Further in the Toyota caper, there are new reports of sudden acceleration – in Toyota sales.
Toyota buyers seem to have a big case of the bashing fatigue. And they are coming back in droves. Toyota said (via The Nikkei [sub]) that “its new cars sales in North America jumped around 50 percent from a year earlier in the first week of March due to recently introduced sales incentives.”
After a pow-wow with their dealers in Miami, Toyota announced new deals: Existing Toyota owners who buy another vehicle from the company will receive two years of free maintenance. There are also zero-percent financing and low-priced leases for several of the recalled vehicles, including Corollas, Camrys and Avalons. Toyota apparently isn’t ready yet for the 10 year warranty that had been discussed in Miami.
Bloomberg predicts that “sales in March may jump 30 percent.” The prediction came after Bloomberg talked to Jeremy Anwyl, CEO of Edmunds.com. “Americans love a bargain,” Anwyl said.
Should things get worse, then Toyota still has room to maneuver. According to Edmunds, Toyota put an average of $1,833 on the hood of each vehicle in February, way below the industry average of $2,588.
More proof that you can’t underestimate the stupidity of the American buying public. Morons.
Not just americans. My estimate is that 99.9999999 % of the world’s population is dangerously stupid.
It’s just that the US legal system allows such ridiculous monetary compensations under civil lawsuits, which only amplifies the scale of stupidity the people can reach in the search for easy money
Mopar? Seriously?
^^^ Did something get deleted? Or are you upset by a username?
Nonsense. People are buying Toyota again because with current incentives they’re a good deal. I think most people are smart enough to know that the SUA debacle is just media hype and political posturing. Plus of course lots of us still remember when the same thing happened to Audi. And how about the Corvair? Car savvy people know there’s a witch hunt every twenty years or so, and it almost always starts because of a few incompetent drivers who blame their cars. The media broadcasts the sensational story and just like that hundreds of people jump on the bandwagon. Don’t be fooled.
I love this country. We’re just a bunch of greedy capitalist pigs at heart, always and ultimately with an eye for cost and value, as we alone adjudge it. What could be better than that?
Of course, if the EDR readers turn up that Demon next month, Toyota is toast. Capitalist pig judgements are sorta ruthless that way.
TTAC’s https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/faqs/#commentpolicy is not in effect for this thread ….
Morons? Stupidity? I’m not seeing it, my local Honda dealer now has a waiting list for Accords.
It’s good to hear that Toyota’s sales are up (despite the witch hunt), but I have not heard of Toyota rolling out a longer warranty, which means this growth has almost certainly come from incentives. So in a few months’ time look for resale values plunging for Toyota (another of their facets damaged). And goodness knows what this will do to their profit margins, too.
Mind you, Ford had their hefty recall the same week as Toyota, Honda have had their scares, too and GM recalled 1.3 million vehicles. Are all the customers for those brands morons?
Since the comment policy in not in force for this thread, I might as well get my money’s worth. Bertel Schmitt is a schweinhund!
Always been one ….
Maybe I should change to that as an avatar…
Ha. This saga just gets more entertaining by the day. I have little doubt that much of the whole thing is a witch hunt, as Uncle Sam has to show that its recent ‘purchases’ were good investments. That said, Toyota has had this coming for a looooong time.
Now, that all said, I think that Toyota will be able to walk away from this debacle in a stronger position when all things are said and done.
As to what this says about we Americans? I think it says two things: one, we’re always looking for a deal; two, that people have more faith in a company putting out potentially shoddy products than the domestic brands.
Hmm.
Moparagain – What makes them morons? The fact that they understand statistics and they use that understanding to decide to purchase what is historically a very reliable vehicle for a bargain price?
My mom assured me she understood what would happen if she had to pop it in neutral in the unlikely event she experiences UA (she drove a stick shift for 30-odd years) when she bought her limited Rav4 this weekend. I didn’t get to drive it, but it seemed like a fantastic little CUV for what she paid.
