Sunday, January 06, 2013

I really don't like it when Americans are jerked around by Wall Street. Most Americans don't like it at all.

And this is how the brake issue was first approached.

Posted Sep 29th 2009 5:45PM
By John Neff




The models affected are: (click here)

2007 - 2010 Camry
2005 - 2010 Avalon
2004 - 2009 Prius
2005 - 2010 Tacoma
2007 - 2010 Tundra
2007 - 2010 ES 350
2006 - 2010 IS 250 and IS 350

For me the issues Toyota faces is not about being accountable, it is about trustworthy.

This was the best Toyota was going to do for Americans that believed they were getting great cars and trucks with great gas mileage standards with a safe ride.

Toyota has substandard practices, tries to use technology to smooth over that fact and hires lawyers to out maneuver flaws that takes peoples' lives. 

Think about it people.

Did I say 1995 through 2000? I thought I did.


Toyota Recalling 150,000 Tacoma Pickups (click here)

The story gets worse.

The first set of substandard frames that were announced in Mid-March 2008 were from 1995 through 2000.

Can you imagine that?

Imagine having a 1995 Tacoma under this Re-purchase and then only have 2 years to find out about it and take it into Toyota.

Oh, sure, Toyota did the same thing back then they did with this brake issue, they made sure the newspapers knew about it. See, all these things can be stated from a legal point of view to have notified the owners so long as they made the newspapers. Public Notice if you will.

But, Toyota never made an effort to notify the CURRENT owner of the vehicle. They state in their Re-purchase they mailed every vehicle owner a notice and they did. The problem though and it was a legal maneuver to mitigate their losses, the original owners had moved on for the most part. The Mid-March 2008 announcement and mailings went to the list of original owners in their records. So, the people now owning these vehicles never knew unless they were lucky enough to find out by chance.

Toyota never bothered to search state registration records for the VIN numbers and the names and addresses of the current owners. Why is that important? Because Toyota was once again clever enough to out maneuver their losses. Toyota put an expiration date on the Re-purchase. The Re-purchase would end 15 years after the "Date of First Use" of the vehicle. 

So, the current owners chances of finding out about the Re-purchase in time to be warned at all and then to actually receive the value of it back from Toyota was slim to none. Toyota turned away any and all owners after that 15 year expiration date and their mitigation losses were cleverly handled while the trucks are still on the road being driven and resold.

One thing about Toyota Tacoma's they maintain their value. They get decent mileage and they are four wheel drive. Hunters like them a lot, too. 

See, what Toyota said was, the Re-Purchase / Repair would only happen where there was snow...



...and salt used on the roads. Toyota stated, it would never occur in any other part of the country. So, therefore, their losses were mitigated by the 'logical idea' on states in the northern reaches of the USA would have these problems.

This particular truck has the exact same problem Toyota stated would never occur anywhere by in the northern states of the USA.

This Toyota Tacoma is sitting outside it's owner's home in North Carolina. It is on cul-de-sac where it is difficult to get up a small hill when there is snow and ice. So, the road is sometimes salted by residents that don't have four wheel drive. Not only that, but, this truck spent most of its life on the North Carolina Coastal Plain.

Vehicles, especially four wheel drive vehicles, are subjected to salt water called sea spray on the coastal areas of the country. One would think Toyota would know the USA has sea spray on all three of its coasts. 

Toyota also stated they were not liable for any rusty frames if the owner were to be so bold as to venture to the northern states from other states where there is no snow or salt on the roads. 

Get that?

Don't near family and for God's sake don't take the 'Truck that melts in the Snow' out of the area where it was purchased. Basically, don't be an American that wants to see the country.

The Substandard materials used in the frames...

...on the Toyota Tacoma was on every vehicle. BUT, not every vehicle was covered in the Re-purchase.

No, not at all.

But, let's just say the value of the vehicle involved was lower than the repair.

Toyota was offering 150% for the Re-purchase price, you see. So, in order to fall into the area where the truck owner would actually receive a check rather than hideous repairs the vehicle had to be a much older model.

That was a lot of money to Toyota. After all, their mechanics were paid anyway in most of the dealerships and they could get a discounted price for the actual mechanic's time at a certified Toyota dealership.

I have to set it straight, to most owners these trucks are more fun than any present under the tree. They are fun trucks. Seriously, right up to the point where they ain't no more and their bodies won't stay attached to their frames.

So, to mitigate their losses, Toyota decided to set certain conditions on the Re-purchase.




I have to congratulate Toyota on the bank of lawyers that company must have.

The Toyota Tacomas were first manufactured with substandard frames in 1995, some say as early as 1994. The first 'Buy Back' of these trucks didn't occur until Mid-March 2008. That is a long time and the reason for such a late Buy Back was due to the way Toyota finally decided to handle the lousy trucks.

