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AL, KY, IN, MS Governors are crying out for Toyota
http://www.wthr.com/Global/story.asp?S=11959822
Indianapolis - Governor Mitch Daniels is taking President Barack Obama to task over his handling of the Toyota recall problem and several other governors have joined him. Daniels stopped and talked with some school children at the Statehouse Tuesday. While he was making small talk, he was also sending out a big message to the federal government when it comes to Toyota. "Let's recall. Let's fix it - the cars," Daniels said. "If a fine is in order, then fine, but they have gone so far beyond that. It's very very suspicious in view of the government conflict of interest." That is why Daniels and, he says, a bipartisan group of other governors around the nation have joined together to send a letter to the Obama administration, complaining about the handling of the Toyota recall investigation. House investigators are now saying there is growing evidence that not all the causes of Toyota's acceleration problems have been identified. "This is why you don't want government in the car business, for instance. There you have a company doing more than others have done with regard to a recall. There were 600 recalls last year alone and they didn't go so hysterical as this," Daniels said. "These congressmen running this committee have their own agenda and it is a discriminating agenda in this case. They didn't do this the last several hundred recalls." The governor said the letter was written up without influence from Toyota. "The company did not ask us to do it and may have preferred not, but we did not want to remain silent. We think they are being discriminated against," he said. "[Toyota is] an excellent citizen. Only company I know that didn't lay anyone off during this sales downturn of the last year and the most American car company, based on where they build their new cars and where their parts come from. "So why are they being beat up this way? That is what the letter says. Obviously the government has a conflict of interest, owning companies that directly compete with Toyota. They need to play fair, which they haven't done up to now." Daniels admitted that all the governor's involved - which is thought to be four or five total - have Toyota plants in their states. The other governors signing the letter included Steven Beshear of Kentucky, Haley Barbour of Mississippi, and Bob Riley of Alabama. |
I'd like to ask the govenors how many people died due to the problems in the vehicles that the 600 other recalls were issued.
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This is a good way to weed out all the sell out politicians.
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If the Governor from Ohio signed this, he'd be getting a nice "friendly" letter from me.
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I need to spot Mr Barbour's office a call of concern.
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Say what you will, but the appoint about conflict of interest, the appearance of conflict of interest, or the potential for conflict of interest is a very valid one.
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...because the 600 other recalls didn't include 8.1 million vehicles that had the potential to kill not only the operators, but innocent civilians... and Toyota wasn't going to do **** until they were told to do so :rolleyes:
...I could swear Toyota idled plants, laid people off, and isn't NUMMI CLOSING, if it hasn't done so already? |
:tired:
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Originally Posted by Good Ph.D
(Post 6263400)
:tired:
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I like Daniels, but I would rather he'd kept his trap shut about this.
Doesn't make him a "sell out" (after all, Toyota does employ lots of people in this state). And he's right, Obama HAS NO BUSINESS taking ownership of GM. Still, I find it rather insulting to call Toyota "the most American car company" even with the qualifiers that were used. Perhaps Daniels has spoken up for GM in the past too; I don't know. GM, after all, has plants in Indiana as well. |
Ironically all this did was draw more attention to Toyota's mistakes.
Lifetime politicians have no clue because they've never lived in the real world like the rest of us. |
Originally Posted by Chuck!
(Post 6263443)
Ironically all this did was draw more attention to Toyota's mistakes.
Lifetime politicians have no clue because they've never lived in the real world like the rest of us. |
Originally Posted by Bob Cosby
(Post 6263393)
Say what you will, but the appoint about conflict of interest, the appearance of conflict of interest, or the potential for conflict of interest is a very valid one.
I think people are deliberately trying to make Toyota look like the innocent victim in all of this when they are being deliberately evasive. I disagree with you on this point because even Japan are criticizing Toyota's lack of resolve on the issue. It's just a shame that American politicians are failing to see the real issue at hand here instead of the perceptions from some quarters. |
Anyone who looks over the information related to this Toyota recall and still thinks the NHTSB somehow acted excessively harsh in some kind of twisted conspiracy to protect the US Treasury’s investment of taxpayer funds in certain car companies is delusional.
