Toyota Corolla May Be Recalled over Steering Problem
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From: C. E. White on 22 Feb 2010 11:32 All I got was: "BY KIMBERLEY A. STRASSEL "That vague screeching noise you hear in D.C., the slight odor of burning rubber? That's the government trying to brake its anti-Toyota campaign. It may be a little late. "The Toyota spectacle has become slightly surreal, as a few uncertain questions about "sudden acceleration" morphed into a media and political firestorm over the safety of its entire fleet. It is also proving an interesting case study in the treacherous politics that accompany government ownership of U.S. industry. "Washington's initial enthusiasm in bashing Toyota is beginning to backfire. "There's no question that in the first, heady days of recall, at least .... ..........................To Continue Reading, Subscribe Now........................... I wanted to continue reading and couldn't figure out how to get any further without subscribing. Am I missing something? I realize it is an opinion piece, but I'd really like to read more. I suppose I can go by the library later. Ed "AZ Nomad" <aznomad.3(a)PremoveOBthisOX.COM> wrote in message news:slrnho57e0.kag.aznomad.3(a)ip70-176-155-130.ph.ph.cox.net... > On Mon, 22 Feb 2010 09:48:40 -0500, C. E. White > <cewhite3(a)mindspring.com> wrote: > >>"Ed Maier" <evmaiertakethisout(a)yahoo.com> wrote in message >>news:hlu5is$uvm$1(a)news.eternal-september.org... > >>>> Read Kimberley A. Strassel's article in this weekend's Wall >>>> Street >>>> Journal. >>>> >>>> Seems the whole flap has indeed been concocted by the owners of >>>> Government >>>> Motors, and now it's backfiring on them. >>>> >>>> >>> >>> Here's a link to Strassel's article: >>> http://online.wsj.com/article/potomac_watch.html >>> >>> Eddie > >>Can you summarize the article. I don't subscribe, so I could only >>see >>the teaser. Sounds like another Government scandal in the making. > > just follow it, you don't need to subscribe. > > " That vague screeching noise you hear in D.C., the slight odor of > burning rubber? That's the government trying to brake its > anti-Toyota > campaign. It may be a little late."
From: C. E. White on 22 Feb 2010 12:00 "Bob Cooper" <bc(a)nowhere.com> wrote in message news:MPG.25ec6e9161745a8f98968a(a)news.eternal-september.org... > Strassel is a yakker on one of those Saturday Fox Wall Street shows > every week being one the usual suspects, kissing the asses of the > Bernie > Maddows with the rest of them. > Hardly a respected journalist, she is a right-wing mouthpiece who > has > been caught lying before Just becasue she is a right wing conservative doesn't mean she is wrong. I'd like to read her entire column before I decide. My personal opinion is that NHTSA went from under-reaction to over-reaction on the Toyota vehicle speed control complaints. I think they paid to little attenting in 2007 and now they are going off the deep end trying to cover their rears. I suppose the change in administration is also a factor. And then their is the congressional investigation - grand standing. They don't want to solve any real problems, so they drag a few buisness guys in front of the cameras and torture them. The hope is that the people will forget what a lousy job congress is doing and blame buisness. Ed
From: Tegger on 22 Feb 2010 13:03 "C. E. White" <cewhite3(a)mindspring.com> wrote in news:hluc6l$2ko$1(a)news.eternal-september.org: > > I wanted to continue reading and couldn't figure out how to get any > further without subscribing. Am I missing something? I realize it is > an opinion piece, but I'd really like to read more. I suppose I can go > by the library later. > Shhh... don't tell anybody, but Google's cache contains the whole article. Here's the URL to the cached copy: <http://74.125.47.132/search?q=cache:EhmRNvitpGIJ:online.wsj.com/article/potomac_watch.html+strassel+%22washington%27s+toyota+u-turn%22&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk> You'll probably get a couple of errors as the page loads, but the text is all there. -- Tegger
From: Tegger on 22 Feb 2010 13:04 "C. E. White" <cewhite3(a)mindspring.com> wrote in news:hludqu$95v$1(a)news.eternal-september.org: > > "Bob Cooper" <bc(a)nowhere.com> wrote in message > news:MPG.25ec6e9161745a8f98968a(a)news.eternal-september.org... > >> Strassel is a yakker on one of those Saturday Fox Wall Street shows >> every week being one the usual suspects, kissing the asses of the >> Bernie >> Maddows with the rest of them. >> Hardly a respected journalist, she is a right-wing mouthpiece who >> has >> been caught lying before > > Just becasue she is a right wing conservative doesn't mean she is > wrong. I'd like to read her entire column before I decide. The Google cache copy is here: <http://74.125.47.132/search?q=cache:EhmRNvitpGIJ:online.wsj.com/article/potomac_watch.html+strassel+%22washington%27s+toyota+u-turn%22&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk> Ignore any errors; the text is all there. -- Tegger
From: C. E. White on 22 Feb 2010 13:19
THANKS! It is an interesting read (once I got past IE not letting me read it - FireFox did). I agree with most of what was said. I do think the Government over reacted. I also think all sorts of polictical pressure is being applied with a lot of it coming from the groups that have a vested interest in toning things down (pro-Toyota voices so to speak). The article never indicated there weren't grounds for a recall, just that the whole thing was over blown and was mishandled by the Obama administration. I can agree with that sentiment. But I also think the original 2007 compalints were mishandled when the Bush administration was in power. So what we have, in my opinion, is two Goverment screw-up leading to a massive over reaction. I liked the following line form the final paragraph: "Only a year ago, Democrats were wailing about economic damage if GM or Chrysler went bust. They forestalled that with government ownership. They, and Toyota, are now dealing with the all-too-easy-to-predict political behavior that followed such meddling in the private