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Toyota hits bumps on road to No. 1

LOS ANGELES — Suddenly it seems like Toyota, long the good-news juggernaut that became the envy of other automakers, has lost its Teflon shield, according to USA Today.

Just last week, the automaker's splashy launch of its Sequoia SUV at the Los Angeles Auto Show was marred when the general manager of the Toyota brand knocked a camera from the hands of an environmental activist who sneaked into the presentation.

The executive, Bob Carter, says the camera bump was inadvertent. But the incident followed other troubles in recent weeks, including warnings that Toyota's once-vaunted quality rankings are weakening and the defection of three key executives to Detroit automakers.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 9:43 AM to Toyota | Permalink | Comments 0

Whistle-blower says defects hidden at Toyota-GM plant

TOKYO — An employee at a California plant run jointly by General Motors and Toyota is accusing her managers of allowing serious defects to go unchecked, including faulty seat belts and braking, and retaliating when she resisted, according to a lawsuit filed earlier this month, according to USA Today.

In the case before Alameda County Superior Court in California, Katy Cameron, a certified auditor who has worked for 23 years at New United Motor Manufacturing, says management routinely deleted or downgraded defects from her reports on vehicles since 2005.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 9:38 AM to GM , Toyota | Permalink | Comments 2

NMA Names Worst Speed Traps

To help make our turkey-day journeys a little less eventful - and, perhaps, a lot less expensive - our friends at the National Motorists Association (NMA) have put together a list of the "worst speed trap cities" for all fifty states, according to thecarconnection.com.

The list was gathered over the SpeedTrap Exchange (www.speedtrap.org), a Web site maintained by the NMA and hosting a database of reported traps by state and city. Reported speed traps from the past two years, plus a poll conducted by the organization, were factored into this new list.

As it seems to be largely based on the number of speed traps reported in particular cities, it's no surprise that those on the list appear in many cases to be along high-traffic routes and in more populated areas - in contrast to our real life experience in that the most overt speed traps are often found in one-blinker small towns, and highway crests miles from any particular town. Nevertheless, we strongly recommend perusing the organization's results for the cities you'll be passing through and planning your route - and cruise-control setting - accordingly.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 9:35 AM to Driving | Permalink | Comments 0

Toyota Raises China Sales Goal

TOKYO -- Toyota Motor Corp. said Wednesday that it has raised its 2007 sales projection for China on solid sales of small cars and aims to sell even more vehicles there next year, according to the Associated Press.

Toyota, which appears to be on track to beat General Motors Corp. as the world's top automaker as soon as later this year, raised its sales estimate in China for this year to 480,000 cars from 430,000 due to the popularity of its Vios small car and the newly introduced Camry, Toyota spokesman Naoki Oku said.

The company sold 308,000 cars in China in 2006.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 9:33 AM to China , Toyota | Permalink | Comments 0

Crude Oil Prices Skirt with $100, Top $99 a Barrel

Crude oil prices rose above a record $99 per barrel Wednesday as worries about inadequate winter supplies in the Northern Hemisphere and news of refinery problems stoked bullish sentiment, according to the Associated Press.

The declining U.S. dollar and speculation that the U.S. Federal Reserve will again cut interest rates also boosted prices. Some investors put their money into oil contracts, betting that gains in their price will offset dollar weakness.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 9:28 AM to Crude oil market | Permalink | Comments 1