Does 0% financing have much of an effect on resale value? Only the Tundra*, Matrix**, Yaris**, and Avalon* have cash on the hood in my area. Pretty much all the north american built models have 0% financing, though.
* $3k cash back… Tundra is slow selling and the refreshed Avalon is due in the summer
** $1k cash back… Matrix is overpriced as is and the Yaris is long in the tooth
What I find funny (two of my neighbors have bought toyotas in the last week) is that they have the same defensive attitude that people who bought GM vehicles in the late 80’s and early 90’s had. Without even asking anything about the car (truck) I was told how it wasn’t part of the recall/how they didn’t care if it had unintended acceleration/how it was MADE IN USA. Selling more cars is great, the attitude of current shoppers and how this impacts social marketing not so much.
*Incentives – There are factory incentives and then there is what the dealer can knock off with the approval of the factory, only the factory type incentives seem to be reported and calculated, both said they received several $000’s off of the sticker
Interesting analogy to Detroit buyers in the 80s. Will be interesting to see how long this Toyota saga drags on and what the lingering damage is to reputation in 6 to 9 months.
Toyota has a lot of good Karma to burn off. Sadly they’re doing it at warp speed.
This is some of the worst possible news Gov’t Motors and its assorted lackeys could hear.
Good.
+1 Rob, I concur.
Even so, this is going to harm ordinary Americans who would be looking to go back to work.
How?
Surely it’s not a stretch to see that Toyota will be far less likely to add more jobs to the United States and more to Canada – AGAIN – as well as stretch out the time when the Job 1 (first new car) comes out of their nearly finished Mississippi car plant.
Frankly, if I were Toyota, I would cease adding any US jobs until this administration was history. Just out of self-preservation.
And Toyota dealers are starting to fight back, too. En masse.
http://radio.woai.com/cc-common/news/sections/newsarticle.html?feed=119078&article=6855247
BTW the reference to jobs going to Canada instead of the US comes from the incident when Delphi (UAW) staff were picketing the Detroit Auto Show a few years back, and this was witnessed by the President of Toyota. Who was just then taking a final decision as to whether he should give Michigan or Ontario a new car plant to build RAV4’s. Guess who got the plant?
I think you’re right, it will be awhile after Toyota recovers (and it’s not there yet) before they start doing any more “favors” for America.
While that’s lamentable from the perspective of workers looking for jobs… the sad truth is, our government, media and the random idiots crying “runway car!!!!” brought this scenario upon us.
I’d like to think there’s a lesson there, but we’re probably too dumb as a country to heed it.
Sorry about the use of “morons”. Woke up this morning trying to be nice but i guess it didn’t work. Simply amazing what and how we buy. In spite of all the publicity about the Toyotas we would rush out and buy more of them as fast as we can. What is wrong with waiting and making a smart buying decision.
I completely understand. I’m having one of those days were I’m having trouble not ending every sentance with “jackass.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5kk1zFjrvo
Although sometimes it’s so hard to chose which one I want to use.
In spite of all the publicity about the Toyotas, Toyotas are still better and safer cars than what Government Motors can offer.
If IIHS data has any credibility, then you are far more likely to die driving a GM or Chrysler than Toyota.
All this just as we have yet another “idiot” who doesn’t know how to drive his Toyota.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100310/ap_on_bi_ge/us_runaway_prius;_ylt=AniUxKeSIba.xGheLxnQZ5Cs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTNraTVscXQzBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTAwMzEwL3VzX3J1bmF3YXlfcHJpdXMEY2NvZGUDbW9zdHBvcHVsYXIEY3BvcwM1BHBvcwMyBHB0A2hvbWVfY29rZQRzZWMDeW5faGVhZGxpbmVfbGlzdARzbGsDcnVuYXdheXByaXVz
People just refuse to believe what a corrupt/unethical company Toyota is.
They do not play by the rules!
Please, you may not care about the your safety or the safety of your family, but we are talking about the safety of everyone on the road.
I would not ride in a Toyota, much less buy one!
Every other brand is a safer brand than Toyoda!
