Originally Posted by OVERKILL
Originally Posted by wag123
Originally Posted by 1978elcamino
Lets not forget the "floor mat" recall cover up. Toyota's faulty software holding wide open throttle and killing people was covered up by floor mats. It was proved in court they tried to cover up this issue, personally I think Toyota should have had more than a fine, the government should have banned them from selling those specific models for a certain length of time, maybe a period of 1-2 years possibly longer. I remember seeing Kiichiro Toyoda on the news in court being grilled, he appeared to no give a F and looked as if he was questioning why he was even in court. The court had him on the stand because his company covered up a problem that KILLED people. Not that American auto makers never did the same thing, but at least there was some type of remorse. Heck, even VW "appeared" remorseful on TV for the Dieselgate scandal.
I notice that you drive Fords. To your knowledge, did Ford ever display remorse for all of the people who were burned alive in rear-ended Pintos, or people who died in houses that burned down when their F150s caught fire in their garages, or Explorers that rolled over and killed people whenever a tire blew-out (they blamed Firestone, but I have had many blow-outs over the years and none of them ever caused a rollover), or Ford's own unintended acceleration problem with Panthers that killed several people? I can name MANY MORE instances with Ford, and with EVERY other auto manufacturer. If every auto manufacturer was forbidden to sell vehicles for 1 or 2 years because of something like this, there very quickly wouldn't be any new vehicles available to purchase.
NO auto manufacturers are immune to selling vehicles that have defects that kill people!
The difference is how recalls from marques that aren't Toyota are played.
Ford issues a recall for the cruise control switch fire, people freak out, call Ford garbage...etc. Message boards like this one are lit up with anti-Ford rhetoric about how their uncle's friend's grandfather's great aunt was run over by a Model T and they've sworn they'll never buy a Ford!
versus
Toyota, after a class action lawsuit is levied against them, finally acknowledges that they've been using garbage frames that they didn't adequately QC and issues a recall. Folks are fawning over them like they are the 2nd coming of [censored] and praising their exemplary morality, completely ignoring it took a huge CAL to even get them to acknowledge the issue!
it's like no matter how much of a complete fecal parade Toyota puts on, their fanbase is in the wings waiting to jump out and celebrate something as an achievement. Mention the Toyota sludge epidemic? Well my 1998 Camry went 20 billion miles with only needing tires, I never even needed to change the brakes!
Contrast that to any other brand, there's no comparison. Toyota gets more free passes on things that would have other brands bashed until the end of time. It's truly bizarre to watch
Wait, there is still time in this thread to blame suppliers.