Autoblog

Toyota sees Camry share loss despite predicting increasing sales

Zach Bowman — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 11:29:00 EST

Toyota may be set to lose share the midsize sedan market. While speaking with Automotive News, Toyota North America CEO Jim Lentz said that if his company kept pace with the current swell in the market for family four doors, Toyota would need to sell around 500,000 Camry models. "I'm not sure we can do much more than 400 [thousand] today," Lentz said.

But that doesn't mean Camry sales are shrinking - on the contrary, Lentz thinks Toyota will likely sell more Camry units in 2013 than it did in 2012, it's just that the company isn't keeping pace with segment's current explosion in popularity. Industry wide, midsized sedan sales have increased by 20 percent. "Are we going to lose [Camry] share? Probably so," Lentz said, "but we will continue to grow in raw volume."

Toyota sold 404,886 Camry units last year, and the company just revised its 2013 sales objective from 2.18 million units earlier this year to 2.2-million plus units, so while things are looking up for the brand and Camry sales may be on the rise, Toyota may not have the muscle to keep up its share in the sedan segment. Whether that's because of a production bottleneck or a predicted sales ceiling isn't clear. We've got a call in and will update this news item if/when we learn more.

Toyota sees Camry share loss despite predicting increasing sales originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 02 Apr 2013 11:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Scion pondering move upmarket?

Jonathon Ramsey — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 18:31:00 EST

Filed under: Budget, Scion, Luxury

Scion is simultaneously celebrating its ten-year anniversary with the 10 Series models and trying to figure out what to do with itself over the next ten years. Once a go-to consideration for young, first-time buyers who wanted something cool and different, in 2013 it has a model everyone is still talking about in the FR-S, a model few are still talking about in the iQ, and three models in between in the tC, xB and xD that make everyone wonder, "What happened?"

Automotive News spoke to Toyota's North American CEO, Jim Lentz - he was the VP in charge of Scion when it launched - about the options, and Lentz said one of them could be a move upmarket to challenge the established luxury brands that are moving downmarket. "There's going to be a big need in the $25,000 range for a fun-to-drive, nice-looking, value-oriented product," he said, and the FR-S, which starts at $25,255, could provide the platform for Scion to climb up a notch or two in price and perception. An idea like this could conceivably work in tandem with a proposal to move entry-level Scion products over to the Toyota brand - but remember, this is all just ideas on a whiteboard at the moment.

As opposed to an "entry-luxury fighter," the brand could swing back to the other option that was considered when it was formed, directly challenging the Korean makes that have usurped its cachet with first-time buyers. Lentz said Scion could go either way, and the tone of the piece seems to indicate that the final direction is still a ways away from being resolved.

Scion pondering move upmarket? originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 01 Apr 2013 18:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Automotive News names its industry All-Stars

George Kennedy — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 11:29:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, China, Europe, Chrysler, Honda, Toyota, Volkswagen, Fiat

Automotive News has announced its annual list of Industry All-Stars. This year, the theme is apparently "success in the face of economic uncertainty," or something of that liking. The list points to executives who have led their respective brands and automakers to positive sales in spite of the European financial crisis and slowing sales in China. See the list below, and you'll understand why:

