A Box On Wheels – Recalled

I never did like the Nissan Cube hatchback. The vehicle looks like a box on wheels, but must appeal to some, because 51, 100 of them in North America have been recalled due to excessive fuel leakages during a rear collision.

The American National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says more fuel spills out during a rear-end crash than American standards allow. The vehicle is also known for being spun right onto its side in such a collision – though Nissan’s voluntary recall is only for the fuel problem.

One wonders just how safe this box on wheels really is, if an American safety standards test can toss it about like a tin can?

Maybe the NHTSA is giving the automakers a break? After all they have already endured far more recalls in the past two-years than in the entire history of the automobile. I mean safety isn’t really a big issue – that’s what air bags, seatbelts, and simply looking before you leap come into play.

It’s not as if Nissan is intentionally selling an unsafe vehicle just to make a buck.

Or is it?

The American government’s NHTSA has conducted the standard barrage of tests on the Nissan Cube hatchback, and concluded that the vehicle and its occupants can very well find themselves on their sides in the NHTSA’s standard 80 KM/HR rear-end crash test.

That’s just the car I want! Where can I line up?

Though I suppose anyone thinking this fashion trend box on wheels – it’s supposed to be a crossover between a minivan and a compact hatchback – might enjoy the ride from the side. The vehicle’s demographics are the young, hip and trendy recent college graduate crowd.

Whether or not those young, hip and trendy grads will survive their chosen vehicle-slash-fashion statement remains to be seen.

But hey, it only took Toyota about ten years to come clean and admit that deaths a decade ago were caused by poorly manufactured cars. Wait another decade and maybe we’ll know just how safe this box on wheels really is.

Sheesh – whatever happened to quality in today’s automotive world?

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Automakers Starting Society on the Take

Toyota’s major worldwide recalls of faulty vehicles with issues over a decade old raised awareness about the dangers of driving, previously unthinkable in our technologically advanced world.

Who would have thought that a major corporation wouldn’t care enough about it’s customers to ensure their products were safe?

Over the next few months, the other major automakers followed, with their recalls, realizing that they’d better fix the problem then face the wrath of an American Congressional Hearing like Toyota – though it really is the bad press more so than the wrath. Toyota was hit with fines, but no one went to jail, and never would.

Now the big automakers are continuing to show us just how out of touch with their own products and their customers they are – instead of fixing their products, they will now pay you off with a bribe.

Yesterday, General Motors recalled 1.5 million vehicles worldwide that will catch fire due to poorly designed heated windshield wipers. GM originally “discovered” the problem in 2008 – though it affects some makes and models from 2006 – and through an earlier 2008 recall replaced the motors.

However, the problem has continued, so now GM is recalling all the affected vehicles, but instead of trying to fix their own product, they will just disconnect the faulty heater, and pay registered owners a $100 for “the loss of the feature.”

Cute.

Instead of taking responsibility for rushing a product to market which is unsafe, and used as a selling feature to capture customers, they simply hold up their hands, claim they can’t fix it, but here’s a small token of our appreciation of your understanding, as they hand you a cheque for a mere $100.

Aside from the obvious questions about how they arrived at the dollar amount for the “loss of the feature” the real issue is the fact that a major global corporation is now bribing their customers, instead of doing the right thing.

General Motors made – or more likely contracted out to a third party who made – the mechanism, so they should take responsibility for ensuring it is safe and works as it is supposed to. They shouldn’t give up on it, and pay off their customers for the loss of its use.

Now we are talking about a feature that doesn’t affect the primary use of any vehicle – to get you from where you are, to where you want to go – yet.

However, if we consumers take the passenger seat now, we’ve opened up the door to corporate bribes in place of corporate responsibility. By accepting the $100 bribe from GM, you are telling GM and other executives who no doubt are watching at other companies in other industries and sectors that it’s okay to make faulty products with false promises, we’ll just pay off those affected with a small bribe later.

So next time when your fridge freezes solidly shut, and the manufacturer tells you you’ll have to just unplug it until it thaws, and live with the constant over-freezing because they can’t fix it, but oh – here’s a $50 cheque for your troubles – you’ll accept that?

We’ll become a society of corporate patsies, pushovers for products which don’t do what the manufactures told us they initially would, just so long as we are all on the take.

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Where Did We Drop the Ball?

Today another major automaker announced an extremely large recall, begging the question – where did we drop the ball?

Toyota has been riddled with massive recalls worldwide for most of their vehicles, some manufactured over a decade ago, and affecting almost 200 million vehicles.
Not to be out done, the other automakers have also had large recalls, the latest happening today, as Mazda announced the recall of 90,000 vehicles with faulty parts.

