Hi Gerald! What happened to your show?
Posted on 02/03/2010 7:57:51 PM PST by smokingfrog
The hybrid-electric Prius has long been Toyota’s “green car,” the symbol of the automaker’s engineering prowess and its big bet on the kind of car consumers will want to buy for decades to come.
But on Wednesday, the Prius was drawn into the mounting crisis for Toyota, as Japanese officials ordered the company to investigate problems with the brakes on the 2010 model. American safety officials also said they had received dozens of similar complaints.
The new questions surrounding the Prius raise doubts about a different problem in a model that was not part of the recent global recalls of more than nine million vehicles.
“Prius is the gold standard,” said Brian Johnson, the senior global auto industry analyst with Barclays Capital in Chicago.
“We know Toyota puts its best engineering and its best talent into that car,” added Mr. Johnson, a Prius owner whose wife and mother-in-law also drive Priuses. “This hits at its flagship.”
Adding to its woes, the transportation secretary, Ray LaHood, said Wednesday that owners of recalled Toyotas should stop driving their vehicles, though he quickly backtracked on the comments.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Media? It is the Obama Administration that is attacking Toyota.
In the article it says “American safety officials say there are dozens of complaints”. Dozens will bring on this kind of chatter? I think not.
I’m on the Honda/Acura/Toyota/Lexus bandwagon too. Those brands have built up a lot of good will in my family, whereas GM and Ford shattered trust very quickly.
My parents had a Ford minivan, which was terrible and only lasted about a year with our family. They traded to a Chevy Suburban, which had an electrical fire at 70,000 miles while on a family vacation. That immediately allowed Ford a 2nd chance with a new Expediton. That lasted about 2 years, when GM was given a second chance with a new Tahoe. 38,000 miles later that POS was gone and my parents, me, and my 3 siblings have bought nothing both the mentioned Japanese brands for the last 10 years. Third chances are for dummies.
We’re all really happy, and wealthier for buying cars that don’t need anything but oil changes, tires, and gasoline.
My mom has a Buick - a nice one. What a hunk of crap though.
I thought the main problem with the Prius is that its nose sticks up in the air whenever it gets behind a vehicle that gets less then 20 mpg. Just like its owner.
I haven’t had a problem with my 08 Camry Hybrid (which isn’t on the recall list) that is made in Kentucky. I get over 40 mpg on the highway.
This is all about the UAW.
BTW, If my next car isn’t another Toyota, it will be a Ford.
Tired of your phony anti-american anecdotes!
I’ve tried to use Jap junk trucks in business, and they last about 1/3 as long as Ford Rangers. The farthest any jap truck went was 80,000 before major repairs were required, while the Rangers have all been still going at over 300,000 when we got tired of looking at them.
You just can’t run Jap rigs off the pavement; they aren’t engineered for the drive train stress. Broken axles, snapped U-joints, crushed drive pinion bearings, and exhaust systems that get ripped off by brush.
If the media were talking about my 2001 Dodge Ram, then they weren't lying at all. Biggest piece of junk I've ever owned, except for the engine. Of course, Cummins made the engine, not Chrysler.
“My parents had a Ford minivan,..........”
Yes, my mother and father in law were in the “Buy American!” crowd for the 25 years I’ve known them (until very recently when they bought a Toyota). Truth be told they were actually in the “Don’t Buy Japanese!!!” crowd as they were perfectly happy to purchase hideously expensive agricultural implements that were all foreign (but not Japanese) made. When I pointed this discrepancy out they were mightily PO’d at me, but their displeasure did not extend to forbidding their daughter from sharing the bed with me. There are some here that would. ;-)
More detals here and the discussion.
This issue does exist, but I always thought it to be related to the ABS. This problem is very minor in Gen. 2 (2004-2009) though I don't know if it is worse in Gen. 3 (2010).
Even now - when I was truck shopping (back in the Fall), I shopped Ford first (didn't take fed cash). They didn't want to make the deal we were willing to make (and I fully knew the dealer's cost and was offering a very reasonable profit margin). I looked at the Toyota Tundra - though they had some incentives, they just didn't make it to where I was willing to pay. Finally bought a Nissan Titan and so far, love it. No way was I going to buy a Chevrobama or GMC Fedmobile. And the Dodge that I drooled over - again - the price just didn't match what I was willing to turn loose of. Your post reminds me of what my step-father pontificates over (he grew up in Detroit and is a brainwashed union supporter). I take no thrill in seeing Toyota's problems - because that means owners have problems - a problem that could risk MY life if that opposing driver has his gas pedal stick and can't stop at the light/stop sign. I will admit to secretly thinking the Prius issue is funny... or what I call the Toyota Pretentious...