Industry Leader of the Year and CEO, Europe - Martin Winterkorn, CEO, Volkswagen Group (above): The VW boss started with the German automaker in 2007, overseeing a staggering 12 brands. Under his leadership, sales of Volkswagens have gained in both China and America. VW has also expanded production to America and grown its operations in Brazil. Winterkorn is a very hands-on executive, traveling to America six times to test and tweak the American-built current-generation Passat. Volkswagen is aiming to be the largest and most profitable automaker in the wold by 2018, and Winterkorn will stay on through that time, making him accountable for those goals.
CEO, North America - Sergio Marchionne, CEO, Chrysler Group: How does 31 straight months of positive year-over-year sales sound? The Fiat and Chrysler chief has bestowed dealers with a wealth of new product, and the American automaker is expected to post $1.5 billion in profits this year, in spite of economic turmoil in Europe.
CEO, Asia - Takanobu Ito, President, Honda Motor Co.: In addition to leading the Japanese automaker through the aftermath and destruction of a tsunami, Takanobu Ito has overseen the revival of the NSX sportscar and the emergency facelift of the Honda Civic. He has also stated the company is looking to grow to six million in global sales in the next four years. Big plans, but he has also delivered up to this point.
US Exec, Asian Automaker - Jim Lentz, CEO Toyota Motor Sales USA: Lentz has endured as Toyota's US boss through the 2010 unintended acceleration issue, and the 2011 Japanese earthquake and tsunami. Through all of this, the Toyota Camry is still America's best-selling car, and profits are on the rise. Success in the face of crisis, indeed.
US Exec, European Automaker - Jonathan Browning, CEO, Volkswagen Group of America: The 53-year-old Englishman came over to head up Volkswagen of America two years ago. Since then, VW sales have increased here at a rapid pace, and the brand has opened the Chattanooga plant to build the Passat. The plant is expected to expand to produce a mid-sized crossover (Tiguan perhaps?) for the US market.

To see the rest of the AN All-Stars, as well as previous year's winners, click through to the link below.

Automotive News names its industry All-Stars originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 28 Nov 2012 11:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You've lost that lovin' feelin'?

Paul Eisenstein — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 17:14:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying

Why Teen Drivers Are Dwindling And What It Means

He serves as the chief judge at the world's most prestigious classic car show, the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. He's a widely respected automotive journalist and author, and he has a garage full of hot rods and other cool cars. But when it comes to his two teen children, "They haven't shown the slightest interest" in what's in that garage, Ken Gross laments.

Teenage rebellion? Perhaps, as teens often seem determined to resist their parents in just about every way imaginable, but one thing parent and child once always seemed to agree on was the importance of driving a car. Not anymore.

According to a recent study, nearly a third of American 19-year-olds haven't bothered to get their driver's licenses yet. Three decades ago, it was just one in eight who skipped that right of passage, according to Michael Sivak, of the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, or UMTRI. Among those 20 to 24, meanwhile, only 81 percent had gotten their licenses in 2010, down from 92 percent in 1983.

Paul A. Eisenstein is Publisher of TheDetroitBureau.com and a 30-year veteran of the automotive beat. His editorials bring his unique perspective and deep understanding of the auto world to Autoblog readers on a regular basis.

Continue reading You've lost that lovin' feelin'?

You've lost that lovin' feelin'? originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 31 Aug 2012 17:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jim Lentz becomes first American CEO of Toyota Motor Sales

Jonathon Ramsey — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 14:02:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, Toyota

Halfway down a press release announcing that Shigeki Terashi was named president and COO of Toyota Motor North America, Inc. (TMA) was this: Jim Lentz is named CEO of Toyota Motor Sales, effective April 1. Lentz is the first American to take that position in the company.

TMA is the holding company under which all of Toyota's North American operations are grouped. Terashi will fulfill two roles when his new appointment is official on April 1, the new one and his current one as president of Toyota Engineering and Manufacturing, NA.

Lentz will rise from his current position as COO. He became one of the prominent faces of Toyota during the company's recent recall issues, publicly making the interview rounds and testifying before Congress to address the situation.

Follow the jump for Toyota's press release on the management shuffle.

Continue reading Jim Lentz becomes first American CEO of Toyota Motor Sales

Jim Lentz becomes first American CEO of Toyota Motor Sales originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 11 Mar 2012 14:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Dems accuse Toyota of deluding public about safety probes

Chris Shunk — Fri, 21 May 2010 14:58:00 EST

Filed under: Government/Legal, Recalls, Toyota

Thought the battles between Toyota and the U.S. Congress were over? Think again. Toyota President Jim Lentz was back on Capitol Hill Thursday to discuss Toyota's recall issues, and it appears some representatives are still looking for blood. The Detroit Free Press reports that Michigan Congressman Bart Stupek (D) accused Toyota of worrying more about dodging lawsuits and discrediting Southern Illinois University professor David Gilbert than the thousands of unintended acceleration claims that have made headlines the past few months.

