Toyota: Obama Administration is “Not Industry Friendly”
[Guest post by DRJ]
Toyota is working to reshape its image following the recall of 8 million vehicles, but a July 2009 internal slideshow recently turned over to Congress is making waves in the days before the company’s top executives are scheduled to testify on the Hill:
“The slideshow is titled “Toyota Washington, DC” and the cover sheet is labeled “Yoshi Inaba” – the president of Toyota North America, who is slated to testify.
It is a peek into how Toyota executives view the American political environment.
The “Activist Administration & Congress – increasing laws & regulations” is listed as one of “Toyota Challenges,” as is “Massive government support for Detroit automakers.”
The July 2009 presentation also says the Department of Transportation and National Highway Transportation Safety Administration “under Obama administration” is “not industry friendly,” and anticipates a “more challenging regulatory and enforcement environment.”
It says the NHTSA “new team has less understanding of engineering issues and are primarily focused on legal issues.”
The House Oversight Committee has also subpoenaed internal documents held by Dimitrios Biller, a former Toyota lawyer who has a pending lawsuit against the company for wrongful termination and other claims. Biller claims Toyota “routinely concealed evidence from the courts and federal regulators”:
“He has said that the four cartons of documents support his claims that the company systematically hid or destroyed evidence of safety problems that would have led to costly trials in the United States.
“They think they are untouchable. They think our laws don’t apply for them,” Mr Biller said of Toyota in an interview with Reuters earlier this month. “The documents I have prove that.”
The hearings are scheduled for later this week, and the indications are they may be eventful.
— DRJ
They prove that Toyota is untouchable? They prove that the law doesn’t apply to them?
Or do they prove that such is what Toyota believes?
I know what he meant, but it would be nice if he could SAY what he meant instead of me having to deduce it.
Scott Jacobs (d027b8) — 2/21/2010 @ 9:51 pmAt their mostest dangerous Toyota cars are better than dirty socialist American crap and you never have to be embarrassed to drive them.
happyfeet (713679) — 2/21/2010 @ 9:53 pmDare I say it, the headline “Obama Admin is Hostile and Unfriendly to Business” reminds me of some other headlines:
“Sun Rises in East, Sets in West.”
mike d (6c5cd9) — 2/21/2010 @ 9:54 pmOr
“Donuts are Awesome.”
Or
“Feeding Marshmallows to Grizzly Bears is Dangerous.”
Toyota execs actually believed that they were?
SUCKERS!!!
Blacque Jacques Shellacque (5ef35b) — 2/21/2010 @ 10:13 pmI really hope the Toyota guys really lay into the leftist scumbags they are testifying to on the hill. It’s always my 2nd greatest wish when the lefties pull anyone to congress so they can yell at them. My 1st wish is that whoever the lefties demand to appear before congress tells them where to stick that demand. Can you imagine a baseball player telling a senator it’s none of their business or some CEO telling a congressman he can eat it? What does Toyota have to lose? They know the left and their Government Motors is out to destroy them whether they appear or not. These guys aren’t US citizens. And all signs point to a major congress power shift in about 9 months. Tell congress to stuff it.
ChicagoJedi (884039) — 2/21/2010 @ 11:32 pmCan you spell “witch hunt“?
Me, too.
IgotBupkis (79d71d) — 2/22/2010 @ 12:57 amGee, guys… could it just be that Toyota is not the bright shiny happy-happy company so many have believed them to be? Could it just be that they ARE every bit as bad as some SAY American companies are?
As for #2 happyfeet: I must be doing something wrong. You see, I have had German, Belgian, Swedish, Italian, Japanese, and American cars. For plain old-fashioned reliability my American cars have been by far the best. Same for the rest of my family, and for friends who don’t buy into the import-good-domestic-bad shibboleths. No domestic has put me or members of my family at the side of the road with the hood up. I cannot say the same for some of the others.
That being said, GM and Chrysler should have been allowed to go into bankruptcy by themselves.
the friendly grizzly (cf0393) — 2/22/2010 @ 4:51 am“The July 2009 presentation also says the Department of Transportation and National Highway Transportation Safety Administration “under Obama administration” is “not industry friendly,” and anticipates a “more challenging regulatory and enforcement environment.””
