Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com Autoblog http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/feedlogo.gif Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com en-us Copyright 2009 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Toyota whistleblower joined by civil suit over father's death]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2007/11/29/toyota-whistleblower-joined-by-civil-suit-over-fathers-death/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/11/29/toyota-whistleblower-joined-by-civil-suit-over-fathers-death/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/11/29/toyota-whistleblower-joined-by-civil-suit-over-fathers-death/#commentsFiled under: , ,

A faulty seatbelt that traps an occupant in a vehicle and leads to his death is a horrible tragedy. If the defect were given a pass at the manufacturing plant, it goes beyond tragic to criminal. Toyota is now facing two lawsuits in California, both centered around manufacturing defects that may have been ignored at its joint-venture New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. plant.

We reported earlier on the first lawsuit filed by Katy Cameron, a NUMMI worker who alleges that vehicles with serious problems were passed out the door, even though the NUMMI plant purportedly subscribes to the "Toyota way" of manufacturing. Instead of empowering workers to spot and correct defects, even stop the assembly line to make things right, management at the NUMMI plant allegedly discouraged Cameron by demoting her.

A second lawsuit has also been filed by the Singh family, who are blaming the seatbelt latch in their 2002 Corolla for the death of Raminder Singh. The Singhs were involved in an accident that led to an engine fire, and while 19-year-old Gurinder Singh was able to exit the vehicle, his father remained trapped by his seatbelt despite Gurinder's efforts to unlatch it.

A spokesman for Toyota has been quoted as saying, "as heart-rending and tragic as this collision was, Toyota has an altogether different view of the facts." The facts will hopefully come to light during this civil trial, which heard opening statements on Tuesday.

Thanks for the tip, Jon!

[Source: Money/CNN]

Toyota whistleblower joined by civil suit over father's death originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 29 Nov 2007 12:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>corolladeathdefectsfirekaty cameronKatyCameronlawsuitmanagementnummiseatbeltsinghSingh ToyotaSinghToyotatoyotaThu, 29 Nov 2007 12:33:00 EST<![CDATA[Joint GM/Toyota NUMMI plant accused of passing defects]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2007/11/21/joint-gm-toyota-nummi-plant-accused-of-passing-defects/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/11/21/joint-gm-toyota-nummi-plant-accused-of-passing-defects/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/11/21/joint-gm-toyota-nummi-plant-accused-of-passing-defects/#commentsFiled under: , , ,



A certified auditor working at the New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. (NUMMI) plant in California that's run jointly by General Motors and Toyota has stepped forward to file a lawsuit alleging that her managers knowingly permitted defects on cars to go unfixed. Katy Cameron claims that her superiors routinely overlooked problems including broken seat belts, faulty headlights, inadequate braking, mirrors falling off, engine oil leaks and steering wheel alignment problems, though there's no evidence that any of these have resulted in an accident. Cameron's lawsuit not only alleges that her managers failed to report these defects, but that she was also routinely harassed for being a whistleblower. The Associated Press reports that she is now on medical leave receiving treatment for stress, depression and other mental problems resulting from being mistreated at the NUMMI plant.

The NUMMI plant produces the Toyota Corolla, Toyota Tacoma and Pontiac Vibe, and while it's considered a joint-venture between Toyota and GM, the plant is run using Toyota's manufacturing process. From what we can tell, it operates much like a training ground where GM managers can go to learn Japanese manufacturing techniques. Thus, these allegations appear to be aimed more at Toyota than GM. The response from Toyota has been that it's "tackling quality problems as a top priority," while GM wasn't aware of the lawsuit at the time the linked article was written.

Toyota's sterling reputation for quality has been tarnished lately with recalls becoming more common and Consumer Reports removing a few of the Japanese automaker's vehicles from its recommended list. We imagine their must be tremendous pressure at the plant level to fix any quality issues that arise, which could encourage managers to make some questionable decisions. While we don't know for sure what happened at the NUMMI plant in California, the idea that some managers would choose to hide defects rather than report them doesn't seem that far fetched considering the pressure to be perfect.

[Source: AP via Wheels.ca via ImportCarCanada, photo via Inside Line]

Joint GM/Toyota NUMMI plant accused of passing defects originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 21 Nov 2007 10:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>katy cameronKatyCameronNUMMINUMMI defectsNUMMI lawsuitNUMMI qualityNummiDefectsNummiLawsuitNummiQualityWed, 21 Nov 2007 10:25:00 EST