All Entries Tagged With: "Toyota"
GM IPO: $26-$29 per Share
by Gunnar Heinrich ::: img GM via carofthecentury ::: GM IPO
TIMED during the midterm elections, GM announced an initial public offering later this month of its revamped common stock for between $26 and $29 a share. The US Treasury which owns just over 60% of General Motors will reduce its stake to just over 43% at a loss which the government hopes to recoup with an increase in stock value over time. If history’s any judge, it may be a while.
Congress v. Toyota: Civil Melee Between Reps and Execs Pocked by Few Tantrums Though Some Grandstandings
by Gunnar Heinrich ::: img CSPAN ::: Toyota Recall Congressional Hearings
AKIO Toyoda, grandson of Kiichiro Toyoda, Toyota’s founder with (almost) the same name stepped deep into America’s body politic today as an arena of glum Capitol Hill spectators, reporters, attorneys, Toyota executives, translators, victims, independent experts, all took part in proceedings before the members of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
Mr. Toyoda apologized, suggesting that Toyota’s rapid growth had eclipsed its ability to effectively govern itself thereby leading to the massive recalls over instances of unintended acceleration that date back to 2001.
“Toyota’s priorities have traditionally been the following: first, safety; second, quality; third, volume. These priorities became confused,” he said in a written (English) statement that broadcasted pitch-perfect Japanese humility.
“For me, when the cars are damaged, it is as though I am as well.”
As many as 34 people may have died because of a fault that may be linked to an electrical malfunction and not a “sticky pedal” or misplaced floor mat.
Throughout the afternoon, Mr. Toyoda, a middle aged man with black hair and spectacles, gave conciliatory, if restrained testimony through a demure female translator. His North American president, Yoshimi Inaba, spoke for himself and sometimes on Mr. Toyoda’s behalf in rhythmic, lightly accented English.
Their testimony was preceded by NHTSA’s Ray Lahood who took a more combative stance with congressional representatives. At one point, Mr. Lahood growled that his agency was a “lapdog for nobody.” Some members had questioned the “negotiations” that NHTSA held with Toyota over previous, limited recalls.
But the majority of the time and focus was given to the Japanese executives, who, clad conservatively in gray and blue, sat grim faced. For them, it was an acrimonious afternoon subject to humiliation- as such political trials can be – but it was not a “blasting”, “roasting”, or “withering hurricane” as other reports have described.
Tempers rarely flared.
Indeed, it seemed like some representatives were having difficulty putting hard questions to their excruciatingly polite Japanese witnesses as each of their inquiries were returned with answers that were modest, carefully weighed and earnestly put…if ultimately unenlightening.
Mr. Inaba at one point responded to one congressman’s query about why Toyota’s North American operations were initially unaware of European recalls by saying that, “shamefully,” he didn’t know the answer. When asked technical questions, he correctly noted that he was but an “amateur” in comparison to Toyota’s engineers and wasn’t well qualified to respond.
Some representatives remarked on how “impressed” they were that scion of Toyota had deigned to take part in the congressional hearings. Though Pennsylvanian rep. Paul Kanjorski, a man perhaps old enough to remember the second World War, remarked aloud to a colleague from Indiana that “they’re killing our people.”
Some of the day’s most heated remarks came from D.C.’s own selfless rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton when she demanded to know whether her own Toyota Camry Hybrid was safe.
The assembly burst into laughter as Mr. Inaba tried to reassure the irate congresswoman that her Camry Hybrid wasn’t part of the recall. She then batted back and forth with Mr. Inaba on what he meant by referring to her car as “American”.
“Doesn’t it have his name?” She asked, nodding to the Japanese CEO.
Sadly, there were few reps whose questions amounted to clearly articulated points of inquiry. The sharpest questions came from those who cited Toyota’s internal memo which claimed success in negotiating a limited recall with NHTSA that saved the company $100 million.
Representative Jackie Speier waxed incredulous that neither Mr. Toyoda nor Mr. Inaba didn’t know the substance of corporate meetings with NHTSA and demanded to see documents pertaining to those meetings.
Former presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich, echoed the skepticism and demanded a second round of inquiry.
Geoff Davis, a member of the Ways and Means Committee and a representative for Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District which is home to a Toyota assembly plant stopped by to comment.
Without acknowledging the victims nor the massive recalls, the congressman displayed a certain bias as with a single rhetorical stroke he blasted the inflammatory nature of the hearing.
He then read a prepared written statement that sounded like a paid-for advertisement for Toyota; offering that Toyota was a model corporate citizen, faithful contributor to his election fund community, and a large employer in his district.
Needless to say, it’s doubtful whether Americans’ interests were competently served this afternoon. The hearing was a largely ceremonial process, though without any noticeable bowing.
If nothing else, for the moment, both sides of the story were heard and recorded before all involved parties head for court.
Lack of Corporate Diversity Crux of Toyota’s Problems?