Where did we drop the ball?

Yes, I mean WE.

We are the consumers that pay our hard earned coin to purchase these defective, hastily made shoddy products which could – and in the case of Toyota’s recalls HAVE allegedly – killed. We are the ones STILL purchasing these defective, hastily made shoddy products. We keep coming back for more, despite being given the rumps ass of quality.

Where did we drop the ball?

If we didn’t continue to purchase products from companies which obviously don’t make quality products, the wheels of the economy would rightly roll on over these companies, clearing a path for companies which do make products worthy of our hard earned coin.

Problem is, when it comes to the big ticket items like houses, cars, even fridges, stoves and cell phones, there are only a handful of companies which produce these products.

Where did we drop the ball?

We let things slide to the point where competition really doesn’t exist, so the few companies involved in these fields are free to do whatever they want. Call ‘em free range evil corporations – there is no competition, so they are free to run around and do as they please. Unlike free range livestock, they never are slaughtered – but the evil twist – they do the slaughtering instead.

Where did we drop the ball?

We, the consumers get slaughtered by free range evil corporations. Their God-complex-driven leaders probably gather in luxury exclusive resorts, to discuss how to maintain control over us simple folks.

Where did we drop the ball?

People get into their cars, not knowing if the brake pedal will work when they really need it. We are constantly bombarded with recalls of products which have high lead levels, and could prove toxic to our young. Family pets have died worldwide because of dangerous ingredients put into pet food. The food supply for us humans isn’t any safer, with constant e coli, salmonella and other bacterial hazards forcing the recall of foodstuffs the world over. There are concerns about most major products, yet nothing really is ever done, and we continue to purchase these things freely, openly, and without really thinking about it.

Where did we drop the ball?

Maybe it is time to start thinking – really thinking – about the products and services we pay for with our hard earned coin?

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Once Upon a Time, the Automakers Actually Cared About You and Me

If Henry Ford were alive today, he’d be shaking his head in disgust.

As if last week’s appearance in front of an American courtroom for Toyota’s president to answer questions about his company’s overabundance of safety recalls wasn’t enough bad press for the auto industry, General Motors issued a recall of its own affecting 1.3 million vehicles sold around the world.

Recalls affecting millions of vehicles from automotive manufacturers are becoming an all too common occurrence. It wasn’t all that long ago when a recall only affected a few thousand vehicles from one plant in one country.

Toyota has recalled over 8.5 million vehicles from around the world – that’s the equivalent of about one vehicle for every man, woman and child in New York City.
Wasn’t it Ford’s slogan a few years back “Quality is Job 1?”

Quality has gone the way of the Dodo bird – or at least it appears to be extinct as we witness these continuous streams of recalls from the auto giants.

Perhaps during the recent economic recession, the automakers cut costs by shopping for the best prices on the bits and pieces to put their products together, instead of basing their decisions on the quality we have come to depend upon?

It wouldn’t be the first time a major company has cut corners to save a buck. We consumers have been known to shop for the best deals too – just look at the line-ups at your local store which sells everything for a dollar.

Ever get a light bulb or set of batteries to power your portable radio at the local Dollar Store? Sure you may have got a steal of a deal, only paying a dollar, but chances are within a few hours, that light bulb or set of batteries won’t be working anymore.

That’s the price you pay when you go on the cheap. Quality goes by the wayside, and soon you’re sitting in the dark without any radio.

Though when the automakers cut corners, and their quality dips, people get scared, hurt or even die in motor vehicle accidents.

General Motors recent recall is based on 1,100 customer complaints, which include 14 crashes and one reported injury. Though those numbers may be higher, as many people don’t report minor accidents or injuries to their insurance companies, fearing their insurance rates will go up.

Toyota’s larger recall has resulted in the deaths of at least five people so far, but as many of the cars and trucks are still on the road with these problems, that number too may climb.

Yes, in an economy as brutal as we’ve seen of late, people aren’t as quick to go out and purchase big ticket items like houses and cars. So automakers suffer in a slumping economy. But then again – at least in General Motors case – they secured government bail-out funds to see them through the rough economy.

What it really comes down to is corporate culture. General Motors has grown mega-large, and as with many mega-large companies, after a while they don’t care about quality, because they don’t have too. What are a few thousand accidents or injuries when you have millions of other customers to count on?

On the surface, these big companies put on their game face, telling us all about their innovations in safety, security and customer care. They tell us how they will do whatever it takes to get and keep our business.