They won’t let you get away with your unsafe vehicles.
“The House Oversight Committee has also subpoenaed internal documents held by Dimitrios Biller, a former Toyota lawyer who has a pending lawsuit against the company for wrongful termination and other claims. Biller claims Toyota “routinely concealed evidence from the courts and federal regulators”:”
I’m surprised this isn’t covered by confidentiality.
imdw (de7003) — 2/22/2010 @ 5:05 am“My 1st wish is that whoever the lefties demand to appear before congress tells them where to stick that demand. Can you imagine a baseball player telling a senator it’s none of their business or some CEO telling a congressman he can eat it? What does Toyota have to lose? ”
People plead the fifth and refuse to answer quite often. I believe some baseball players did that.
imdw (de7003) — 2/22/2010 @ 5:06 amIf Biller is correct, he should be disbarred as well as any other toyota laywers involved. Biller is only coming forward because he was terminated. He did not resign in protest or do anything else about his allegations. Therefore, even if this Biller character is right and the documents prove that Toyota hid documents that should have been disclosed in discovery, it sounds as if Biller himself is just as culpable. Also, I find it interesting that he kept these files. If I’m not mistaken, that too is an ethical violation for an attorney.
Monkeytoe (e66874) — 2/22/2010 @ 5:30 amThe problem here is that the government is in competition with the company over which it sits in judgement. A recipe for bias.
Evil Pundit (42e904) — 2/22/2010 @ 5:37 amGee, guys… could it just be that Toyota is not the bright shiny happy-happy company so many have believed them to be? Could it just be that they ARE every bit as bad as some SAY American companies are?
At every conference on medical quality and how to improve it, the example used is Toyota. The ignorance of this comment is typical of the political left which is rationalizing the attempt by this administration to improve the prospects of the nationalized GM an Chrysler. For the past 30 years, Toyota has been the example of how to make high quality happen. Everybody in the quality improvement business uses Toyota as the Bible.
About ten years ago, there was a huge flap about “unanticipated acceleration” in Audis. The company was devastated for about five years. No cause was ever found and the (quietly reached) conclusion was that almost every instance was driver error. Audi eventually recovered and it has been forgotten, as this will be in a decade.
The index case in this scandal was a case where the driver had an “unanticipated acceleration” that went on long enough for a back seat passenger to call 911. The driver was a cop. Why did he not turn off the ignition ?
This is another hysteria story but, I fear, there may be more behind it than simply public foolishness. Maybe it is another Reichstag fire.
Mike K (2cf494) — 2/22/2010 @ 5:46 amThe administration loves industry like Henry V loved France
Shakespeare, Henry V:
No; it is not possible you should love the enemy of France, Kate: but, in loving me, you should love the friend of France; for I love France so well that I will not part with a village of it; I will have it all mine
[note: released from moderation. –Stashiu]
Amphipolis (b120ce) — 2/22/2010 @ 6:24 amBack in 1998 I asked several different mechanics what car would they recommend I purchase. They told me that if I did not want to spend a lot of time and money in the repair shop, buy Toyota. We have owned several toyotas and several american-made cars. The mechanics in the toyota usually hold up better than the american-made, but the paint and bodies of the american cars are much better. My rusty, beat-up old ’98 camry is still on the road.
J (2946f2) — 2/22/2010 @ 6:29 amStatements like this are the reason for which the word “duh” was created.
bill (148e74) — 2/22/2010 @ 6:50 amAt one time Toyota had a company policy that if a customer had a problem which was related to the quality of the car at initial sale they would cover it under warranty even if the warranty had expired. American car companies sued them for the practice as “an unfair trade practice.”
Have Blue (854a6e) — 2/22/2010 @ 7:02 am#7 American cars the most reliable? Reliable for what? Needing repairs and depreciating quickly? Every American car I had was a lemon. And I won’t buy VW again after two lemons in the mid-seventies.