Wow, a Re-purchase of the old trucks. Sounds pretty good doesn't it? Expense, too, huh?

Some folks received service to their vehicles and had their frames replaced. Toyota had that option if they so chose. The repair was extensive. The entire body of the truck had to be removed and put on a new frame. The owners of the vehicles had to pay some costs as well, like replacement shocks and other 'pieces' here or there if the truck's repair didn't hold up to the extensive work well. Oops, these things happen, ya know?

See, the rust once it got started, didn't just stay in one spot. The rust spread to the body panels, to the braking systems, to just about everything in the area of the substandard material, BUT, the company only covered the expense of the frames and the mechanics time to move the body from one frame to another.

Oh, the story gets better than that...


It is easy to see in this picture exactly the danger existing with these vehicles, but, the lies from Toyota went on for a long time.

Toyota was and is very cleaver in their disastrous strategies to insure their profits without doing damage to their IMAGE to consumers.

The truck's axle is no longer attached to the frame on the left side.

This is some of the worst I've seen...

...but, there was one truck I'll never forget. It had a crescent shaped mark on the right rear frame where the spring attached to the frame. 

See, the frame became so weak the spring literally pulled itself right off the frame. The mechanic showed it wasn't just a 'dirt spot' and jacked the back of the 1997 Toyota up while the axle stayed on the ground. The rear axle was off by two inches. 

The mechanic, by the way, was the owner of an AAMCO Transmission Repair Shop. He owned five shops in the area. They were known as the best mechanics in the business. Why? Because they took their responsibility to their consumers seriously. 

The Toyota was brought in because the manual clutch was grabbing right at the floor all of a sudden and the owner could not understand what happened. Due to the dedication of the Aamco Transmission owner who came in to look at it from another shop the truck was never driven again. He told the owner, "You are lucky to be alive. If you were driving at any rate of speed and hit a rough spot in the road, the rear axle would have come out from under you and you'd loose control of the Tacoma. You could be dead right now. No one is driving this truck anywhere."

Now, with such drastically bad manufacturing defects...

...one would think all those vehicles would be off the road. Right?

"W"rong.

I have got to love the name of the website selling these disasters LemonFree.com. (click here)

CARFAX REPORT

  • 3 Owners
  • Vehicle Qualifies for the CARFAX Buyback Guarantee
  • No Total Loss Reported to CARFAX
  • No Structural/Frame Damage Reported to CARFAX
  • No Airbag Deployment Reported to CARFAX
  • No Indication of an Odometer Rollback
  • No Manufacturer Recalls Reported to CARFAX


Price & Mileage
$5,992195,640 miles
Body
Pickup
Engine
4 Cyl2WDAutomatic
Fuel
Gasoline
AVG21CITY19HWY23
Loc & Info
Renton, WashingtonVIN 4TAUN41B4SZ066720STOCK NUMBER P44787A
Dealer Comments
Never let you down! The truck that never quits! If you are looking for a reliable vehicle, look no further than this great 1995 Toyota Tacoma. Have one less thing on your mind with this trouble-free Tacoma.


This is a 1995 Toyota Tacoma


#1247 of 1340 Re: Tacoma Frames [eallman] bysweetd8943 (click here)

Feb 04, 2012 (8:23 am)

Replying to: eallman (Feb 04, 2012 6:45 am)
It's possible that your truck was not one of the VIN#s that Toyota has warrantied, although I would think they would be willing to take a look at any Tacoma that falls into the timeframe (1995-2004).

When I first called the dealership to inquire about it, they also told me that "the program had ended", but when I called Toyota Corporate, different story.

Good that you got your money back, still a crappy situation though. Good luck finding something else.


For nearly ten years Toyota was pumping out defective frames on the Toyota Tacoma pick-up trucks. The frames were substandard materials. One would consider Toyota noble to 'By Back' the defective trucks, however, it was the way they have gone about it, that is far less than noble. As a matter of fact, I doubt if there is a head count as to the number of dead Americans there are due to this substandard manufacturing method.

Toyota Safety

The company calls it the "Star Safety System.:" (click here)

Cute name with basically no meaning. I think it is suppose to mimic "On Star." Right?

Stability Control: VSC helps prevent wheelslip and loss of traction by reducing engine power and applying brake force...

Traction Control: Traction Control helps maintain traction on wet, icy, loose or uneven surfaces by applying brake force...

Anti-Lock Brake System: ABS helps prevent brakes from locking up...

Electronic Brake Force Distribution: Toyota’s ABS technology has Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD) to help keep the vehicle more stable and balanced when braking.

Brake Assist: Brake Assist is designed to detect sudden or “panic” braking...

Smart Stop Technology: As an added measure of safety, Toyota created the braking system enhancement...

