by Ken Zino | Feb 24, 2010
Cummins Inc., a diesel engine company based in Columbus, Indiana, with$14 billion in annual sales will pay a $2.1 million penalty and recall 405 engines under a settlement agreement resolving violations of the Clean Air Act. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Feb 24, 2010
The proposed sale of General Motors’ Hummer division to a Chinese heavy equipment manufacturer has apparently collapsed, though the proposed buyer, Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Corp., is reportedly looking at alternatives that could overcome the...
by Ken Zino | Feb 24, 2010
Yoshimi Inaba, President And COO, Toyota Motor North America (TMA) and chairman and CEO of Toyota Motor Sales in the U.S. appeared to promise that owner concessions announced by the New York State attorney general this morning would be extended nationwide. The...
by Ken Zino | Feb 24, 2010
Andrew Cuomo, attorney general of New York State, has just announced that Toyota has agreed to provide additional services for New York Toyota and Lexus customers who are affected by Toyota’s recent recalls. “It is unacceptable that New York consumers should face...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Feb 24, 2010
Lexus, the luxury arm of Toyota Motor Co. yet again topped the customer service charts, though its mainstream sibling, the Toyota brand, slipped well below average, according to a new survey by J.D. Power and Associates. Luxury brands generally delivered the best...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Feb 24, 2010
Unless you’re a true novice to the new car market, you may have some preconceived notions about Korean-made products – and they may not be all that kind. But if you’re looking for a midsize sedan, you might want to erase your memory banks and start all over. The 2011...
by Ken Zino | Feb 24, 2010
Committee chairman Edolphus Towns opened his Toyota safety hearings today with harsh words: “NHTSA failed the taxpayers. Toyota failed their customers – we now have 39 deaths attributed to Toyota products,” said Towns. “If Camry and Prius were airplanes they would be...
by Ken Zino | Feb 24, 2010
Hyundai Motor has issued a recall for about 46,000 of the new, 2011 Sonata in the largely closed South Korean market, though a small number of the sedans will also be impacted here in the U.S. The Korean company had seemingly overcome its dismal quality reputation...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Feb 24, 2010
He’s known, in Japan, as “the Prince,” groomed from childhood to take control of the family business, but whether Toyota President Akio Toyoda can rise to the occasion, or will be felled by indecision, like Shakespeare’s Hamlet, could come clear on the floor of...
by Mike Davis | Feb 23, 2010
For us old war dogs of the car safety wars, there were few surprises in the opening round of Congressional hearings today about alleged Toyota safety problems. Certainly, the predictable appearance of a “surprise” adversarial witness, Professor David W. Gilbert of...
by Ken Zino | Feb 23, 2010
Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood, continued his defense of the actions – and from where we sit in-actions – of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration before a Congressional sub-committee today. Republican LaHood testified under oath before a...
by John Day | Feb 23, 2010
The ongoing Toyota safety crisis is putting the spotlight on the use of electronic controls for critical vehicle systems such as brakes and throttle. During today’s hearings, on Capitol Hill, testimony raised serious questions about Toyota’s claims that it had...
