haddadadad

I’m a little slow on the worldly draw. I’ve only just heard about this Toyota recall, and it was because I read a sports blog that has a Sexy Mailbag. Through the lolz I find out that the United States Congress has decided that it needs to make a Japanese car company look bad. Naturally I can no longer locate the Deadspin article I glanced at for two seconds.

The Toyota Camry is the most generic car in the United States. I can state this with confidence without proof (but I found it anyway.) The Camry hybrid is manufactured within the United States borders. That means Toyota pays Americans to build their cars. I’m not exactly sure why Congress has decided to skewer the image of Akido Toyoda and the Toyota company other than to hurt some Japanese people’s feelings and reinforce the outdated idea that all “foreign” companies are evil. Maybe a smidge.

The USA Today reports that customer support is dropping. 60% of Toyota owners surveyed said they would purchase a Toyota again, down ten points from a previous survey, yet the brand loyalty continues to trail Ford and Chevy closely in the States. The “American” brands are pushing hard to stay ‘Merican and be bigger and better. How’s this for bigger: in 1996, Ford’s recall of their Explorers affected over 7.6 million units, 2.6 million more than what Toyota is recalling today. “The malfunction in question gave it the less-than-favorable moniker ‘Ford Exploder’ as the ignition switches were found to be defective and could catch fire, overheat or otherwise malfunction. Nearly 8 million cars were affected and Ford recalled nearly all its cars manufactured between 1988 and 1993.” (USA Recall News) Also, in both 2005 and 2009, Ford had other recalls for 4.5 million units each of those years, almost doubling what Toyota is recalling now, for cruise control malfunctions that could lead to fires while parked. As in, not in gear. Or moving.

People getting hurt and killed due to a stuck accelerator is definitely a serious matter. So is a car being too tall for its width and flipping when changing lanes or maybe tires exploding while in motion. Ford Explorers with Firestone tires were considered time bombs when I was in high school. Jeep Wranglers are notorious of flipping, yet they have an established fan base and they continue to gain new buyers.

Cars being recalled is part of the natural cycle of their lives. Is it awesome? Negative. Does it happen? Yes. They usually have a glitch that people rarely hear about. Car companies do have web pages now set up to look up their vehicle models and whether or not they have a recall on a part, and if they don’t tell you, you can easily look it up. The information is available. It’s up to the consumers and owners of vehicles to look up their possession’s reputation and technical information. It’s always been like that. Machines have faults sometimes. They’re made by humans. That’s why we have mechanics.

What struck me the most:

“We had a great deal of faith in something that was stamped ‘Made in Japan,’ that it was of the highest reliability, and [you’ve] injured that thought process in the American public.” Pennsylvania representative Paul Kanjorski

Thank you, Mr. State the Obvious, for reminding Toyoda what kind of image-damning fiasco this recall has turned into. Here’s what I’m saying. It’s unfair of my country’s government to bully a car-maker, especially one from a first-world company, especially during the Olympics, and especially when it’s the job of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to keep automakers in line. Akido Toyoda had enough respect for the government’s wishes to come overseas and sit before a giant committee of people giving him dirty looks and telling him what an awful successor he is for his grandfather, and he disgraces the image of his country. This recall isn’t a movie, this is real life. It would be nice if the government of the free world would cut out the drama and get to the point, which supposedly is making safe vehicles. Unless of course the point is to save GM’s ass.

This isn’t the first major recall to happen, nor will it be the last one. Maybe helping them move forward to make a better product would help make our streets an overall safer environment.

Sources:
Mr. Toyoda Goes to Washington National Post Feb 27, 2010
U.S. is cast as villain in Japan LA Times Feb 27, 2010
Toyota buyer loyalty starting to slip in face of recalls USA Today Feb 26,2010
Cause of Sudden Acceleration Proves Hard to Pinpoint Wall Street Journal Feb 25, 2010
Autos: Sonata, new sixth generation sedan scripps Feb 25, 2010
Ford Recall Puts Toyota Recalls in Perspective US Recall News Feb 16, 2010
Toyoda Takes Hot Seat CBS News Online Feb 24, 2010
Ford Explorer Rollover
Attention shifts from Firestone to Ford Explorer St. Petersburg Times June 17, 2001