This is the same US Government that can’t get the terrorist do not fly list correct between the TSA, FBI, CIA and Justice Dept. And yet somehow there are powerful and cunning rogue forces in the same said government departments capable of coordinating an elaborate plan to bring Toyota down. What motive; sales, ROI? GM and Chrysler haven’t benefited thus far. Hyundai/Kia, Ford and Honda might be guilty of prospering in this post recall automotive economy except that the US Treasury didn’t bail them out or issues loans. So if these claims are true and there is a conflict of interest and subsequent conspiracy to protect the US Governments’ monetary influence in bailed out car companies then their diabolicalness is only matched by their incompetence as the plan hasn’t worked. IMO the NHTSB should be brought in front of Congress to explain why it took so long to force Toyota to issue the recall and why it took more needless fatalities before this was taken seriously. IMO Toyota was given a pass like it has in the past that the information (false) that they gave the NHTSB was accurate and the problem wasn’t as serious as the complaints and statistics say it is. In the NHTSB’s defense it doesn’t have the funding or manpower to do the full testing for these claims and does rely on the car manufactures for help. In this case secretive Toyota and their decisions to save face misled the agency. The only conflict of interest I find plausible in this article is the governors of the states that just so happen to have wooed and won Toyota factories in their states questioning the decision to recall vehicles. Some of which are built in their states. They say the US Government isn’t being fair and acting hysterical. They should go talk to the families of the 19 people who died from causes attributable by investigation to one kind of defect by one car company that admits knowing of the issue 6 years ago if they want to see hysterical and then let them call for fairness. |
Originally Posted by Bob Cosby
(Post 6263393)
Say what you will, but the appoint about conflict of interest, the appearance of conflict of interest, or the potential for conflict of interest is a very valid one.
I covered this "conspiracy theory" here and it's gotten A LOT of media attention and phone calls but seriously.....a politician? http://www.thegmsource.com/index.php...articleid=1335 I'll call Toyota tomorrow and ask them directly. |
No I'm not saying its a conspiracy. Did you read what I wrote, or what you wanted to read?
My concern....again....is that with the government owning a large portion of GM and Chrysler (whether they are actually running anything or not), the potential for conflict of interest, or appearance of conflict of interest (and perception is reality in the eyes of the perceiver) is a valid point. IMHO, if the situation were reversed, some of ya'll would be crying bloody murder at whatever gov't (which owned a majority stake in one or more of that countries car makers) was handling a hypothetical safety-related recall of American-made cars in whatever country it was in. Or course, that is easy to deny, as it isn't happening, but I digress. Disagree if you wish. I'm fine with that. Bob |
Even if the US Treasury didn't hold shares of GM it would still be to Americas advantage that the Japanese car companies don't do well in the USA and vice versa.
Japan, China, Korea, Germany, UK all have conflicts of interest. The only way to remove them is to have a 3rd party (another country?) handle one countries safety and emissions standards. Obviously this is not practical and infringes on the sovereignty of that nation. |
Originally Posted by Bob Cosby
(Post 6263393)
Say what you will, but the appoint about conflict of interest, the appearance of conflict of interest, or the potential for conflict of interest is a very valid one.
On the same point, conflict of interest can easily be seen on the governers behalf. Toyota has fairly large scale manufacturing plants in all of these states, correct? Toyota likely contributes to political campaigns in those states and isn't it about time for these states to have elections for the positions next year? I would wager that Toyota will be receiving some of these media tidbits when time comes to start financing those campaigns. |
Wouldn't surprise me in the least. When in doubt, follow the money (if you can find it).
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the Japanese auto manufactures deserve all the bad press, they earned it. i have listened to jerks like that senator shelby make untrue comments about american auto makers for a long time, making untrue comments about quality and fuel economy. so now its toyota's turn for bad press. they have been building crap.
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Emperor Hirohito must be spinning in his grave. How many Japanese died trying to gain supremacy over the United States when all it took was flooding us with subsidized products, clever marketing, and paid-off politicians. Osama bin Laden should design a car and hire a PR firm. Within a generation he'll have our elected officials kissing his backside too.
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Originally Posted by 91_z28_4me
(Post 6263782)
On the same point, conflict of interest can easily be seen on the governers behalf. Toyota has fairly large scale manufacturing plants in all of these states, correct? Toyota likely contributes to political campaigns in those states and isn't it about time for these states to have elections for the positions next year?
Ding! |
Originally Posted by paul463
(Post 6264030)
Osama bin Laden should design a car and hire a PR firm. Within a generation he'll have our elected officials kissing his backside too.
"Destroyed our industrial base for the sake of softer dashboards," would be a terrible epitaph for the USA. But I can think of two worse: "Destroyed our industrial base, because we were too selfish, too blind, and too lazy to look at our own products first." or "Destroyed our industrial base, then discovered Toyota was just another car company after all." |
So a few governors that have Toyota plants in their states want the Feds to play fair. Gee is anyone really shocked by this? :p
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Originally Posted by centric
(Post 6264045)
"Destroyed our industrial base for the sake of softer dashboards," would be a terrible epitaph for the USA.
Japan didn't kill our manufacturing and industrial base. China did. Make no mistake about it. The goal for saving pennies on every little detail and white boxing consumer goods moved *everything* to China. Even food processing.
Originally Posted by paul463
Emperor Hirohito must be spinning in his grave
Originally Posted by Bob Cosby
No I'm not saying its a conspiracy. Did you read what I wrote, or what you wanted to read?
