DOT Secretary "Recalls" Statement; Media Wonders If "Govt Motors" Can Take Advantage

[Perian]

Link: http://voices.kansascity.com/node/7480

02/03/2010 - 4:00pm

Toyota's worst nightmare, thanks to government that owns GM

By Yael T. Abouhalkah, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist

Americans got a good look today at why it's really bad news for the government to own large parts of General Motors and Chrysler.

Think about what U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood did with his congressional testimony.

He first told Congress that people should stop driving cars involved in Toyota's ongoing recall.

That panicked Toyota investors, which drove down the stock price.

LaHood's exact quote: "My advice is, if anybody owns one of these vehicles, stop driving it, take it to the Toyota dealer because they believe they have the fix for it."

But LaHood later danced away from that comment, saying he had meant to say that his advice to people driving the vehicles would be "if you are in doubt, take it to the dealership today."

The Toyota recall is bad enough for the Japanese automaker.

But it's allowed other car companies including GM to offer deals to try to steal Toyota's potential customers and take advantage of its woes.

To have the U.S. transportation secretary appear to pile on makes it clear that government officials should be a lot more careful with their statements in the future about the U.S. auto industry.

----------------------------------------------------

Link: http://content.usatoday.com/communit...e-their-cars/1

UPDATE:

Updated: 12:53 p.m. ET with LaHood's new comments

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood just said he misspoke when he earlier advised owners of the eight recalled models to park them and not drive them until they can be brought into dealers to have their accelerator pedals repaired.

He apparently is falling back on his earlier advice, which is to only stop driving your car if it shows signs of having a sticky accelerator.

Earlier, the Associated Press had reported:

LaHood's warning came Wednesday in testimony before a House Appropriations subcommittee on transportation. LaHood says his advice to owners is to "stop driving it. Take it to a Toyota dealer because they believe they have a fix for it."

-----------------------------------------------

Source: Bloomberg Radio

02/03/2010 - 10:37am - This story is just breaking on Bloomberg Radio.

Quote from US Department of Transportation Secretary Ray Lahood:

"Toyota owners should stop driving the vehicles that have been recalled."

"We need to fix the problem so people don't have to worry about slamming the brakes on."

The comment was made during his (ongoing) testimony on Capital Hill. Hearing is currently under way.

Toyota stock falling on the news, 10:45: $72.28 down 7.6%.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Bloomberg News Service Update: 10:52

U.S. Says Toyota Owners Should Stop Driving Recalled Vehicles

By Angela Greiling Keane

Feb. 3 (Bloomberg) --Owners of vehicles that Toyota Motor Corp. has recalled for accelerator pedal defects should “stop driving” them and bring them to a Toyota dealer for repair, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said.

“We need to fix the problem so people don’t have to worry about disengaging the engine or slamming the brakes on or put it in neutral,” LaHood said today at a House Appropriations panel hearing in response to questions from a lawmaker.

-----------------------------------------------------

From CNBC: 10:56

Transportation Secretary LaHood: STOP DRIVING YOUR TOYOTA NOW

AP: Ray LaHood Update: LaHood is now saying, according to CNBC, that if you have a Toyota, you should stop driving it NOW!

Original post: Toyota Motor Corp.'s accelerator pedal problem is getting stickier by the day.

On Tuesday, U.S. regulators accused the company of not reacting quick enough to fix defective gas pedals and threatened civil penalties, WSJ.com reports.

Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood said in a statement, 'We're not finished with Toyota and are continuing to review possible defects and monitor the implementation of the recalls."

Another DOT official stated that the agency is considering a civil penalty against Toyota. If manufacturers don't issue a timely recall of defective vehicles, they can face a penalty of up to $16.4 million.

Adding insult to injury, Toyota reported on Wednesday dozens of new complaints in North America and Japan about brake failure on the new Prius model, the AFP reports.

One analyst at Mizuno Credit Advisory said that if the new Prius model turns out to have a serious problem, it will have a "strong impact on Toyota's performance," as hybrid cars, are "almost the only cars selling well in Japan and the US."