Now, if I didn't know better I would guess Toyota has a PR problem with brake systems. Heck, these babes practically drive themselves in every emergent situation. Who needs a driver, I would think Toyota should advertise their vehicles as Auto-Taxi; "Sit back and enjoy the ride."

Toyota has substandard engineering and materials.

In this Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2012 photo, Toyota Motor Corp. President Akio Toyoda smiles as he shows a remodeled Crown sedan in Tokyo. Toyota expects to sell a record 9.7 million vehicles this year, bouncing back by 22 percent from a disaster-struck 2011. It has set an even higher target of 9.91 million vehicles for 2013. The numbers released this week underline Toyota's solid turnaround from supply disruptions caused by the earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan in 2011 that had hurt global production and sales. (AP Photo/Kyodo News) 

JAPAN OUT, MANDATORY CREDIT, NO LICENSING IN CHINA, HONG KONG, JAPAN, SOUTH KOREA AND FRANCE

It's Sunday Night

The latest of Toyota's failed strategies to prevent responsibility were brakes.

By 
Published: December 26, 2012

...The proposed settlement, (click here) filed in a Federal District Court in California, would be one of the largest of its type in automotive history. If the agreement is approved by Judge James V. Selna, Toyota would make cash payments for the loss of value on vehicles affected by multiple recalls and install special safety features on up to 3.2 million cars....

Yes, I said strategy. They have done this before and I am quite tired of it.

"...daring..."

Assad states he is confronting al Qaeda. That might be the case.

Assad might want to ask himself why he is facing down al Qaeda?

A man watches Syria's embattled President Bashar Assad making a public address on the state-run Syrian TV, on Sunday in Damascus (AFP photo)



Syria opposition rejects Assad reconciliation plan (click here)

Ya think?

AFP | Jan 06, 2013 | 15:50

..."We said at the founding of the National Coalition that we want a political solution, but ... there are now over 60,000 martyrs. The Syrians did not make all those sacrifices in order to bolster this tyrannical regime," he said.
Bunni said that the speech was directed primarily at the "international community, which engaged in a real effort to create a political solution that meets the aspirations of the Syrian people and ends the tyranny of the Assad family regime."
Assad will not accept "any initiative that does not restore stability to his regime and put him at the helm of control", Bunni said.
The president, he added, has "excluded the possibility of any dialogue with the rebels".
"He wants negotiating partners of his own choosing and will not accept any initiative that could meet the aspirations of the Syrian people or ultimately lead to his departure and the dismantling of his regime."
Assad's call to dialogue "excludes those who revolt" and is addressed to "those who did not rise up or who will gladly accept the return of stability despite all the sacrifices made by the Syrian people," Bunni said.
Assad in a rare speech denounced the opposition on Sunday as "slaves" of the West and called for national dialogue to draft a new charter and pave the way for legislative polls....
Slaves of the West? I doubt that, sincerely. Not that the opposition wouldn't want some help, but slaves of the West? Nah.

Demonstrators hold placards during a protest against Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in Kafranbel, near Idlib June 19, 2012. Russia and China have not agreed to any plan for the removal of al-Assad from power but recognize the dangers of an all-out civil war in the country, U.S. President Barack Obama says as Assad's forces bombard the city of Homs and clash with rebels. Picture taken June 19, 2012. REUTERS/Shaam News Network/Handout

I see it like this. The Rebels welcome global nuclear conflict between the USA and Russia, so long as they aren't at the center of the annihilation. I sincerely believe if those young men are still alive in Syria and they were at the center of a global nuclear conflict they would have been misunderstood.

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

...As the action unfolded in Syria, (click here) world leaders aired their differences over the conflict at the G20 Summit at the Mexican resort of Los Cabos.
U.S. President Barack Obama said Assad, whose family have ruled Syria for four decades, had lost all legitimacy and that it was impossible to conceive of any solution to the violence that left him in power.
But Russian President Vladimir Putin told reporters at the end of the summit: "We believe that nobody has the right to decide for other nations who should be brought to power, who should be removed from power."
Alarmed but apparently impotent to resolve the crisis, the outside world is deeply divided in its response to the increasingly sectarian conflict that threatens to become a proxy war for regional powers....

The problem in Syria is the same as Syria's presence in Lebanon for so many decades. This is the Assad's issue. Assad has been carrying out violence in Lebanon for a very long time. The rebels he backed in Lebanon killed leaders within that country. If Assad actually believes he is welcome as a leader at all then he is profoundly diluted.

That is a blatant fact, by the way. Syria has been an extremely disruptive and violent force in Lebanon. It is that reality I simply can't believe Russia has rejected to support Assad for far too long.

