Part 2 of a post in which I begin with a brief history of the brand known as Toyota and dissolve into opinion, conjecture, leaked insider information and rumor; therefore communicating a story (without fear mongering above what the press has already created) about the consumer experience and small businesses and yet dispelling the highfaluting notions which corporations hold as actionable options. Part 1 is here.

The Here, Now and the Recall (History lesson is over. This is where start really giving what is my opinion, is not based in fact and is not meant in any way as anything more than supposition. I am not a mechanic nor should be mistaken for one. I am just asking questions.)

Often, when on the freeways of California, I will look around at the cars driving on the freeway around me and realize that I am completely surrounded by Toyota products. It is the sort of thing that makes seeing all of the “domestic” brands on the road while visiting Detroit seem odd, even exotic for a Californian. My actual experience with Toyota products has been spotty, at best. When we first discussed the Lexus with the floormat/sticking gas pedal incident on The RoundAbout Show, it seemed odd to all of us that a California State Trooper wouldn’t know how to stop a vehicle that was out of control. We were not the only ones.

While I was in Texas over the holidays, I happened to catch an article on December 21, 2009 in the lean Abilene Reporter-News about a local priest who’s Camry rolled and who, after brain surgery to remove a clot as a result of the accident, was told that it was his floormats. Just so you know, when I attempted to contact Father Akamike the last week of January 2010,but he has yet to return my call.

As much as I enjoy the folks who work for the auto manufacturers, I immediately turned my ear to the people who keep their public face: the dealers.

As one Toyota dealer told me, January 22nd, the day after the recall was announced by Toyota, was the longest day of his life. After all of the anguished voices of the car dealers I spoke with last year repeatedly through the automotive market crashing and then the subsequent mess of Cash For Clunkers, it was probably the most sad I have ever heard a dealer speak. Over 65% of this dealer’s inventory was immediately unsaleable. Toyota would not be refunding him for the cars (over 250) on his lot for which he had borrowed money so that he had inventory. He had to wait for a fix. His used car selection, which came from auctions, also hit a wall. Manheim immediately ceased running any used Toyota products through their auctions and that meant other brands of used cars were more desirable, driving up prices of potential used inventory and, moreover, that dealerships couldn’t recoup their investment in traded in Toyota cars because they were not auctionable. The dealerships quickly learned that they were learning more from the media than they were their franchisor. One dealer told me how they were shredding all communications from Toyota Motor Company because employees were so distraught by the immediate, panic induced lack of sales that his team had broken down to physically fighting on the car lot that day.

Toyota is no where near being over this whole debacle. Their dealers are being sent a piece of metal, thinner than a nickel and approximately twice as long, as a mechanical fix which should take their service employees 30 minutes per car to fix. That is today. Last week the part was going to be an entire assembly that would take 2+ hours per car to install. At a national average labor cost per hour of $100, this would have put a serious bit of ouch into the Toyota Motor Corporation and so now they are presenting a fix that costs pennies to produce and install and provides a barrier to keep condensation out of the pedal unit. Make more with less, in the tradition of the Toyota Production System. And yet, isn’t it a mechanical fix for what is rumored to be an electrical problem? Isn’t this the similar small piece of engineering that caused so much problem for the Pinto? In this mechanical fix, doesn’t the little part being installed in the recalled vehicles with the driver being able to put their foot under the pedal and bring it back up if it should happen to stick? If it is possible that it is from condensation building up inside the system, can that little fix-part in a prevent this? What exactly did Toyota learn in a joint venture in an American designed production line, ie, NUMMI? Did GM walk away with more than an education in lean production if the Vibe is based on a Toyota designed platform that potentially have the same acceleration issues? Is communicating to your dealers through the media another example of doing more with less? Is the American public not able to handle a clear concise message like the UK public?