---------------------------------------------------------------

11:04: Bloomberg Radio states that "the government can not force you not to drive your car." Reporter quotes GM press release on Vibe that states "brakes can be effective in slowing vehicle if problem occurs".

Toyota stock is recovering. $ 73.05

------------------------------------------------------------------

Toyota isn't alone...

Chevy Cobalt investigated for power-steering problems
Neil Roland - Automotive News -- February 2, 2010 - 2:11 pm ET

WASHINGTON -- The Chevrolet Cobalt compact car is under federal investigation after 1,132 consumer complaints of a sudden loss of power steering, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says.

A number of the complaints about the General Motors Co. car alleged that the loss of steering “resulted in difficulty controlling the vehicle, such as departing from the desired travel lane,” the report on NHTSA's Web site said. The agency opened the investigation Wednesday, Jan. 27.

Eleven crashes and one injury have been reported, with no deaths, the U.S. Transportation Department unit said. About 905,000 vehicles may be involved.

NHTSA's preliminary evaluation is covering 2005-09 Cobalts and 2008-09 Cobalt SS models, NHTSA said. Most of the complaints have been in the past six months.

[SuperSS27]

Finally!!!! How many unintended deaths and car crashes will be avoided now.

Not only can you not buy them, you can't even drive them!

Is this the dagger we've been waiting for?

[MonaroSS]

Just saw it on CNBC. Phil Lebow reported that Toyota owners of effected cars are urged by I think Ray LaHood National transport Secretary to stop driving and return the cars....

Holy ..... that's a big deal....

[mkwelbornjr]

I am sure at the end of the day, the public will still think that Toyota makes a superior quality car.

[eastcoasthd]

I am sure at the end of the day, the public will still think that Toyota makes a superior quality car.

Prepare for the conspiracy theorist floodgates to open.

[WildGMFan]

I said this a week or two ago. This will be a huge reduction in pollution as well!

[k888usa]

GM needs to jump on this and sell sell sell......
Maybe the day is coming for Toyota and Lexus!!

[civilzues]

please do not bring politics into this thread

[All-Or-Nothing]

This is just ridiculous especially for people who only have one vehicle that happens to be on that list.

[WildGMFan]

Oh, I forgot...

Dear Mr. Akio Toyoda and the rest at Toyota HQ,

This is your Toyota trumpet playing robot you designed. We have a message for you:

All of your Cars and Trucks Are Belong To US...


Sincerely,

Toyota trumpet playing robot!

[Quickening]

GM can jump at this all they want. But I see many Toyota owners saying this is all too easy. Government "controls" GM, make the **** hit the fan with Toyota so they suffer and spurs sales for GM, etc.

And the ones that aren't saying that, are saying they won't buy a Toyota, but probably a Hyundai, Nissan, Honda, etc. Sticking to Japanese/Korean.

[paul8488]

Hey, GMi was way ahead of the curve here... most here have been calling for people to stop BUYING Toyota's in the first place for years!

GM and Ford couldn't have this happen at a better time... their lineups are stocked with some of the best products they've put out in ages (ever?), including the heart of the Toyota market position (sedans and crossovers). The Tundra never got any traction, the Corolla is set to fade with the introduction of the Cruze and next Focus... the Sienna is the only vehicle that GM and Ford don't compete directly with. Hey, this is even good news for Chrysler... they can nibble on Toyota's minivan marketshare!

[Rocket 88]

Just saw it on CNBC. Phil Lebow reported that Toyota owners of effected cars are urged by I think Ray LaHood National transport Secretary to stop driving and return the cars....

How the heck do you return a car?

How the heck do you return a car you can't drive to the dealership?

[boston boy]

We need to crush all toyotas just to make sure all those problem are really gone & give them all GM rebates too..

[Hitman1970]

GM can jump at this all they want. But I see many Toyota owners saying this is all too easy. Government "controls" GM, make the **** hit the fan with Toyota so they suffer and spurs sales for GM, etc.

And the ones that aren't saying that, are saying they won't buy a Toyota, but probably a Hyundai, Nissan, Honda, etc. Sticking to Japanese/Korean.

Why do you think the Altima shot up so much last month?