A persistent story in the media lately has been the recall of millions of Toyota vehicles, a recall so serious they have decided to halt the production of numerous models. What is the fault with these millions of vehicles? A friggin loose car mat might get lodged in the footwell in such a way that, according to hearsay, might cause the accelerator pedal to be pressed.
Oh boo-freakin-hoo. A loose car mat? Seriously? Have these consumer primadonna’s never driven a used car?
Several things come to mind. Namely, that on my old s*** beater 300k truck, and nearly every other heap I’ve owned, the car mat thing happens, and it’s no big deal. For one, that’s why there’s that other pedal–you know, the brake pedal.
But for new production cars, it’s probably fair to say, sure, maybe that’s an issue, especially when you’re selling cars to a society dictated by the least-common denominator of operators. It’s not necessarily a crisis, but something to correct, improve, and move on.
And yet, Toyota is being brow-beaten over this stupid non-issue, and Toyota itself has expressed shame over the recall. Something smells fishy, and I’ve little doubt that the American automakers—whom Toyota outcompetes like a cheetah in the Special Olympics—have been busy keeping the story alive.
But the thing is, at least Toyota has the sense of responsibility to recall vehicles on such a massive scale, at such great loss of profit, for such a minor issue. If this were any American automaker, there would be no recall. The calculation would work something like this:
“Query: 3 billion in profit losses, or simply fight the matter in court for a mere 25 million and perhaps a few out-of-court settlements for those affected?”
So why is this stupid story lingering in the media? Is it really intended to slander Toyota, inarguably the worlds best and most efficient automaker? Are the American automakers really that desperate?
Well, let’s take a look at another budgetary memo:
“Stealth corporate media campaign encouraging bad publicity for a better competitor versus designing and producing better car, one that people can actually use.
-Net loss of media campaign: 10 million in court costs in suit with Toyota.
-Net loss of producing a better car: A few bar napkins, one of those squeezy stress balls, and four years to get a bachelor’s in engineering.
Conclusion: Screw em! Slime those stinky Sushi-mongers and build another Hummer!”
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