Toyota continues goal to restore customer faith after massive recall

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James Lentz, president and chief operating officer of Toyota Sales, USA, Inc., writes in USA Today (Feb. 15) that he reassures consumers the Toyota community is doing all they can to handle the recall situation swiftly and responsibly. The op-ed piece begins: “For 50 years, Americans have trusted Toyota to provide vehicles that are among the safest, most reliable on the road. “We recognize that of late we have not lived up to the high standards our customers expect from us. We take our commitment to the public very seriously and are working hard to make things right. The piece

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Florida dealer tells Toyota customers to stop car payments and buy Nissan

General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. announced sales incentives in January aimed at luring Toyota customers to trade in their cars for a GM or Ford vehicle. But in Riviera Beach, Fla., Napleton’s Nissan, according to an article in the Palm Beach Post, is sending Toyota owners an official-looking mailing urging them not to make their next car payment and instead trade in their car. The letters are sent in envelopes marked with “TOYOTA RECALL NOTICE” in red, uppercase block letters, according to the newspaper. “Why spend another day driving a potentially unsafe vehicle while you wait for a

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Winter Olympics car commercials: Nissan raking up publicity for the green LEAF

Scheduled for launch in late 2010 in Japan, the United States and Europe, The LEAF, according to Nissan, “ushers in a new era of mobility.” Pricing details will be announced closer to start of sales. But Nissan expects the car to be “competitively priced in the range of a well-equipped C-segment vehicle.” The Nissan LEAF is powered by laminated compact lithium-ion batteries, which generate power output of over 90kW, while its electric motor delivers 80kW/280Nm. Unlike internal-combustion engine (ICE) equipped vehicles, Nissan LEAF’s power train has no tail pipe, and thus no emission of CO2 or other greenhouse gases. A

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Mercury rising: Rachel Veitch and her 600,000-mile love affair with a ’64 Comet Caliente

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Veitch, who turned 91 in August 2009, is still driving the car she’s owned for more than 45 years and driven nearly 600,000 miles. AUTOMOTIVE RESOURCES Auto Shipping Quote, Car Financing, Car Insurance Quotes, Car Loans, Online Car Insurance, Rental Cars, Used Cars Veitch of Orlando, Fla., who has has been married three times, now largely drives her car to volunteer work. A retired nurse, she’s an expert on Robert’s Rules of Order, which she also still teaches. Veitch’s driving is now limited to daylight driving because of her difficulty with night vision. She last took a driver’s license test

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BMW named official vehicle for 2012 London Summer Olympics

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The London Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) set targets for CO2 emissions – which BMW met with its Olympic fleet of cars, beating the target average CO2 output of 120g/km. AUTOMOTIVE RESOURCES Auto Shipping Quote, Car Financing, Car Insurance Quotes, Car Loans, Online Car Insurance, Rental Cars, Used Cars BMW will showcase electric vehicles with its 2012 fleet, the company already running a number of electric Minis in three countries to collect data on their usage. Wheelchair-accessible vehicles will be provided, as will BMW bicycles in the Olympic Village. BMW will also use its motorcycle range

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Toyota Hearings: Akio Toyoda, 'Our customers feel uncertain' (part 1)

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“I am Akio Toyoda of Toyota Motor Corporation. I would first like to state that I love cars as much as anyone, and I love Toyota as much as anyone. I take the utmost pleasure in offering vehicles that our customers love, and I know that Toyota‘s 200,000 team members, dealers, and suppliers across America feel the same way.” “However, in the past few months, our customers have started to feel uncertain about the safety of Toyota‘s vehicles, and I take full responsibility for that. Today, I would like to explain to the American people, as well as our customers

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Toyota Hearings: Akio Toyoda, 'Priorities became confused' (part 2)

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Here is the second of three parts of Toyoda’s prepared statement: “At Toyota, we believe the key to making quality products is to develop quality people. Each employee thinks about what he or she should do, continuously making improvements, and by doing so, makes even better cars.” “We have been actively engaged in developing people who share and can execute on this core value. It has been over 50 years since we began selling in this great country, and over 25 years since we started production here.” “And in the process, we have been able to share this core value

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Hummer no more as GM, China truck company deal fizzles

General Motors Co has announced it will wind down its Hummer SUV line after failing to complete a deal to sell the brand to China’s Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co. GM had hoped to sell the poor-selling brand to Tengzhong, an industrial equipment maker based in Sichuan province, the the deal in negotiations for monthly, dissolved. GM said it will continue to honor warranties and provide service support and spare parts to current Hummer owners. The first model, the Hum-Vee, was built in a variety of military-based equipment and versions. These included troop carriers, gun turrets and radar. The

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Rare 1937 BMW roadster set for London auction