Jap cars put most others to shame. And what’s the difference between foreign and domestic when many “American” cars are built overseas and lots of foreign ones right here in USA?
aoibhneas (02d046) — 2/22/2010 @ 7:07 amA very good question. Which is more important, the nationality of the management or of the workers?
LarryD (feb78b) — 2/22/2010 @ 7:19 amMost important is the basic principle of how the company is managed. W Edwards Deming went to Japan in the early 1950s to assist them in improving their national census methodology. Japan, before the war, was noted to be highly derivative in most of their industry, copying western designs for many products. Then, they showed originality in the design, for example, of the Mitsubishi A6M fighter plane, which we called the Zero.
Deming taught them the statistical control of manufacturing that had been developed by Deming’s mentor, Walter Shewhart. US auto companies, shielded from competition after the war, concentrated on design features, such as tailfins on Cadillacs, ignored quality as a competitive factor until it was too late.
Now, American cars are far better made than they were 30 years ago, but they are still saddled with legacy costs from the UAW that forces compromises on quality.
Toyota wrote the book on quality and the efforts of the administration, which is hostile to business, especially manufacturing, will eventually come to naught.
Here is an interesting thread on manufacturing in the US.
Mike K (2cf494) — 2/22/2010 @ 8:01 amBetween Mrs Red County and me, we’ve owned 3 Fords, 2 Chevys, 2 Toys, 3 VWs and a mishmash of others. A couple of thoughts from a retired electrical engineer:
GM and Ford quality got a lot better over the years. Toy has been good, but in the ’70s they had some electrical issues. One thing that bothers me about modern vehicles is the “fly by wire” throttle control. A sufficiently subtle bug can be problematic, floor mats and sticking pedals notwithstanding. The keyless ignition switch without the Big Red Switch to turn it off can lead to some, er, exciting times. IIRC, the Lexus that helped to get the trooper killed had a keyless switch. Note that Steve Wozniak has reported a very repeatable sudden accelleration bug in his Prius. This has made the geek press, but not the MSM.
I strongly suspect that the Feds are seriously overplaying the problems with Toy, but I also suspect that Toyota left themselves wide open. Some of their cost cutting measures have led to the gas pedal sticking, f’rinstance.
Me, my next new vehicle will be a Honda, Subaru or a Ford. Not much selection out here in Red County. (The last GM dealership lost its franchise, while the Chrysler/Toy dealership kept it due to heavy contributions to the DNC…)
Red County Pete (7adfe7) — 2/22/2010 @ 8:09 am“At every conference on medical quality and how to improve it, the example used is Toyota.”
In light of recent revelations, maybe they should revise that.
I think Toyota should be addressing their internal quality issues rather than trying to redirect attention to the government.
JEA (53fe4f) — 2/22/2010 @ 8:11 amFor plain old-fashioned reliability my American cars have been by far the best.
So we’ve established the fact that you’re a fool. Good to know beforehand.
Same for the rest of my family, and for friends who don’t buy into the import-good-domestic-bad shibboleths.
Surprise, the fool is surrounded by fools. Look up Consumer Reports over the past three decades on auto reliability, maintenance costs, overall quality and customer satisfaction and you’ll discover that almost all of the top 5 are Japanese – made. Funny thing, though – most of the Japanese cars and trucks now sold here are also manufactured by US workers.
So your “shibboleths” are unfortunately true, and you’re an unmitigated asshat.
Dmac (799abd) — 2/22/2010 @ 8:11 am…I fail to see how any of these statements are controversial. If anything, I’d probably say are were exceedingly polite and understated.
PCachu (e072b7) — 2/22/2010 @ 8:18 amI think Toyota should be addressing their internal quality issues rather than trying to redirect attention to the government.
I agree – one thing that’s come out of this is that during Toyota’s drive to become the #1 overall sales leader in the US, there was a relaxation of their prior dictim to build every single vehicle according to a strict quality control standard. They now have admitted that they got lax in those rules in order to achieve market saturation – terrible move on their part, and they’re going to pay the price for many years in the future as a result.