This recall is nowhere near being ready to be drawn to a quiet close. The fact is that the 1st incident that was brought to national and international awareness was a Lexus, not specifically Toyota in brand, and no Lexus have been recalled in this current wave. Why is that? Is it because Toyota Corporate communications originally dismissed it as a floormat issue and they don’t want to get caught telling a fib? Is this why it is rumored that Toyota wants to do a blood alcohol analysis of the state trooper in the original fatal crash in the Lexus? Can discrediting a dead man save a car company? Because all of the recalled cars and those that have not yet been recalled have such elaborate electrical systems, can an over-rev limiter be thrown in neutral while driving at 3800 rpms? Can a career state trooper trained in deductive reasoning really not be the issue?

My friend Jessica told me that her children are not allowed to ride in anyone’s Toyota cars. Honestly, I am more scared of my child being on a road where anyone is in a Toyota or a Lexus right now. Whether it be a stuck pedal or a mischievous floormat or the accidental acceleration issue that began becoming part of the discussion about Toyota, being on the road surrounded by a huge number of cars that could potentially crash is terrifying until someone gets to the bottom of it all.

A post in which I begin with a brief history of the brand known as Toyota and dissolve into opinion, conjecture, leaked insider information and rumor; therefore communicating a story (without fear mongering above what the press has already created) about the consumer experience and small businesses and yet dispelling the highfaluting notions which corporations hold as actionable options.

Photo: Toyota Industries Corporation

The Beginning

This is the Type-G Toyoda Automatic Loom with Non-stop Shuttle Change Motion which was developed by Sakichi Toyoda. This loom was considered revolutionary for its speed and efficiency and was sold to a British textile company for the equivalent of 1 million yen in 1929. Great-grandfather Toyoda provided the seed money from his sale of the Type-G Automatic Loom to start, with his son Kiichiro, the Toyota Motor Company and hence, the Type-G loom gave life to the Type A engine and Toyota Motor Corporation.

• - Note #1: The Toyoda family business of making looms was known as Toyota Industries because the word “toyoda” means “fertile rice paddies” and associating with a farming background just wasn’t considered progressive. It is also said that the family considered 8 brush strokes in Toyota more fortuitous than the 10 brush strokes in Toyoda.   Lesson #1: The Toyoda family was firmly on its way to understanding how to sculpt public perception and convince itself of prosperity by self-design.
• - Note #2: Sakichi Toyoda’s loom was a technological achievement in implementing the principle of Jidoka , a system in which the machine stops itself when a problem occurs. This became an integral part of the Toyota manufacturing process, allowing for a more lean operating staff. Lesson #2: Toyota was built on the principal that good engineering was at the core of allowing a manufacturing based business to grow with maximum labor and minimal technological distractions.
• - Note #3: Kiichiro Toyoda took his father, Sakichi’s, ideas to a new level by introducing the method of The 5 Whys, a problem-solving technique designed to learn the root of a problem and more quickly develop a solution. Together with his father’s ideas, this became a way of improving quality, reducing cost and increasing efficiencies. Lesson #3: The Toyodas were giving life to a new way of thinking through a problem: asking why, why and why would eventually lead to a solution.

The Celica

The Bit in the Middle

The Toyoda family continued building Toyota Motor Corporation and finally, due to the oil crisis in the early-1970’s, began to get a foothold in the North American market by introducing small cars with better fuel economy than it’s US produced competitors. They were successful in the level of quality they had because smaller economical cars manufactured and sold in the US were considered entry level and therefore, sub-par and were with lower quality standards. In the 1980’s, due to tariff imposed on imported vehicles, Toyota began manufacturing in the United States. Let’s just jump to the notes and lessons here because that is where the real story continues.