By Gunnar Heinrich
THE Economist has weighed in on Toyota’s present debacle.
In their collective and middle-of-the-road way, the British mag newspaper sighted management insularity and homogeneity as a key part of the problem that led to the recall of some 8 million cars for unintended acceleration.
For years, Japanese bosses rebuffed the idea of appointing outside directors on the grounds that Toyota seemed to be getting on perfectly well without them. That argument no longer holds water.
If Toyota’s board had included, say, a female German boss, a former American senator and a high-flying Hong Kong lawyer, its response to the crisis might have been different.
Lack of diversity. Hmm… I think I know the perfect consultant for Toyota.
More Woes For Toyota: This Time It’s Brake Troubles
By Gunnar Heinrich
MAN, when it rains… it pours like the open valve of a fire hydrant.
Toyota’s hit again with new and damaging accounts of drivers complaining of brake troubles with new generation Priuses.
According to the BBC, Toyota has received more than 114 complaints of “brake problems” from American and Japanese customers; three of which claim that said problems directly led to the crashes.
This new round of bad press comes right on the heels of Toyota’s now infamous stick-pedal problem that has been reported to have claimed lives. The auto giant is looking at an estimated $2 Billion in recall costs and that’s not considering sales losses and likely impending class-action litigation.
Unintended Acceleration? Not Just a Toyota Problem: A Kill Switch For Every Car
By Gunnar Heinrich
REGARDING Toyota’s sticking accelerator problem, the solution at hand is simple and should implemented system wide: all cars need kill switches.
In another era, if a vehicle’s throttle cable got stuck, all you had to do was turn off the ignition – if throwing it in neutral didn’t do the trick. You’d lose power, but you could still pull over to the side of the road; averting certain calamity.
Do that today in a car that uses a metallic key and the best you can hope for is a locked steering wheel that sets your course straight into what you might call an involuntary off-road excursion (IORE).
That said, more and more cars – including Toyotas – no longer use the old system, vying instead keyless go. Touch the door handle, get in, and push the “START” button. Once under way, these systems are designed not to turn off until the car’s parked.
Sure, if you bother to read the owner’s manual, on page 105-B it will likely state that you can hold onto the stop button for several Mississippis and pray that the engine will turn off. But guess what? Once that happens, the steering wheel will automatically lock and you have an IORE in your very near future.
Further troubling is with drive-by-wire throttles, the danger for a computer malfunction is equally unsettling. With no throttle cable to jimmy by hooking your foot under the go-pedal, there’s little recourse for the wayward driver.
So, like those nifty glow-in-the-dark trunk releases that help the hapless escape an enclosed boot, it’s time that legislation be introduced to force automakers into providing every car with a kill switch.
What this kill switch should do is interrupt power to the engine while a) preventing the steering from locking, b) turns on the hazards and c) activating an emergency hydraulic reserve that would maintain pressure assistance for applying the brakes.
Such a device would minimize your chance for an IORE by keeping the vehicle under control.
When a car’s throttle jams wide-open, drivers are startled at best, panicked at worst, and have seconds to act before their car kills them. By engineering a simple kill switch that’s readily accessible by the driver but not easily brushed or bumped, we will have solved a hazardous scenario that should’ve been addressed years ago.
Let’s save some lives. A kill switch for every car.
Lexus HS250h: What Price Green Luxury?
Awfully similar to the cheaper Prius.
By Gunnar Heinrich | IMG Lexus USA
SHOE horned between the IS and the ES, two very different near-luxury models that Lexus leases and sells to customers who value their cars as much as, say, they do their toaster or freezer (not quite fair for the IS, but still) fits the new HS.
The HS 250h is meant to cater to those moneyed but Green minded, “fair trade” types who were having to rough it all these years in their second generation Priuses for the sake of Mother Nature and, well, their politically correct images. So anticipated was this new model, Lexus received 1,500 pre-orders in Japan alone.
Despite our better instincts, Lexus says that the HS is distinct from the Prius. The suspension and engine are Lexus’ own 187 hp VVTi four banger, not the small, 98 hp unit that powers the Toyota eco hatch.
And yet, with a no-options price of $34K, Lexus demands a $12K premium over the $22K Prius. Where’s the added value?
Judging from the HS’ similar architecture (HS has a trunk), the base rate materials used (plastic wood’s cut-rate), shared Prius gear, a higher cd – 0.27 v. 0.25 (more windnoise), combined fuel economy that averages 35 mpg against the Prius’ 50 mpg, you might think that if there’s a premium to be paid, the benefits of shelling out more for the Lexus are well hidden.
Not News, But Here It Is: GM Ranked Second in 2008
GM slips in global rankings
By Gunnar Heinrich
TOYOTA executives probably didn’t want their global sales victory to happen this way.
Given that last year was dreadful for most car makers and that ToMoCo global sales shrank from 2007′s grand figures by 4%, it’s got to be a pyrrhic victory for the efficiency minded, profit driven ToMoCo team.