But all these companies really are interested in is your money.

In both the Toyota and General Motors recalls, it took thousands of customer complaints before either company even considered there was anything wrong with their products. That’s one of the allegations against Toyota which the American government is investigating – the amount of time it took them to recognize problems with their vehicles and to act on those problems, based on the number of complaints, injuries and deaths.

Companies that truly care about their customers don’t wait until thousands of their customers complain – they act immediately.

If Toyota and General Motors had shown the least bit of concern for their customers by acting immediately on complaints, neither would be facing the public relations disaster they are now both in the midst of.

But maybe a little dirt on their squeaky clean images is in order – because now at least, we know just how little value they place on you and me.

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Toyota’s Problems Not Continuing – It’s a Decade’s Old Problem Come to a Head

Five people have died in the United States due to automaker Toyota’s decade-long failure to recognize and fix faulty accelerators in their vehicles.

American Federal prosecutors claim the automaker hesitated to respond to 2,600 complaints about sudden unintended acceleration of some of its vehicles made by the company’s customers between 2000 and 2010.

Toyota’s top brass all over the world – including the supreme Toyota commander, Akio Toyoda, the company’s president – have apologized publicly to their customers. Toyoda is going to be speaking at an American-led Congressional hearing today, in response to his company’s worldwide recall of over 8.5 million vehicles.

The criminal investigation in the United States also claims the automaker failed to investigate the electronics behind the problem, ultimately charging that Toyota failed to protect the public.

Toyota’s reputation has long been built on the company’s safety and reliability – since the 1980’s the Toyota Camry has had one of the highest re-sell values when compared to all cars sold in North America.

That specific model’s re-sale value, and the company’s reputation as a safe and reliable automaker may have been forever changed.

And rightly so.

You don’t produce over 8.5 million bad apples and expect to be considered the most reliable apple dealer – so don’t expect 8.5 million potentially rotten vehicles to lead to being considered the most reliable vehicle manufacturer.

And it only took over ten years for Toyota to act on those 8.5 million problems.
A lot can happen in ten years, and unfortunately, it appears that Toyota has fallen into a trap which many large companies have also fallen into – cutting corners to save money.

There are always cheaper alternatives for producing products; however something is always sacrificed for the lower cost. At the most base level, maybe you won’t be able to get the same color, or texture of finish on the paint, or maybe the chrome just won’t be as shiny. At the highest level, maybe someone will die because the product just isn’t as safe.

But the chances of someone dying are so slim, while the cost savings so great . . .

Five deaths have been linked to Toyota’s faulty accelerator systems. Granted, when you consider only five people have died despite the recent rash of recalls affecting almost every Toyota sold worldwide since 2000, totaling over 8.5 million vehicles – five is a small number compared to 8.5 million vehicles.

But any deaths – even just one – so that Toyota’s executives can pad their pocketbooks with more profits, is one death too many.

I naïve hope that the American justice system will slap down Toyota hard, banning all future imports until every single Toyota built and sold from 2000 to present has been inspected, repaired and certified in writing by the automaker as 100 percent safe.

But we all know how this story will end – it’s happened before and will happen again, as big companies continue to trim costs without thinking or possibly even caring about the consequences.

Toyota will probably be hit with a large fine, maybe in the millions of dollars, and a warning to ensure this sort of thing doesn’t happen again.

There will be numerous pages filled with processes and procedures the automaker – and possibly other automakers – must document and follow.

But the fine is chump change to Toyota, and following a documented process is just another rubber stamp solution, which may or may not really be enacted in reality. These things tend to just create more files sitting on a shelf collecting dust than anything else.

The public backlash against Toyota is where the real damage may come – as Toyota customers think twice before purchasing their next vehicle from the ailing automaker. We won’t know just how much of an impact the public’s reaction to Toyota’s poor products have had on the company for some time – it could take months, maybe even years before we see any signs of a backlash in the marketplace.

Then again, in our information overloaded universe, our minds tend to have a short attention span, and once the dust settles and all of the recalls, criminal investigations, charges (if any) and other negative press falls off the radar, many may forget all about this, and end up driving away in a brand new Toyota vehicle.

If we are lucky, this won’t happen again, but then again, history has a nasty habit of repeating itself. So the one day you forget about all the recalls, the five people that died, the criminal investigation in the United States, and all the apologies from Toyota’s higher-ups, could be the one day when your brakes fail, as your car continues to pick up speed, and you see your life flash before your eyes just before you die in a fireball of twisted metal, broken glass, and burnt auto parts.

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