“Toyota had this coming for a lonnnggg time” ? Why? Because they built reliable cars that people wanted while their Big 3 competition was giving us blown head gaskets,grenading transmissions, dex-douche, leaking plastic intake manifolds,a couple of decades of intermediate steering shaft problems, bum ignition switches and generalized junk that hard working people put their money down to buy ?
Can we count all the ways Detroit ran off it’s own frigging customers ?
Had it coming? I’ve never owned a foreign branded or built product and am not a Toyota fan but that statement is just wrong on so many levels.
I think we’re going to see an interesting scenario play out here, one that will see Toyota sales continue to quickly rebound… in spite of any further panicked reports of runaway Priuses.
Toyota buyers are among the most loyal out there. More often than not, they’re also a well-educated crowd. For all the naysayers who decry Toyota’s lack of design passion, keep in mind this type of buyer is the hardest to retain.
So, while some may snicker Toyota buyers are only looking for “appliances,” keep in mind those purchases are less likely to have an egotistical or emotional drive behind them. As another commenter to this board noted earlier this week, that kind of buyer tends to be less forgiving of flaws than, say, a Corvette owner… and the overwhelming majority of Toyota owners haven’t seen any acceleration issues, nor will they ever.
Add to that increasing distaste over the media and government (Motors) “spin” on the UA incidents, and it’s almost a perfect storm. Once the initial rush of complaints calms down (and additional reports devolve into what is essentially white noise) we’ll see Toyota loyalists rush to defend “their” brand. Part of that is pride, yes… but I think it’s mostly a sense of disgust with the whole fiasco. (Additionally, these buyers don’t want to be left with Gov’t Motors alternatives, and would never consider them otherwise.)
Incentives only sweeten the deal — and in the end, the additional sales will help Toyota more than the lesser resale values (likely to be temporary, confined to MY2009 and 2010 models) will hurt them.
Most ironically — driving a new Toyota will become a sign of protest against the current ridiculousness. Amazingly, that gives Toyota, the brand, an emotional component going forward, that it never had before. Which may well lead to even more sales.
Paul_r I am with you. It is much easier and more “fashionable” to bash the USA, GM, Obama, unions. If you think that the Japanese auto cartel cares about you or your safety you must believe in _________.
The Japanese auto cartel believes in the same thing that the American auto cartel, the German auto cartel and the South Korean auto cartel believe in – selling vehicles in sufficient volumes and at high enough prices to produce a profit.
They do this by…building vehicles that Americans want to buy. The brutal truth is that the Japanese have been better at this than the Americans and even the Germans, although the South Koreans are making inroads and Ford and GM are improving.
The entire unintended acceleration “problem” is looking more silly with each passing day. It appears as though it can only be replicated by producing a series of coincidences and failures so outlandish that I soon fully expect the evil flying monkeys from The Wizard of Oz to figure in the equation.
Yes, Toyota’s PR has been clueless. But I’m not seeing anything worse or more cynical in Toyota’s response than I’ve seen in the responses of GM, Ford, Audi and VW to various problems over the years.
Like I said in a previous post my local Toyota dealer is giving 2500 for any car you can drag-in, couple that with the 0% financing and the 2-year free mantenance I would get and it’s very tempting. Except for 1 problem…. NONE of their models appeal to me.
Toyota can give me a call when they give the Corolla a competitive interior and ditch the torsion beam
Reminds me of when I read not that long ago that the fastest current Toyota (not counting Scion or Lexus) was the RAV4 with a V6. This from the company that brought you the Supra and the MR2. I would want a Toyota…. Why?
11 months left on my wife’s Camry lease and she’ll lease a 2011 Camry again. I hope she programs my phone# in her JBL Bluetooth so she can hear my voice on last time when she goes on the Toyota death ride and God doesn’t intervene. On another blog I read “When a meteorite hits a car,that’s an accident,everything else is human error.
Tell her to shift into neutral lol
Tell her to buy a STICK, so she wont have that problem!
I hope none of the people currently buying Toyotas (won’t call ’em the m-word; it’s their money) even THINK about suing ToMoCo when/if something goes wrong. Buyer beware.