• - Note #4: The Toyodas’ commitment to Jidoka and the 5 Whys gave way to an entirely new way of manufacturing cars, specifically the Just In Time (JIT) principal and the Toyota Production System (TPS). JIT is an inventory driven process that determines the best return on investment by assuring that parts and product are not manufactured before they are needed, thereby increasing the capital and labor and increasing the return on investment. JIT and TPS were both inspired by a visit by the Toyota engineers in the US to a Piggly Wiggly.  Lesson #4: JIT meant that Toyota was producing like clockwork. Once the product was designed it meant that, like Santa’s toy factory, product just popped out of a system that ticked along.
• - Note #5: Toyota began manufacturing in Fremont, CA (as part of the philosophy of creating and manufacturing for the local sales market) with GM at a plant that became known as NUMMI. This joint venture with GM gave Toyota a supplier and employee base that was multi-generational because of the base of previous automotive plants in the area and gave GM the ability to adapt the lean methods of JIT, TPS and Jidoka to their own assembly techniques. Lesson #5: The opportunities at NUMMI were supposed to be mutually beneficial while the 2 companies learned from one another. Toyota got American corporate design tastes and unionized employees and GM got more lean production techniques.
• - Note #6: Toyota began making larger than entry level cars and introduced its luxury brand, Lexus, in response to market demand. Lesson #6: We all know where this lesson is heading now, don’t we?

Part 2 is here.

Yes, it is true that Craig kissed me so it must be an alternate universe, hence The Alternative Episode.

Toyota says that choosing electric over gas may crash the grid. When it comes to maintenance costs you can choose between a private jet or Bugatti Veyron. Plus we’ve got another installment of Psy-car-logy and we play our newest game, The Price is CORRECT.

I still feel violated.

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Well, the North American International Auto Show–otherwise known as the Detroit Auto Show–has made all the news it’s going to make for this year. It was a rocky year for the Motor City, and in a way, it really showed at Cobo Hall in Detroit. The digs might have been better than last year (Chrysler was a series of unadorned cars on beige carpet in 2009), but the product reveals were notably less exciting. With the patient on the slab, we called in the best team of doctors we know … our … selves. Well, anyway, we’re here with the official RoAb postmortem of NAIAS.

Is the new Cadillac XTS worthy of being the luxury brand’s new flagship? Does the Volkswagen NCC bring anything new and exciting to the German marque? Will the Honda CR-Z finally be a hybrid that’s fun to drive? We debate all these and more. Plus we’ve got another installment of our new Meet Your Roadmates segment, a Stupid Car Trick and the triumphant return of the long lost Psy-car-logy.

Play RoundAbout Episode 19

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Featuring: Zach Bowman, Michelle Naranjo, Jeffrey Ross and Eric Trytko

Show Notes and Ustream video recording after the jump!

RoundAbout records LIVE on Fridays at 6PM ET/3PM PT. Visit RoundAboutShow.com and click Watch Live to watch our webcast and listen in on all the antics.

Show Notes:

Top Speed with Snow Tires
Ford Focus

Blind Spot: Drag racing golf carts

Psy-car-logy: ECO Anxiety

Stupid Car Trick: Ice damaged BMW X5 M

Meet Your Roadmates:
1992 Subaru SVX
2002 Nissan Quest
1982 Suzuki Samurai

Highway Hearsay: WTF Mazda RX8

Things are not always what they seem. For instance, you might think this episode is nearly a week late. Wrong as usual, idiot. We were planning to do this episode a year from now, so technically it’s early. Why are you so offended? Clearly you are unfamiliar with the word “idiot’s” Greek roots. I was simply suggesting you were a private person unfamiliar with the vagaries of podcasting. Again, not what it seems.

So there you go. Houston, we have a theme. This week we’ve got the coolest 4×4 you never expected, a bevy of protests as the Detroit Auto Show gets going and a wrecked Yaris that is more functional than you’d think. Plus we’ve got some new fun and games this week including our Mystery Words of the Week, a new segment where we get to stereotype drivers and a couple of burnouts gone terribly wrong.

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Today I realized that on a productive day (meaning I am researching, reading and learning and not on Facebook), that I will have at least 3 tabs open in FireFox that are either bad or leaning towards bad news regarding GM. If you were to look at my Delicious account you would see that when I have been bothered to tag what I save, GM is not just a tag, it is an entire lifetime supply of sticky notes.

I have started so many blogs about GM that my drafts folder in WordPress is a virtual diary of issues that screamed to me that I needed to say something to you but then I would worry about your health. It is personal to me. It’s like telling a close elder relative that they offend everyone at Thanksgiving dinner with their un-Big Fish-Like stories and are clueless to this and something should be done but then Thanksgiving passes and so I kind of hope/think that your spouse must be telling you why people pick on you.