BTW, I told my mechanic that when I experienced frequent and sudden acceleration myself (this was common if you owned a piece of crap from Renault back in the 80’s), I just pulled the key from the ignition, grabbed the emergency brake and disengaged the clutch. While most cars have auto transmissions these days, why couldn’t the drivers just strip the gears and disconnect the drive from the controls? He didn’t see why that wouldn’t work as well, and I’m wondering why this obvious solution hasn’t been mentioned yet.
Dmac (799abd) — 2/22/2010 @ 8:20 amAnd then go read a textbook on the problems with using a self-selected sample to conduct a survey.
Douglas2 (62fec6) — 2/22/2010 @ 8:30 amRe: Comment by Dmac — 2/22/2010 @ 8:20 am: Apparently some of the auto transmission vehicles don’t have a positive shift mechanism. Another drive-by-wire system. Also, in the Lexus crash, it was a loaner car, so a lack of familiarity with the details would be given.
I’d druther have a stick, but RCW wants an auto.
I won’t go for a keyless ifnition car without a Big Red Switch, even if I have to install one myself.
Red County Pete (7adfe7) — 2/22/2010 @ 8:32 amThe keyless ignition issue was a good observation. I have a Toyota (which they will have to pry from my cold dead hands) that starts with a key. I don’t think I would be interested in anything quite that fancy.
Mike K (2cf494) — 2/22/2010 @ 8:43 amI have a Toyota and love it. The family I grew up on was all-Toyotas and remain all-Toyotas, except on errant brother who got a Nissan. Toyotas are reliable, great cars. I would not buy a new Toyota at this moment in time. But the next time I’m in the market, years down the road, it’ll likely be a Toyota.
That said, the Toyota company covered up the faults of the recent models and endangered the public. Trying to shift blame to the Obama Administration, as some here on this blog are doing, does not change that fact. Toyota’s sole focus should be on getting back to making reliable, safe cars, and they’ll be fine. Yes, they are being used as political punching bags right now. But that goes with the territory of screwing up.
Ironically, or maybe not so ironically, shifting operations out of Japan and to other countries, such as America and Canada, seems to be where the quality problems came in. This can be fixed by firmer oversight of non-Japanese plants by the HQ.
Myron (6a93dd) — 2/22/2010 @ 8:48 amI guess I should also note that I CAN’T buy a new Toyota at this time, not the model I would want, even if I wanted to. That right there suggests the company’s problems might be a mite deeper than what they perceive as hostility from the White House.
Myron (6a93dd) — 2/22/2010 @ 8:51 amFather and Mother in law both put lots of kids through school while working for Toyota. There is a family 4-Runner that has 290,000 miles and is going strong. I lurv my Lexus. FIL and MIL have had Camry’s since the beginning of time, and trade for a new one every few years as they still get employee pricing. If the Sequoia got better mileage, we would have one of those too.
JD (6a0bfc) — 2/22/2010 @ 8:59 amDon’t doubt that Toyota employess in the US and Canada are conscientious.
From what I understand, this sounds like an engineering/design issue rather than a production issue.
JEA (53fe4f) — 2/22/2010 @ 9:08 amThere are two things at issue here.
First, the press is making a big deal out of an honest SWOT analysis presented in a slideshow. If there is anyone who believes that the Obama Administration is more “industry friendly” to foreign automakers than some other candidate might have been, that person is delusional. To have listed as a “Threat” (the T in SWOT) a shift in American attitudes toward foreign industries, is merely to reflect reality. Just as if they had listed a Weakness (the W in SWOT) stating “a loss of trust due to massive recalls.”
Hmm…I wonder if that’s in the SWOT presentation.
Second, if documents regarding safety concerns were systematically destroyed or hidden, then Toyota should be held accountable.
The fact that the company who came to epitomize total quality management has had a quality breakdown of this magnitude is newsworthy. It appears that the Japanese automakers might have hit an era of complacency similar to that embodied by the big three in the late 70s/early 80s.
One can only sit and wonder if this has any relation to the fact that Toyota uses more American labor than they used to.