Well, the morons who bought Ford sure sued the crap out of Ford, when their Exploders explode.
Just read Ralph SS’s web link to the toyota driver runaway story. Not much sympathy for the guy per comments. It sounds real easy to “turn off the key” or “put it in neutral” but i suspect it would be very difficult to do when “your up to your *** in alligators”. I think with a lot more practice he could do better and he will probably get the chance if he keeps the car.
Another thing that Toyota has working against it at this point is its New “Style” advertising theme, that is nothing more than a kneejerk reaction and completely against what thier message for the last 30 years have been “quality” (Toyota cars have NO style and I can’t think of a single person who ever bought one for that reason and smart consumers can see that as well)
Knee Jerk reactions in general have been toyota’s problem in all of this. And yes I think there is more out there than they would want to admit, and alot of things are now being reported that most people would just say wow that was scary and then go on thier way, now they are reporting it (for some dubious reason for a few I’m sure. When my speed sensor in my 01 camry kept going bad (nothing like dropping from 5th to 2nd at 80 mph randomly), I didn’t file a complaint, I’m sure other people didn’t either, but if this had been broadcast publically, then I probably would have reported it.
Toyota had the monies to deal with this correctly and in a way that when it was said and done would have made them look even better, instead they seem to be fixated on the short term bottome line. Perhaps they are in the business of making money rather than the business of making cars these days (GM)
SO Im guessing you never read Steven Lang’s piece on the downfall of the Camry.
How the later ones are such crap, compared to the earlier stuff, decontenting.
So,
You dont find a problem with all of the Toyota vehicles having issues now? The Toyota stuff is a large batch of crap of quality and (for once) bad PR management. I still think they should just stop selling pretty much everything for a good month… recall every damn thing back to about 2000, 96 on the Camry, and fix every damn thing. Brakes, Ecu’s, coolant hoses, p.s hoses, reprogramming, Tundra frame issues among its dozen or so problems.
Just bring it all back and just take care of it.
Give people the big ol damn Hyundai b.s warranty for vehicles with issues.. and call it a day.
And you didn’t have a problem with the Exploder 10yrs ago? Ya have to have connected the dots between the frame design, the concept that it was supposed to take a hit from the top of 2.5 of the body weight.. but it was knocked down by the feds (after serious debating) to the fact that its still an unsafe vehicle, and there isn’t enough material in the pillars to save ya life.
On top of..
The vehicle was based on the Ranger, from before the dinosaurs. A long / narrow frame, that when jacked up and added more weight.. is an inherent design problem. Ya try and perform a standard accident avoidance maneuver and it rolls like a doughnut. Add the tire issue, and the back and forth b.s between Firestone and Ford.. and no one wanting to take half responsibility.. and ya got a recipe for b.s.
As for as the Audi stuff…
I’ve heard about these cases.
Vehicles revving too high, and pedals are unlike the American Buicks.. and don’t act the way they do. And this is before shift interlock.
And the Corvair..
That’s just a debate wayyyy before my time. But you don’t think Nader came out of the wood work to promote the excellent quality and engineering out of Generic Motors do you?
I think in each and every case..
Some asshole, some low life form, some degenerate is behind the wheel, either not paying attention, or has no actual concept of how to drive the vehicle… gets put in charge of this.. death machine and is totally incompetent.
Each and every one of those vehicles has a low life form somewhere in its ranks of vehicles.. Im sure Toyota isn’t any different. Then again, I’m sure every vehicle has a bottom feeder who really has no clue and just drives it because its cheap and can hold the kids.
This is why you have to pay attention and know how to operate the vehicle as designed.
Which aggravates me when push button start…
And hill decent controls…
And stability control an all wheel drive
Ntm all of these other (see the Germans and or Hyundai for more needless technology, for technology’s sake.)
Ya don’t need these mindless controls.. if ya had a clue as to how to operate the vehicle.
Wow. P.T. Barnum was right; there is a sucker born every minute.