But here are some observations.

Whether or not you actually pay eBay for the recent trial endeavor of listing your new inventory on eBay Motors that is now coming to an end, I know this:

• - eBay Motors doesn’t care if you pay them. The free marketing you did for the most cheap and marketing incompetent major company in the world realizes that it was your money who brought them all of those wonderful hits. They base stock price on hits. No sales for you but hits for them.
• - While we are on your money? It was nice of you to pull eBay Motors along with you while you paid back part of your loan … that wasn’t your money at the time nor was the contract with eBay even signed when the program was announced. I like team spirit among people. Sharing is nice.
• - You did a nice thing for your franchisees by putting their inventory on eBay Motors on their behalf so they didn’t have to pay a marketplace they had all abandoned long ago because it was useless to them and didn’t increase sales. I bet after they had so many peers lose their franchises it made them feel warm and part of the GM family to know you could offer them a snowcone treat on a freezing day.
• - Fritz Henderson had a genius idea with this eBay Motors thing and announced it as if it was All New! although it had already been 2 years in the works and, in the panic of securing government funds, grasped it as an example of how GM was changing and showing appreciation of being allowed to continue breathing.
• - Playing with eBay Motors and pretending like cars were really going to sell was optimistic. Audi only sold 2 cars in their entire history of listing their Certified Pre-Owned cars on eBay on behalf of their dealers but you decided that GM would be different. Despite public opinion and franchisees well known for their lack of follow through on internet leads, you were going to sell cars, dang it!
• - Everyone knew that this eBay program was about generating leads and you say that you got 15,000 leads on 16,000 cars in 225 California dealerships which is great but you claim you don’t have visibility on how many of those ended in successful sales. You could (dealerships and eBay are run by this thing called software) but then the cars that were listed as current inventory on eBay were very often no longer available. So maybe you got some buyers in other cars. Who knows? You could tell us but you don’t, you silly little tease!
• - Speaking of releasing actual numbers: it is cool that most of the cars you listed on eBay were higher than the prices of the actual cars on the actual lots (which is higher than people actually negotiate) because that helps the perception that we all crave in this economy (e.g., cars are worth more than they are if you see it on the internet).

We don’t have to talk about the money back guarantees and how that worked out for other companies before or how playing conkers with the media is proven to be a bad idea. I do want you to start talking though. This Penske deal is a huge heartbreak for a lot of people. I am keeping my fingers crossed for Hummer. This isn’t pretend anymore. People have used you and you show a kind face of being optimistic and take the knocks of being the one at fault. Managing bad news is not a fun job and a lot of very tired but loving employees working on your behalf. Bad news is not a PR opportunity. It is a sign that everyone is tired. It is time to start making some good news.

This is going to be a really quick post because #carchat starts on 10 minutes and I just need to get this off of my proverbial chest:

This week I was given a copy of the DVD of Season 10 of Top Gear by the US company assisting the BBC America division with promoting the show.

I love Top Gear. I love Jeremy Clarkson although he would probably shred me to bits and spit me out like a bit of pip left in his martini olive. I love cars. I love talking to people about cars. I tend to be enthusiastic when not grumpy. Hence, free DVD.

But with all of the recent debate about sponsored posts in social media:

• If you do not know what Top Gear is and you do not like cars, it is not for you so don’t go getting all upset that there is a giveaway you do not care about.
• The Top Gear show is produced by the BBC and their opinions are expressly their own so if you do not agree with it then tough. I can only attest to the fact that you might laugh a bit at some parts of the DVD.
• In the past year I have received some freebies from companies and I will, for the sake of being transparent, reveal them now:

1. 1 backpack from Sirius Radio received at an OEM event which I gave to my neighbor who couldn’t afford a new backpack for the school year.
2. 1 messenger bag, again Sirius Radio, but with Ford SYNC which I donated because it had a feature that rejected contents forcing it to dump out unless empty.
3. 1 eBay Motors baseball cap at the Concorso Italiano (a consumer event- everyone got them- I am not special).
4. A Ford Flex magnetic name badge with Miss Motor Mouth printed on it. (I do have a real name but it is cute).
5. A hacky sack, Frisbee and a blue oval patch at a Ford Fiesta consumer meet up at a tuner shop.
6. 1 Top Gear Season 10 DVD which I received because I love Top Gear and talk about it a lot and just generally get enthusiastic about the show that I could watch 24/7.