Christian (3290f5) — 2/22/2010 @ 9:21 amAnd then go read a textbook on the problems with using a self-selected sample to conduct a survey.
Awww, struck a nerve? I’ve got something much better for your side in this discussion – please link to a similarly exhaustive survey that proves the opposite, over the same time period. Let’s see it, or admit that you’re just bloviating.
Dmac (799abd) — 2/22/2010 @ 9:40 amApparently some of the auto transmission vehicles don’t have a positive shift mechanism. Another drive-by-wire system.
Thank you for that information, something that I’ve not seen disclosed anywhere else so far. That would certainly suggest that the problem would appear to be more than just a few errant drivers. But I do agree with Mike that the Audi problems were likely caused by driver error, rather than in their manufacture. That hyped – up story by the MSM and the gov’t was really disgraceful, they seriously hurt Audi for many years afterward.
Dmac (799abd) — 2/22/2010 @ 9:45 amI grew up MOPAR (2 cars in a row, Grand-dad was a dealer), went GM (6 of them), tried one Ford, bought MOPARs for the kids (both destroyed, one in a wreck, one in a tornado).
I drove a GMC Sierra step-side, and a Suburban 1500 most recently. I now drive a Toyota Tundra. It has more power than the Ram with a Hemi.
I like the Tundra better than any other truck I’ve ever owned (MOPAR, Ford, or GMC), in 30 years of driving. Power, fit, finish, handling, towing capacity, all of it. I took mine in for the gas pedal recall and it was completed in 30 minutes.
Come to think of it, my family now owns a Toyota, a Mazda, a Mitsubishi, and a Hyundai.
Not sure 100% this is the case, but I think none of these purchases paid the UAW a cent. If not the case, I’d like to think it’s true.
Virtual Insanity (d9db9c) — 2/22/2010 @ 10:24 amPleading the 5th is no good. If you’re going to bother showing up to this congressional kangaroo court, go big. Nuke them with the most blistering, scathing indictments you can make. Toyota has enough money to put plenty of detectives on each of these congressmen. Let the Toyota CEO air their dirty laundry and see how they like it. Why is congress wasting time and taxpayer money on this? There is already a recall. The cars are being fixed. And in my opinion the people who missed this were the federal safety boards who ignored numerous complaints. Toyota made a mistake and seems to be fixing it. Why is this an issue?
ChicagoJedi (884039) — 2/22/2010 @ 12:15 pmRe: Comment by Dmac — 2/22/2010 @ 9:45 am
As I recall, Audi placed the brake and the accelerator pedals a tiny bit closer together than was customary. This could have led to problems. Wearing a size 14W boot, I have to pay close attention to the location of the pedals…
Oh yeah, keyless ignition is running downmarket. What’s the Toys Night Out ad for? $21K Kia or Hyundai?
“First they came for Toyota, but I didn’t have one.
Red County Pete (e7563c) — 2/22/2010 @ 1:12 pmThen they came for Ford, but I didn’t like Henry.
Then Honda…”
“Nuke them with the most blistering, scathing indictments you can make. Toyota has enough money to put plenty of detectives on each of these congressmen. Let the Toyota CEO air their dirty laundry and see how they like it.”
I get the sense this has more to do with your personal bugaboos than with, say what might be in the interests of Toyota. Just a wee bit.
imdw (de7003) — 2/22/2010 @ 1:24 pmHeh. But you’re right about the foot pedals – still think that the resulting hysteria was both unfair and ill – considered. I also wear large work boots during the winter months here, and have to adjust my foot placements accordingly. Too many trial lawyers trolling for a big score, if you want my humble opinion.
Dmac (799abd) — 2/22/2010 @ 1:28 pmIf, by bugaboos, you mean tyrannical government way overstepping it’s bounds and wasting millions of dollars on a kangaroo court. Why yes that’s a big bugaboo. Capitol Hill is spending trillions of dollars and what do we get? A kangaroo court proceeding on a car recall! Iran is going nuclear. Our economy is about to collapse. Obama is about to socialize medicine. And what is priority #1 for congress? A car recall! BIG BUGABOO, whatever the hell that means.
