Bbc 2 Tv Total Recall

[Chris Dance]

Did any of you watch the BBC 2 programme last night Thursday 25th March 9pm. It was very biased in my opinion and nearly all the adverse criticism of the Toyota Company was from the USA. Not one person was interviewed in favour of the company. Deaths due to accelerator stuck have occurred in USA and that is bad but no questions were asked about the age of the cars, had they been into a proper Toyota garage for service etc. Lawyers in the States are still insisting there is still a problem with Toyota cars even after the recall. The programme also kept on about Prius brake failure. There has never been anywhere in the world a Prius brake failure. The programme was very anti Toyota. We did not get programmes with such a negative bias when Renault bonnets were coming open on the motorway or the recent Honda recall. What is it with the media that seem bent on destroying an excellent company like Toyota?

[dawesy]

at the end of the day GM is largely owned by the American government. i think that because all the negative aspects have come from there its led by GM to try and regain their No1 status.

seemed like they were trying to link the prius issue with the accelerator pedal issue.

the guy that got killed in the lexus was a cop!! how come he didn't know to shift to neutral?

and do elderly people not get confused and press the wrong pedal occasionally?

very biased if you ask me.

[Fujisan]

Expected as much, so didn't bother watching it.

[Grumpy Cabbie]

Just watched it this morning - was working last night.

Yes it was a little biased, but hey it's the BBC what did you expect?

The thing I got out of it was that Toyota let it's eye off the ball, got stung and all future cars are going to be super reliable with superb quality control to make up for this.

So, all new model Toyotas will be an even better buy. Great.

One little note - Everyone laughs about taxis/minicabs being Toyotas, but why do you think that is?

[wooski]

Yep, watched it too. Was expecting it to be a total stitch up but it wasn't really.

Vast majority of the negativity is coming from the US - yes this point was not really addressed. Sure we had the Prius issue here too (the ABS slip happenned to me just the once) but the reality is that it's not even officially a recall here.

The mats issue is bizzare - again we never got a recall here. Why put so many mats in your car? Why not put it into neutral? (that's my question about the Lexus incident were 4 people died). The problem for Toyota here is that they just CAN'T say it was user error unless they have really good evidence to the contrary.

Interesting that the programme rightly didnt mention the 2 recent Gen 2 Prius incidents that have now been debunked in the US.

The most interesting point for me was actually from Richard Branson about local control. And I think culture comes into it as well. Part of the reason this has gotten so out of control in the US is that all control remains with Japan and they dont understand Amercian culure as well as they should. No where in the world do people sue and ring their lawyers so quickly.

It still looks like a political stitch up IMHO.

[Jolly English Gentleman]

Yep, watched it too. Was expecting it to be a total stitch up but it wasn't really.

Vast majority of the negativity is coming from the US - yes this point was not really addressed. Sure we had the Prius issue here too (the ABS slip happenned to me just the once) but the reality is that it's not even officially a recall here.

The mats issue is bizzare - again we never got a recall here. Why put so many mats in your car? Why not put it into neutral? (that's my question about the Lexus incident were 4 people died). The problem for Toyota here is that they just CAN'T say it was user error unless they have really good evidence to the contrary.

Interesting that the programme rightly didnt mention the 2 recent Gen 2 Prius incidents that have now been debunked in the US.

The most interesting point for me was actually from Richard Branson about local control. And I think culture comes into it as well. Part of the reason this has gotten so out of control in the US is that all control remains with Japan and they dont understand Amercian culure as well as they should. No where in the world do people sue and ring their lawyers so quickly.

It still looks like a political stitch up IMHO.

On the mats issue, if you are likely to get into the car after walking on a wet gravel drive or in a field at a car boot sale, mats are essential, as if you do muddy them up, they can be removed and cleaned. Its harder to do that with the carpet. My Gen II did not come with mats. The first thing I did was to buy a set. A Toyota set. Its worth saying that Mats from Halfords WILL NOT DO, as the driver mat has to be locked into position with two hooks that slot into the pre existing holes. The US issue with mats seems to be due to the use of incompatible floor mats or not fixing compatible mats properly.

The progamme did seem to solely concentrate on the US situation, but I feel that Toyota are probably onto a non winner in the US at the moment due to the near collapse of GM. An event that will have wounded American pride.

Sir Richard Branson was right about their structure (it is amazing that they have acheived what they have - but that is down to the cars in the past), and Toyota have accepted that their fast growth has been to big for them to handle.

[VIP2006]

There is not a car ( or any machine ) made that is 100% reliable, and IMO Toyota's record is perhaps the best in the history of motoring. I have owned a few other makes, and in one case I bought a New German prestige car and after running it for 2 weeks for no apparent reason the car just shut down, with the loss of powere steering and brakes. I managed to stop, with out mishap, and after phoning the garage they told me to start the car and bring it to the garage. Like an idiot, I drove the car to the Garage and waited while they checked it, they said they could not find any fault, so I drove off. The same happened again a few weeks later, and again I managed to stop although this time to the annoyance of other drivers. I phoned the garage and told them I would not drive that car again until I had written assurance that it was 100% OK. The car was returned to Germany and the engine management system was replaced. The company tried to minimise the problem by refusing to let me know what the problem was. The car was 3 times the price of my 2009 Auris. Long live Toyota

[wizzlon]

I watched the recording yesterday. One of the pundits said that Toyota took their eye off the ball and went hell for leather to be no. 1 and earn the most dollars they could. Isn't that the American way?

[SF695]

I know one thing. A driver that is so confused, that he or she can't figure out how to put the car in neutral(and yes, automatics have a neutral, not only a P) is also comfused enough to step in the accelerator rather than the break.

[Grumpy Cabbie]

I watched the recording yesterday. One of the pundits said that Toyota took their eye off the ball and went hell for leather to be no. 1 and earn the most dollars they could. Isn't that the American way?

Sort of. To be truely the American way you should add the following at the end "and get into masses of debt (and I mean masses), rely on the US Government to bail you out to the tune of several $billion's and then rather than pull your finger out and make a decent product, you carry on as before and hope that the all powerful government that lent you the dosh will find something on the competition".