Lentz countered that Toyota has spent thousands of hours testing its electronics, and that it had hired California engineering firm Exponent to provide an independent investigation of the systems in question. Toyota has also given more power over quality issues to North American executives.

To help with consumer confidence going forward, the Japanese automaker is installing brake override systems in all new models beginning at the end of 2010, and Lentz added that the company has already repaired 3.5 million of the 5.6 million vehicles involved in the recall.

U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif then asked Exponent to provide documentation of its investigation, and the company replied that it had little or no documentation of its testing. Waxman went on the offensive, saying that he can find no basis for Toyota's assertions of extensive electronic defect testing, adding "Toyota's assertions may be good public relations, but they don't appear to be true."

[Source: Detroit Free Press | Image: Bryan Mitchell/Getty Images]

Report: Dems accuse Toyota of deluding public about safety probes originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 21 May 2010 14:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toyota president Lentz updates feds on recall and safety progress

Zach Bowman — Thu, 20 May 2010 11:40:00 EST

Filed under: Government/Legal, Recalls, Safety, Toyota

Jim Lentz, President and Chief Operating Officer of Toyota in North America has taken some time to update Congress on the company's progress as the company sallies forth through a mountain of recalls. Lentz says that around 3.5 million fixes have been executed so far, including 1.67 million sticky accelerator pedals, 1.62 million floor mats and 118,000 anti-lock brake system program updates. Those figures mark 70 percent of all of the vehicles under the sticking-accelerator recall and Toyota says that it has been performing somewhere in the neighborhood of 120,000 fixes per week on average.

Lentz also says that his company has complied with mandates from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration by bringing a total of 150 Event Data Recorder readout machines to the States. Those are the handy little gizmos that allow researchers to pull and analyze the information gathered pre- and post-crash by Toyota vehicles. The greater number of EDR machines should allow Toyota to respond to any future issues more quickly than in the past.

According to a published statement, Toyota has reiterated that it all of its new cars and trucks are to be equipped with brake override systems - something that is expected to be mandatory for all automakers within a few short years. Hop the jump to read the transcript of Lentz's statement before Congress.

[Source: Toyota | Image: Mark Wilson/Getty]

Continue reading Toyota president Lentz updates feds on recall and safety progress

Toyota president Lentz updates feds on recall and safety progress originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 20 May 2010 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Toyota recalled floor mats in the UK ten years ago, didn't recall in U.S.

Chris Shunk — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 10:28:00 EST

Filed under: Government/Legal, Recalls, Safety, Toyota, UK

Most of the vehicles Toyota has recalled as a result of the automakers issues with unintended acceleration span only the past few years, but there have been many reports that Toyota's unwanted thrust issues may have gone back to 2004 or even earlier. Automotive News reports that the automaker appears to have had similar issues as far back as 1999, at least in the UK. According to the trade publication, Toyota recalled 10,919 Lexus IS200 models built between March 1999 and July 2000 for a floor mat issue that could lead to sudden acceleration. Now federal investigators are wondering why Toyota didn't spread their recall over to the U.S.

Information about the UK recall was mentioned yesterday during congressional hearings with the Japanese automaker, and Toyota U.S.A. President Jim Lentz replied to questioning about the earlier floor mat issue saying "we didn't do a very good job of sharing information across the globe." Massachusetts congressman Ed Markey (D) contends that instead of tackling the issue in the states, Toyota instead "deployed lawyers and lobbyists and convinced the Department of Transportation that this was a small floor mat issue and not something more serious."

While news of a much earlier recall in the UK for the same issue that has allegedly lead to 19 or more deaths in the U.S. has some lawmakers up in arms, Toyota insists that the floor mats from the IS200 recall were made in England and the design was not used here in the States. If the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration finds that Toyota failed to initiate a recall after it learned of a defect, the company could face a fine of $16.4 million. Toyota has until March 18 to provide "a chronology of all events that occurred in foreign countries with regard to interference between the accelerator pedal and the driver's side floor mat in vehicles that are identical or substantially similar to any of the recalled U.S. vehicles."