GM Has Gotta Keep ‘em Separated
That 70′s sign must go…
By Gunnar Heinrich
YOU have to wonder how many potential customers have gone to their local Pontiac dealer with the aim of taking home a G8 only to drive on by once they saw that 70s sign which invariably read “Buick, Pontiac, GMC.”
The only product placement that’d kill the urge faster would be finding Trojans stocked on the same shelf with Huggies. Selling a Pontiac G8 GT next to a GMC Acadia – or worse – a Pontiac Torrent, just kills the Vibe (no puns).
The Other American Automakers
By Christopher Paul Davis
FOR better or for worse, General Motors and Chrysler have received a series of government loans. For now, Ford seems to be in better shape.
But considering how each of these embattled carmakers have casted themselves as all-American in their bid for bailout bucks, it’s worth noting that the Detroit 3 are not the only players in the US of A these days.
Here’s a list of some of the other companies that have set up shop Stateside:
Mercedes-Benz. The ML, GL, and the R Class are all produced in Mercedes’ Tuscaloosa, Alabama plant. Originally opened in 1997, the plant has contributed over $8.6 Billion (€6.2 Billion) to Alabama’s economy and employs 4,000 workers.
Toyota. The Toyota Motor Company has five plants in the United States. They’re located in Huntsville, Alabama; Georgetown, Kentucky; Princeton, Indiana; San Antonio, Texas; and Buffalo, West Virginia. The construction of two more facilities is underway.
Honda. The Honda Motor Company has three American assemblies. They’re located in East Liberty, Ohio; Lincoln, Alabama; and Marysville, Ohio. Together, these three plants produce almost every Honda and Acura model sold in the North American marketplace.
Nissan. Nissan Motors also has three plants Stateside. They’re in Smyrna and Decherd Tennessee; and Canton, Mississippi.
BMW. The Bavarians have had a plant in Greer, South Carolina since 1994. In this plant, BMW produces the X3, X5, and X6 for global distribution.
VW. Volkwagen has announced plans to set up shop in Chattanooga, Tennessee opening in 2011. VW plans to invest $1 Billion in the facility and has said that Audis and Porsches may also be produced there.
Hyundai. Hyundai builds the Sonata and the Santa Fe at it’s new $1.4 Billion facility in Montgomery, Alabama.
Subaru. Subaru-Isuzu Automotive, Inc. manufactures some of its cars for sale in the States from its plant in Lafayette, Indiana.
It seems to me that considering each of these foreign operators industrial presence and economic investment in the American job market, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, Honda, Nissan, BMW, VW, Hyundai, and Subaru are just as “American” as GM, Chrysler, or Ford.
[Readers: If I've forgotten any manufacturers or plants in the U.S., leave a comment and I'll update the Google Map and the article]
Efficiency + “The Plot” Lost: Infiniti Design
The M35x is an example of how Infiniti has lost the plot.
By Gunnar Heinrich | IMG by Infiniti
GUIDING the M35x’s stubby, leather covered gear lever into D, a realization hit me: Infiniti is the most un-Japanese of Nippon brands.
How so?
Inside Infiniti’s GS/5er/XF/ E-klasse fighter, the black plastic dash that disrupts two elegant sheets of supposedly real African Rosewood features an array of buttonry surrounding a clumsy multi-function wheel.
The controls feature explanatory pictograms and English titles.
For example, if you’re not sure what an inch wide rectangular button with the image of a telephone receiver does, Infiniti’s designers thoughtfully etched the word “Phone” adjacent.
Infiniti boasts that the dash’s “meticulous” design was the artistic culmination from inspiration that can only be found in a piano’s ivories. Functional considerations were also central to the dash’s architecture, since “the instrument panel lays flat so fingers fall naturally over the keys.”
The result in what Infiniti’s marketers are calling “elegant” is design that embodies as much grace as the automotive brail Buick once used in the senior-friendly LeSabre. Just as bad, the instrumentation wastes almost as much space.
Esoteric considerations of gauche interior ergonomics aside, the build quality, fit ‘n finish, and total design execution in Nissan’s luxury line, from FX to QX, rank a distant third behind Toyota’s front runner Lexus and even – gasp! – Honda’s floundering Acura.
Nissan’s luxury division lacks its initial elegant purpose as Japan’s reliable answer to Jaguar – remember the (G50) Q45 of the early 90s?
What made earlier Infiniti examples work was the singularly Japanese process by which they were built: eliminate all waste.
Be trimming a fat shoulder line from a fender or manufacturing time from assembly lines, the guiding lesson in Japan’s (and Toyota’s and Honda’s) post WWII rise centers on the nation’s obsessive, seemingly collective goal of maximizing efficiency. The novel idea is that from efficient design a superior product is delivered to the discerning customer – for less.
Considering the M35x’s confused design and its weighty fourty-eight large starting price, you can’t help but wonder that somewhere in the luxury car race Infiniti lost its advantage by losing the plot.