This was not a paid advertisement but I will watch Season 10 for free so sue me. If every one is nice I will host a nice contest soo so you can see it too.

April 24, 2009

Carsala, an online application revolutionizing the car buying
experience, announced today the appointment of Michelle Naranjo, also
known as Miss Motor Mouth, to lead Carsala digital communications.
Naranjo will assist with ongoing public relations, market strategy and
contribute to growing the venture funded company’s business
development.

Carsala CEO, Tyler Elliston said of the appointment, “Michelle is a
wonderful addition to our team.  Her industry savvy, expertise with
online media, and distinct voice will be invaluable as we pursue new
ways of communicating how we are revolutionizing the used car buying
process.”

Naranjo brings to Carsala editorial, business development and public
relations experience from the online automotive industry and running
her site, missmotormouth.com, combining experience with enthusiasm for
the automotive world. She is a Yahoo Knowledge Partner in the Cars
category specializing in used and online car transactions.

“Carsala is a timely product that fills a need in the car buying
process,” said Naranjo, “Buyers are often intimidated by the
negotiations and dealers, and more than ever, need to connect with serious
buyers. I love the technology behind this idea which results in the
successful connection of people doing business.”

Based in Berkeley, California, Carsala offers used car buyers peace of mind,
price validation, outsourced research, and professional negotiation in 48
hours or less. Carsala’s primary product is a used car buying service thatsaves auto buyers money, time, and hassle. Whether the buyer is stillchoosing a make and model, knows the model and is looking for the car, or has found a specific car to buy, Carsala offers the best source of unbiased, valuable help.

My friend, Steve Haas, wrote this great article for me back in November about leasing vs buying. I kind of sat on it. A lot. I sat on it for over 3 months because I had this gut feeling that I couldn’t quite place and I didn’t discuss with Steve until today because I am not criticizing what he wrote but in this economic snapshot we are all trying to place ourselves in, it seemed familiar, old school and maybe like we were dating ourselves a bit to believe that we actually live in a time when buying a house and leasing a car was the secret sauce to being a responsible adult.

Oh, how fast this has changed in a mere few months! Granted, I think this was coming for a while but the onset of reality- traditional financing and planning has organically shifted to be a whole new beast which we must all learn- is truly making me think of cars and houses in an entirely new way.

It may have been a Porsche dealer tapdancing the concept of “Buy a house, lease your car” a couple of weeks back to me (as a writer, not a buyer) over a beautiful Boxster leasing for $329 a month in a deserted, sparkling new showroom that made me start thinking about this old cliche. It probably didn’t help matters when several friends decided to put their homes on the market almost on an emergency schedule a few days later so they could sell and rent something before they ended upside down in their equity. (Same friends would never lease and drive cars that are paid for, by the way.)

Then I re-read an article in GQ magazine called “The American Dream, No Money Down” (Don’t ask why I have GQ in my house! That is not polite!) by Joel Lovell from February 2008 and I have to say that while this article raised my killer-mommy-nesting-hackles a year ago, I get what he was not only saying but predicting.

Is this problem really just geographic, as in those on the coasts are the only ones who really need to be concerned about falling housing values? How about stagnating housing prices combined with finance companies completely dropping financing or reducing potential customers to only “A” level credit (scores of 700 and above) only for cars? Or mortgage companies completely stopping all stated income which is refusing home finance to people who want to put 50% down on their homes, but because employers are increasingly turning employees into consultants, are unable to show 2 years of 1099 tax returns?

A lot of people are in a pickle or nearing the looming pickle of having to make these decisions.

Own, rent, house, car, bag it all and try corporate housing a la Grapes of Wrath with a dash of public transportation? Let me know what you think.