Unlike many others, I did not take any joy in the news of Toyota's mounting troubles over these past couple of weeks.
For one thing, I never like to see any corporation, in any country, faced with billions of dollars in losses (or lost business), even if their difficulties were of their own doing.
On another, more personal, note, I currently work for a Japanese company, and Toyota is one of our parent company's largest shareholders, owning approximately 14% of the outstanding shares. At least publicly, I need to exhibit sympathy for the automaker. Privately (and let's face it, IcebergCarwash is still rather private), I'm hopeful that this situation can lead to some long-term competitive benefits for the U.S.-based automakers. It's also gratifying to see that foreign companies have major issues too.
The latest part of the story struck me as very interesting, however. Last week, reports emerged that the Toyota Prius - the world's #1-selling hybrid vehicle and a veritable symbol of "green" sensitivities - had experienced a disturbingly high number of incidents of brake pedal failures. Now, I'm not a mechanic, and I've never subscribed to "Road & Track" or "Motor Trend" magazine, but even I know that if your brake pedal doesn't work, that's more than just a minor inconvenience.
Think about it.
A hybrid vehicle, which could possibly end up killing a bunch of humans?
Why, that car is an environmentalist's dream!
I hope Al Gore drives one. Then again, Mr. Gore has nothing to worry about, given his own personal, built-in airbags, which deploy whenever he collides with a microphone.
1 comment:
coming from Detroit, I couldn't help but agree with you that with a bit of sadness I am sorta hoping that Toyota's loss may prove to be a gain for american cars.
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