Tired of Toyota recall news? Try out the recall-free version of Autoblog.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req.]

Report: Toyota recalled floor mats in the UK ten years ago, didn't recall in U.S. originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 24 Feb 2010 10:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Toyota's Jim Lentz confirms FT-86 (not Supra) coming to America

Noah Joseph — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Coupe, Videos, Toyota

Toyota FT-86 Concept - Click above for high-res image gallery

We're used to seeing Digg boosting our stories, but once in a while the popular user-voted news site generates some original content of its own. This time, a Digg correspondent got 30 minutes of camera time with Jim Lentz, who, as President and COO of Toyota Motor Sales USA, very well might be the busiest man in America right now. Lentz fielded a series of questions - mostly related to the recall - submitted by users and voted (or Dugg) into the list. But one of them had little to do with the recall at all; it had to do with sportscars.

The question was whether Toyota had any plans, after years without any real sportscar offerings in North America, to bring back the Supra or offer a new affordable sportscar. Lentz's answer, as you can see in the video segment after the jump, was enlightening. The short of it was that the Supra won't be brought back to these shores, but the FT-86 will.

From that we can surmise a few things. First of all, the final production version of the concept will not be called the Supra. Secondly, the FT-86 - or whatever it's called when it comes to market - will be considerably more affordable than the Supra was. And finally, the FT-86 will be coming to North America. So there you have it. But don't take our word for it - we've posted the pertinent excerpt after the jump, along with the full 28-minute video below it.

Gallery: Tokyo 2009: Toyota FT-86 Concept

[Source: Digg via FT86club.com]

Continue reading Video: Toyota's Jim Lentz confirms FT-86 (not Supra) coming to America

Video: Toyota's Jim Lentz confirms FT-86 (not Supra) coming to America originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Social Experiment? Digg community to interview Toyota President on Monday

Frank Filipponio — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 13:34:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Recalls, Safety, Toyota, Event Alert

Digg, the "what's popular" website that allows users to share and rate links to stories they've discovered online, also offers a feature known as "Digg Dialogg," wherein it hosts a streaming exchange between prominent public figures and the masses (those that frequent Digg, at least).

Monday's Digg Dialogg will be with Toyota's U.S. President & COO, Jim Lentz, who will presumably answer questions about that hot new 2011 Sienna. He might field a few queries on the recall woes afflicting the company right now as well. We're just guessing.

The description of the event gives us some indication of what will be covered and why Toyota is reaching out in this unique manner:

"Toyota is one of the most admired and recognizable brands in the world. With this recall, Toyota is facing intense scrutiny around how they will manage and get past the crisis. With social media channels such as Digg emerging as primary sources for news and engagement, Toyota is taking the unprecedented step of putting its senior executive in a direct dialogue with consumers, using social media to address Toyota's response to this extraordinary challenge."

The interview starts at 2 p.m. PST Monday, February 8 and will be broadcast live on Digg's Dialogg page. They've already started accepting questions, which you can post up until 8 a.m. PST Monday. As of this writing, there were exactly 900 comments already in the queue. As you can probably imagine, most of the questions have an irate tone, but some people are asking the mundane, the humorous and the absurd as well. What did you expect from those sociial mediates?

[Sources: Toyota, Digg]

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Social Experiment? Digg community to interview Toyota President on Monday originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 07 Feb 2010 13:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Jim Lentz makes his own recalled pedal fix film

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 19:27:00 EST

Filed under: Recalls, Safety, Videos, Toyota

Toyota's Jim Lentz explains the sticky pedal situation - Click above to watch the video after the break

Toyota President and COO Jim Lentz decided to go ahead and visit one of the automaker's own dealerships to see one of its recalled gas pedals go through the shim-fix for himself, and he helpfully brought a video crew along for the ride. After giving a brief rundown of what's happened thus far - a much more thorough version of which can be found here - Lentz turns the duties over to one of the dealership's service technicians, who runs through the actual process of fixing a defective pedal.

