multiple investigations, and serial recalls are bad enough. But we now have 39 deaths attributed to sudden acceleration in Toyotas," Towns said. "To give that horrifying number perspective, there were 27 deaths attributed to the famous (Ford) Pinto exploding gas tank of the 1970s."http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/automotive/sns-ap-toyota-recall,0,6636949.story

Give credit to the NHTSA Transportation Secretary for realizing that a newcomer to the agency would not be able to address Congress; he would. That is leadership.

Wonder why that leadership, if there is a history of incident reports, did not make more media rounds when a trend was noticed about sudden acceleration?

[Smitty]

I have a hunch that Honda cought on to the fauly soft-wear & did not use it or changed for not to often in a Honda in trouble like a Toyoto.
I am still of the old ideas liek manual shifting to normal steering in power to you name it.

Obviously I love my old VW "bug", mind you to work everything sort of melted. Now about to come home, which is a down-hill route to the main traffic I would fire up the old "bug" only to take off with my throttle ICED due to the snow & such that had melted on the way to work. Still those were the simpler years & so it was you managed to learn how to handle it----that is a Western Canadain for you.

Mind you though I did love my various Jeeps & put them through quite a toll of work, but that was the only reason to switch to 4X4 when I had to cash in the Jeep. Now I have a Subaru & yes I like the all-wheel-drive, but if I had problems with engine failure I would be up against the LOSS of all-wheel-drive, to braks to power steering. So far nothing like it, but there is a recall in for he Subaru for some small fuel problem & when I am down to 1/4 tank of fuel (usually fill up well before that time) I am to call them & come in for the recall. Not that his is unheard of for same comes when riding m/cs those 46 yrs being recalls by the makers to the closet shop of the same make.

True I had a bit of surging at the start of the purchase in Feb 2nd of '06, & contacted Subaru a number of times till they had word of what was to be changed, only a few minutes & end of the bit of surging during that first winter & ever since.

[CielOnTap]

Man survives another runaway Toyota
California cops help driver slow speeding Prius
March 09, 2010
The Associated Press
EL CAJON, Calif. — A California Highway Patrol officer helped slow a runaway Toyota Prius from 151km/h to a safe stop on Monday after the car's accelerator became stuck on a San Diego County freeway, the CHP said.

Prius driver James Sikes called 911 about 1:30 p.m. after accelerating to pass another vehicle on Interstate 8 near La Posta and finding that he could not control his car, the CHP said.

"I pushed the gas pedal to pass a car and it did something kind of funny... it jumped and it just stuck there," the 61-year-old driver said at a news conference. "As it was going, I was trying the brakes...it wasn't stopping, it wasn't doing anything and it just kept speeding up," Sikes said, adding he could smell the brakes burning he was pressing the pedal so hard.
http://www.thespec.com/News/CanadaWorld/article/734680

That had to be a fast responding officer! Fortunately for the driver, he got assistance with the matter. He will likely have to get the brake pads redone.

[deja vu]

The fixes are not working. People will start dying, whether they drive a Toyota or are hit by one.


If you drive a Toyota, do you feel safe in it, or will you park it and not risk driving it? Would you buy one if your shopping around for a car?

[deja vu]

Japanese carmaker Toyota is facing further safety concerns after a US consumer organisation warned customers not to buy one of its models. Consumer Reports issued a recommendation not to buy the Lexus GX 460 four-wheel drive because of fears that the car could roll over. The last time it judged a vehicle's performance unacceptable was in 2001.

Toyota said it was concerned with the results of Consumer Reports' testing and was looking into the claims. But it said its model "meets or exceeds" all federal government testing requirements.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8618585.stm


What about the 5,000 people that already own that car? I feel sorry for anyone that bought the car and the next day they read the report.