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1:50 p.m. update: As reported by Dennis earlier on Twitter (dennisseid), Toyota plans to expand its recall of Prius to include the 2004-2009 models, according to the WSJ (read story).
More from MarketWatch:
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Toyota Motor Corp. said Tuesday that the Prius recall cited in an online Wall Street Journal report is the same recall that has already been in place for months, according to a company spokesman. Earlier in the day, the Journal reported Toyota was recalling 2004 through 2009 models of the Prius hybrid to prevent accelerator pedals from becoming trapped. The report follows an incident on Monday when the driver of a 2008 Prius called police when his car would not slow down on a San Diego County highway.
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Toyota news continues to dribble out today. Here's a snippet (full text) from our story in today's Journal:
Eventually, one of the reports about Toyota opening its idled Blue Springs plant may be confirmed.
But for now, Toyota officials are downplaying another Japanese newspaper's report that the automaker will begin production at the plant next year.
On Sunday, the Tokyo Shimbun said Toyota will open the facility in June 2011. In December, the Japanese business daily Nikkei said Toyota would resume work at the plant, without giving a date.
Neither story quoted Toyota officials.
Toyota today also named its top North American suppliers. None of the winners are ones represented with the Mississippi plant. Read the full press release.
And this story made me go - duh! From the Oakland paper (full story):
Toyota Motor Corp.'s $250 million retention bonus for the 4,700 workers at the NUMMI plant may be more a case of a practical business decision rather than an altruistic helping hand. ...
Instead, Toyota's actions linked to the retention bonuses and the seven months of additional production are being undertaken primarily from a business standpoint, said the two. "It is not an altruistic effort," said the NUMMI insider, who asked to remain anonymous. "Toyota is maneuvering to improve its public image." Toyota, the NUMMI insider claimed, agreed to pay NUMMI cash in order to purchase tools, dies, molds and other equipment that can be used to make Toyota vehicles at other factories. -- You catch that last paragraph? And here's a take from MarketWatch about the runaway Prius in California that had to be stopped by a highway patrol officer:
CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- An accident here the other day claimed the lives of four women when their car slammed into a tree.
But since they were riding in a 2000 Pontiac Bonneville instead of a 2010 Toyota Prius these women didn't rate the top slot on any national newscast -- or much mention on any newscast at all -- nor send people tweeting away in outrage nor stoke Internet chat room furor.
No, all of the attention and hype in the last 24 hours has been focused on one guy who says his Prius accelerator got stuck on a California freeway and who had to be talked down from his 90-mile-per-hour express commute by California Highway Patrol officers who shadowed him in the fast lane.
But, that doesn't negate my opinion of your bias in favor of Toyota. After all, out of the dozens, if not hundreds of stories written on this incident by credible news sources, you tried to chose one that puts Toyota in the best possible light.
The comparison of the two accidents cited by Marketwatch is ridiculous. There are accidents like the one described in the Marketwatch article that don't get national exposure everyday. Why? Because they've not been shown to be related to a defective product.
That's almost ridiculous as trying to equate all recalls. Not all recalls involve a failure in the most critical safety areas of a vehicle, the acceleration, braking and steering systems. In fact, most don't. And to try and equate say a recall by one manufacturer for a problem that might cause a vehicle fire, is, while serious, a lot less so than one that causes your vehicle to suddenly accelerate or an inability to steer or brake it. Barring a sudden explosion, if one dies in a car fire, as in the first recall example, that's probably Darwinism at work. But it's not at all unreasonable for even smart people to die in vehicles in which they can't control its acceleration, can't steer it or stop it.
Actually, the poor manner in which Toyota has handled this situation and the documented evidence in Toyota's own databases that supports their own poor response has made this more of a story than the defects themselves.
The dismissive attitude toward this Prius driver displayed in the Marketwatch article reflects the same attitude that Toyota has had toward customers reporting this this "sudden unintended acceleration issue" for years. Now it's catching up with them and the next shoe has yet to fall.
The bottom line is that Journal Inc. publications are not an objective source of information on Toyota. Journal Inc. is a Kool-Aid drinker and always tries to put Toyota in the best possible light, even in situations, like now, where objective reporting is really what is needed for the safety of your own readers.
Our Web site has a glitch and it won't allow me to fix the indentation.
You can click the "read more" to see the entire column from MarketWatch - plus another story about the runaway Prius in California.
"Toyota, the NUMMI insider claimed, agreed to pay NUMMI cash in order to purchase tools, dies, molds and other equipment that can be used to make Toyota vehicles at other factories."
as if that actually means something for the Blue Springs plant just shows how naive you must be about business.
It means nothing as far as the Blue Springs plant is concerned.
Of course Toyota is buying that equipment! They'd be crazy not to. Since the GM part of the NUMMI partnership is in the "bad assets" part of the GM bankruptcy, they're probably getting that equipment for pennies on the dollar. So, of course they're buying it.
But that doesn't mean they'll be putting any of that equipment in the Blue Springs plant.
After all, they do have another North American plant in Canada that builds the same car that was being built at NUMMI, the Corolla.
Your paragraph: "No, all of the attention and hype in the last 24 hours has been focused on one guy who says his Prius accelerator got stuck on a California freeway and who had to be talked down from his 90-mile-per-hour express commute by California Highway Patrol officers who shadowed him in the fast lane."
Is inaccurate and not based on any facts. This guy didn't have to be "talked down from his 90-mile-per-hour express commute by California Highway Patrol officers who shadowed him in the fast lane.". A CHP cruiser actually had to get in front of him use its bumper to stop him after he engaged his brakes and emergency brakes and that only slowed him to 50 mph.
Do yourself and your readers a favor and do a little research before you take a dismissive attitude toward a life threatening situation caused by a product produced by your favorite company.
By doing so, not only will you not look so stupid, you might actually wind up giving people some accurate information about a situation involving Toyota for a change.
So, rather than continuing to act as the NEMS marketing department for Toyota, why not give just ACCURATELY reporting the news a try for a change?
Toyota Responds to Inaccurate Reports of Future Prius Recall for Floormat Entrapment
Media reports, citing a Wall Street Journal article, have incorrectly reported that Toyota plans to announce a new recall for the 2004-2009 Prius to address the potential risk for floor mat entrapment of accelerator pedals.
There is no new recall being planned for the Prius to address this issue. To be clear, the 2004-2009 Prius was part of Toyota’s November 2, 2009 announcement of a voluntary safety recall campaign to address floor mat entrapment in certain Toyota and Lexus vehicles.
This announcement can be found at our press room at: http://pressroom.toyota.com/pr/tms/lexus/toyota-begins-interim-notification-112086.aspx.
Other models involved in this previously-announced recall include 2007 to 2010 Camry, 2005 to 2010 Avalon, 2005 to 2010 Tacoma, 2007 to 2010 Tundra, 2007 to 2010 ES350, 2006 to 2010 IS250, and 2006 to 2010 IS 350.
On January 27, 2010, Toyota expanded the campaign to include the 2008-2010 Highlander, 2009-2010 Corolla, 2009-2010 Venza, 2009-2010 Matrix and 2009-2010 Pontiac Vibe.
The remedy process for these vehicles began at the end of 2009 and is occurring on a rolling schedule during 2010. Owners of the involved vehicles that have not yet been remedied are asked to take out any removable driver’s side floor mat and not replace it with any other floor mat.
Owners who have further questions are asked to visit www.toyota.com or www.lexus.com or contact the Toyota Customer Experience Center at 1-800-331-4331 or Lexus Customer Assistance at 1-800-255-3987.