ChicagoJedi (884039) — 2/22/2010 @ 3:15 pmThe problem is obviously that Toyota management in this country has not learned to talk like Democrat politicians and never say what you are really thinking in discoverable documents. Helluva way to run a political party is going to translate into a helluva way to run a business.
daleyrocks (718861) — 2/22/2010 @ 4:42 pmAll you Japanese car loving people may be shocked.If they dig deep enough into this ever growing scandal, they will find out exactly what was going on in the pro business Bush Adm.(although it was about being pro foreign business,esp.Japanese automakers Iin particular)It is a fact that when AMERICAN automakers were announcing massive job losses and plant closures, Toyota was busy adding 30 more lobbyists in Washington D.C..Just saying,follow the money trail
james mack (edc6bb) — 2/22/2010 @ 4:43 pmfriendly grizzly person why does it even matter how good or sucky American cars are if UAW-produced products viscerally disgust me?
happyfeet (71f55e) — 2/22/2010 @ 4:45 pmIt doesn’t, happyfeet. Not at all. I have no idea what my next car will be. But, I was quoting family experience along with my own. I remain happy with my domestic cars, and by that I mean from US companies.
the friendly grizzly (cf0393) — 2/22/2010 @ 4:56 pmoh. ok. I bought a used car of Japanese origin recently. It’s a happy little car. I ordered new floor mats from Amazon.
I never ordered new floor mats for my American cars.
happyfeet (71f55e) — 2/22/2010 @ 5:19 pmNarrow spacing of pedals…
My first car, back in 1960, was an Austin 850 (the ORIGINAL Mini)…I wear a 12D…Don’t tell me about pedal spacing…
But, you learn how easy it is to “heel & toe” by just rolling your foot to the right while on the brakes.
The Audi’s problem was also the relationship of the pedal location to the steering column – people thought they were stabbing the brake because that was where it was on their American iron, but…oops…it’s a little bit further to the left.
CJ has the right idea on dealing with a witch-hunting Congress…the best defense is a good offense.
AD - RtR/OS! (93f531) — 2/22/2010 @ 5:25 pmWhat are they going to do….
Hold you in contempt?
So what’s more American? A Toyota made in Kentucky, or a Ford made in Mexico? “American” car companies don’t exist any more.
JEA (2f37fd) — 2/22/2010 @ 5:54 pmWTF with the conspiracy nut above? 2/22/2010 @ 4:43 pm
SPQR (26be8b) — 2/22/2010 @ 6:01 pmunion douchebag maybe? … but his spelling is a little too good
happyfeet (713679) — 2/22/2010 @ 6:05 pmI BLAME BuUuUuUSH !!!!
JD (22c46b) — 2/22/2010 @ 6:32 pmthis household will never buy a UAW manufactured car. in fact, if we needed something new right now, we’d likely look at Toyota first, simply because they’re likely going to give the best deal, just to move product.
however, since we have two Mercedes and Nissan p/u in the drive, we’re full up for a two person household.
redc1c4 (fb8750) — 2/22/2010 @ 6:37 pmred, I just sold my 1985 Mercedes “S” class … broke my heart.
SPQR (26be8b) — 2/22/2010 @ 6:50 pmThis didn’t just happen a month ago and it wasn’t the U.S. Gov’t that brought this to light…
bizjetmech (022d42) — 2/22/2010 @ 7:33 pmI have a 2008 Tundra under the recall. I was notified of a problem before the end of last year, that a fix was in the works, and what to do if something happened in the meantime. I have the fix installed in my truck.
Toyota has been as effective in dealing with this as I would expect (as a retired aircraft mechanic I am familiar with AD’s and the problems associated with implementing a fix).
I have no problems with the way Toyota handled this situation.
Now I hear that the federal gov’t has filed criminal charges against Toyota.
This is nothing more than creating a crisis and not wasting it. It is a witch hunt.
You can bet the UAW is involved in this. (p.s., I live in UAW country)