I realize, Syria has been a port in the Middle East for Russia for a long time and there is an understanding about an ally's responsibility in having a port there. But, I also believe Russia has not been a long term strategist in the understanding Syria is a problem in the Middle East. By being short sighted, Russia is deeply entrenched in what might be an incredibly out of control human rights violator in President Assad.

Russian Oligarchs are a problem. They need to back the best outcome for the Syrian people and those people do not necessarily have access to the sovereign wealth of the Assad family/regime.

Russia needs to pressure their oligarchs to stop their shipments into Syria because 'their commerce' is killing large amounts of people which they can be held responsible for at The Hague.

I have a challenge for Keith Suber.


Mr. Suber has a Foundation seeking to make a difference. The Foundation works from the knowledge gang members can change with interaction, feedback and hope.
Mr. Suber needs to solicit mayors across the USA to hold Town Meetings with their gang communities to begin that initiative to them. The majors need to know their schools are going to actively seek to be a broker to breaking the cycle of impoverishment, drug economy and the violence that never resolves without the PROMISE of a better life.

The Last Immortal

A Documentary Feature by Charles Denson

Best Documentary Feature, Coney Island Film Festival, 2011
The Coney Island History Project Presented a Free Screening at Liberation High School on Saturday, November 5, 2011 at 7:00 pm
Keith Suber is a forty-five year old reformed Coney Island gang leader, an original Rollin’ 60’s Crip who’s been shot six times and served ten years in a federal penitentiary. He’s returned to his Coney Island roots and founded an organization whose mission is to stop the gun violence that is plaguing the community.
Keith’s brothers, “Blue,” “Molock,” and the “Colonel” ran the 1970’s Coney gangs that the movie The Warriors was based on. This film, shot on the streets of Coney Island and at juvenile detention centers, shows the reality of gang violence, its influence on the Coney Island community, and Suber’s efforts at saving lives through youth mentorship, job training, and intervention....

Has the USA House hurt the marketing of USA crops to nations able to pay for them and desperately is in need of them?


American Farmers need take the destination of their crops into their own hands.

COOPERATIVES.

There is every reason to believe if the American Farmer were to have a lobbyist in Saudi Arabia they could get better prices for their products.

American Farmers can control their outcomes without a dysfunctional Congress. There is every reason to plant fence post to fence post. The USA has always had the reputation of feeding the world. Well, what is stopping them, Congress?

Has the American Farmer noticed the increased cost of food to American consumers? It isn't because the American Farmer is charging more money for their crop harvests, it is because Wall Street takes advantage of a limited commodity called petroleum and natural gas to allow increases in every consumer product from baby diapers to parsley. 

ARAB NEWS
Sunday 6 January 2013
Last Update 5 January 2013 11:04 pm

..."The world is facing a significant shortage in basic food commodities accompanied by an increase in demand. This has led to a sharp rise in the prices of goods and food in general," said Al-Rwais.
He pointed to the problems caused over the past two years in many parts of the world by adverse natural conditions, the effects of climate change, drought and recurrent frost formation. This caused the destruction of large grain fields in some major agricultural countries such as Australia, China, Argentina and India, which in turn affected the supply of food grains and a resultant spike in global prices.
"It has become necessary for the Kingdom to achieve food security by maintaining a strategic stock of wheat, rice, vegetable oil, sugar, meat and poultry that is enough for domestic consumption for at least six months," he added. He said some countries exporting agricultural products impose high tariffs and set up restrictions on exports in times of shortages....


Congress needs to be drastically reoriented to a reality that they have a responsibility to the American people in protecting the food supply in the USA and not just by regulations of the FDA.

Drought and water is a commodity becoming increasingly sparse around planet Earth. The Climate Crisis is the reason. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia uses desalination plants for a water supply. The Kingdom has done that for a very long time. 

Congress has a real job to do. They need to address the Climate Crisis within the Farm Bill as well as the falling food supply to people globally. The American Farmer needs to have their own lobbyists to bring PARITY to their farm operations. Forget about the grain silos as a means to a paycheck as harvest time. 

I have said it over and over and over; the Agricultural Sector of the USA economy needs to take control of their operations and product destination as well as the solvency of their operations through COOPERATIVES. Cooperatives need to address fuel supply to the farm operations, including production of their own biodiesel. They need to address management of their income potentials including having their own lobbyists in places like Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia  seeks food supplies because their own production does not meet the demands of their people. 

The Agricultural Sector of the USA should not through the baby out with the bathwater and continue to sell some of their harvest to the grain elevator (Wall Street), but, they need to take larger initiatives to sell their products to these countries and receive better prices. If the American Farmer went to Saudi Arabia for sales of their harvests rather than the grain elevator, I am fairly sure they would find ships waiting at the docks on either coast ready and waiting to be loaded for their home ports of call.