They can ask, sure. But people shouldn't be surprised that he said FU since he's not obligated to do anything.

Agreed.

:werd:

fo sho? :?:

When do the pitch forks and torches come about?

Toyota USA and Toyota are different companies so there really is no need for Toyoda to come to the USA

So what do these variants of toyota answer too if they are not in fact, toyota?

You have zero grasp of this whole "multi national corporation" thing, should have red a book or something.

My answer will not change no matter the location of the Chairman, he is a citizen of a different country. Congress has no authority to question him, unless he is being charged with a crime. If that's the case, I'm sure US Attorney's office will question his attorney. However, we all know this isn't the case, they probably just want to lead some other stupid witch hunt, and question him why he flew his private jet and polluted American airspace, instead of flying coach. Nothing good will come out of this "questioning", so there's no need for it.

You care to point out to what degree they are the same thing? The public views them as the same, yes. But you gotta remember that the public is pretty stupid, on average. Executives are rarely held liable for what their company does, unless there's some malicious intent on their part, or they are co-mingling funds, which to our knowledge isn't the case here. I seriously doubt, that the CEO of Toyota was the mastermind behind this fiasco.

then who is to be held responsible? since apparently the people in charge aren't really in charge the way you put it.

Toyota Motor Company bears the responsibility and financial burden of this fiasco. If the US government finds them guilty of something, which they will not, they can place fines on the corporation that will have to pay, in addition to coming up with some useless regulations. That's about it.

If CEO masterminded the plan where he wanted to kill thousands of Americans by giving them ****** gas pedals, and messing with their brakes then yea he could be held liable. But as far as the law goes, Corporation is it's own entity, that bears its on responsibility. The few times that CEO's are indicted for crimes of the corporations have been described above.

then someone should tell congress.


apparently some japanese citizens have come forward with the same complaints though. guess the issue is affecting both sides now.

People have, cept that they are all the workers and what not from US toyota factories... lobbying does work in the grand ole US of A. I wanna own a senator one day.

Most politicians have law degrees (from what I remember), and what we are talking about here is Business Law 100, week 2, right after the syllabus week is over.

They are just it for show and image..

In all fairness, if they want to point a finger at the CEO it can't really be put on Toyoda, you'd have to blame Watanbe or Cho. Toyoda took over in June '09, mainly because he felt the company was being dragged down the ***ter and management had gotten too high on becoming #1.

Toyoda to testify before Congress

yahoo!

Toyota is great at PR!

I will say this...based on the actions of MLB and the NFL, it appears the threat of being in front of congress is enough to get action. So the dog & pony show may have no real teeth but still leaves a mark.

If congress can do the same dance they did for the Big 3, and have the Toyota execs to just look like they are disconnected from the world, then the public will take care of the rest.

Fanbois will not be swayed by factual information...

Sad, but very true.

Fanbois are not the concern. The people "we" would want to sway are the average car buyers with little to no car knowledge that just assume that all Toyotas are better than all Chevys.

- Justin

that sentence could be used for a lot of conversations. :lol:

Based on my experiences "regular" people don't pay any attention to this, and even if they do it's minimal.

If I asked my mother what she knew about Toyota, right now, she wouldn't say much - she would say it's a reliable car based on the fact that she has heard it from other people... Real world data doesn't get to her, unless I tell her. (I'm the family car/maintance consultant :lol: ) When she watches TV, I can assure you it will not be automotive news, or Congress annoying Toyoda.

Take my g'sf mother, she couldn't care less if MB becomes the biggest POS tomorrow, she will still buy one - because it projects the image she wants. She doesn't want to drive a Chevy, or a Ford, or a BMW for that matter. It's MB or Porsche, nothing else. Solely based on the image, quality has 0 to do with her decisions.

In my opinion, people who pay attention to auto news are already above "average" car person. Hell the "average" can't replace a bulb, even if it takes less than one minute.

Of course, as an admin, you're allowed to disagree and I will not call you a bad name :mrgreen:

True, but "regular" people account for most of the car sales. Those are also the same people that say they won't buy American because their mother's accountant's ex-wife's sister in-law had a Ford that broke down 20 years ago. Popular opinion has always been that Toyotas are worry free. Now that opinion is shifting, and could make more people buy American. Personally, I think it won't be that easy. Most will just buy a different import brand, because the other popular sentiment that imports are better than domestics is still something the American car brands are fighting to get over.

Regular people watch the news, surf the web, and for the most part pay attention to what is going on.
If this was just on car sites, then no one cares.
But its on all major networks, its all over the place. Its on Yahoo and other sites.
People looing to buy a car, which are the ones that would want this info, are looking at auto sites. And with that, they will see this info.
And with that info, they will question the quality of Toyota. And anyone that does a bit more research then reading a paper, magazine, or even overhearing it. will find out that this rabbit hole goes deeper.

And thats all that really matters. They dont have to know the details, but the more this comes out, and the longer it goes on, and the longer Toyota dances around it, then its going to become a bigger problem.
GM, Ford and Chrysler didnt fall from grace because they had one problem. It was a slow death that went on for about 20 years. This will continue to go on and on, and now that if anyone just raises a question about quality of toyota, thats all it will take for more and more people to go to other brands, be it Big 3 or others. When they get there, they will realize that these cars are very good, and that Toyota isnt as cracked up as they thought it was.
When more people do that, Toyota's star will fall.

You're absolutely right Al, unfortunately people will now look to Hyundai or Nissan...even with Toyota's issues it won't mean more sales for GM or Ford IMO.