Now, for a few observations: First, we wouldn't want to take his place behind the camera, but all Lentz needs is a basketball for that left hand of his and he'd be a veritable Harlem Globetrotter. Second, the fix doesn't look all that difficult, and it takes the technician just a few minutes to add the shim after the affected pedal has been removed from the vehicle. Lastly, for another take on the pedal-shim operation, see our previous video on the subject here.

Check out Lentz's video after the break, and check out our high-res image gallery of the process below.

Gallery: How Toyota dealers will repair sticky accelerator pedals

[Source: Toyota via YouTube]

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Continue reading Video: Jim Lentz makes his own recalled pedal fix film

Video: Jim Lentz makes his own recalled pedal fix film originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 19:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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House committee demands Toyota prove both recalls will fix all acceleration issues

Frank Filipponio — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 13:58:00 EST

Filed under: Government/Legal, Recalls, Safety, Toyota

Matt Lauer interviews Toyota President and COO Jim Lentz on the Today Show

So which is it? Does Toyota really know what the fix is for the unintended acceleration problems or not? Apparently the U.S. House of Representatives wants a straight answer. It seems the House is a little upset with official statements made by the beleaguered Japanese automaker because they seem to contradict what Toyota told the House earlier. They're also disturbed by comments they heard from Toyota's U.S. President and COO Jim Lentz while on the Today Show with Matt Lauer.

The latest hearing notice came from the House Energy and Commerce committee, which was already scheduled to hold a hearing on February 25 to "examine the persistent consumer complaints of sudden unintended acceleration in vehicles manufactured by Toyota Motor Corporation," according to committee chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif. They have given Toyota until Friday to answer a few questions about inconsistencies in some of Toyota's official statements.

The House says that Toyota gave assurances that they this issue under control, which don't match up with what Toyota had told them several days earlier. The House Energy and Commerce Committee's Chairman Henry Waxman, and investigation subcommittee chair, Rep. Bart Stupak, want some proof from Toyota to back up those claims by Friday. You can read the rest of the details after the jump.

[Source: Detroit Free Press]

Continue reading House committee demands Toyota prove both recalls will fix all acceleration issues

House committee demands Toyota prove both recalls will fix all acceleration issues originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 03 Feb 2010 13:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Matt Lauer interviews Toyota Pres. Jim Lentz on Today Show

John Neff — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 08:27:00 EST

Filed under: Recalls, Videos, Toyota

Toyota President and COO Jim Lentz on Today Show - Click above to watch video after the jump

Right after Toyota officially announced a remedy for its sticking accelerator pedals this morning, company President and COO Jim Lentz could be seen on television sitting across from Matt Lauer on NBC's popular Today Show. While Lauer isn't typically a hard-hitting interviewer (Is he? We don't regularly watch the show, but "Where in the World is Matt Lauer?" has us thinking he's no Edward R. Murrow), he does kick things off by asking Lentz if he can guarantee one particular Toyota customer whose car has already experienced sudden unintended acceleration that her car will be safe. From there, Lentz gives the answers you'd expect any exec under siege to give, which is to say we don't learn much that we don't already know. Lentz does say that "...we're confident that... between those two things [the floormat and pedal recalls], this will be under control."

He also claims that the first time Toyota became aware of sticking pedals in its vehicles, or at least the first time that the company could duplicate the sticking pedal problem, was October of last year. Like a good interviewer, Lauer brings up the Los Angeles Times article that contends Toyota knew about the issue long before then. Follow the jump to see how Lentz reacts.

Continue reading Video: Matt Lauer interviews Toyota Pres. Jim Lentz on Today Show

Video: Matt Lauer interviews Toyota Pres. Jim Lentz on Today Show originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 01 Feb 2010 08:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toyota's remedy for recalled pedals announced, dealers to remain open extended hours [w/video]

John Neff — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 06:34:00 EST

Filed under: Recalls, Videos, Toyota

Toyota remedy for recalled pedals - Click above to enlarge

Toyota announced early this morning exactly how it's going to repair 2.3 million Toyota brand vehicles affected by its latest sticking accelerator pedal recall. The fix involves installing a "precision-cut steel reinforcement bar" into the pedal assembly that will reduce friction between a shoe and the adjoining surface, the place where Toyota has found these defective pedals to be sticking. The automaker says the fix is "effective and simple" - it should take around 30 minutes to perform - and has been rigorously tested on pedal assemblies that have been known to stick. Since words only paint so clear a picture, we'll be searching for more visual evidence today of how the repair works, so stay tuned.

