Pretty much.

 

Moved the Toyota topic posts out of the 2013 Fusion thread into this one . . .

 

I might have more confidence in your conspiracy (related to US Government) if Toyota didn't employ such a large number of workers in the US. That being stated, I agree that the unintended acceleration claims were overblown, but more to public ineptitude as opposed to the Government targeting Toyota specifically.

 

He's a fool for not replacing a timing belt before 100k.

 

hes a fool for owning a $5,000 car that now needs something like $2900 in repairs.

 

bent valves, damaged pistons, possible ruined head...


...for the price of a stupid toothed belt.



(that's why I liked my Saturns over Toys - they had chains.)

 

yup.. The belt was going to be $800 for parts and labor. I told him tog et a cheap motor off ebay for $1000 and have it installed for $900 and then trade it in.

 

Even that seems pricey for a belt job but that's Toyota for you.

Agreed on the replacement engine.

 

Nah that's not it. Toyota has really gone down with their quality in the last 20 or so years. And that's talking about long term reliability. Like 5+ years. Toyota had a big problem in the early 2000's with engines being sludged up solid. Electronics are a joke. It's not the government, its Toyota sitting back on their good reputation and not continuously improving their products. They still make a few good models but they are nothing exceptional compared to their competition.

 

I guess they have to remove the motor or something...

 

Again:

Toyota Camry & Prius V score poorly in new IIHS test

http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2...ash-tests.html



'13 Toyota Camry



the dummy's position in relation to the door frame, steering wheel, and instrument panel after the crash test indicates that the driver's survival space was not maintained well.
During the crash, the dummy's head barely contacted the frontal airbag before sliding off to the left as the steering column moved to the right. The seat belt allowed the dummy to move too far forward, as is evident from the gap between the seat back and the dummy's torso, and the head hit the instrument panel. The side curtain airbag did not extend far enough forward toward the A-pillar.
Intrusion into the occupant compartment was extensive. The door hinge pillar began to tear as the wheel and tire was pushed back, and this intrusion combined with that of the parking brake pedal and instrument panel contributed to a moderate risk of injuries to the left lower leg, ankle, and heel.

'13 Fusion



The dummy's position in relation to the door frame, steering wheel, and instrument panel after the crash test indicates that the driver's survival space was maintained reasonably well.
The dummy’s head contacted the frontal airbag but then slid off the left side. The side curtain airbag extended far enough forward toward the A-pillar to protect the head from contact with forward side structure.
Except for door hinge pillar deformation, intrusion into the driver's space was reasonably well controlled, and risk of injuries to the dummy's legs and feet was low.


Toyota Recalls:


http://pressroom.toyota.com/safety-recall/

Toyota Recalls 7.43million vehicles

http://www.nbcnews.com/business/toyo...ears-1C6374378


.

 

<sarcasm on> It's the evil US Government! They rigged those tests to make Toyota look bad! You know, if the US Government is capable of predicting, two years in advance, the almost-demise of both Chrysler and GM, perpetrating a witch hunt on foreign manufacturers to divert attention away from said companies' respective financial woes in the process, then who knows the lengths the Government will go to to bring down Toyota and the other foreign transplants?! I bet they're responsible for screwing around with Hyundai / Kia's mileage figures, too! <sarcasm off>



What?! Toyota had plenty of time to work the bugs out of every, single one of those vehicles.

 

GM had a record loss of $38.7 billion in 2007 and $30.8 billion loss in 2008 - yeah, it was very difficult to see that they weren't gonna survive for a long time without asking for government help.

How could've anyone predicted that ...

Oh by the way ...
Recalls, tsunami in Japan and slow sales in the world largest market (China) due to the conflict between the Japan and China = Toyota still #1.

p.s. Anyone wants to bet that the next big scandal (recalls due to safety, fuel economy ...) is gonna happens to either Subaru and/or Volkswagen in the USA?

 

If the government wanted to hurt Toyota, they would just tax them heavily like Japan does with our cars sold in their countries.

 

That still wouldn't turn American buyers away from the Toyota ...

 

Agreed. Like too many car companies, they let the MBAs and marketeers run rampant over the designers and engineers in search of big sales numbers and near-term profits over long-term product excellence and brand integrity and loyalty. Yeah, it works for a few years, then people notice that the actual products are starting to suck and the whole business plan crumbles. I guess the suits then figure they can cash out and move on to the next company to ravage to their own ends.

 

Toyota's quality has gone down in the past 15-20 years, but they're still the best when it comes to affordable (non-luxury) companies.

2012 JD Powers Long Term (vehicles 3 years old).

Problems per 100 vehicles
1. Lexus, 86
2. Porsche, 98
3. Cadillac, 104
3. Toyota, 104
4. Scion, 111
5. Mercedes-Benz, 112
6. Lincoln, 116
7. Ford, 124
8. Buick, 125
8. Hyundai, 125
9. Acura, 129
10. Honda, 131
11. Chevrolet, 135
12. Volvo, 143
13. Audi, 148
13. Smart, 148
14. Subaru, 149
15. Nissan, 152
16. Mitsubishi, 153
17. BMW, 154
18. GMC, 158
19. Mini, 161
20. Mazda, 163
21. Suzuki, 167
22. Kia, 169
22. Volkswagen, 169
23. Infiniti, 172
23. Jaguar, 172
24. Ram, 174
25. Jeep, 179
26. Dodge, 183
27. Chrysler, 192

 

Really? A Mustang GT premium starts at $34,750 in the US. In the Japan the same car would cost $57,392. A 65% increase!

You mean to tell me people wouldn't think twice about buying a Camry if it started at $36,390 instead of $22,055?

 

I don't think it's that ford convinced the public that their products are good but more that T convinced people that theirs aren't. ford has shown their products are superior including fit and finish.

 

That's bull**** and you know it. Sorry, but it is. Noone in their right mind would buy a Toyota over a BMW or Merc given the same pricing.