Utter BS!
Volkswagen diesel pickups get 60-65 MPG, Jeep diesel gets 45-60 MPG, and in safe, reliable vehicles with braking systems that can't fail.
Hi Gerald! What happened to your show?
“Utter BS!
Volkswagen diesel pickups get 60-65 MPG, Jeep diesel gets 45-60 MPG, and in safe, reliable vehicles with braking systems that can’t fail.”
No, it is just plain truth. The vehicles you mention are no more “normal” than is the Prius. They all cluster on the right side of the mileage bell curve, though the Prius, judged by the number sold, is the most normal of those mentioned. I stand by my statement.
As to braking systems that “can’t fail”. Well, perhaps I’m more of a cynic, but I’ve never discovered a braking system that fits into that category. That’s just the way I think though.
Though it does have some suspicious resemblance to the new Ford Taurus/Lincoln MKS...
Turning the purchase of a vehicle into a political decision is stupidity.
Yeah, I get that from folks occasionally. It results in a good deal of cognitive dissonance when I wheel up to a speaking engagement in the Prius and drop a “right of Genghis Khan screed”. Drives ‘em nuts. You'd be surprised how many of them stop me afterwards and ask me if all of the good things they hear about that car are true. “Yeah, it's all true”. The ones that are really emotionally tied to their domestic vehicle just get glum after asking a few questions. I tell ‘em to rise above it, but most can't. Sad really. But, they all make it out of the parking lot with what they're driving so I figure no one really is worse off.
Nice graphic though. Can I use it? And who's Gerald?
One surprise in the Prius is the cost of there high intensity headlights. A pair of them cost $300.00 plus installation. If the HID controller goes out another $250 plus labor.
I gave Ford an honest opportunity. I had never been a Ford fan growing up (with vivid memories of my Dad’s major mechanical issues with his early 80’s F100, and my wife and my issues with a late 90’s Mercury Mistake...errr.. Mystique. But I recently owned a used Ford Expedition that had a bunch of miles and was former border patrol... so had been very much USED. Still - other than some very much common issues with all 4X4 vehicles - was a VERY reliable ride and I actually liked it. So figured I would give Ford a try.
Well...Two companies own all of the Ford dealerships anywhere around here - and they kind of don’t try to compete too much with each other. They didn’t want to deal or I would be driving that F150 I had picked out today.
But politics having nothing to do with buying a vehicle? Why not? Some posters on this thread say buying Japanese is supporting Obama (which is pretty absurd)... you blasting them, or just busting my chops for choosing the Titan with more horsepower, better price, more conveniences, and a more comfortable ride over the overpriced Ford?
When the real Chinese vehicles cross the big pond - you gonna seriously consider buying? After all - even though made by Chi-coms, politics shouldn’t play in...
I gave Ford an honest opportunity. I had never been a Ford fan growing up (with vivid memories of my Dad’s major mechanical issues with his early 80’s F100, and my wife and my issues with a late 90’s Mercury Mistake...errr.. Mystique. But I recently owned a used Ford Expedition that had a bunch of miles and was former border patrol... so had been very much USED. Still - other than some very much common issues with all 4X4 vehicles - was a VERY reliable ride and I actually liked it. So figured I would give Ford a try.
Well...Two copanies own all of the Ford dealerships anywhere around here - and they kind of don’t try to compete too much with each other. They didn’t want to deal or I would be driving that F150 I had picked out today.
But politics having nothing to do with buying a vehicle? Why not? Some posters on this thread say buying Japanese is supporting Obama (which is pretty absurd)... you blasting them, or just busting my chops for choosing the Titan with more horsepower, better price, more conveniences, and a more comfortable ride over the overpriced Ford?
When the real Chinese vehicles cross the big pond - you gonna seriously consider buying? After all - even though made by Chi-coms, politics shouldn’t play in...
LOL! Angry aren’t we? My anecdotes aren’t phony. They are real life experience, and that’s okay if you disagree. That doesn’t change the fact that the GM and Ford vehicle we had were terrible, and as such, induced no customer loyalty in our family.
Honestly, to me, it just seems like your type of angry denial about the popularity and reliability of the Japanese brands is the same attitude that drove GM into the gutter. You can keep telling people that your stuff is the best, but ultimately the market decides. GM failed because of inferior product offerings over a couple of decades. Thankfully Ford seems to be on the right track now.
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