But when the morons in Congress wanted to hold legel hearings to decide what should happen - I took offense. That is the function of a totally separate branch of government and has NOTHING to do with their jobs. The government appointed the NTSB to handle these things on its own without wasting the time of everyone else. They [Congress] just wanted to get in on the action (and infront of the Camera). Clowns. It isn't a conspiracy. The NTSB would have handled it the way they always do without issue, relatively quietly, and it would have been of the same magnitude [volume of vehicles] but without the sensationalist media. Congress overstepped their bounds. |
I must say that I find the comments from those politicians absolutely abhorrent and that's putting it mildly. :mad:
What is it with politicians and the way they turn on people when they favor the side with more money? Don't forget, the dead people they turned on were exactly the people that voted these non-sympathetic leaches into power! Yet these leaches take the side of a multinational always before that of their country men who died through Toyota's conscious inaction of a faulty product. Sad reflection on society as a whole. Those politicians would stand down if they had any nobility. :mad: |
Originally Posted by 91_z28_4me
(Post 6263782)
If GM and Chrysler weren't government backed there would be no reason for this claim to be made.
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Originally Posted by muckz
(Post 6265295)
I know your point is different, but at the same time, Toyota is fully government backed in Japan. We don't talk about it here much.
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Originally Posted by Bob Cosby
(Post 6263393)
Say what you will, but the appoint about conflict of interest, the appearance of conflict of interest, or the potential for conflict of interest is a very valid one.
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Superbly written 99SliverSS!
Originally Posted by 99SilverSS
(Post 6263718)
Anyone who looks over the information related to this Toyota recall and still thinks the NHTSB somehow acted excessively harsh in some kind of twisted conspiracy to protect the US Treasury’s investment of taxpayer funds in certain car companies is delusional.
This is the same US Government that can’t get the terrorist do not fly list correct between the TSA, FBI, CIA and Justice Dept. And yet somehow there are powerful and cunning rogue forces in the same said government departments capable of coordinating an elaborate plan to bring Toyota down. What motive; sales, ROI? GM and Chrysler haven’t benefited thus far. Hyundai/Kia, Ford and Honda might be guilty of prospering in this post recall automotive economy except that the US Treasury didn’t bail them out or issues loans. So if these claims are true and there is a conflict of interest and subsequent conspiracy to protect the US Governments’ monetary influence in bailed out car companies then their diabolicalness is only matched by their incompetence as the plan hasn’t worked. IMO the NHTSB should be brought in front of Congress to explain why it took so long to force Toyota to issue the recall and why it took more needless fatalities before this was taken seriously. IMO Toyota was given a pass like it has in the past that the information (false) that they gave the NHTSB was accurate and the problem wasn’t as serious as the complaints and statistics say it is. In the NHTSB’s defense it doesn’t have the funding or manpower to do the full testing for these claims and does rely on the car manufactures for help. In this case secretive Toyota and their decisions to save face misled the agency. The only conflict of interest I find plausible in this article is the governors of the states that just so happen to have wooed and won Toyota factories in their states questioning the decision to recall vehicles. Some of which are built in their states. They say the US Government isn’t being fair and acting hysterical. They should go talk to the families of the 19 people who died from causes attributable by investigation to one kind of defect by one car company that admits knowing of the issue 6 years ago if they want to see hysterical and then let them call for fairness. |
Originally Posted by Geoff Chadwick
(Post 6264323)
Japan didn't kill our manufacturing and industrial base. China did.
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Originally Posted by 25thTA
(Post 6265688)
You mean about as much conflict of interest as governors with Toyota plants in their states?
Perhaps you can't see the difference? And no, I'm not defending them nor Toyota. This situation is simply one of those unintended consequences of the Federal Gov't stepping in and essentially buying a large US company. |
Originally Posted by Bob Cosby
(Post 6263766)
No I'm not saying its a conspiracy. Did you read what I wrote, or what you wanted to read?
My concern....again....is that with the government owning a large portion of GM and Chrysler (whether they are actually running anything or not), the potential for conflict of interest, or appearance of conflict of interest (and perception is reality in the eyes of the perceiver) is a valid point. IMHO, if the situation were reversed, some of ya'll would be crying bloody murder at whatever gov't (which owned a majority stake in one or more of that countries car makers) was handling a hypothetical safety-related recall of American-made cars in whatever country it was in. Or course, that is easy to deny, as it isn't happening, but I digress. Disagree if you wish. I'm fine with that. Bob |
What does humble have to do with anything? IMHO = In My Holy Opinion. Right?
https://www.ls2.com/forums/images/smilies/222val.gif |
Originally Posted by Bob Cosby
(Post 6266208)
What does humble have to do with anything? IMHO = In My Holy Opinion. Right?
https://www.ls2.com/forums/images/smilies/222val.gif |
Originally Posted by Bob Cosby
(Post 6266208)
What does humble have to do with anything? IMHO = In My Holy Opinion. Right?
https://www.ls2.com/forums/images/smilies/222val.gif Tip of the cap to you... |
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