In the meantime, Toyota says owners of vehicles affected by the sticking pedal recall can expect a letter by mail sometime in the next couple of days with instructions on how to coordinate their repair with a dealer. Dealers, meanwhile, will remain open extended hours to perform the repairs, some even 24 hours a day. And for those owners whose vehicles are affected by both the floormat recall and sticking pedal recall, Toyota will try to coordinate only one trip to the dealer for both fixes.

Follow the jump for Toyota's official statement as well as a video released today in which Toyota Motor Sales President and COO Jim Lentz expresses some heart felt apologies to current customers.

[Source: Toyota]

Continue reading Toyota's remedy for recalled pedals announced, dealers to remain open extended hours [w/video]

Toyota's remedy for recalled pedals announced, dealers to remain open extended hours [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 01 Feb 2010 06:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toyota loses $21B in market share in one week, plans media blitz this week

Chris Shunk — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 23:00:00 EST

Filed under: Government/Legal, Safety, Toyota

After a long spell as the apple of the media's eye, Toyota is now officially in the bad news barrel. So far the Japanese automaker has announced the recall of 5.3 million vehicles for floor mat issues that may lead to unintended acceleration and a separate recall of 2.3 million vehicles for sticking gas pedals (watch the explanatory video). The entire ordeal has been a public relations nightmare, and as you'd expect, Toyota's stock is taking a hit.

Last week alone shares in the automaker plunged by a jaw-dropping 14 percent. That's a drop of $21 billion (with a B) in market value. The lion's share of the losses are likely due to investors' unease at how the the mounting recalls are playing out, but we suspect that part of the issue has to do with Toyota's handling of the recalls to date.

Last fall Toyota appeared to be calling the original recall of 3.8 million vehicles for floor mat issues a voluntary matter, only to be rebuked by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which insisted that the recall was mandatory. More recently Toyota announced that it was shipping new pedals to factories, only to change its mind and send the parts to dealerships after an angry response from dealers and the public. Mizuno Credit Advisory director Tatsuya Mizuno reportedly told Business Week that Toyota has "wasted too much time without doing anything," adding that the automaker used to have foresight for taking action but is now, "very far behind the curve."

Other than a 75 second television interview by Toyota president Akio Toyoda in Davos, Switzerland, Toyota hasn't said much of anything about the recalls. That will reportedly change this week as the Japanese automaker hits the news circuit in an attempt to allay customer fear about the recalls. Toyota U.S.A president Jim Lentz will appear on the Today Show Monday morning, followed by a conference call with other media outlets. BusinessWeek reports that Toyota may also be close to announcing a fix for at least one of the recalls, which should help investors feel a bit more comfortable that the situation is being handled.

Toyota also took out full-page ads in 20 major markets to explain why it has temporarily suspended production at several plants. Oddly, the full page ad didn't focus on the recalls. The ad (shown above, click to enlarge) says "A temporary pause. To put you first," in very big letters, followed by an explanation as to why the plants were temporarily shut down in comparatively tiny letters. The ad doesn't give any specifics about the recall, but it directs customers to the automaker's website for information about the Toyota recall.

While Toyota's ad blitz will no doubt be crucial to winning back its very faithful customers and the company's considerable reputation for quality and reliability, still more hurdles lie ahead. The next major step will be the announcement of a fix, followed by a potentially embarrassing February 25 meeting with the House Energy and Commerce Committee to discuss the unintended acceleration claims and the NHTSA's handling of the matter. Beyond that Toyota will need to absolutely nail the execution of the recall and get as many vehicles repaired as quickly as possible. Lets just hope dealers can fix this problem fast than Toyota can explain it.

[Source: Business Week]

Toyota loses $21B in market share in one week, plans media blitz this week originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 31 Jan 2010 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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