The Economy Car

This Toyota is almost identical to one I owned over thirty years ago; the issue back then was keeping them running, not worrying about stopping them.

Very funny, Clay.

He mistakenly thought 'Cash for Clunkers' was referring to the car he was trading in.

For decades now, my ears have been assaulted by all the, "..."I'll take my Toyota over anything Detroit has to offer...."

Maybe now they (my ears) may get some rest. I will never intentionally wish anybody harm, but I'll shed no tears over this loss to the Japanese economy.

Driving as American as I can, Woody

Ditto woody. I've always had good experiences with my American vehicles (including a Fiero that went over 230,000 miles). So happy now I bought my Grand Prix two years ago instead of the Camry I was originally looking at.

woody- maybe folks will start to remove their rose-colored Japanese auto glasses and start comparing autos based on merit. After all, almost all our major automobiles are made in North America regardless of the country logo origin.

I would rather purchase something that is American made, but I can't steer away from the Honda line~ I'm on my 3rd Honda, and I don't think I could find a better line! However, Chrysler & Pontiac are well too :)

Once, with the help of an excellent mechanic, I had a new diesel VW Rabbit for many years, and it really gave up the ghost after 420,000 miles or so. That was well before the price of diesel went up above the cost of gasoline.

Diesel fuels, as you all know, are the remnants of gasoline "cracking" but they are making the cost of it higher than gasoline...even high grade. For what reason? I was getting 45 to 55 miles per gallon on the diesel.

Also, a friend has a Ford Taurus and last week she drove out of a filling station, and the car took off,and was airborne into a major highway. She missed the cars, landed, and kept turning the wheel. and luckily, landed in a snow bank. There were plenty of witnesses.

Got to check the weather, but it hasn't been too bad down here, so far.

Here is the audio of the older couple who called 911 while they were traveling 120 MPH from their stuck pedal. Both were killed in the ensuing crash. http://consumerist.com/2009/10/toyota-911-call-of-familys-fatal-lexus-crash-due-to-gas-pedal-stuck-on-floormats.html

American cars still have a way to go to reach par with most Japanese makes. Ford is leading the way in this regards.

Anyone who wants to know how Japan could surpass the U.S. in quality in cars and other industries should research Dr. W. Edwards Deming. Rejected by the Big Three auto companies for pushing quality controls, his philosophy almost single-handedly turned the Japanese auto industry into the juggernaut it is today.

The book, "The Reckoning" by David Halberstam, plots the entire course of the path by Japan in overtaking us in auto sales and quality including the influence of Dr. Deming. A great read.

Bad press can sometimes be some of the best advertisement that money didn't buy.

In my opinion, Toyota stepped up to the plate on all three issues when the evidence became undeniable that fixes were needed. Stopping sales of most models until they are repaired was unprecedented, but nonetheless a demonstration that the company is serious about doing what is right to take care of the situation.

There isn't a manufacturer on the planet that has not had issues like this crop up from time to time. The quality of cars today is far and above better than those of the past.

Toyota will survive this, as bad as it appears to be today. A year from now, all will be forgiven and forgotten. Unlike other auto manufacturers, Toyota has the resources to weather the storm.

While some may be hesitant at the thought of buying a Toyota, others see this as an opportunity to negotiate some great deals. Over the next few months, consumers will be in a great position to save some big bucks on new and used Toyotas.

http://money.cnn.com/2010/02/05/autos/prius_deals/

At least they are fixing the problems unlike what Ford did years ago when they decided that it would be cheaper to pay the death lawsuits that fix their cars.

A lot of people died fiery deaths because the Ford Pinto gas tank was designed and built outside the car frame. Ford discontinued the Pinto and never fixed the problem. A fix would have cost $11 per car. See "Ford Pinto" in Wikipedia.

Maybe Toyota thought it would be cheaper to pay off the crash victims than to fix the problem. That is, until the bad publicity set in. Unit costs are a major issue in the auto industry.

I want a VOLT but I will probably be dead before the CHEAP used models appear.

Gee! Just think! If I can't drive anymore, I won't have to pay insurance. C:-)

I too would be very interested in owning a Chevy Volt, but after finding out what they are going to 'charge' for them, I went into 'shock'...

hotdiggity brought up: "Here is the audio of the older couple who called 911 while they were traveling 120 MPH from their stuck pedal. Both were killed in the ensuing crash."

I read with great interest several stories following that incident. What I am about to say is probably going to rather insensitive. To allow that car to have carried them to their deaths at 120 mph was inexcusable, stuck accelerator pedal or not.

The man claimed that the brakes were gone, which means that he had spent several minutes on the brake pedal, trying to overcome the force of the engine. Two simple and logical actions would have spared them their lives.