economy." Some medling is justified, even necessary ( some level of safety standards for instance), but all to often politicians try to micro-adjust the economy to buy votes. It rarely works out well. Ed That vague screeching noise you hear in D.C., the slight odor of burning rubber? That's the government trying to brake its anti-Toyota campaign. It may be a little late. The Toyota spectacle has become slightly surreal, as a few uncertain questions about "sudden acceleration" morphed into a media and political firestorm over the safety of its entire fleet. It is also proving an interesting case study in the treacherous politics that accompany government ownership of U.S. industry. Washington's initial enthusiasm in bashing Toyota is beginning to backfire. There's no question that in the first, heady days of recall, at least some in the Obama administration and Congress saw advantage in undermining Toyota. The majority owner of Government Motors felt it couldn't hurt to fan the image of a "foreign" auto maker disregarding the safety of American drivers. Shoppers might just buy a Chevy instead, propping up government investment and bolstering United Auto Worker union jobs. And of course the trial bar would be thrilled by a fat new class-action target. Vehicle recalls (there were 16.9 million in 2009 alone) are usually handled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration-but the Toyota case was commandeered by Obama Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. He skewered the firm for being "a little safety deaf," complained it hadn't been responsive, and bragged it was the government that forced a recall. "This is a big deal, this is a big safety issue," he exclaimed as part of the LaHood Vs. Toyota Media Tour. It was, in fact, the "most serious safety issue" of his tenure. It was, to repeat, such a huge, scary, safety deal that his "advice is, if anybody owns one of these vehicles, stop driving it." Mr. LaHood later claimed he'd misspoke. Over in Congress, a geographically notable contingent of representatives piled on. Rep. Bart Stupak (D., Mich.) announced an investigation into "dangerous" malfunctions. Toyota was ordered to report to his Oversight subcommittee hearing next week. Rep. John Dingell (D., Mich.) berated the company for taking "two years" to step up and ripped them for not recalling more models. UAW lobbyist Alan Reuther demanded Toyota make amends by keeping open a unionized factory in California, currently scheduled for closure. Chrysler, GM and Ford started offering cash incentives for car buyers to trade in recalled Toyotas for domestic wares. The results of this campaign are now making pols queasy. It was inevitable that such a loud attack would lead to questions as to whether the administration was carrying water for the domestic industry. The White House is today fielding as many queries about its role as owner and regulator as Toyota is fielding about recalls. This thinking also inspired reporters to dig into Congress's Toyota ties and to question, conversely, whether it can be tough enough. The press dredged up Senate Toyota investigator Jay Rockefeller's role in landing his state of West Virginia a Toyota plant. Did you know, the head of NHTSA, David Strickland, worked eight years for Mr. Rockefeller? Or that California Democrat Jane Harman, who sits on the House investigating committee, once made money selling stereo systems to Toyota? You do now. It is also occurring to some Democrats that, while Toyotas are mainly assembled in red states, they are, uh, sold in blue ones. In addition to idled Toyota factory workers, Toyota dealerships and suppliers are getting hit by the company's sharp drop in sales. Some of these folks even live in Michigan. The angry phone calls to Washington only increased last week when four governors-three Republicans and Kentucky Democrat Steve Beshear-sent a sharp letter to Congress, accusing the administration of a "conflict of interest." They unsubtly noted that many recent recalls were "as serious as or more serious" than Toyota's. This sent the media digging into the recall record of U.S. auto makers, which may have to revisit their own safety issues. Some politicians are worried about Japanese retaliation against U.S. auto makers. All of which accounts for Washington's recent piping down. Mr. LaHood devoted a lot of this week to touting stimulus grants. Quite a few Democrats have gone mute, leaving the issue to NHTSA and wishing it would go away. Some lawmakers are even stepping up to defend Toyota. Yet having revved up the drama, the administration is now all but obliged to take action against Toyota, say with civil penalties. Mr. Rockefeller and other Democrats with ties to the carmaker are under pressure to get rough. And if Toyota bungles Washington as badly as it did the initial recall PR, this could go on a long time. Toyota has not yet laid off a single one of its 34,000 U.S. workers, but that may change. Only a year ago, Democrats were wailing about economic damage if GM or Chrysler went bust. They forestalled that with government ownership. They, and Toyota, are now dealing with the all-too-easy-to-predict political behavior that followed such meddling in the private economy. Write to kim(a)wsj.com "Tegger" <invalid(a)invalid.inv> wrote in message news:Xns9D2784DA91F0Etegger(a)208.90.168.18... > "C. E. White" <cewhite3(a)mindspring.com> wrote in > news:hluc6l$2ko$1(a)news.eternal-september.org: > > >> >> I wanted to continue reading and couldn't figure out how to get any >> further without subscribing. Am I missing something? I realize it >> is >> an opinion piece, but I'd really like to read more. I suppose I can >> go >> by the library later. >> > > > > Shhh... don't tell anybody, but Google's cache contains the > whole article. > > Here's the URL to the cached copy: > <http://74.125.47.132/search?q=cache:EhmRNvitpGIJ:online.wsj.com/article/potomac_watch.html+strassel+%22washington%27s+toyota+u-turn%22&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk> > > You'll probably get a couple of errors as the page loads, but > the text is all there. > > > -- > Tegger > |