For some reason, this Tinkerbell keychain from yesterday’s Recall Roundup caught people’s attention and they keep pointing it out to us. Please stop. [More]
Quality & Safety
Congress Accuses Toyota Of Deliberately Withholding Documents
By 2.26.10
Last week, the House Committee on Oversight & Government Reform issued a subpoena for documents from former Toyota lawyer Dimitrios Biller as part of their investigation into exactly when the car giant knew about possible defects in their now-recalled vehicles. And now that they have their hands on Mr. Biller’s papers, they are accusing Toyota of deliberately holding back important information. [More]
Recall Roundup: Product Recall Merit Badge Edition
By 2.26.10
The past few weeks in product recalls: lots and lots of lead and salmonella. Not in the same products. As far as we know. [More]
Out-Of-Control Lexus Still On Road, Apparently No Longer Out-Of-Control
By 2.26.10
If you’ve been following the hearings this week about the Toyota recall debacle, you’re probably well aware of Rhonda Smith, who spoke before the House Committee on Energy & Commerce to share her harrowing story of trying to stop her suddenly accelerating Lexus ES350 back in 2006. Well, NHTSA now says that that car is still on the road — and that the new owners haven’t experienced any problems. [More]
Toyota Clusterfracas Might Free Man Jailed For Vehicular Homicide
By 2.25.10
“Brakes, brakes not working!” screamed Lee moments before crashing his 1996 Toyota Camry into the back of another car, killing a family of three. In 2006, the Minnesota jury didn’t believe this testimony and sentenced Lee to 8 years in prison. In 2010, they might be changing their mind. [More]
Weird-Tasting Girl Scout Cookies Recalled
By 2.25.10
Some Girl Scout cookies have been recalled because they “contain oils that may be breaking down which can result in an off taste and smell.” Fortunately, only the lemon creme sandwich cookies were affected, and nobody likes those anyway. [More]
Toyota's Toyoda Tears Up After Testimony
By 2.25.10
While Toyota chief Akio Toyoda did his best to withstand over three hours of non-stop questioning in front of the House Committee on Oversight & Government Reform yesterday, he didn’t fare as well when he spoke in front of Toyota employees only a short while later. [More]
Street Vendors Protest Because They Would Rather Not Wet Themselves
By 2.25.10
Following the news earlier this week that a street food vendor in New York City had lost his permit because he left his hot nut cart unattended while he used a nearby restroom, several vendors gathered outside the City’s Dept. of Health offices yesterday in protest. [More]
Toyota Knew About Sticking Pedals In Europe A Year Before U.S. Accidents
By 2.24.10
Today’s Toyota hearings featured a lot of amusing defensive yelling by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and, of course, the long awaited testimony by Toyota President Akio Toyoda. In addition, Yoshimi Inaba, CEO of Toyota North America, revealed that the company knew of the sticking pedal issue in Europe a year before accidents in the US. [More]
NY AG Makes Toyota Come To Your House And Get The Damn Car
By 2.24.10
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced today that his office had negotiated improved “accommodations” for owners of recalled Toyotas. In short, Toyota agreed to come to your house and get the car if you’re too freaked out to drive it. [More]
FBI Raids 3 Auto Parts Suppliers In Detroit As Part Of Anti-Trust Case
By 2.24.10
While the House Committee on Oversight & Government Reform was busy raking Toyota’s chief executives over the coals in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, Federal agents in Detroit were going all Untouchables-like at the offices of three auto parts suppliers, including one company owned in part by Toyota. [More]
Oh Look, There's A Severed Frog Head In My Green Beans
By 2.24.10
There’s some disagreement about the identity of the creature whose head ended up in a Texas family’s frozen green beans. Is it a frog? Is it a snake? The family and the vegetable manufacturer disagree, but we do know that it is quite obviously not a bean. (Warning: picture and video inside.) [More]
Pontiac Vibe Owners, Don't Laugh At Your Toyota-Owning Friends
By 2.24.10
Amid the Toyota recall hubbub, a little, tiny — though related — GM recall of the Pontiac Vibe went largely unnoticed, unless you happen to own a Vibe, like Mitch. [More]
VIDEO: Owner Describes Surviving Out Of Control Lexus
By 2.23.10
During today’s House Committee on Energy & Commerce hearing on the Toyota recall debacle, Congress heard from Rhonda Smith, a former Lexus owner who detailed her 2006 brush with death — and the even more horrid tale of her repeated attempts to get either Toyota or NHTSA to listen to her. Perhaps most chilling, Rhonda even tried to put the car in neutral while hurtling down the road, but not even that could stop the “possessed” Lexus. [More]
Toyota Boss Risks Own Life By Testing Toyotas
By 2.23.10
A full day before he’s scheduled to appear before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform to answer questions about the massive recall of 8.5 million Toyotas, the car giant’s President and CEO Akio Toyoda has released the text of his prepared statement. And amid all the “Sorry about that, but we’re workin’ on it,” stuff you’d expect, comes an interesting bit of tid — Toyoda claims that he does some of the testing himself. [More]
Toyota Boss Akio Toyoda Feels Your Pain
By 2.23.10
As his company continues to circle the drain, Toyota President and CEO Akio Toyoda wants everyone to know that it’s not just Toyota drivers that are getting hurt, it’s a little bit of him too. [More]
Transportation Secretary LaHood & Toyota's Lentz Defend Themselves To Congress
By 2.23.10
Both Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Toyota U.S. President James Lentz are scheduled to appear before the House Committee on Energy & Commerce this morning, but in prepared remarks released before the hearing, these two fine chaps attempt to shrug off many of the accusations hurled at both sides of the Toyota recall debacle. [More]
Congress Rips NHTSA A New One Over Toyota Debacle
By 2.22.10
Following this weekend’s revelation that Toyota bigwigs were bragging to each other about saving $100 million by convincing the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to drop an investigation into a recall of the company’s Camry and Lexis vehicles, Congressmen Henry Waxman, Chair of the House Committee on Energy & Commerce and Bart Stupak, Chair of the Subcommittee on Oversight & Investigations, broke out their typewriters to voice their opinions in no uncertain terms to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. [More]