He could have shifted the car into neutral as soon as the accelerator pedal stuck and coasted to the side of the road. Personally, I would have shifted the car into neutral, turned the ignition key one position to the left, and THEN coasted to the side of the road, saving my life and the engine of the car as well.

All these, so called "experts" who are telling people NOT to turn the ignition switch off are blooming idiots. It takes very little effort to nudge the steering wheel slightly to the right to get off the road, even with no power steering.

Sudden acceleration resulting in more immediate collisions is another issue altogether. People in those cases do not often have enough time to react or to gain control of the vehicle. Clara described such an incident.

I realize that people panic in such situations, but the man on that tape seemed rather calm and collected, given that the car was traveling 120 mph. If he had cut the doggone ignition key off, they would be alive.

I hate to point out the obvious, but the man had minutes to do something...anything...and all he came up with was to dial 911?

The cold has leaked downward into the nether hinges; I once again [albeit rarely] find myself agreeing with something alprova posted......

alprova-When I first read, and especially when I heard the audio, I had the exact same thoughts. I think it is a reflection of our dependence on modern technology that a person could be so ignorant of the basic operation of a product that they use every day of their lives.

Perhaps I am prejudice to a degree in that here in the South there has been a tradition of "shade tree mechanics" and a greater general understanding of automobiles.

Regardless, it was a tragedy.

Please, hotdiggity! I grew up in SoCal in the 50s. Cars in those days got ring and valve jobs every 30k miles. There is literally no part of any 30s-50s car I had that I did not tear down, rebuild, sometimes improve - sometimes improvise. Supertuning was an art handed down from father to son.

Repairing your own car was not limited to the South, particularly when you are on the road somewhere.

[Plus -- need I mention the masters of street rod design were there?? ;) The Plymouth Prowler was designed by Ed Roth, if memory serves; possibly his last commercial design. His original had nerf bars instead of the pillow pads the feds required. Bit-chin car, anyway.]

BTW, I wouldn't have that junk these days -- except as investments. I will take a modern, bulletproof car any day...even one that runs away on occasion. [Ever been on a runaway horse -- or a rental nag with the stable in sight? There is no stopping them and no ignition key.]

Hey Woody, your driving America, is made in a foreign nation. While the companies like toyota, Honda, Nissan, Volkswagon, Mercedes, you know...the good cars. Are made in the States. I think it is ironic that the government would be pushing a private sector event like this but then I remembered, oh yea, the government owns GM. Now I understand, we can target the number one selling car in America to push our 0% interest down car, which by the way was what got GM in trouble in the first place.

90 days the repo man comes and gets the GM but by then the blue book value is so low it isn't worth crap....WAKE UP.

I will still take my Toyota, made in America oddly enough, over anything.

I just hope they buy accelerators from somewhere else than Indiana.

To say that one manufacturer is "better" because of country of origin is downright silly. I suppose that it is all based on perception and personal aesthetics. As others have posted on here, maybe a basic understanding of emergency driving procedures would be beneficial. We are made to get a driver's license but do we really know how to "drive?"

In the early 1970's, the company that my father worked for would supply him with a car...always a Ford. After a couple of near death experiences caused by the car (more than one) continuously dying when he pulled out into or across traffic, he swore that he would never buy one. He never did. And, of course, the dealer could never figure out what had caused the problem. And then there was that Pinto problem. And the Explorer rollover problem.

Lots of companies have had to answer to the consumer. Honda spent a fortune a couple of year ago paying Odyssey owners for ramping up the mileage on the odometer to the detriment of those leasing their vehicle or owners trying to get warranty coverage. Chrysler had steering and tranny problems. And a huge lawsuit against them in 2008 about the cars shifting into reverse from park unexpectedly.

Hopefully, American car manufacturers have learned from past mistakes. The only two GM cars that I ever owned both deteriorated to pieces within a very short few years. My 1978 Toyota never let me down.

Nowadays it is difficult to tell what, exactly, is a foreign car since many Japanese and Korean cars are built on American soil by American workers.

The best policy is to be a good consumer...both buying and driving.

I'm with you rolando ... can't believe I agree with alprova on something :)

Even in the face of this recall, I would still take a Toyota over anything Detroit is putting on the road. They have been putting out a quality product for years, and recently have suffered their first significant "hiccups." I am sure they will get it fixed and move on.

What I wonder is why this particular recall is getting such a high level of scrutiny and media attention compared to the dozens of previous recalls by other manufacturers? I guess it's because everyone likes to see the top dog fall. That's OK, Toyota will still be the top dog next year, and the next....

What with this Economy car? Toyota being the economy car is not really acceptable in my opinion. I know that Toyota built their cars with quality parts like good engines, breaks, suspension, hitch locks and etc but for me its not really the basis.