The BMW 328 Mille Miglia ‘Büegelfalte’, chassis no. 85032, was part of the manufacturer’s early sports racing activity in the pre-war years. Chassis 85032 was manufactured in May 1937 as a standard-bodied car for Rudolf Schleicher´s Experimental Department at BMW. The car participated in the 1937 Le Mans with the well-known British driver of the period, A.F.P. Fane, as well as the 1937 Tourist Trophy in the hands of H.G. Dobbs. The following year it participated in the 1938 Mille Miglia and won a notable victory in the 2.0-litre class, again with Fane driving and William James as co-driver. The

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Tesla Roadster price slashed to $1,658 (per monthly lease payment)

The Tesla retails, depending upon options, for $104,000-$111.000. But a three-year, 30,000-mile lease is now available for as little as $1,158 per month, or about $55 per day. There’s small type, too: the leasing customer needs to provide $12,453 due at signing, which includes a $9,900 down payment and $895 acquisition fee but not taxes, title, license, registration, and “locally applied” fees. The Tesla Roadster has two seats, 248 horsepower and powers from 0-60 mph in less than four seconds. Such performance, of course, likely means expensive insurance premiums. They’re not included in the monthly lease payment. Like other leases,

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Ferrari hybrid images leaked, but few other details before Geneva Auto Show

Ferrari has tried to keep its much-anticipated debut secret. But images are now appearing in various publications. The car has an unusual “green” green exterior and the interior features the high-voltage setup that stores braking energy for an extra boost of power via a push of the steering-wheel mounted button. It’s the KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) used in Ferrari‘s Formula 1 cars during the 2009 season. The Geneva Auto Show will be held March 4-14. James RaiaA sports, travel and business journalist for more than 45 years, James has written the new car review column The Weekly Driver since

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GM joins recall frenzy: 1.3 million Chevrolet and Pontiac models

The recall affects 2005 to 2010 Chevrolet Cobalts, 2007 to 2010 Pontiac G5s, 2005 and 2006 Pontiac Pursuits sold in Canada and 2005 and 2006 Pontiac G4s sold in Mexico. The automaker said the vehicles are still safe to drive and never lose their steering. The affected cars may be harder to steer them when traveling under 15 mph. Alan Adler, GM spokesman, said the failures are rare and the cars can still be driven until motors can be replaced by dealers. Drivers will see a warning light and hear a chime if the power steering fails, but they could

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GM recall: 1.3 million Pontiac and Chevy models with power steering issues (video)

As the buzz continues for one of the most anticipated auto gatherings of of the year, General Motors isn’t experiencing what it thought it would at the Geneva Auto Show. Usually, the industry’s annual gathering in Switzerland is when more manufacturers debut cars arguably than at any other show. But this year, it’s the just announced the need to repair 1.3 million Chevrolet and Pontiac vehicles for from 2005 to 2010 models with potential power steering problems that’s got the attention of the industry at large. The recall covers the 2005-2010 model year Chevrolet Cobalt and 2007-2010 Pontiac G5 in

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Ford has dramatic sales increase, Toyota tumbles again

Ford announced sales rose to 137,644 vehicles for its Ford, Lincoln and Mercury brands and it plans to build 595,000 in North America in the second quarter and increase of 32 percent from 2009. The industry’s sales were announced following one if them most turbulent months for the car industry, particularly for Toyota and other manufacturers facing recalls. Despite the tumultuous times, Ford sales in February rose for every brand when compared to the same month last year.  It was the first month since 1998 that Ford outsold General Motors, the biggest U.S. carmaker. General Motors reported its February U.S.

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Saab story: 500 new cars left in US, but Spyker purchase adds promise

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The company’s current moniker is “The Well-Built Swede.” But while all of Saab‘s slogans have sounded great, none have proven particularly pertinent. As a result. just how far the carmaker had fallen during its 60-plus years was no more evident than it was during an interview with the Associated Press at the Geneva Auto Show. Saab‘s CEO  Jan Ake Jonsson said the company, purchased last December by Dutch automaker Spyker, has only 500 cars for sale in showrooms across the United States  “That number should probably be 5,000,” Jonsson said. General Motors Corp. sold Saab Automobile AB to Spyker Cars

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Alfa Romeo, Fiat back in full force (almost) in US in late 2012

According to Fiat Group CEO Sergio Marchionne, Alfa Romeo is likely return to the U.S. at the the end of 2012 although MiTo and Giulietta may not be available. While the MiTo is already available in some markets and the Giulietta is making its debut at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show, the U.S. is expected to only receive the larger Giulia 159-replacement and another large sedan based on the Chrysler 300 platform plus several sports models. Designed by the Alfa Romeo Style Center, the new Giulietta is a five-door hatchback and on an all-new platform simply titled Compact. New technology

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