Dave writes:
The bottom of the steering wheel in my A6 is starting to fade and crack a bit. I was hoping you could give me the definitive answer on what to use to clean and protect a leather steering wheel, as I would like to keep the damage from getting any worse. I’ve searched a number of forums, and every suggestion has been immediately followed by “never use that on your steering wheel!” so I’m unsure what to do.
Oh how quickly things change! Just weeks ago, if you’d asked the average well-informed consumer what Toyota needed to change with its strategy, you’d have been treated to a treatise on how Toyota’s quest for quality and mass-market appeal had reduced its brand to signifying snooze-inducing appliances. Indeed, Toyota’s new CEO has emphasized enthusiasm as an area for improvement, waxing eloquent about the “splendid flavor” of the sporty vehicles Toyota doesn’t offer. Accordingly, Toyota is launching a sporting sub-brand àlá BMW’s “M” or Volkswagen’s new “R” line of high-performance vehicles according to Inside Line. Thanks to Toyota’s descent into recall hell however, boosting the brand’s sporty credentials is suddenly of highly debatable utility.
A number of states are considering legislation that would outlaw the use of photo enforcement. Last year alone, Maine, Mississippi and Montana added themselves to the list of fifteen states where red light cameras and speed cameras are no longer welcome. On Thursday, the South Dakota House Transportation Committee will consider legislation introduced by state Representative Peggy Gibson (D-Huron) to make her state the sixteenth.
Big changes were afoot in the Scion back in the summer of 2007, as the brand’s pioneering crop of Yaris-based funkmobiles gave way to a second generation of models aimed at expanding the brand’s appeal to American consumers. Oddly enough, the biggest changes came for a new model with an unchanged name: in a single […]
China’s Tengzhong is a little-known machinery maker in southwest China’s Sichuan province. They have been buying GM’s Hummer for what, more than half a year now? Today they said that they and GM have agreed not to rush it and to push back the deadline for the closing from January 31 to the end of February. Delaying it was a prudent move, because there still is no approval from Chinese regulators. If they don’t have approval now, then they probably won’t have it by end of February either. Due to the Chinese Lunar New Year festivities, most of China will be closed for most of February, and the really important regulators will not be back from Spring vacation before March. (Read More…)
TORRANCE, Calif., February 1, 2010 – Toyota Motor Sales (TMS) U.S.A., Inc., today announced it will begin fixing accelerator pedals in recalled Toyota Division vehicles this week. Toyota’s engineers have developed and rigorously tested a solution that involves reinforcing the pedal assembly in a manner that eliminates the excess friction that has caused the pedals to stick in rare instances. In addition, Toyota has developed an effective solution for vehicles in production. (Read More…)
Japanese car sales are coming back with a vengeance, reports The Nikkei [sub] Sales of new vehicles (exluding minivehicles, or Kei cars) rose 36.8 percent to 238,362 units. That according to data by the Japan Automobile Dealers Association. January marks the sixth consecutive month of growth, and the increase is the largest ever recorded for the month of January. Minivehicles edged up 0.7 percent to 128,297 units in January, recording their first rise in 15 months, as per data by the Japan Mini Vehicles Association. (Read More…)
In case you are reading TTAC before watching the “Today Show,” turn it on. According to the Wall Street Journal, “Jim Lentz, the executive in charge of Toyota’s U.S. sales arm, is scheduled to appear on NBC’s “Today Show” Monday morning, a Toyota spokesman confirmed. Mr. Lentz is expected to lay out a timetable for shipping repair parts to dealers, as well as for resuming sales of the eight models whose sales were suspended last week and for restarting production and shipment of new vehicles that are free of the gas-pedal problems, according to people briefed on the plans.”
And here is today’s media schedule according to the Nikkei [sub]: (Read More…)
Recent Comments