Nice car company ya got there, be a shame if anything happened to it

[NickHedge]

It is glaringly obvious that the US government is trying to systematically destroy Toyota right before our eyes. The government is exactly like the MAFIA. They run things just like the mafia. Finally someone has put forth something in the news that makes this connection. I thought I would post it here for your reading enjoyment.

Gangster government targets Toyota
Examiner Editorial
February 4, 2010

What is it about the automotive industry that inspires such thuggish attitudes in the Obama administration? The Examiner's Michael Barone coined the term "gangster government" to describe threats by the White House last spring against Chrysler creditors who had the temerity to insist that bankruptcy laws be followed in the bailout of the perennially ailing third member of the once-fabled Detroit Big Three. Now along comes Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood muttering darkly that "we're not finished with Toyota" in the controversy over sticking gas pedals in vehicles made and sold in America by the Japanese automaker.

The basis for these threats is little more than anecdote-based suspicions that an electronic malady related to electro-magnetic interference from power lines might be the problem instead of the mechanical wear identified by Toyota engineers. Regardless, LaHood, headline-chasing congressmen like Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., and a chorus of Naderite auto safety nannies led by former National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration Administrator Joan Claybrook are demanding that Toyota submit to a punishing new round of subpoenas, hearings, and media inquisition. It's not enough that Toyota -- the auto industry's perennial leader on respected measures of initial and long-term quality -- has already taken the unprecedented step of suspending production and sales of eight of its most popular models, undertaken a crash course to identify the cause of the problem, and guaranteed a fix for every one of the 2.3 million affected owners.

Given the Obama administration's catering to one of its favorite special interest groups, the United Auto Workers union, during the government's bailouts of General Motors and Chrysler last year, it is difficult to avoid wondering whether Toyota has become a victim of the Chicago Way of dealing with competitors. Toyota overtook GM several years ago as the world's leading automaker. The potential of the current sticking gas pedal controversy to inflict damage on Toyota here in its largest single market is seen in the January sales figures. Toyota sales are down 16 percent while GM is up 14 percent (Ford, which declined a government bailout last year, is up 25 percent, while Chrysler is down 8 percent). Keep the controversy going and odds are good that Toyota sales will continue to drop. The biggest losers besides American consumers will be the men and women who own and work at Toyota's 1,200 U.S. dealerships and the 30,000 Americans who build Toyotas in its five factories here. LaHood might as well have said "Nice car company ya got there, be a shame if anything happened to it."

Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinio...z0eep4HN8z

[Melchor]

(02-05-2010 11:50 AM)NickHedge Wrote:  . . . led by former National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration Administrator Joan Claybrook are demanding that Toyota submit to a punishing new round of subpoenas, hearings, and media inquisition. It's not enough that Toyota -- the auto industry's perennial leader on respected measures of initial and long-term quality -- has already taken the unprecedented step of suspending production and sales of eight of its most popular models, undertaken a crash course to identify the cause of the problem, and guaranteed a fix for every one of the 2.3 million affected owners.

So using the legal process is gangsterism now? Does it concern you that Toyota has been having similar issues with product defects for several years now and hasn't been acting in a timely manner to resolve them despite safety concerns?

Here's just one article about similar issues the company has had dating back in this case to 2006. There's a lot more out there to this issue than just one recall and "the Obamafia at it again."

Quote:Japan scolds Toyota for recall practices
Rare reproof comes amid a criminal investigation into accident

TOKYO - In a rare public scolding of Japan’s biggest company, the government reprimanded Toyota Friday and called for improved recall practices amid a criminal investigation into a 2004 accident.

The transportation ministry issued a “guidance” order requiring the automaker to report to the ministry by Aug. 4 steps it is taking to better monitor reports of defects and speed up communication within the company about possible problems, a ministry official said on customary condition of anonymity.

The ministry did not fine Toyota or find it guilty of breaking the law.
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But public prosecutors, who are independent of the government, may still file charges against Toyota Motor Corp. officials, who are under investigation.

Toyota Executive Vice President Masatami Takimoto said the manufacturer will do its best to beef up its practices as instructed by the ministry.

“We take the directives from the ministry very seriously,” he said in a statement.

The widely reported recall investigation — coming at a time when Toyota recalls are ballooning — has been a major embarrassment for Toyota because of its solid reputation for quality.

Earlier this month, police said they were sending papers to prosecutors on three Toyota officials in a criminal investigation on suspicion of professional negligence for allegedly shirking recalls for eight years.

Police say they suspect the three Toyota officials, whose names have not been disclosed because they have not been charged, knew about the problems as far back as 1996 but took no action.

The defects being investigated, a suspected faulty steering part, may have caused an August 2004 head-on crash in southwestern Japan that injured five people, they say.

Source

Here's a timeline of other events:

Quote:Toyota's troubles: A timeline
Since 2007, issues with brakes, floor mats and gas pedals have resulted in the recall of over 10 million vehicles and landed the Japanese carmaker in trouble.

Source